A play for all seasons: Folger's 'Winter's Tale'

Hermione (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) and Polixenes (Drew Kopas) talk stayovers in Folger Theatre's The Winter Tale; Brittany Diliberto, photo

Shakespeare is alive and well at the newly renovated Folger Theatre, inaugurated by one of the master's so-called "problem plays," simply defined as a mixture of drama and comedy, a "tragicomedy," the latter scattered throughout The Winter's Tale.

Sex, murder, and (surprise!) a love triangle  take center stage as the jealous King Leontes (Hadi Tabbal) falsely accuses his wife, the pregnant Hermione (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) of infidelity with his best friend, Polixenes (Drew Kopas), king of Bohemia.

King Leontes sends his wife to prison for her supposed infidelity where she dies after giving birth to Perdita. 

Grief stricken over the death of his mother causes Leontes and Hermione's beloved son, Mamillius (Richard Bradford and/or Clarence Michael Payne) to fall ill and die, one of the play's tragedies.

But back to the baby whom King Leontes proceeds to exile in what turns out to be, yep, Bohemia, where she is raised by shepherds for sixteen years and falls in love with the son of Leontes's friend, who is - surprise!- Polixenes.  

When Perdita (Kayleandra White) returns home, a statue of Hermione miraculously "comes to life," and everyone is reconciled for another of the master's happy endings. (Shakespeare has a way of tying all the loose ends together for what is a story with a happy ending in the middle? Not a good one!)

When Hermione's friend, Paulina (Kate Eastwood Norris) tries to persuade the king of his irrationality, one wishes that Pauline's words prevailed in today's political discourse: 

The silence often of pure innocence

Persuades when speaking fails.

his stay in Sicilia.
King Leontes (Hadi Tabbel) talks evil with Camillo (Cody Nickell) in Folger Theatre's The Winter Tale; Brittany Diliberto, photohis st

The powerful performance of Hadi Tabbal as King Leontes is dramatic with delivery and actions which easily command every scene he's in, as it should be. 

At the end when all the living players are united, and Hermione comes alive from her statuesque position to enchant her husband all over again, there is much rejoicing and good cheer. 

Shakespeare even tries to assuage Paulina's sorrow over the death of her husband, Antigonus (Stephen Patrick Martin), who has been killed by a bear while sleeping on the Bohemian beach to protect the infant, by marrying Camillo (Cody Nickell). (You have to be there.)

(One of the marvels of the show was Crowe-Legacy's ability to stand silently without movement for several minutes like the statue she was, and my proximity to the stage allowed me to view her closely.) 

The Winter's Tale is one for all seasons for it kept me going all night without my breaking into slumber which usually is my condition around the second act.

Raul Abrego, Jr.'s minimalist scenic design detracts none from the action and dialogue, often seized by the whimsy of Autolycus (Reza Salazar) who periodically shows off his shiny new bicycle with a radio to streak across the stage and into the background (with sound).

Costume designer Sarah Cubbage mixes up the old with the new which fits Autolycus's antics just fine.

All's well that ends well which it does here for we like happy endings, especially at this time of year! Thank you, Folger and Shakespeare.

Other cast members are Nicholas Gerwitz, Jonathan Del Palmer, and Sabrina Lynne Sawyer.

 

The creative team included Tamilla Woodard, director;  Chelsea Dean, properties; Max Doolittle, lighting; Matthew M. Nielson, sound and composer.

Also, Kaja Dunn, intimacy; Joya Powell, choreographer; LaShawn Melton, hair and wigs; Michele Osherow, dramaturg; Lisa Nathans, vocal coach; Leigh Robinette and Taylor Kiechlin, production stage managers; Kacie Pimentel, assistant stage manager; Shana Laski, assistant director; and Tara-Whitney Rison, assistant to the director.

Folger's Winter's Tale is one of 12 different Shakespeare productions in the District's  Shakespeare Everywhere Festival, some performed through the end of the year.

(It always benefits me to read a summary of the play before I see it, rather like reading up on a country's history and culture before I visit it.)  

What: The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

When: Now through Dec.17, 2023

Where: Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, D.C. 20003

Tickets: Buy online, by phone (202-544-7077), or at the box office.

Metro station: Capitol South or Union Station

For more information: 202-544-4600 or info@folger.edu

Duration:  2.5 hours with one 15-minute intermission

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Alexandria has greatness thrust upon it

Noah Mutterperl is Shakespeare in Little Theatre of Alexandria's ''Something Rotten''/Photo by Matthew Randall

There's nothing "rotten" in Alexandria recently named by Travel and Leisure to the nation's Top 15 Best Cities to visit,* but Something Rotten at Little Theatre of Alexandria has got the whole crew and townspeople eggstraeggcited (?) and happy.

Theatregoers, this show is LTA's best musical comedy ever!  

Chuck Dluhy (left) is Nostradamus and Matt Liptak is Nick Bottom in Little Theatre of Alexandria's 'Something Rotten'/Photo by Matthew Randall

Immense will power to bring this off was required of director Frank D. Shutts II and choreographer Stefan Sittig who met the challenges with wondrous excellence.

The centerpiece is one William Shakespeare and the competition to beat him, can it be?

Evan Zimmerman, left, is Robin with ensemble members, Daniel Boos, center, and Josh Mutterperl in Little Theatre of Alexandria's 'Something Rotten'/Photo by Matthew Randall

Never fear, Shakespeare sufferers:  Knowledge of the bard's works is not required.  But, surely, you've seen at least one of 30-odd shows mentioned in the production?**

The title, Something Rotten comes from one of the bard's plays***, but this Rotten of 1595 finds two brothers in England with a sad last name (Bottom) competing to top the best and write the world's first musical.

As soon as laugh-a-minute Nostredamus (Chuck Dluhy) makes his appearance, it's non-stop hilarity, amplified by the increasingly wild gyrations of eggomaniac Elvis Shakyspeare (Noah Mutterperl) who rattles and roils the stage.  

He bears a charmed life.

Evan Zimmerman is Robin, another favorite actor, who never abandons long frocks to dance with delight and glide across the stage as if hopscotching the clouds,  floating across the sky in new apparel each time.  

Speaking of frocks, costumers Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley, aided by wardrobe coordinator, Robin Worthington, skilfully outfit the cast of 23, most in multiple scenes and most in different dress.

Hair and makeup artist Robin Maline has her hands full, perfecting the looks of Elizabethan characters in exceptional manner.

Lighting designer Ken and Patti Crowley are busy, giving the audience an "aaahhhh" moment when brother Nigel Bottom (Jack Dalrymple) and Portia (Katie Conn) realize in a starstruck milli-second, that the other is their one and only. Lights flicker, hearts flutter and pounding pulses could be heard, or maybe that was just the effect created by sound designer David Correia.

Christopher A. Tomasino leads an orchestra of nine  unseen-but-well-heard-and-received musicians who add tremendous depth and enjoyment to the show.  

These performers are Gwyn Jones, Terry Bradley, John Fargo, Emilie Taylor, Tom Fuller, Francine Krasowska, Mila Weiss, and on alternate nights, Randy Dahlberg, Ruben Vellecoop, Bill Wright and Scott Fridy. 

In real life, brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick spent years talking about this play before they finally got down with John O'Farrell to put it all together and write the book, music and lyrics. 

(Read about their odyssey here.)

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."

In 2015 Rotten received nominations for nine Tonys, eight Drama Desks, and 11 Outer Critics Circle Awards and I wondered why it only lasted for 708 performances on Broadway, but it's here now, and that's what counts.

Other cast members are Brian Ash, Marcus Barbret, Brittany Bolick, Daniel Boos, Paul Caffrey, Peter Fannon, Odette Gutierrez del Arroyo, Julia Hornok (dance captain), Matt Liptak, J.P. McElyea, Luke Martin, Amanda Mason, Josh Mutterperl, Eddie Perez, Anna Phillips-Brown, Mary Rodrigues, Andrew Sanchez, and Lourdes Turnblom.

The production and technical crew:  Russell M. Wyland, technical director, rigging and co-producer with Rachel Alberts and Robbie Herbst ; Helen Bard-Sobola and Margaret Chapman, properties; Robert S. Barr Jr., sets; Myke, set dressing;  Luana Bossolo, Jim Hutzler, Mary Hutzler, Jeff Nesmeyer, set painting and construction; 

Also, Jennifer Rhorer and Sherry Clarke, stage managers, and Jacquanna David, assistant to the director.

The Kennedy Center might just want to cross the Potomac, take a look and import this cast and crew!

*Alexandria was #8 in readers' choices. 

** At the theatre, ushers give theatregoers a list of 31 musicals referenced in Something Rotten, but there's more.  Which four did it omit?  

***Hamlet has the reference to "something rotten."

What: Something Rotten

When: Now through August 13, 2022, Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.

Where: The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Tickets: $29, weekdays; $34, weekends. 

Duration: About two hours plus one 15-minute intermission.

Fowl language: Many "s" words

Masks and vaccine cards or proof of a negative covid test within 48 hours of show time are required. No exceptions.

Public transportation: Check the Metro and Dash bus websites. Dash is free to ride and has routes which are close to LTA.

Parking: On the streets and in many garages nearby with free parking during performances at Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets.

For more information: Box Office: 703-683-0496; Business: 703-683-5778. boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com or Asklta@thelittletheatre.com

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Folger's 'Timon of Athens,' a dark tale

 
Ian Merrill Peakes is surrounded by creditors in Timon of Athens now at the Folger/Photo by Theresa Wood


If this is a difficult William Shakespeare play, those watching at the Folger Theatre never let on, for they sat in rapt suspension on the edges of their seats, glued to the manipulations and greed of "friends" on stage who surround Timon of Athens. 

Timon is the sun around whom mankind swirls until it doesn't.

By a series of stealthy, slow motions, the evildoers abandon their money source, Timon, when they learn they cannot extract more from him who gives to them willfully, while he ignores warning signs from the only truthful person of the lot, his faithful steward, Flavius, who observes Timon's soaring debts.

"Every man has his fault, and honesty is his," claims Lucullus, one of the users. 

 And then what? 

Will his pals dole out a wee bit to help their friend survive after all he has given to them? 

Not on their lives.

“Has friendship such a faint and milky heart, It turns in less than two nights?” a servant asks. 

When truth finally arrives as Flavius foretold, Timon cannot take it any more and escapes to the forest to seek solace, find answers, and berate himself, all the while experiencing increasing enmity of all that is mankind.

"Timon will to the woods, where he shall find
Th’unkindest beast more kinder than mankind," he says

But even in solitude, in the woods, his pessimism prevails to envelop nature's beauty which Timon is unable to see, consumed by his detest of all things living. In his new environment he projects man's dishonesty and deceit upon his surroundings.

Has it come to this?

 Ian Merrill Peakes stars in Timon of Athens now at the Folger/Photo by Theresa Wood

At Opera Lafayette last night I actually met a misanthrope like Timon!  One I never would have recognized had I had not seen the play and read more about the man.  I was stunned to realize these people actually exist. (Call me naive.) She, a scientist for EPA (is it any wonder?), who said to a stranger she could never see a play again because all human beings are the same, lowlifes and cunning, who take her down.  ("Down"?  Further than she is?)  

Back to "make believe" at the Folger: Robert Richmond directs Ian Merrill Peakes as Timon in a knockout performance.

The play's futuristic, colored lighting in strings of squares and rectangles (by Andrew Griffin) outline the dark, stark set (by Tony Cisek) which is designed like a cold, bizarre space ship, the inside of a tomb, lacking any color save the blue coats (the tomb's quilted linings) worn by unearthly beings on the make, occupiers of the premises. 

Haunting sounds full of tension and edge (by Matt Otto)  echo throughout this underground aboveground.

Why host one of the master's most unpopular plays? An unfinished play, too.  It's not all about the money.

This town is full of Shakespeare lovers, and the near sellouts of the remaining play nights are proof.

According to program notes, Timon has gained traction in the last 20 years. Shakespeare and his likely collaborator, Thomas Middleton, wrote it probably between 1605 and 1606 about the time King James I and the upper classes were spending wildly, heavily in debt, when Shakespeare was working on Anthony and Cleopatra.

Wikipedia says there is no evidence Timon was performed during Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616). 

Shakespeare partially derived his tale from Plutarch's Lives, one of his favorite sources, which says Timon from Athens had a reputation as a misanthropist. His father was a rich man who bestowed gifts upon friends who left when the money ran out, and Timon found himself working in the fields.

Supposedly, Timonium, Maryland up the road about an hour, was named by a woman in mourning after her wealthy landowner of a husband died at a young age.  The town is the burial site of Vice President Spiro Agnew (1918-1996) who served under President Richard Nixon before Agnew resigned in disgrace, another tragedy,  but I digress.

Notable authors who have utilized Timon are Thomas Hardy, Karl Marx, Charlotte Bronte, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Dickens, and Vladimir Nabokov who used a portion for his book title:

"The moon's an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun," Timon says.

 Herman Melville considered Timon "to be among the most profound of Shakespeare's plays," according to Wikipedia. That it is!

Also starring are Louis Butelli, Aliyah Caldwell, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, John Floyd, Amanda Forstrom, Sean Fri, Eric Hissom, Andhy Mendez, Antoineet Robinson, Michael Dix Thomas, and Kathryn Tkel.

Members of the creative team include Mariah Hale, costumes; Francesca Talenti, projection; Michele Osherow, resident dramaturg; Diane Healy, production stage manager; Megan Ball, assistant stage manager, Joe Isenberg, fight director, Michele Osherow, resident dramaturg, and Janet Alexander Griffin, artistic producer.

This is the last of the Folger's productions for the 2016-17 series. Anthony and Cleopatra opens next year's season on October 10, 2017 under Mr. Richmond's direction.

What: Timon of Athens

When: Now through June 11, 2017

Where: Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, S. E. Washington, D.C. 20003

Tickets: Buy online, by phone (at 202-544-7077 from 12 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with extended hours on performance days), or at the box office (with the same hours as phone service). Tickets start at $25 with discounts for groups, students, seniors, military, and educators.

Metro station: Capitol South or Union Station

For more information: 202-544-4600 or info@folger.edu

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Olney's 'Tempest' enchants crowd

In Olney Theater Center's The Tempest, King Alonso (Ian LeValley), center, and his men are stunned by magic they find on the island where Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded/Photo by Stan Barouh 

The more you see (and hear) him, the more you love William Shakespeare, and the presentation by Olney Theatre Center in its outdoor arena will intensify your ardor.

Olney's Tempest is a delightful frolic for actors and audience members alike, and although the show is billed as best for those ages eight and above, some who appeared several years younger were spied enjoying themselves as much as their parents.

To listen to the words of the master accompanied by nature's nightly medley of the bugs is a heavenly experience although evil spirits lurk nearby.

The setting is the sea and an island where Prospero (Craig Wallace), a little too boisterous at times, has been marooned with his daughter, Miranda (Leah Filley), for 12 years, after his brother, Antonio (Paul Morella), and the King of Naples, Alonso (Ian LeValley), colluded to rob Prospero of his kingdom of Milan and banish father and daughter to the neverland. 

Prospero uses special powers gained from reading all the books supplied in their drift away boat by his kind counselor, Gonzalo (Alan Wade) to craft a "tempest" and bring those to shore who done him wrong. (You see what books can do!)

Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom

It's payback time.

A mystical spirit, Ariel (Julie-Ann Elliott), visible only to Prospero (and the audience), a standout on stage, flits and floats like a fairy in her lighted dress, an ethereal presence who assists Prospero.  Her splendid red-winged costume (by Pei Lee) gave us to know Ariel was soon going to take flight to freedom. 

On the set are big, billowy cloths which hang floor to "ceiling" stage at angles like sails on the ship. 

The crew, all men in black, heave back and forth on the floating boat floor while the ship wrecks, stirring motions of seasickness among observers on land.

Stacked large white umbrellas shield stage exits as the backdrop which change color to effectively match the next scene's mood. 

What is Shakespeare without a myriad of characters to keep your mind swirling? And a little love? 

One character with a little sudden love in his heart is King Alonso's son, Ferdinand (Alexander Korman) who becomes only the second man Miranda has ever laid eyes on, and quite naturally, it is love at first sight.  This is Shakespeare!

"Forsooth, Papa, never have I laid eyes on a being so marvelous as there goeth," says Miranda (Leah Filley) to her father, Prospero (Craig Wallace) while she admires Ferdinand (Alexander Korman) in Olney Theater Center's The Tempest. Note the umbrella backdrop/Photo by Stan Barouh 

Despite the crimes committed against him, Prospero resists vengeance and chooses to forgive (and maybe, not forget) the wrongful acts committed against him and his daughter, reminding us 400 years later, the importance of overlooking imaginary and real slights we experience in everyday life and the benefits we gain once we delete the "hanging on."

Let us not burden our remembrances with a heaviness that's gone

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep

Before the play begins, strolling minstrels play guitar and horn while they sing (with some audience participation), "I Can See Clearly Now," and "Don't Stop Believin'" which enter the script nicely later on when the show may stop momentarily for necessary equipment adjustments.  

Elisheba Ittoop with Elvin J. Crespo and Will Rosas made the
storm crashing and gnashing sounds which cackle and bring the bad guys to shore with loud and lifelike effects, complemented by tiny raindrops which kept falling on our heads.

The play is a quick two+ hours which breezes by rapidly, made more charming by outside freedom.

Directing is Jason King Jones, the associate director and director of education at Olney.  Other members of the creative team are Charlie Calvert, scenic designer; Sonya Dowhaluk, lighting designer; and Casey Kaleba, fight choreographer, all to be heartily applauded with the remaining cast members, Ryan Mitchell, Paul Morella, Jacob Mundell, Christopher Richardson, Adam Turck, and Dan Van Why.

Composing half the cast are National Players veterans who are the mentors of current National Players ("America's longest running touring company") who appear in younger roles and are on tour in celebration of the Players' 66th year.  The National Players are based at the Olney.

The program includes a pictorial directory complete with titles and relationships to simplify comprehension.

It's believed that The Tempest is the last play William Shakespeare wrote independently, and is considered one of his finest.

What:  The Tempest by William Shakespeare

When:  8 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, through Sunday, August 3, 2014

Where: The outdoor Root Family Stage at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

How much: Tickets are $20, and there is no charge for children under age 11. 

You may bring lawn chairs, refreshments, bug repellant.

Refreshments:  Available for purchase

Parking: Abundant, free, and on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400

For more reviews of The Tempest and other plays, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

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Young troupe rescues 'Two Gentlemen of Verona'

Emily Young is the maid, Lucetta, and Jessie Austrian is her mistress, Julia, in William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen in Verona, now on stage at the Folger Theatre through May 25, 2014/Photo by Theresa Wood

In the first act, they needed help. 

It's the script which is not quite as lively as throwing torn love letters up in the air with feverish frequency like the action in Folger Theatre's latest William Shakespeare production, Two Gentlemen of Verona, but it's all in good fun.

Zachary Fine is Valentine walking through one of the many letter showers in William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen in Verona, now on stage at the Folger Theatre through May 25, 2014/Photo by Theresa Wood

The performers who bring what is generally considered the playwright's weakest (and perhaps his first) play to life with delight are the six-members of New York's Fiasco Theater, mostly graduates of the Brown University/Trinity Rep theatre arts program (with an outlier from the University of Tennessee) who launched their own company when they could not find jobs.  And what a happy ensemble it is.

Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head

And that was before.

In multiple articles the New York Times has praised the mastery of the New York City teachers and actors who make their debut in Washington with the smallest cast of any Shakespeare play .

Two Gentlemen is deemed a comedy and in two scenes, the actors had to take a few seconds to regain composure. Andy Grotelueschen stifled laughter when he briefly appeared as a maid in appropriate garb and matching cap which contrasted nicely with his thick red beard and made the audience howl. 

He's a maid? Andy Grotelueschen has multiple roles in William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen in Verona, now on stage at the Folger Theatre through May 25, 2014/Photo by Theresa Wood

Grotelueschen is one of three who have multiple roles. Emily Young is Sylvia (pursued by the "two gentlemen") and Lucetta, who is maid for Julia (Jessie Austrian, also the co-director), who is the (temporary) love of one of the two gentlemen, Proteus (Noah Brody) who becomes the subject of ridicule by his best friend, Valentine (Zachary Fine) who mocks Proteus for being blinded by love of Julia and neglect of his own worldly pursuits.  Say what?

Says Proteus:

I leave myself, my friends and all, for love.
Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me,
Made me neglect my studies, lose my time,
War with good counsel, set the world at nought;
Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.

(Does any of this sound familiar? If not, forsooth and alas, you have never experienced love.)

Haunted by Valentine's words, Proteus follows Valentine to Milan where Proteus becomes enchanted with thoughts of capturing his best pal's gal, Sylvia. But her father, the Duke (Paul L. Coffey), has other ideas and wants Sylvia to link with the wealthy but undesirable Thurio (Grotelueschen).  Suspicious of a relationship between his daughter and Valentine, the Duke keeps Sylvia locked in a tower to thwart ambitions not his own.

Valentine tells Proteus he intends to climb a ladder to free Sylvia from the tower, but Proteus betrays Valentine and squeals the plan to the Duke who banishes that unwanted suitor.

So much for love and friendship.  Which comes first?

Best friends forever are Valentine (Zachary Fine), left, and Proteus (Noah Brody) in William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen in Verona, now on stage at the Folger Theatre through May 25, 2014/Photo by Theresa Wood

Meanwhile, Julia dresses up like a boy (it is Shakespeare) to spy on Proteus in Milan and find out what's going on.

She dreams of him that has forgot her love;
You dote on her that cares not for your love.
'Tis pity love should be so contrary;
And thinking of it makes me cry 'alas!'

If this sounds confusing, it is Shakespeare.  (It is always advantageous for us non-Shakespeare scholars to read ahead to gain some knowledge of who does what, to whom, where and when. And is there money involved?) 

The ending is happy, and all is well that ends well.

It is not a long play, lasting just about two hours with intermission.

The set is slim to almost non-existent (increasingly favored by the critics, it seems), and the characters never disappear but exit the wooden semi-circular stage to a slightly lower level where they sit in strategically placed chairs at 9, 10, 12 and 3 o'clock positions and watch the action or play the guitar, banjo, cello and other instruments, adding welcomed period ambiance to the play.  And they pull props for the next scene from large baskets which straddle their seats.  (James Kronzer is scenic designer.)

There are no costume changes other than additions or removals.  Designer Whitney Locher dresses the men mostly in F. Scott Fitzgerald beiges and whites with vests and spats (indeed, Mr. Fine does suggest Mr. Fitzgerald with his sleek hair), and Ms. Young wears a simple, cream-colored dress with appliques (Kate Middleton would love) which works well when covered by an apron and a maid's cap on her head when Lucetta is speaking, and shed when she becomes Sylvia.  

Ms. Young's transition from one character to another mirror the effective changes the other actors make.  (Coffey is also Speed, Valentine's servant, and Grotelueschen, Lance or Launce (both are used) who works for Proteus.)  That the quality of acting is excellent is expected and realized.

It is hard to grasp that a "weak" Shakespeare exists, but for all the playwright's aficionados in the land, this is one they'll mostly love, like the Fiasco members whose exuberance is palpable and easily transfers to the audience (after the first act).

O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day,
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
And by and by a cloud takes all away!

Ben Steinfeld co-directs, and Tim Cryan is lighting director.

After they complete Two Gentlemen, Fiasco performs Cymbeline at the Folger from May 28 through June 1.

What:  Two Gentlemen of Verona

When: Now through May 25, 2014

Where: Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, S. E. Washington, D.C. 20003

Tickets: $40 - $72 with discounts for groups, students, seniors, military, and educators

Metro station: Capitol South or Union Station

For more information: 202.544.7077 or 202.544.4600

Other Two Gentlemen events at the Folger are:

Pre-Show Talk
Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 p.m.
A scholarly discussion of the play with Folger Director Michael Witmore and a light fare reception. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets ($15).

Post-Show Talk with Cast
Thursday, May 8
Following the 7:30 p.m. performance

Folger Friday
Friday, May 9, 6 p.m.
Poets Michael Gushue and Regie Cabico respond to the play with original works.  Free

James Shapiro, Shakespeare author and scholar
Monday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.
Shapiro will discuss his newest book, Shakespeare in America, with a reception to follow ($15).

Open-Captioned
Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m.
The box office has details (202.544.7077).

Special Preview Screening
Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m.
Still Dreaming, the story of a remarkable version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged by Fiasco directors Brody and Steinfeld and a lively group of elderly entertainers from New Jersey’s Lillian Booth Actors Home. Reserve here ($20).

Exhibition in the Great Hall
Now through June 15
Shakespeare's The Thing, an exhibition in celebration of his 450th birthday which demonstrate his influence on the visual arts, performance and scholarship.

For more area productions and reviews, check out DC Metro Theater Arts.

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