[NEohioPAL] Review of Great Lakes Theater's "The Taming of the Shrew"

[Bob Abelman]

Great Lakes' 'Shrew' goes wonderfully over-Bard

 

Bob Abelman

 

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times,

The Morning Journal, Geauga Times Courier

Member, American Theatre Critics Association 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 10/7/11

 

William Shakespeare is either turning in his grave or partying hardy.  

 

The reason is that Great Lakes Theater is, once again, committing literary blasphemy and artistic alchemy by re-envisioning his masterworks.

 

This time around the target is The Taming of the Shrew, which has been transported from the 1590s to the 1980s, transmuted from the Italian city of Padua to a fashionable L.A. boardwalk, and transformed from a comedy to an all-out romp.

 

Actually, director Tracy Young has not so much re-envisioned this play as she has re-invented it by adding heavy doses of burlesque and a madcap 1980's vibe.  Everything that is Shakespeare's has been upped in intensity, velocity and frivolity in this production. 

 

Upped, too, is the ante.  This is a high-risk enterprise, for messing with the Bard's verbiage by infusing it with contemporary references and a pop music soundtrack can jeopardize the allegiance of theater traditionalists.  Burlesque gone bad can jeopardize the allegiance of everyone else. 

 

Fear not.  This production of Shrew, currently on stage at the Hanna Theatre, is nothing short of astounding.  Everything innovative works and, despite its extreme make-over, the play is still the thing.

 

"Shrew" offers an epic battle of the sexes and features Jim Lichtscheidl and Sara Bruner as the well matched antagonists Petruchio and Katherine.  While some productions depict Petruchio as an abusive heel or a dim-witted opportunist, Lichtscheidl's Petruchio is a good-natured soul and the psychological warfare he wages to break down Katherine's legendary stubbornness and get her to wed him is well intended.  As "Kate the Cursed," Bruner delivers a gum-gnawing, obstinate-to-the-core hellcat intent on wreaking havoc on the antiquated gender-specific conventions of courtship and marriage.  

 

Lichtscheidl and Bruner are brilliant.  

 

They are first-rate clowns who execute the production's physical humor, of which there is plenty, with remarkable precision and spot-on timing.  They are world-class actors who make Shakespeare's words immediately accessible and turn his 16th century characters into fully rounded, intriguing creations.  Their wordplay, which is accentuated with clever visual punctuation, is as dazzling as their physicality. 

 

This production is also blessed with an exquisite supporting cast and ensemble.  

 

Particularly noteworthy performances are turned in by the assorted suitors of Katherine's younger sister, Bianca (an adorable and hilarious Kjerstine Rose Anderson), who are eager to get Katherine married so Bianca can follow suit.  Eduardo Placer as Hortensio, Reggie Gowland as Lucentio, Neil Brookshire as Tranio, and Rod Wolfe as Gremio are remarkable.  

 

Most remarkable of all is the fabricated, fun-infested world in which all this takes place.  Young's vision for unadulterated playfulness is given life thanks to Michael Locher's set, which consists of chic two-story beach front flats, Alex Jaeger's delightfully exaggerated and colorful costume design, and period-perfect sound and lighting design by Peter John Still and Rick Martin.  

 

Although the 1980s novelty wears a bit thin by the second act, it does not do so to the point of losing its power to entertain or its ability to sustain the storytelling.  

 

This rendition of The Taming of the Shrew most certainly puts the shake in Shakespeare.

 

The Taming of the Shrew continues through October 29 at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre in downtown Cleveland.  It plays in repertory with Cabaret.  For tickets, which range from $15 to $70, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org.

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20111004/0b452770/attachment-0003.htm>