Nadeem Phillip and Charlie Gallant are the handsome—and unwoke—gentlemen.
Thanks to director Scott Bellis, silent woman make the loudest statement in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Warning: I’m going to give away some major plot points here, but I will not give away what makes their realization so wonderful in this production.
This comedy is famously problematic because of its bizarre treatment of an attempted rape. Proteus and Valentine, the eponymous two gentlemen, value their friendship so highly that, when Proteus sexually assaults Silvia, who is the object of Valentine’s romantic aspirations, Valentine is enraged, but only for about 20 seconds. When Proteus begs his forgiveness, Valentine not only bestows it, he also jovially offers Silvia to his friend “All that was mine in Silvia I give to thee.” But Proteus chooses Julia, the woman he previously abandoned to pursue Silvia. As the men celebrate their acquisitions, the women stay mute. [Read more…]
