Two Gentlemen of Verona has always occupied an awkward place in the history of musical theatre, at least for critics and afficionados. Originally produced in the summer of 1971 as a part of the free Shakespeare in the Park program at Joe Papp's Public Theatre in New York City, it was transferred to the St. James Theatre on Broadway in December of that year and ran for 627 performances. It won Tonys in 1972 for Best Book of a Musical and Best Musical, beating out Stephen Sondheim's Follies (and, for that matter, Grease, which had odds as the popular favorite), the fact of which can still evoke rumblings of resentment from hardcore Sondheim fans and other musical theatre junkies who to… Read more
