Shakespeare in the Raw: Two Gentlemen of Verona

“Shakespeare in the Raw: A 70-minute Community Project” will be presented Saturday, February 26 at 7 pm in  Brookland Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall, located at 541 Meeting Street in West Columbia. The pilot project features an abridged version of the comedy “Two Gentlemen of Verona.” The one-performance event featuring fun and frolic for the whole family is the brainchild of local theatre director Cathy Brookshire and actor Katie Mixon, who wanted to try assembling a cast, rehearsing for one week only prior to the performance, and seeing what happens.

“Two Gentleman of Verona” is a story of real stupid love, macho men, and of course, outlaws – topped by a happy ending. What you won’t see at this performance is frills or pomp or circumstance. What you will experience is a stripped-down version of the play focusing on the text, performed by 10 actors and a dog. There may be kazoos.

Performers include some familiar and some new faces to the Midlands theatre community, with one actor, Adam Turck, joining the cast from Richmond, Virginia. Local actors include Lawson Giles, Charlie Goodrich, Katie Mixon, Tashera Pravato, Micah Tolbert, Ripley Thames, Linda Khoury, and Deon Turner.