Last night, Mr. Random, J and I went to see the Shakespeare Theater Company’s version of The Taming of the Shrew.
Raise your hand if you remember watching the Moonlighting episode, “Atomic Shakespeare”. OK then, you know the plot . . .
It is a very problematic play to put on, what with all of the blatant misogyny and all, but I found a very interesting essay on the subject.
I was not bowled over the play. It was entertaining, but there was something about it that put me off. The woman who played Katherine was “ACTING!” in the full Jon Lovitz on SNL sense of making it so very obvious she was “ACTING!” with full emoting and affected speech. Very annoying. She was also very tiny, so some of the scenes where Petruchio was abusing her and overpowering her seemed downright creepy. All of the other actors were top notch, especially Petruchio. I also like how the actor who played Baptista, the father (who actually was the usual understudy), came off as a type of Mafia boss – it really worked given the mercenary nature of how he dealt with his daughters’ suitors.
I am very glad I saw it, but I would not put it in the top 5 of the Shakespeare plays I have seen. This one was not as memorable to me. However, I bet that this version will be redone next summer as the “Free for All - Shakespeare in the Park” play, due to it’s entertainment value and accessibility.
Next year, the Company is going to be doing both Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra, which should be awesome, I hope. I can’t wait! I’m going to definitely have to save up my money for it though – the tickets to this particular theater are pretty pricey.
My quest to be a sophisticated theatergoer continues!
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