Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Presents THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, Summer 2013

For its eighteenth season of Free Shakespeare on The Common, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will present The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by CSC Artistic Director Steven Maler.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona follows the journey of two friends who leave their hometown of Verona to find their happy fortunes in Milan. Instead, they find temptation, trickery and trouble as they vie for favor with the high-society Duke... and his debutante daughter. All are drawn into a web of disguise and secrecy where the last thing anyone wants is for the truth to surface. Inspired by Rat Pack era Vegas, this rollicking comedy promises to enthrall audiences young and old. What happens in Milan, stays in Milan!

CSC continues its Commonwealth Concert Series of free concerts prior to many performances of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and its Family Day, a day of programming for young audiences and their families.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, best known for its annual free performances on Boston Common, is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 dedicated to bringing the works of William Shakespeare in vital and contemporary productions to the people of Boston and to educating Boston’s youth not only about Shakespeare but about their own potential for creativity. In addition to the annual Boston Common productions, CSC presents a summer “Tour of the Parks” program that tours Shakespeare-inspired programming designed for families to Boston neighborhood parks. Throughout the year, CSC regularly performs as a part of First Night Boston and also presents a free series called American Voices featuring script-in- hand readings of classic American plays. CSC fulfills its educational mission through its Summer Academy with programs for both high school students and pre-professional actors and throughout the year by partnering with area high schools and Boys and Girls Clubs to provide in- and after-school theatre training to inner-city youth. Recent productions include Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well (2012 Elliot Norton Award-winner for Best Production, Large Theater), Othello and The Comedy of Errors. For more information, visit www.commshakes.org.