Two Gentlemen of Verona – The Musical

In 1973 I was engaged to perform in Two Gentlemen of Verona, a new musical by Galt MacDermot (music, of Hair fame), John Guare and Mel Shapiro (book; Shapiro also directed the show), based on Shakespeare’s play by the same name. The rehearsal period and entire run of the show turned out to be one of the most thrilling periods of my life in the theatre. Straight from Broadway, Eivind Harum (of Norwegian origin) had the choreography – a wonderful guy to work with. Barthold Halle, with whom I had the pleasure of working with in several productions over the years, directed the Norwegian production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

After tryout runs at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (NYC) and some 20 previews, Two Gentlemen of Verona premiered on Broadway at the St James Theatre on December 1st, 1971.  A huge success and in competition with shows such as Grease and Follies, Two Gentlemen of Verona won the Tony Awards for best musical and best book for a musical.

The show ran for nearly two years and has since been revived at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival (1996, directed by Robert Duke and starring Philip Hernandez and Dana M. Reeve), at the Public Theater in their Shakespeare in the Park series for a limited run, from August 28, 2005, to September 11, 2005, at the Delacorte Theater  (Kathleen Marshall directed and choreographed, and the cast featured Norm Lewis | Valentine; Oscar Isaac | Proteus; Rosario Dawson | Julia; Renée Elise Goldsberry | Silvia; Paolo Montalban | Eglamour; Mel Johnson Jr. | Duke of Milan; and John Cariani | Speed)

On April 26th in 1973, two years after its opening on Broadway, the production was an equally successful hit at the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End and the show ran for 237 performances. That same year the production opened on October 26th in Oslo, Norway (see link below) to huge acclaim from critics and public alike.

Show Details

Show

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Music

Galt MacDermot

Lyrics

John Guare

Book

John Guare, Mel Shapiro

Recording Details

Date

1973

Type

Audio / Stage Cast

Method

Studio

Language

English

Location

UK / England / London

Theatre/Venue

Phoenix Theatre

Group/Studio

New York Shakespeare Festival

Recording Studio

CBS Studios

Producer

Eric Holland

Engineer

Mike Ross 

Director

Mel Shapiro 

Music Director

Clive Chaplin 

Performer

Shirley Allan, B. J. Arnau | Sylvia; Helen Chappelle, Veronica Clifford | Lucetta; Terence Conoley | Antonio/Tavern Host; Michael Cowie, Ray C. Davis | Proteus; Patricia Ebigwei, Lucy Fenwick, Brett Forrest, Jean Gilbert | Julia; Minoo Golvala | Eglamour; Derek Griffiths | Thurio; Jack Gunn, Dickie Harris, Patricia Hodge, Tony Houghton, Terry Hyde, Diane Langton, Benny Lee | Launce; Paul Magrath, Chris Melville, Clive Molloy, Vicky Silva, Michael Staniforth | Speed; Keefe West | Duke of Milan; Domini Winter, Johnny Worthy, Samuel E. Wright | Valentine

Releases

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