THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
It’s intriguing but debatable, this speculation that the lives of 20th-century men are, compared to those of Elizabethan males, emotionally deprived. How do you measure feelings, much less measure them across the centuries? Then there’s the assumption that 20th-century actresses can evoke more emotion from roles than their psychologically stunted male colleagues can. That’s not just unprovable, it sounds like a dare, not unlike that stupid tennis championship match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
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Scogin, who has labored so well for the Bard in roles with Shakespeare Repertory, is perfectly at home in this play’s territory. That authenticity shows in all 11 performers, and best in the two gentlepersons. Considering her character’s duplicities, Jean Adamak as Proteus is surprisingly sympathetic; Adamak portrays him as impetuously infatuated rather than calculating or selfish. Since these are the excesses of a good heart, Valentine’s forgiveness here makes sense (as it didn’t in Center’s production). Kellie Lowery gives her ardent, decent Valentine an unflashy integrity; she refuses the temptation to play up his self-pity and presents what is more moving, Valentine’s bewilderment over a best friend’s betrayal.
