Shamus, who directed Shakespeare in Clark Park’s 2023 production of Two Gentlemen Of Verona, is pictured as Malvolio in the 2018 production of Twelfth Night (Photo courtesy of SCP).

Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) is returning for the 2023 season with a Tony award-winning musical! The popular non-profit organization, which has been presenting professional theatre productions in Clark Park’s “Bowl” since 2006, will present a musical adaptation of Two Gentlemen of Verona for five nights – from July 26 to July 30.

Two Gentlemen of Verona uses Shakespeare’s tale of friendship and love as the basis for a rock musical full of love ballads, pop duets, funk arias, and dance breaks. This adaptation was written by John Guare and Mel Shapiro with music by Galt MacDermot (the creator of the beloved classic Hair). The musical was the winner of the 1971 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.

The celebration of music and community is the focus this summer as Two Gentlemen will be presented in a concert-style staging and directed by Shamus. Shamus returns to Shakespeare in Clark Park after donning a yellow cat suit as Malvolio in the 2018 production of Twelfth Night and several seasons as company Casting Director. A member of Actor’s Equity Association, Shamus has performed with the Kimmel Center, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Die-Cast, EgoPo, the Eagle, Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program, the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival and many more.

This year’s production also celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, as “there’s also an importance to this story at this time and in this space,” according to the SCP production team. “Genderqueer people are facing legislation that seeks to eradicate them from public life. As artists, allies, citizens, and members of the queer community, this must be answered.”

With this production, Shakespeare in Clark Park aims to bring a “highly visible, very queer, and viciously joyful response to the hateful rhetoric that’s escalating in our country.”

Overall, this production is a celebration of love, including love of self: Shakespeare in Clark Park invites everyone to raise their voices and sing the final lines of this year’s musical together: “I want to love me. You can’t love another without loving yourself.”

All performances begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but please consider bringing some cash for donation. You can also support the organization and its efforts to bring free theatre to Philadelphia parks by donating online. For more info, visit: www.shakespeareinclarkpark.org.

Photo by West Philly Local