Ah, William Shakespeare, master of the tricky, ambiguous title (Much Ado About Nothing? Tell that to the characters -- oh, okay, right. The Taming of the Shrew? As if. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, one of whom is not so gentlemanly, but maybe that’s because the real second gentleman here? It’s . . . a lady, as Leon Phelps would say). This latter comedy by the Bard of Avon, an introduction to his frequent tropes of chicks dressing as dudes, aristocrats running around the forest for stupid reasons, the Bro Code getting broken, and lovers taking their betrayers back for no good cause, is the current entry in Southwest Shakespeare Company’s season, at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street, through Saturday, October 26, including at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 17.
The production’s set in a Prohibition Chicago-style world: kind of Gatsby meets Capone. And there’s a live puppy dog and Ian Christensen, each of which features in many of our favorite plays. Tickets range from $24 to $35 at 480-644-6500 or www.mesaartscenter.com/index.php/shows/theater/thetwogentlemenofverona.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 12, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 26, 2 p.m. Starts: Oct. 11. Continues through Oct. 20, 2013
