Five St. Louis-area dogs are joining the cast of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, taking turns as Crab, the play’s famously scene-stealing canine. The production opens Tuesday and sends the performers on an outdoor tour across the St. Louis region and Metro East.
Roughly 20 dogs auditioned for the role before the festival settled on five candidates, testing how they reacted to music and the commotion of a live performance. According to STLtoday.com, the main requirement was simple: Find dogs that could stay calm while excitement swirled around them.
Five Dogs, One Shakespearean Job
The festival’s official cast page names Camille, Dill, Lexi, Jupiter and Rocky as the rotating Crabs. The canine ensemble includes an 11-year-old Miniature American Shepherd, a senior German Shepherd-Corgi, an Australian Shepherd therapy dog, a Pet Partners therapy dog and an 8-year-old Golden Retriever making his acting debut, according to the festival’s cast list.
Director Rebekah Scallet told St. Louis Magazine that each dog could bring a different personality to Crab, from quietly sitting onstage to following the actors and engaging with the action. That unpredictability may be the closest thing this production has to a special effect.
A Shakespeare Comedy With A Very Good Sidekick
In the comedy, best friends Valentine and Proteus leave Verona and find their loyalty tested when both fall for the same woman. Crab belongs to Launce, the comic servant of Proteus, and earns a memorable moment because he does not display the grief his owner expects during an emotional farewell, making the dog a comic foil despite having few lines.
TourCo’s free performances begin at 6:30 p.m. and run about 90 minutes without an intermission. The schedule starts Tuesday at Franz Park, moves to the Missouri Botanical Garden on Wednesday and reaches Blackburn Park in Webster Groves on Saturday before continuing through parks and outdoor venues in Missouri and Illinois through Sept. 6, according to the festival schedule.
No reservations are required, seating is first-come, first-served, and audiences can bring chairs or blankets. Well-behaved leashed pets are generally welcome unless a specific venue prohibits them, meaning St. Louis Shakespeare has created an evening where theatergoers may bring a dog, watch a dog and possibly see a dog upstage the humans, as the festival’s visitor guide makes clear.
