Above: Deborah Hay (Left) as Katherina and Ben Carlson (Right) as Petruchio
The ultimate question: Can Katherina be tamed? One of the most famous and widely produced Shakespearean comedies of all time, The Taming of the Shrew offers an answer to this question along with scores of laughs and "unusual" circumstances. I was excited to see Taming of the Shrew after seeing Hamlet previously that afternoon not only for a change of pace, but also because I had never seen this play staged live. Now that I have, it can easily be scored as another one of my favorites.
Set up in this production as a play-within-the-play, The Taming of the Shrew follows sisters Bianca and Katherina as one is being courted for marriage while the other is not. Courted by various men, Bianca is ready and willing to give her heart to the man who is able to catch it, while Katherina shows no desire to be married and instead turns to violence and her foul tongue to voice these opinions and cause trouble. Knowing that Katherina will never get a husband this way, their father strikes a bargain with the suitors: once Katherina has found a husband, he will allow Bianca to be married to the man of her choosing. Eager to win Bianca, the suitors quickly realize that it is impossible to find a husband who can tame Katherina, until a willing man steps forward claiming he can do just this. Katherina may be a wild flower, but is there something more underneath her hard shell?
Like Hamlet, creating a stand-out production of Shakespeare's greatest comedy is quite a challenge. While reading the program before the show, I was excited to see that director Chris Abraham set the production as a play-within-the-play, just as he did A Midsummer Night's Dream last season. This angle brought a whole new light to Taming of the Shrew and made for quite the introduction to the actual play. It was almost time to start when my mom and I noticed that a man had sat down next to us holding a brown paper bag with a bottle inside it. It wasn't long before my mom quickly realized he was wearing a fake nose and leaned over to tell me she thought Carlson was sitting just two seats away from us. At first I thought she was crazy, but suddenly it all made sense. As the play began, Carlson (known at this time to be a man called Christopher Sly) got into a drunken argument with a few "ushers" until he flung himself on the stage and joined the company. The players then decided to play a trick on Sly and convince him that he was their lord and master. After awaking and falling for their trick, the players then tell Sly that they will perform a play for him in his honor and for his entertainment - and thus The Taming of the Shrew began. This opening was not only an incredibly fan-girl moment for me, but also one of the most clever and hilarious ways to introduce Shakespeare's play into action.
Leading this rampage of humor and laughs were Deborah Hay and Ben Carlson as the dueling Katherina and Petruchio. Carlson showed his vast talent for comedy throughout the play while utilizing the full potential of Shakespeare's text. Opposite Carlson and the star of the production was Deborah Hay. After seeing Hay a few years ago as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and not loving her portrayal I was interested to see if and how Shrew would fit her, and I was incredibly happy to see the two together were a perfect fit. Playing Katherina to her fullest physical comedy and screaming her unyielding comments at various characters, Hay proved a force to be reckoned with and commanded one thousand percent of the audiences attention. Comedy is always harder than tragedy but Hay succeeded in this and more with ease. From running, to screaming, to being flipped upside down, Hay's portrayal of Katherina was incredibly well done and hilarious from start to finish. Carlson and Hay prove to be quite the power couple, both in Shakespeare and real life.
Another set of players additionally stood out in this production: Tom Rooney as the faithful servant Tranio, Mike Shara as the suitor Hortensio and comedy gold Gordon S Miller as the servant Biondello. Rooney and Miller were seen together for a majority of the play and were a pair with striking comedic chemistry while Shara also took the spotlight with his unforgettable portrayal as a suitor/tutor to Bianca.
A romp from beginning to end Taming of the Shrew joins the Festivals roster as the leading comedy of the season, bringing scores of laughs and fun for both participant and audience members alike that is not to be missed.
Stratford Shakespeare Festival's The Taming of the Shrew Trailer
For stage photos and videos of this production, visit:
http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/OnStage/productions.aspx?id=29356&prodid=57753
OR visit the Stratford Festival's YouTube Channel
For more information about the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, visit:
http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/Default.aspx
***NEXT REVIEW: The Diary of Anne Frank***
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