One of two gentlemen visiting Verona is a cad

Perhaps in the entire theater world no character is as fortunate as Proteus in Shakespeare's' "Two Gentlemen of Verona." He enters in love, with Julia, and his best friend, Valentine. At play's end – spoiler alert – he is betrothed to Julia, with Valentine offering "Come, Proteus, 'tis your penance but to hear/The story of your loves discovered./That done, our day of marriage shall be yours,/One feast, one house, one mutual happiness."

Go to Shakespeare's Northwest production of "Gentlemen," playing weekends through Aug. 10, to observe how Proteus' (Devin Brewer, substituting last Saturday), in infatuation with the beautiful Silvia (Zoe Knife), lies, cheats and tricks everyone he encounters. Too bad that Silvia has already given her heart to Valentine.

Oddly, Proteus knows himself, realizing at the start of his conspiracies, "To leave my Julia, shall I be forsworn./To love fair Silvia, shall I be forsworn./To wrong my friend, I shall be much forsworn./And even that power which gave me first my oath/Provokes me to this threefold perjury./Love bade me swear, and love bids me forswear./O sweet-suggesting Love, if thou hast sinned,/Teach me, thy tempted subject, to excuse it."

Foresworn are all the other characters till all becomes well as all ends well. Poor Valentine (Jess Wahlgren), who came to Verona for adventure and fell in love with Silvia only to be rejected by her father, the Duke (John Roberson) as not rich enough. Thurio (Derick Dong), is rich enough, but not bright enough, another Shakespearean bit-character foil. He is good for laughs – and others make fun of him often.

This is a romance, but more, it is a comedy. The best laughs come from a well performed Launce (Michael Wallace), Proteus' servant. Better, he brings his dog, Crab, on stage. Pay attention to Launce's monologue when he takes the blame for Crab pissing under the Duke's table.

The servants are often counselors to their masters and have great conversations with each other. Lucetta (Senen Sehota) advises Julia (Carolyn Travis-Hatch) to cut her hair and dress up like a man before searching for Proteus. Travis-Hatch, as servant Speed. engages in repartees early with her master Valentine and later with Proteus. As the male page Sebastian she makes asides when she learns and hears Proteus singing of his love for Silvia: "She dreams on him that has forgot her love;/You dote on her that cares not for your love./'Tis pity love should be so contrary."

As Sebastian, Julia meets Silvia, carrying a message from Proteus. Ouch.

Proteus has told Silvia he abandoned Julia for Silvia. In their long exchange, Silvia says she "shall not do his Julia so much wrong." Julia/Sebastian has a hard time with all this, of course.

Then there is Barrett Lilliana, combining to play an outlaw, a puppeteer and a musician. The puppet speaks, too, of course.

Outlaws are needed because Valentine has been banished by the Duke from Milan. Proteus betrays his friend, tipping off the Duke that Valentine will elope with Silvia that evening. Silvia will pursue Valentine, only to be captured by the outlaws, who have made Valentine their captain.

Out troop the Duke, Thurio and Proteus to find Silvia. Reaching her, Proteus forces himself upon her. Cad, indeed.

All plays are about words so sit close to the stage to listen closely to the many exchanges between friends, between master and servant, between the Duke and suitors for his daughter, between lovers and, best of all, between servants. Of all the monologues and dialogues, the servants and outlaws offer the wisest words.

Listen in the first scene for this famous line: Speed: "If you love her, you cannot see her. Valentine: "Why?" Speed: "Because love is blind."

Track the letters and messages given, read, and ripped up throughout the play, in this long ago time before texting.

Director Meghan McCloud emphasizes the comedy in this period-set piece. The stage is again almost bare throughout, though a tower with a window has a place after intermission.

"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is playing in repertoire with "The Winter's Tale" Thursday-Sunday. Location, tickets and times at shakesnw.org/.e