LIVE THEATER AND MUSICAL
PRODUCTIONS AROUND EASTERN OREGON
7
CURTAIN CALL
MAY 4�11, 2022
A twist on ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’
See the show May
13-14 at BMCC in
Pendleton
By Jennifer Colton
Go! Magazine
P
ENDLETON — “The Two
Gentlemen of Verona” will
come to the stage in Pendleton
on May 13-14 with a lively cast
of Shakespearean characters
people may not be familiar with.
In this version of “Two Gentle-
men,” the titular gentlemen won’t
be played by men at all. Abby
Hale will play Valentine, the young
man who leaves for Milan with his
servant, Speed, and sets the ac-
tion in motion. Carly Elder is Pro-
teus, Valentine’s best friend, who
joins Valentine in Milan, along
with his servant, Launce. With
Valentine and Proteus reunited,
hijinks ensue involving overlap-
ping love triangles, disguises and
a band of outlaws.
“This play is quite charming
and quite funny,” director Grant
Turner said.
Launce and Speed are not
“the” two gentlemen of Verona,
but the servant duo — and
Launce’s dog, Crab — steal
parts of the show.
“The interactions between
the characters, the subtle jokes,
those are some of the most
golden parts of this show,”
said Chris Dennett, who plays
Launce. “My favorite part so far
is getting to do prop comedy. To
fi nd prop comedy in a Shake-
speare play where I didn’t know
that existed before has been a
lot of fun. The more and more
I read Launce, I said, ‘This is a
funny, funny part, and I’m really
going to like doing this.’”
The prop comedy of Launce
— including a shoe, a cane and,
yes, a live animal on stage —
contrasts with the witty Speed,
played by Christian Quinlin.
“My favorite part of this char-
acter is that he’s supposedly
the smartest character — and
he believes he is — but he is
also somewhat of a smart-ass
the whole time. He’s quick-
witted and very fun to play out,”
Quinlin said.
Turner said although the play
was written in the late 1500s,
the characters, themes and the
humor are still relatable.
“I always look forward to the
idea of introducing an audience
who think they’re going to hate
this stuff to a new experience,”
Turner said. “It’s our job as ac-
We thank these Chambers Members
for their continued support
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Jennifer Colton/Go Magazine
Launce (Chris Dennett), left, and Speed (Christian Quinlin) rehearse “The Two
Gentlemen of Verona,” which will be presented May 13 and 14 in Pendleton.
tors to understand what these
500-year-old jokes mean and
communicate them in a way the
audience will understand. I al-
ways look forward to that chal-
lenge.”
Ellen Paulson plays Julia and
said she was afraid she would
struggle with the language but
quickly understood the story in
the fi rst reading.
“The characters are so
relatable,” she said. “Everyone
has a Proteus and everyone
has a Lucetta in their lives. In a
way we’re still dealing with the
same things.”
“The Two Gentlemen of Ve-
rona” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
May 13 and May 14 at the Bob
Clapp Theater on the campus
of Blue Mountain Community
College, 2411 NW Carden.
Tickets are $18 on elginopera-
house.com.
“The Two Gentlemen of
Verona” will also be presented
in June as part of the Opera
House Shakespeare Festival
in Elgin.
18th Annual Old Iron Show
Roy Raley Park Pendleton, Oregon
Friday & Saturday,
June 3 rd & 4 th
8am - Dusk
Sunday, June 5 th
8am - 1pm
For more information call: Mark 541-303-3309 • Bill 541-240-9023 • Jack 541-310-0583