The Two Noble Kinsmen
Written by William Shakespeare & John Fletcher
Directed by Kevin Wetmore
Presented on July 17, YouTube Live
Shakespeare's last play, written with John Fletcher, who replaced him as the resident playwright of the King's Men, is based on a story from Chaucer. Theseus, the king of Athens, at the request of three queens whose husbands have been killed and remain unburied at the order of the wicked King Creon of Thebes, invades that city and conquers it. Cousins Palamon and Arcite, the two noblest warriors in Thebes, are taken prisoner. Both fall in love with Theseus's sister-in-law Emelia and escape prison to pursue her, while their jailer's daughter has fallen madly in love with Palamon - literally. She goes crazy when he does not return her love. Shakespeare's final play concerns friendship and the pain of unrequited love, resolving these doomed relationships in an unexpected yet oddly satisfying way.
Cast
Anna Sahlstrom (PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE), Juan Sebastian Bernal (A BOY, Singing at the Wedding of Hippolyta and Theseus. (PALAMON), Anthony Topsfield (ARCITE), Sebastian Segura (THESEUS, Duke of Athens), Heather Ann Gottlieb (HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons, later Duchess of Athens), Madison Hansen (EMILIA, her sister), Niall Sulcer (PIRITHOUS, friend to Theseus), Olivia Oreskovich (ARTESIUS, friend to Theseus and court messenger, LUCE, Countrywoman at the Morris Dance), Jessica Nicole Dickerson (FIRST QUEEN), Esmé Brown (SECOND QUEEN, FRITZ, Countrywoman at the Morris Dance), Annabeth Amarasuriya (THIRD QUEEN, Barbary, Countrywoman at the Morris Dance), Sam Pribyl (The JAILER of Theseus’s prison), Zoe Carr (The Jailer’s DAUGHTER), Joshua Merwise (The Jailer’s BROTHER, FOURTH COUNTRYMAN), Kaushal Patel (The WOOER of the Jailer’s daughter), Sika Lonner (FRIEND of the Jailer), Blake Weise (FRIEND of the Jailer, VALERIUS, a Theban, SIXTH COUNTRYMAN), Lacy Hornick (A DOCTOR, A SCHOOLMASTER), Sarah Chabin (WOMAN, attending on Emilia), Kylie Sullivan (NELL, a countrywoman), Brianna Berlen (FIRST COUNTRYMAN), Giselle Durand (SECOND COUNTRYMAN), Lucy McNulty (THIRD COUNTRYMAN), Cecille Forsyth-Rios (FIFTH COUNTRYMAN), Jessica Nicole Nickerson (Maudlin, Countrywoman at the Morris Dance)
Production Team
Lindsey Gartner (Stage Manager), Rob Hillig (Technical Direction), Louie Enriquez (Virtual Scene Design), Cassidy Kepp (Resident Dramaturg), Kate Bianco (Assistant Director), Jessica Hadley (Assistant Stage Manager), Lara Goncalves (Graphic Design)