The first of his works to involve a woman disguising herself as a man, The Two Gentlemen of Verona may also have been Shakespeare's first professional work for the stage.  It is a boisterous comedy based around the friendship of two young men; Valentine and Proteus, their servants Speed and Launce and their love of two women, Julia and Silvia.   It has the smallest cast of any Shakespeare play, yet its sense of humor is grand. Major themes of the play include sharp contrast between loyalty of friendship and submission to ones passion; the question of a relationship between two male friends superseding that of a romantic relationship.  It was a common belief in Shakespeare's time that the love of a man for his friend, especially his 'sworn brother,' was stronger and nobler than the love between a man and a woman. This theme is set along side the fickle nature of young love, forgiveness, sexual misconduct, and the power struggle within class and gender roles. We lay our scene in a post WWI Italy. A dark humorous look at the decadence of the wealthy, Italian 1930’s along side the serving class of that time fit into this too often overlooked Shakespeare comedy. Allow us to entertain you with this unique comedy, The Two Gentlemen of Verona.