Theater Review: The Taming of the Shrew

 

                               Cast of "The Taming of the Shrew"

Ah, Will. Ah, Bianca. Ah, Kate. Ah, goofiness.

The Old Globe presents an old friend – William Shakespeare – in a modernized version of the old comic story of The Girl Who Would Say Nay….until she changes her mind.

You remember Kate the cursed, Kate the wretched, Kate the, well, the shrew, the bane of her father’s existence and the sister nobody needed. Dad Baptista has his needs too – mainly, to marry off the girls, preferably to guys with dough so he doesn’t have to support them forever (though, of course, he has plenty, so what’s the beef?)

Well, Director Shana Cooper decided to update the old commedia dell’arte story to something a bit more modern, and to bring the story up-to-date visually as well, with distinctly modern dancing and songs, some borrowed from earlier “Shrew” takeoffs like Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate.”

The show opens with a dance pantomime in which all characters are mustachioed, regardless of sex. That should wake you up.

The plot is more or less the same, the actors more or less confusing (to me, but then I’ve never been great at spotting people in different guises and different genders and realizing they’re the same person).

But there’s plenty of energy, crazy action and wild costumes here – not a bad idea for a not-quite-summery night outdoors. For some reason, we were not entertained by the sounds of the zoo next door – the San Diego Zoo, that is, whose critters are typically heard from during Globe summer outdoor performances. 

But the play ends more or less as it was intended by Shakespeare. The program notes by the director indicate that we are meant to realize that Kate is not a victim, but rather in on a parody of misogyny by Petruchio, which she picks up and plays along with. After all, she reasons, only this pair seems to be successful at love.

I like that idea, but must admit I didn’t get it when I saw it. But hey, I’m an old lady who forgot a notebook and whose pen ran out of ink right after the show started, so pay no attention to me.

But when at the end Kate utters the line everybody knows, she changes it to "I am ashamed that people (not “women”) are so simple, to offer war where they should kneel for peace.”

 

I’ll buy that. And you’ll enjoy this very different take on an old favorite.

The details

“The Taming of the Shrew” plays through July 10, 2022 in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way.

Shows Tuesday through Sunday at 8 p.m. No performance on June 18.

Tickets: (619) 234-5623 or www.TheOldGlobe.org

COVID rules: Masks required.