Dallas Theater Center closes it 2006-07 mainstage season with William Shakespeare's electric and passionate comedy The Taming of the Shrew, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater through May 13. DTC Artistic Director Richard Hamburger directs a vibrantly modern take on this popular classic, in his last production before becoming the theater's first Artistic Director Emeritus.
One of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, The Taming of the Shrew is often regarded as the quintessential play of the battle-of-the-sexes. The wily Petruchio, having recently lost his father and fortune, descends on Padua to acquire a wife with a bountiful dowry. What he finds is an ill-tempered and slightly self-destructive adversary in Kate, which requires him to undertake the difficult challenge of taming her. Yet concealed by Petruchio's vicious domestication of the willful Kate is a more tender tale of transformation, revealing deeper truths about finding acceptance in love. Hamburger reinvents this highly theatrical Shakespeare gem as a refreshing and slightly absurdist comedy that turns Padua on its head.
"I think of The Taming of the Shrew as really being the tale of the wooing of two very different sisters,"Â Hamburger said. "The youngest, Bianca, plays the games required of her to function successfully in society, while her elder sister Kate, having no guile whatsoever, is treated as an outcast by her own family. But along comes this utterly original mind in Petruchio, a man who sees beyond surfaces, deeply into who Kate is, and he transforms her into one of Shakespeare's most brilliant, confident, and articulate characters. Perhaps the greatest irony of the play is that by the end of the story Bianca and her husband essentially remain strangers to each other, while Kate and Petruchio share an intimate bond forged through genuine struggle. I think Shrew defies our conventional ideas at every turn, but it is rarely treated as such."Â
Jonno Roberts (Petruchio), making his Dallas Theater Center debut as the mercurial man brave enough to court the feisty Kate, most recently starred in the feature film The Elephant King with Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn. Returning to DTC's stage are Mary Bacon as the titular shrew, Kate, and Jessica D. Turner, most recently seen in Moonlight and Magnolias, as her younger sister Bianca. Also returning to DTC's stage are Jakie Cabe (Grumio), Apollo Dukakis (Baptista) Chamblee Ferguson (Hortensio), Dolores Godinez (Widow/Servant), Matthew Gray (Curtis/Officer), Marcus Neely (Biondello), Cliff Stephens (Pedant), and Mark Waltz (Vincentio). DTC debuts include Bryant Mason (Tranio), John Woodson (Gremio/Tailor), and Noel Vélez (Lucentio).
Scenic designer David Zinn, known for his brilliantly modern designs, leads the production team featuring Clint Ramos (Costume Designer), David Weiner (Lighting Designer), and David Budries (Sound Designer). -- www.dallastheatercenter.org
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
