Oct. 12th, 2011

Two Gents

Oct. 12th, 2011 09:05 pm
tealin: (Default)
HEY ANGELENOS! (and anyone passing through on a Saturday...)

You know what's a good time? The Two Gentlemen of Verona! I went, I saw, I grinned like an idiot through the whole thing, and you can too. In the director's notes in the program it's proposed that in this play you can see Shakespeare inventing modern theatre – I posit that he did not only invent modern theatre, but the slacker douchebag romcom as well. And he made it more fun and less obnoxious than do most practitioners of the craft today – how many times has Seth Rogen become king of the outlaws, eh? Then again a significant portion of the entertainment value might have been down to the magic pixie dust the ISCLA seems to sprinkle on whatever they do. They may protest that they're just working with what's in the material already, but I know magic pixie dust when I see it; I do work at Disney after all.

I knew almost nothing about this play before I went, beyond what was in their newsletter:
Love!
Betrayal!
Music!
Anarchy!
A Dog!
It is all true! I would also like to add: Minstrels! Brigands! Crossdressing! A Rope Ladder! (Seriously, the rope ladder scene was probably my favourite.) Anyway, you don't need to know it before you go. Do not fear the Shakespeare: it is completely accessible and you will have no problem figuring out what's going on. I challenge anyone who thinks Shakespeare is pretentious not to laugh at the farting dog jokes (of which there are plenty). And if you had Shakespeare ruined for you at school, this is a great chance to learn why his plays have lasted for over 400 years and how they don't have to be boring and stuffy just because they're old and taught in school.

It's playing at the ISCLA's new studio space in Atwater Village every Saturday at 5pm and 8pm till November 12. Tickets are $20 – most of the folks I know in LA are on a shoestring, but for an 80% Equity cast and no bad seat in the very small house, for a price not much more than an evening movie ticket, that's a bargain. And you're helping a worthy company pay their rent, which is downright noble! To paraphrase Terry Pratchett, 'You put money in, you get Shakespeare out' ... that's a favourable equation. :)

Oh, and if you think you don't like slacker douchebag comedies, take heart: for all that Proteus is itching for a dope slap, Valentine is eminently sympathetic and Julia rocks. There's something for everyone! (And a dog!)

I hope I've managed to make all you non-LA people very jealous. The tables are turned! (On one count at least.) Hah!

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