Hans Altwies / Mike Ryan
The Two Gentleman of Verona
Shakespeare
Geva Theatre Center
1999
Photo: Ken Huth
…a swift and entertaining show. Director Tim Ocel…has turned one of Shakespeare's most maligned plays into a limber, refreshingly waggish contemporary retelling of the story… Ocel festoons the whole affair with amped-up characters and colorfully reworked scenes. …full of wonderful moments… more...
Considered one of Shakespeare's lesser plays, the romantic comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona gets a production worthy of a classic… Credit Tim Ocel, fast becoming one of the festival's most reliable directors, who demonstrated his understanding of how Shakespearean comedy and romance work in his delightful past productions of Twelfth Night and As You Like It. … Ocel circumvents the problematic plot with an engaging and spirited cast and a straightforward production that achieves its effects within ventive subtlety rather than frantic brio. more...
Shakespeare Santa Cruz stages a smart, modernized production of the play that's plenty of fun but that also fully exposes the uneasiness of its final accord. more...
The Two Gentleman of Verona
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, 1999
…Tim Ocel’s vigorous California-look Two Gentlemen, by far the better of the two Shakespeare shows… The plot's abrupt swerves make a kind of blunt sense here. …telling small touches… more...