Emily Kelly Performs in 'Two Gentlemen of Verona'

2017 Mar 9

A talented cast and crew of Eastern Connecticut State University students recently performed in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the second Main Stage production of the 2016-17 academic year. The Shakespearean musical included Emily Kelly '20 of Meriden, who was a member of the ensemble. Kelly majors in Theatre.

The play was an adaptation of Shakespeare's early comedy about young people exploring love, friendship and the temptations of city life. It ran from Feb. 23 to March 5 and was the first Eastern production to feature a live band of musicians in the pit of the new Proscenium Theatre. The show's intermission featured a fashion show, showcasing the creations by students in Eastern's costume-fashion design minor.

Speaking to the challenges of this production, Kelly said, "Having to work as a whole to achieve a rock opera sound was very difficult and required all of us to give it our all."

Speaking to performing in the debut season of Eastern's Proscenium Theatre, Kelly added, "It makes me feel special that one day I'll be able to say I was in the first musical to take place on that stage."

Originally produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival, "Two Gentlemen of Verona" was adapted by award-winning playwright John Guare. It received rave reviews after its December 1971 opening and won the Tony Award for Best Musical of 1972.

"'Two Gentlemen of Verona' was the third Broadway production I ever saw. I was 10 years old," said Theatre Professor David Pellegrini, director of the play at Eastern. "It endured in my mind as a show I would like to direct. My father fostered my early love of theatre, and I remember vividly our discussion on the way home about how the Shakespearean verse and allusions were modernized so ingeniously in this show.

"I could not have wished for a more hardworking and talented cast and imaginative collaborators," said Pelligrini. "They all worked at the top of their games, especially our student designers who inhabited the space with stunning scenic, lighting and media concepts."

"Two Gentlemen of Verona" was presented by Eastern's Theatre Program and Drama Society.