The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's annual outdoor summer production is "The Servant with Two Masters," a comedy written in 1746. It runs at The Outdoor Stage on the campus of the College of St. Elizabeth in Florham Park June 20 to July 29.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s outdoor summer production is Carlo Goldoni‘s “The Servant of Two Masters,” a work written in 1746 and considered a more realistic interpretation of commedia dell’arte.
But don’t let that description intimidate you. The comedy is suitable for all ages, a family-friendly farce offered in a grass-and-stone amphitheater that encourages picnicking before, during and after the performance.
And anyone 18 and younger gets in free.
“If any theater is smart, they’re finding ways to bring in kids. They don’t get taken to the theater and they don’t study it in school. Cell phones and computers are threatening the performing arts all the time,” said Bonnie J. Monte, who is now in her 28th year as the theater’s artistic director.”We’re not only exposing kids to great theater; we’re also building our audience for the future.”
“The Servant of Two Masters,” directed by Doug West, runs through July 29 at the Outdoor Stage, located on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Florham Park. The design of the amphitheater was inspired by the ancient Theatre of Dionysus in Athens.
Shakespeare Theatre began mounting a weeks-long summer production in 2002. About three years ago, a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts allowed the theater to off free admission to those 18 and younger. In the years before, Monte said, the theater’s summer audience included about 400 young people. Now, about 2,000 guests in that age bracket attend summer productions. This year, free and reduced price tickets are made possible thanks to Bank of America, the Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation and the Newman’s Own Foundation.
“It’s very family-friendly,” Monte said. “There’s free parking, no need for a babysitter.”
The theater’s 2018 theme is “comic relief” because “we really want to give audiences a chance to shed the woes of the world for a while and just laugh,” Monte said.
“The Servant of Two Masters” last played on the summer stage about eight years ago, but Monte thought it would be a smart choice because of its timeless story. It was also a smart financial choice: Monte translated and adapted the work, so the theater does not have to pay a royalty to perform it.
The story is set in Venice and centers on Truffaldino, the aforementioned servant of the title. When the perpetually hungry man gets a chance to work for not one but two employers, he jumps at the opportunity, noting, “Two masters equals two salaries! Two salaries equals double dinners!”
The two masters are Florindo (Tug Rice) and Beatrice (Izzie Steele), who is disguised as a man. The pair are in love, but unaware the other is nearby.
Truffaldino — without any idea of the relationship between his two masters — complicates life for all of them, as each fib he tells in the effort to hide his double life further complicates matters, explained James Michael Reilly, who plays the character.
“It reminds me that there is no such thing as one lie. If you tell one lie, you tell another lie and another and another and that’s what happens to this guy,” said Reilly, who has been working with the theater for about 25 years. “It’s like he threw a pebble down a mountain and started an avalanche.”
Truffaldino moves quickly, and the show is rich with physical comedy and stage combat. As soon as Monte offered him the role, Reilly said, “I began running twice a week, really, including sprints up and down the driveway… to prepare to meet the physical demands.”
The show has been trimmed to two hours and modern language make it easy to follow the plot, Reilly said.
Truffaldino, he said, is out for himself, but he does have some redeeming qualities.
“He’s not exactly an ethical standard that people should try to live up to,” Reilly said, “but in terms of his hustle and his perseverance and his determination to make it in a difficult world, he’s an inspiration to us all.”
The Servant of Two Masters
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
The Outdoor Stage on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth
2 Convent Road, Florham Park
Tickets: Free for ages 18 and younger, $ 28-$ 38 for all others, available online at http://shakespearenj.org. Through July 29.
Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.