\u201cThere\u2019s two friends, one travels abroad, the other one is sent abroad by his father, they both fall in love with the same woman, and antics ensue with betrayal and lies and deceit, and then the whole time the women are just awesome and the idiots are dumb,\u201d said Niko Pantovich Gonzales, who plays Lance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Shakespeare\u2019s Two Gents<\/em> was written in the late 1500s, Director Jim Cairl is presenting the show with a 1990s theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I read the play again, I was trying to find relevant points to today. And one thing that really hit me was, it felt very much like a \u201990s rom-com \u2014 specifically, it reminds me of Can\u2019t Hardly Wait<\/em>,\u201d Cairl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel like there\u2019s often a 20-year period where we start to look back on things with nostalgia, and we are right in that \u201990s\u2013early 2000s transition time, so it felt right for now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cairl is returning to direct Two Gents<\/em> after taking over the direction of last year\u2019s Shakespeare in the Park production, Twelfth Night<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing invited back, and meeting all new people, and seeing the talent in the community, and how willing they are to step up and play and explore the text, it is just, it\u2019s an easy show, it is an easy cast to direct, so it\u2019s been my pleasure 100%,\u201d Cairl said.<\/p>\n\n\n Even though the men fall madly in love with the women they barely know, the women in The Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/em> are strong and independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe women in this play have this incredible agency, and know what they want, and are willing to break incredible rules and barriers to get what they want,\u201d Cairl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Susa Smith plays Julia, a leading lady who journeys to Milan on her own, disguised as a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s very fun, she\u2019s got a lot of personality, she\u2019s very comedic but also a very sensitive and emotional character, which makes her even better,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is Smith\u2019s first production with Telluride Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been very different from other Shakespeare experiences I\u2019ve had in the past before. So many people who want to work their best and come in and do hard good work, and are really trying and putting their all in, and have a lot of community together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After several months of rehearsal, the company is excited to bring Two Gents<\/em> to life with an audience on opening night \u2014 the final ingredient in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t show up because \u2018Oh \u2026 there\u2019s a Shakespeare,\u2019 they show up because it is<\/em> Shakespeare, because so much love and energy and hard work goes into it, people are stoked to show up, and we\u2019re stoked to show them that,\u201d Pantovich Gonzales said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTheater is a community event, it doesn\u2019t happen without the audience. There\u2019s something about being together, witnessing something live, that has kept going for thousands of years. I love that this community turns out for theater, I expect and hope that they will. It\u2019s always heartwarming to see a full house,\u201d Cairl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"During](\"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_8267-990x657.jpg\")