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LAWRENCE -- Take William Shakespeare's words and characters, plunk them down in the "Happy Days" diner, and you'll have an idea what the University of Kansas Theatre's production of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is all about.
Shakespeare's 1592 comedy, the opening production in the University Theatre's 2002-03 season, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is directed by John Gronbeck-Tedesco, professor of theatre and film and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Scenic and costume design is by Beth Collins, Sanderstead, England, graduate student; lighting design is by Elinor Parker, Lawrence graduate student. Dialect and diction coach is Amy Sue Fall, lecturer in theatre and film.
Thought to be Shakespeare's first romantic comedy, "Two Gentlemen" is a lively look at the foolishness and fickleness of young love. Spattered with puns and dazzling word play, this comedy is an Elizabethan celebration of male friendship as the most rewarding of relationships.
Gronbeck-Tedesco said he is setting the play in the late 1950s or early 1960's because the story seems to him to be "a rite of passage from adolescence to the first stage of adulthood."
"A number of the characters go from small-town life to a larger political environment," he explained. "They are forced to make compromises and to live in a world not always user friendly."
Because of the characters' innocence, the director decided to work in a framework derived from popular culture as the emblem of innocence, and is using well-known rock and roll music and references from '50s culture.
"'Happy Days' and 'Grease,' for example, have made the '50s an image of what we all want to believe adolescence is supposed to be about," he said.
"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is an associate entry in the 2003 Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival XXXV.
Reserved tickets for production are on sale through the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, (785) 864-3982; Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS; SUA, (785) 864-7469; and online at http://www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $14 and $12 for the public, $10 for all students, and $13 and $11 for senior citizens.
Members of the cast for the KU Shakespeare production include (listed by name, class, parents' names, home address and role):
DICKINSON COUNTY
From Chapman
Travis Ashmore, freshman, son of Ruth Linville and Dan Ashmore; Sir Eglamour.
DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence
Summer Eglinski, sophomore, daughter of Ed and Pam Eglinski; Antonia.
Jeffrey Thomas Gockel, freshman, son of Susan Bruce and Boyd Gockel; Thurio.
Scott Johnson, junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Johnson; outlaw.
Amber Renee McIntosh, senior, daughter of Sandra McIntosh; hostess, outlaw, servant and acrobat.
Christopher Wheatley, junior, son of Kathy Pryor and Jim Peterson and Ken Wheatley, Valentine.
JOHNSON COUNTY
From Leawood
Christina Schafer, senior, daughter of Bill Schafer and Kerry Schafer; Julia.
From Overland Park
David Kobzantsev, senior, son of Vitaly and Elina Kobzantsev; Launce.
From Prairie Village
Eryn Hamer, senior, daughter of Douglas and Rebecca Hamer; Panthina.
LEAVENWORTH COUNTY
From Easton
Zachariah D. Chamberlain, junior, son of Steve and Jenny Scrimsher; outlaw.
From Lansing
Bob Dorsey, senior, son of Paul and Lilly Dorsey; Duke.
RILEY COUNTY
From Manhattan
Theresa Buchheister, junior, daughter of Jim and Carol Buchheister; Lucetta and Sylvia.
SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita
Andrew York, sophomore, son of Ben and Deborah York; Proteus.
MINNESOTA
From Eden Prairie
Mo Perry, senior, daughter of Richard and Deborah Perry; Sylvia and Lucetta.
NEBRASKA
From Omaha
I. Alexander Wolfson, senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wolfson; Speed.
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