GLOBE’S NEW ‘SHREW’ FUNNY, IF NOT QUITE TRANSFORMATIVE
With its lively and funny new production of “The Taming of the Shrew,” the Old Globe has fearlessly dived deep into the complicated gender politics at the heart of William Shakespeare’s 1592 comedy.
Does the production clearly skewer the patriarchy that sells off unwed daughters for a dowry? Yes.
Does it humanize Katherine’s suffering in the face of withering misogynistic taunts? Yes.
And does it believably suggest the relationship that eventually blooms between Katherine and her tormentor-turned-husband Petruchio is the only healthy love match in the play? Yes, again.
But does director Shana Cooper’s production that opened Saturday on the Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre stage completely overcome the play’s title, subject matter and often cringe-worthy language? Not quite.
Cooper has changed some pronouns in Katherine’s final speech (“I am ashamed that women are so simple” is now “I am ashamed that people are so simple”). She has softened some of Petruchio’s most bombastic and cruel behavior toward others, and she has made Kate more a victim of circumstance than the “fiend of hell” described in the script.
But is a play that needs so many changes to be palatable still relevant? It’s hard to say, but what I will say is that I was entertained by Cooper’s creative, colorful and thought-provoking staging.
This “Shrew” takes place on a lavish Italian estate designed by Wilson Chin, where garden topiary has been manicured into the shapes of young men and women. The play begins with a groovy 1960s-style dance number designed by movement consultant Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, where the eligible bachelors preen, strut, bob and weave like bantams and peacocks in a testosterone-fueled mating dance.
Petruchio bears none of that toxic masculinity when he arrives from Verona to “wive it wealthily in Padua.” James Udom plays the role with a beautiful command of Shakespearean language and a gentility and sincerity not usually seen in this character. Likewise, Deborah Ann Woll plays Katherine as a woman with no flirtatious artifice, and her desire for flight and freedom is seen only as madness. Woll’s Kate seems quickly besotted with Petruchio until he stands her up at the altar, then arrives late dressed by costume designer Ásta Bennie Hostetter in a matching wedding dress.
Petruchio’s goal is to tame Kate’s rebelliousness with kindness, and ultimately he wears her down and wins her heart. Some of those “taming” scenes have been tightened up to make room for musical numbers, dances and visual humor.
Standouts in the 20member cast include Cassia Thompson, who’s wily and charming as Bianca, Katherine’s younger sister. John Tufts is hilarious in a trio of quick-change roles as Bianca’s bare-chested suitor Hortensio, the porter Biondello and a drunken merchant. And Jesse J. Perez is eye-catching and funny as Bianca’s self-adoring, hipthrusting suitor Gremio.
The production features lighting by Stephen Strawbridge, sound by Paul Peterson and Paul James Prendergast and original music by Prendergast.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, “Taming of the Shrew” seems out of step with the times, but I give the Globe and Cooper credit for taking on the story boldly and trying to make it sing for today. It might not work completely, but it’s sure fun to watch.