<p>That some in the audience wore fringe-adorned jackets, cowboy boots and bolo ties to the opening night of<a class="Link" href="https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/2526-brokeback-mountain/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23816467647&amp;gbraid=0AAAABCR-4Suc2KvZoByQLqM0gXyj39S_U&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw54nRBhDCARIsAMcY_SAeOYxI_8IRbr64zDRCm5zKTzDpwSnmcRAB5iJLsZKdJRMkTMkbH50aAkcEEALw_wcB" target="_blank" ><u> “Brokeback Mountain”</u></a> at Chicago Shakespeare tells you a little about the feelings people have for its two main characters, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist.</p><p>The play tells the story of their ill-fated love first sparked during a summer job herding sheep on the titular Wyoming landscape in the early 60s.</p><p>Annie Proulx created them in her short story of the same name, first published in The New Yorker in 1997. They were launched into the iconic with director Ang Lee’s emotionally devastating 2005 film version, starring Heath Ledger as the quiet, risk-averse Ennis and Jake Gyllenhaal as the boisterous, rodeo-riding Jack.</p><div class="RatingCard Enhancement" data-module data-rating="3.0" data-align-center> <div class="RatingCard-title"> Brokeback Mountain </div> <div class="RatingCard-content"> <span class="RatingCard-star"> <span class="RatingCard-star-full"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star-half"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star"> <span class="RatingCard-star-full"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star-half"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star"> <span class="RatingCard-star-full"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star-half"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star"> <span class="RatingCard-star-full"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> <span class="RatingCard-star-half"> <svg class=""> <use xlink:href="#icon-star"></use> </svg> </span> </span> </div> </div><p></p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-a00000" name="module-a00000"></a> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><b>When:</b> Through June 28th<br><b>Where:</b> Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Navy Pier)<br><b>Info: </b>Tickets start at $65 at <a class="Link" href="http://chicagoshakes.com" target="_blank" ><u>chicagoshakes.com</u></a>; run time is 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission</div> </div><p>This stage version, written by Ashley Robinson and directed by Jonathan Butterell, can’t compete with the epic visual scope of the film, so it doesn’t try. The script is highly faithful, probably overly so, to Proulx’s original story.</p><p>There are some nods to finding a theatrical language here: An onstage band performs intermittent original country and western songs by Dan Gillespie Sells, and the lead singer, called the Balladeer (Kat Eggleston), eventually enters a scene late in the show as a character.