TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Comes to Shakespeare in Clark Park in July

 Shakespeare in Clark Park has announced a fresh and exciting take on their annual summer Shakespeare with a musical adaptation of Two Gentlemen of Verona. This Tony Award-winning adaptation was written by John Guare and Mel Shapiro with music by Galt MacDermot. Two Gents will be inviting audiences into a joyful celebration of love beginning July 26 at 7 PM. All performances will be in the beloved “Bowl” of Clark Park at 4398 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Performances will be at 7 PM and will run until July 30. As always, anyone is welcome and tickets are free to attend but reservations are encouraged. Bring your picnic and get ready to sing and dance along with us this summer. 

Two Gentlemen of Verona uses Shakespeare's tale of friendship and love as the basis for a rock musical full of love ballads, pop duets, funk arias, and dance breaks. The musical was the winner of the 1971 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. Audiences may recognize the signature musical style of MacDermont; he created the music for the beloved classic Hair. 

The celebration of music and community is the focus this summer as Two Gentlemen will be presented in a concert-style staging and directed by Shamus. Shamus returns to Shakespeare in Clark Park after donning a yellow cat suit as Malvolio in the 2018 production of Twelfth Night and several seasons as company Casting Director. Other local and regional directing credits include: Boston Playwright’s Theatre, Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, PlayPenn, Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival in NYC, Temple University, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Boston University, Wheelock Family Theatre and others. A member of Actor’s Equity Association Shamus has performed with the Kimmel Center, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Die-Cast, EgoPo, the Eagle, Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program, the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival and many more. He earned his MFA in Directing at Boston University. 

While Two Gentlemen of Verona is driven by an engine of joy, there's also an importance to this story at this time and in this space. Our nation is currently facing the spread of dangerous, repressive ideologies. We're seeing an attack on the LGBTQ+ community, with a vicious focus on the lives of trans people everywhere. Genderqueer people are facing legislation that seeks to eradicate them from public life. As artists, allies, citizens, and members of the queer community, this must be answered. Shakespeare in Clark Park aims to bring a highly visible, very queer, and viciously joyful response to the hateful rhetoric that's escalating in our country. Our summer production is a celebration of love; queer love, platonic love, and love of self. This summer, we invite everyone to raise our voices and sing the final lines of this year’s musical together: I want to love me. You can't love another without loving yourself.

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