William Shakespeare’s “Two Gentlemen of Verona” is the story of a great journey. It tells the comedic tale of Valentine and Proteus, and their quests for fame and love. On his own journey, Canadian director Dean Gabourie assisted in the Ohio Northern University’s Department of Theatre Arts fall production of Shakespeare’s comedy. A seasoned Shakespeare expert, Gabourie was thrilled to work with the Ohio Northern cast, and was able to lend his knowledge not only to the actors, but to his audience as well.
Because Shakespeare’s work is public domain, directors are free to let their creativity run wild. Gabourie mentioned in an on-campus interview that one of his colleagues once set “Romeo and Juliet” on the moon, for example. His goal in this production, however, was to stay as true to its original performance as possible. With the exception of some switched gender roles, the production was performed with Shakespeare’s own methods in mind.
“Other than adding a song at the top, I think we changed maybe five to 10 words in the whole play, for clarity more than anything else,” Gabourie said.
ONU’s production of “Two Gentlemen of Verona” was set to a Vaudeville theme, which features a mixture of specialty acts, including burlesque or song and dance. Cast member Patrick Plucinsky said this was a huge bonus to the show. “A lot of the main characters are vaudeville stars.”
This was especially exciting because characters really had the chance to show their talents, and audience members were not only getting a great show, but small acts within the show as well. Plucinsky also explains the interactivity of this theme, and the unique setting that contributed to it.
“Throughout the space there are going to be small tables where the audience members will actually sit,” he said.
As with any classic production, the challenge was not to lose the modern-day audience to the Elizabethan language in which it was written. Gabourie mentions that this was not an issue for this production. Audience members with no general knowledge of Shakespeare received an “extremely clear production of a very early play.” So instead of being whisked away into a whirlwind of ‘-eths’ and ‘to bes,’ the viewers felt a direct connection with those on stage.
Those who are Shakespeare experts enjoyed the young undertones of this play. As one of Shakespeare’s first scripts, it shows the early stages of his playwright career, even some familiar characters. Gabourie says that because Shakespeare was writing with a specific company in mind, it is very likely that portions of “Two Gentlemen of Verona” laid the foundation for his future works. For ONU’s production, it was important to look out for “elements of all of these characters that he developed much more thoroughly later on.”
Dean Gabourie has nothing but glowing reviews for the cast of “Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
“It’s been incredible,” he said, calling Ohio Northern’s theater program “astounding.” As the curtain opened and closed with final bows, Gabourie’s time on campus was well-spent. His impact will surely be with us all as we continue the journey.