Irreconcilable differences? Actors Sara M. Bruner as Katherine and Jim Lichtscheidl as Petruchio star in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A husband and a wife strike a "delicate balance" thanks to the support of a father's firm hand. Actors Sara M. Bruner (planking, top right) as Katherine, Jim Lichtscheidl (bottom right) as Petruchio and John Woodson (left) as Katherine's father Baptista star in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
She's the apple of her father's eye. Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson) scores some spending cash from her doting father (actor John Woodson) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A plan is hatched. Hortensio (actor Eduardo Placer, center) convinces the fortune-hunting bachelor Petruchio (actor Jim Lichtscheidl, left) to try and tame a shrew while Petruchio's servant Grumio (actor M.A. Taylor, right) listens to the details in Great Lakes Theater’s 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Sibling rivalry? Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson, with chair) attempts to even the score with her shrewish sister Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner, dodging) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. “The Taming of the Shrew,” by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"It's a nice day for a white wedding." Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson, center) dances up quite a storm with her suitor Lucentio (actor Reggie Gowland, right) and his servant Tranio (actor Neil Brookshire, left) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"Biondello say relax." Actor Danny Henning takes center stage as the retro-rascal-messenger Biondello in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Actor Jim Lichtscheidl (as Petruchio) takes center stage, Adam Ant-style, as fellow cast members Neil Brookshire (as Tranio, left) and John Woodson (as Baptista, right) observe in disbelief during Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Lucentio (actor Reggie Gowland, left) and his servant Tranio (actor Neil Brookshire, right) make a picture perfect pair in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Road trip! An unlikely foursome (actor Eduardo Placer as Hortensio, left front/actor M.A. Taylor as Grumio, right front/actor Sara M. Bruner as Katherine, left back/actor Jim Lichtscheidl as Petruchio, right back) make magnificent mayhem during their journey home in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The "blushing" bride Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner) takes a center stage stand by sitting down in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner) and Petruchio (actor Jim Lichtscheidl) ultimately make a perfect couple in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
From the Director...
What, exactly, is this thing we call “marriage”? In our current cultural climate there is much heated debate about who should be given the right to be married, but there is less cultural discourse about the nature and the dynamic of marriage itself. People are getting married all around us (we ourselves may also have tied the knot), and yet, how much do we really know about the couples we observe? The marriages we think are happy, or the ones we see as troubled? Do we really know what’s going on behind the closed doors of an intimate relationship? Even our own?
Some argue passionately that marriage should exist only between a man and a woman, and yet, what exactly IS a man or a woman? Beyond simple biology, what constitutes a man or a woman involves the adapting of and conforming to the expected gender roles of any given society. We are not born with an innate sense of these rules of behavior, we are taught them over time. Some cultures have elaborate rituals around the initiation of a child into the arena of manhood or womanhood. Gender identity is a learned behavior based on a culture’s expectations and beliefs about what that means.
Ideas about gender identity were very different in Shakespeare’s time than they are in our modern day world, and yet, part of Shakespeare’s brilliance is reflected through his penetrating insights into the nature of human beings and the ways that basic nature is expressed through the prism of gender. In The Taming of the Shrew, he has created two fascinating characters in Katharine and Petruchio, who are equally matched in intelligence, humor and vitality, and yet who are seemingly at odds throughout the play because of the cultural expectations of their gender. Throughout the play, we watch as Petruchio sets about “taming” Katharine by continually and to an ever more absurd degree, asserting his status as “the man of the house”. We watch as Katharine rages against Petruchio’s dominance of her and against the expectations society has thrust upon her as a member of the “fairer sex”. Then, in the final moments of the play, Kate delivers a highly controversial speech that, when taken at face value, appears to sublimate all of womankind under the foot of male supremacy.
What does this mean? Has Katharine really been tamed? Does she really mean the words she’s saying, or is it all a ruse at the expense of Petruchio and the other men?
The debate rages on. Still, at the heart of Shrew is that married couple, who are full of complexity and mystery. We will never know what really goes on between Petruchio and Kate in their private world, we only have Shakespeare’s keen humor and provocative observations to pique our imaginations and invite us to ponder not only what constitutes a marriage but also who we are, whether men or women, and who we choose to be in the world.
I’d like to dedicate my participation in this production to my fiancé, Michael John Hansen.
-Tracy Young, Director The Taming of the Shrew
Synopsis
Baptista, a wealthy merchant of Padua, has two daughters: Katherina and Bianca. Because of Katherina’s shrewish disposition, her father has declared that no one shall wed Bianca until Katherina has been married. Lucentio of Pisa, one of many suitors to the younger and kinder Bianca, devises a scheme in which he and Tranio (his servant) will switch clothes, and thus disguised, Lucentio will offer his services as a tutor for Bianca in order to get closer to her. At this point, enter Petruchio of Verona, in Padua to visit his friend Hortensio (another suitor to Bianca). Attracted by Katherina’s large dowry, Petruchio resolves to woo her.
To the surprise of everyone, Petruchio claims that he finds Katherina charming and pleasant. A marriage is arranged, and Petruchio immediately sets out to tame Katherina through a series of increasingly worse tricks. This involves everything from showing up late to his own wedding to constant contradictions of whatever she says. After many trying days and nights, an exhausted Katherina is indeed “tamed” into docility.
By the end of the play, Lucentio has won Bianca’s heart and Hortensio settles for a rich widow in Padua. During an evening feast for Bianca and Lucentio, Petruchio makes and wins a wager in which he proposes that he has the most obedient wife of all the men there, at which point Katherina gives Bianca a lecture on how to be a good and loving wife herself.
Reprinted from the Shakespeare Resource Center online at www.bardweb.net
Kjerstine Rose Anderson*
Bianca
Great Lakes Theater Debut: Four seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Helena in All's Well that Ends Well, Clarice in The Servant of Two Masters, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Natalie in Distracted, Sugarsop in The Taming of the Shrew, Liberty in an adaptation of The Comedy of Errors. Other credits include Elinor in Sense and Sensibility (Book-It Rep), Calpurnia in Julius Caesar (Freehold Engaged Theater Tour), Maria in Twelfth Night (New Theater House), Beatrice in The Changeling (Black Swan Project), and Lula in The Dutchman (Black Swan Project). She holds a BFA in Acting from Cornish College of the Arts. She is a member of Actor's Equity. Great Lakes Theater Debut: Four seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Helena in All's Well that Ends Well, Clarice in The Servant of Two Masters, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Natalie in Distracted, Sugarsop in The Taming of the Shrew, Liberty in an adaptation of The Comedy of Errors. Other...
Neil Brookshire*
Tranio
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Great Lakes Theater : Valentine, The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Moth, Love's Labour's Lost. Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Cliff in Cabaret; Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew; Stephen in Major Barbara, Edgar in King Lear, Orlando in As You Like It, Witch in Macbeth, and others. He has also worked with Boise Contemporary Theater: Miles, The Drawer Boy; Dr. Seward, Dracula; Bartley, The Cripple of Inishmaan; as well as Company of Fools (Idaho), Idaho Dance Theatre, Opera Idaho, and Seattle Novyi Theatre. He has an MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and is the founder of Dirt Hills Productions, a website featuring audio dramas and documentaries. Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Great Lakes Theater : Valentine, The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Moth, Love's Labour's Lost. Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Cliff in Cabaret; Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew; Stephen in Major Barbara, Edgar in King Lear, Orlando in...
Sara Bruner*
Katherine
Eight seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Sara is honored to be part of the Christmas Carol tradition. She has adapted and directed Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello and Twelfth Night for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s educational outreach tour. She has also served as assistant director to Charles Fee (GLT, ISF), Victoria Bussert (PlayhouseSquare) and Risa Brainin (ISF). GLT credits include Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, Frau Kost in Cabaret, Desdemona in Othello, Mabel in An Ideal Husband, Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Viola in Twelfth Night, Masha in The Seagull, a witch in Macbeth, Abigail in The Crucible, Ariel in The Tempest, Raina in Arms and the Man, Ophelia in Hamlet, Marianne In Tartuffe, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sorel in Hay Fever. Eight seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Sara is honored to be part of the Christmas Carol tradition. She has adapted and directed Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello and Twelfth Night for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s educational outreach tour. She has also served...
Phillip Michael Carroll*
Curtis/Coffee Vendor/Cop
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Phillip Michael Carroll is thrilled to be returning to the Hanna stage, having been a member of the inaugural productions of Into the Woods and Macbeth. Other credits include Amadeus, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and A Christmas Carol (Great Lakes Theatre); Brooklyn: the Musical (14th Street Theatre); Hair, Bat Boy: the Musical, and West Side Story (Cain Park); Passion and Moby Dick: the Musical (Beck Centre for the Arts). Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Phillip Michael Carroll is thrilled to be returning to the Hanna stage, having been a member of the inaugural productions of Into the Woods and Macbeth. Other credits include Amadeus, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and A Christmas Carol (Great Lakes...
Aled Davies*
Vincentio
Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: This is my 100th professional production, a personal milestone I wish to mark with some acknowledgements. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Charles Fee who has produced the majority of those shows and directed me in many, and, by extension to all the trustee’s, staff members, directors, designers, stage managers, technical artisans, run crews and audiences at Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Similar thanks to Anita Stewart and all those at Portland Stage Company (Maine), notably Bartlett Sher and Peter Still. Other Regional Credits; The Goodman, Hartford Stage, Intiman, Portland Center Stage, George St. Playhouse, Delaware Theater Company, Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles Theater Center, Los Angeles Shakespeare Company, Boise Contemporary Theater and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. Two national tours with The Acting Company included an appearance at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (NYC) for which I received a Theater World Award, and I began it all as an intern at the Milwaukee Rep. My greatest thanks goes to all of my fellow actors who have had to put up with much, and to my beautiful and wonderful lady Sara and our two tolerant, intrepid cats. I have been a very proud and appreciative member of my union, Actors’ Equity Association since 1984. Go Browns! (Someday Please) Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: This is my 100th professional production, a personal milestone I wish to mark with some acknowledgements. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Charles Fee who has produced the majority of those shows and directed me in many, and, by extension to all...
Jodi Dominick*
Ivana/Tailor
Five seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Jodi’s previous roles include Sally Bowles in Cabaret, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Lady MacDuff in Macbeth, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Helena Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Lady Chiltern in An Ideal Husband, Bianca in Othello, Ivana/Tailor in The Taming of the Shrew and Lucetta/Outlaw in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Four seasons at Idaho Shakespeare Festival include Into the Woods, Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Twelfth Night, An Ideal Husband, Othello, Two Gentleman of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew and Cabaret. Other credits include Diana in I Love You Because at PlayhouseSquare; Helen/Frances/Bad Perm, The Break Up Notebook at The Beck Center for the Arts, New World Stages and Hudson Backstage Theatre; Clara, Passion at The Beck Center for the Arts; Woman 1 and 2 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at The Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare; Debtor’s Wife in A Christmas Carol, Great Lakes Theater; and Gypsy at Great Lakes Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Other shows include Lovelace: A Rock Opera, The Hayworth Theatre (LA); Violet and Bye Bye Birdie, Cain Park; and Closer, Dobama Theatre. Jodi is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music and proud member of AEA. Five seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Jodi’s previous roles include Sally Bowles in Cabaret, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Lady MacDuff in Macbeth, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Helena Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Lady Chiltern in An Ideal Husband, Bianca in Othello, Ivana/Tailor in The Taming...
Nika Ericson
Map Seller/Waiter/Servant Peter/Haberdasher
Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Nika is thrilled to be coming back for the second time to the Great Lakes Theatr. Nika has worked in and around Chicago with such theatres as Writer’s Theatre, Babes with Blades, First Folio Theatre, and Stage Left. Nika received her MFA in Acting from Penn State University where she was given the Manuel Duque Award for excellence in acting. Nika is currently an Equity Membership Candidate. She would like to thank her wonderful family for their endless love and support. Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Nika is thrilled to be coming back for the second time to the Great Lakes Theatr. Nika has worked in and around Chicago with such theatres as Writer’s Theatre, Babes with Blades, First Folio Theatre, and Stage Left. Nika received her MFA in Acting...
Reggie Gowland*
Lucentio
Great Lakes Theater Debut: Reggie is thrilled to make his first ever trip to Cleveland and join GLT for the first time this season. With Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Amadeus, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It. Recent Regional credits include Ken Ludwig’s new farce The Fox on The Fairway at The George Street Playhouse directed by David Saint, Seussical at The Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Thomas Higgins’ A Different Kind of Animal at the Sam French Short Play Festival, as well as appearances in the Edinburgh and New York Fringe Festivals. TV: Evan and Gareth are Trying to Get Laid. Reggie holds a BA from Northwestern University and is a founding member of The Filament Theatre Ensemble in Chicago, appearing in their productions of Six Impossible Things and A Muse in Love, both directed by Filament’s artistic director, Julie Ritchey. Proud AEA member. Great Lakes Theater Debut: Reggie is thrilled to make his first ever trip to Cleveland and join GLT for the first time this season. With Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Amadeus, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It. Recent Regional credits include Ken Ludwig’s new farce The...
Danny Henning*
Biondello
Four Seasons at Great Lakes Theater: GLT Credits: Twelfth Night (Valentine, u/s Sebastian), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Deputy), and three seasons in A Christmas Carol (Dick Wilkins). With Idaho Shakespeare Festival: The Comedy of Errors (ensemble), Twelfth Night (Valentine, u/s Sebastian), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Deputy). Other credits include Freddie in Chess (Playhouse Square), Leo Bloom in The Producers, Tony in West Side Story, Dean Hyde in All Shook Up (Timber Lake Playhouse), Jimmie Curry in 110 in the Shade (Kalliope Stage), Victor in Cabaret (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre), Hair and Kiss Me Kate (Cain Park). Danny has a Bachelor of Music from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music. He is a proud AEA member. Love, respect and greatest thanks to Charlie, Ms. B, ISF/GLTF family, KGA, mom, dad, MSKN, Kyle and Nicholas. Four Seasons at Great Lakes Theater: GLT Credits: Twelfth Night (Valentine, u/s Sebastian), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Deputy), and three seasons in A Christmas Carol (Dick Wilkins). With Idaho Shakespeare Festival: The Comedy of Errors (ensemble), Twelfth Night (Valentine, u/s Sebastian), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Deputy). Other credits include Freddie in Chess (Playhouse Square), Leo Bloom in The Producers,...
Jillian Kates*
Tourist Mom/Servant Nathaniel/Bridesmaid
Great Lakes Theater debut: Jillian is thrilled to be making her theatrical debut with Great Lakes Theater! Favorite credits include; Little Edie in Grey Gardens at Beck Center, Mimi in Rent at Baldwin-Wallace College, Sally in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown at Heartland Festival, Liesl in The Sound of Music at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and Cinderella in Into The Woods at Tolbert Theatre. Jillian graduated with her BM in Music Theater from the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in May and will be moving to NYC this fall. Much love and thanks to family, friends, Vicky, Greg, Charles Fee, the GLT cast and crew, teachers past and present, and the wonderful people at Stewart Talent. Proud member of AEA. This performance is for Nanny. Great Lakes Theater debut: Jillian is thrilled to be making her theatrical debut with Great Lakes Theater! Favorite credits include; Little Edie in Grey Gardens at Beck Center, Mimi in Rent at Baldwin-Wallace College, Sally in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown at Heartland Festival, Liesl in The Sound of Music at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and...
Andrea Leach
Servant Phillip/Jogger/Bridesmaid
Two season at Great Lakes Theater: Andrea is so honored to be making a return to the Great Lakes Theatre for it’s 50th season! Regional: An Ideal Husband (Lady Barford) at Great Lakes Theater, Chess (Chess Queen) at the 14th Street Theatre, Pippin at Cain Park, Chicago (Velma Kelly), Oklahoma, and Curtains at Timber Lake Playhouse. Collegiate: Rent (Maureen), The Wild Party. Andrea is currently studying at the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music and will earn a Bachelor’s Degree of Music in May 2012. Love to my ever supportive family and a huge thank you to the patrons for supporting the arts! Two season at Great Lakes Theater: Andrea is so honored to be making a return to the Great Lakes Theatre for it’s 50th season! Regional: An Ideal Husband (Lady Barford) at Great Lakes Theater, Chess (Chess Queen) at the 14th Street Theatre, Pippin at Cain Park, Chicago (Velma Kelly), Oklahoma,...
Jim Lichtscheidl*
Petruchio
Great Lakes Theater debut: This is Jim's first appearance at the Great Lakes Theater. Recent credits include playing Billygoat in the world premiere of Tiny Kushner at the Tricycle Theater in London and Berkeley Repertory; Lou Levy in Sisters of Swing at Riverside Theater in Vero Beach, FL; and Captain Bluntschli in Arms and the Man and Clown 1 in The 39 Steps at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where Jim has appeared in over 25 productions. Jim also works in the Twin Cities area as an instructor (improvisation and movement,) choreographer, and collaborator, having created original works such as Igloo Glue for the Southern Theater, archy and mehitabel: life in lowercase for Open Eye Figure Theater, and KNOCK! for Theater Latte Da, which earned Jim a 2006 Ivey Award and Best of the Fringe award. Jim is also an acting core member for Ten Thousand Things Theater, a company that brings theater to prisons, homeless shelters, and low-income audiences. Great Lakes Theater debut: This is Jim's first appearance at the Great Lakes Theater. Recent credits include playing Billygoat in the world premiere of Tiny Kushner at the Tricycle Theater in London and Berkeley Repertory; Lou Levy in Sisters of Swing at Riverside Theater in Vero Beach, FL; and Captain Bluntschli in Arms and the...
Bailey Carter Moulse
Ensemble
Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Bailey is delighted to be returning to Great Lakes Theater, having previously been a part of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She just finished her first season with Idaho Shakespeare Festival where she appeared in Cabaret and The Taming of the Shrew. Previous roles include Shelly in the regional premiere of Evil Dead: The Musical at The Beck Center for the Arts, Alice in Bye, Bye Birdie (Porthouse Theatre), Babette in Beauty and the Beast (Regent University), Lizzie in Goblin Market (The Governor’s School for the Arts), and ensemble in the world premiere of Rent and La Boheme in repertory at Baldwin-Wallace College. Other BWC credits: Marcy in Dog Sees God, Cecily Pigeon in The Odd Couple, and Bridget Sullivan in a workshop of the new rock musical Lizzie Borden. Bailey is a senior music theatre major at Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music. Special thanks to Mom, Dad, Vicky, Scott, Greg, Joan, Jason and MT12 for their endless love and support. Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Bailey is delighted to be returning to Great Lakes Theater, having previously been a part of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She just finished her first season with Idaho Shakespeare Festival where she appeared in Cabaret and The Taming of the Shrew. Previous roles...
Shannon O'Boyle*
Executive/Servant Nicholas/Bridesmaid
Great Lakes Theater debut: Shannon is thrilled to be making her theatrical debut with Great Lakes Theatre. Favorite credits include Logainne Schwarzand Grubeniere in 25TH Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Heartland Festival, Mimi (u/s), Mrs. Jefferson and ensemble in the World Premiere of Rent and La Boheme in repertory at Baldwin-Wallace, Bette Brennan (The Marriage of Bette and Boo), Celia (As You Like It) and the title role of Lizzie Borden in a workshop of the new rock musical. Shannon will receive her BM in Music Theatre from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in May 2012. All my gratitude to Vicky, Scott, Greg, Sara, Mr. C., Charles Fee, Sara, and Ben. Great Lakes Theater debut: Shannon is thrilled to be making her theatrical debut with Great Lakes Theatre. Favorite credits include Logainne Schwarzand Grubeniere in 25TH Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Heartland Festival, Mimi (u/s), Mrs. Jefferson and ensemble in the World Premiere of Rent and La Boheme in repertory...
Laura Perrotta*
The Widow
Thirteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Representative roles in New York: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Heartbreak House, Kabuki Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Major Barbara, Boy Meets Girl, The Long Goodbye, Talk to Me Like the Rain ..., Whispers on the Wind and Private Lives. Cleveland: Hedda Gabler, Broken Glass, Uncle Vanya, King Lear, Jocasta, The Front Page, Angels in America, Three Days of Rain, Closer, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife and How I Learned to Drive. Great Lakes Theater: The Wild Duck, Gypsy, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Arms and the Man, Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, Private Lives, Tartuffe and Hamlet. Idaho Shakespeare Festival/Great Lakes Theater: The Taming of the Shrew, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Hay Fever, Into the Woods, Twelfth Night, Othello, An Ideal Husband, Cabaret and The Taming of the Shrew. To Daisy with love. Thirteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Representative roles in New York: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Heartbreak House, Kabuki Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Major Barbara, Boy Meets Girl, The Long Goodbye, Talk to Me Like the Rain ..., Whispers on the Wind and Private Lives. Cleveland:...
Eduardo Placer*
Hortensio
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Previous GLT and ISF credits include Master of Ceremonies (Cabaret), Hortensio (The Taming of the Shrew), Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Bud/Pan/Daisy (Bat Boy: The Musical), Ghost of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol), Roderigo (Othello), Vicomte de Nanjac (An Ideal Husband), Neville Landless (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and Feste (Twelfth Night). New York credits: Clincher Sr. (The Constant Couple) and Rosencrantz (Hamlet) at The Pearl Theatre. Regional credits: world premiere productions of Zhivago (La Jolla Playhouse) and Senor Discretion Himself (Arena Stage), Much Ado About Nothing (The Shakespeare Theatre), Camelot (Arena Stage), A Man’s A Man (Arena Stage), The Mineola Twins (Woolly Mammoth). Training: MFA in acting, UCSD. B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. Proud AEA member since 2003. Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Previous GLT and ISF credits include Master of Ceremonies (Cabaret), Hortensio (The Taming of the Shrew), Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Bud/Pan/Daisy (Bat Boy: The Musical), Ghost of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol), Roderigo (Othello), Vicomte de Nanjac (An Ideal Husband), Neville Landless (The Mystery...
Dudley Swetland*
Autograph Hound/Merchant
Fifteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Last summer, Dr. Swetland appeared as both the Duke and Don Antonio in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. At Great Lakes Theater, he has appeared in many roles over the last 15 years, including that of Scrooge for 12 years. Other productions include Antony and Cleopatra (directed by Gerald Freedman), As You Like It, Measure for Measure, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with many non-Shakespearean productions over the last several seasons. He even dipped his creative toe into the musical theater genre in both She Loves Me and A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum. Since graduating from Ohio State (Ph.D. 1976), Dr. Swetland has served as a member of the acting faculty at Case Western, was part of the Cleveland Play House artistic staff, served as a staff director for four summers at the Champlain Shakespeare Festival, was a master acting coach at the University of Akron for one semester, and has appeared at almost all theatrical venues throughout Cleveland. He remembers fondly working with the late Tony Randall in the John Kenley production of The Man Who Came to Dinner (and feels blessed to have known these two theatrical icons). For many years, he has worked as a voice-over talent, and is often heard on radio in that capacity. Dr. Swetland is truly appreciative of the opportunity afforded him in being a part of Great Lakes Theater. Fifteen seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Last summer, Dr. Swetland appeared as both the Duke and Don Antonio in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. At Great Lakes Theater, he has appeared in many roles over the last 15 years, including that of Scrooge for...
M. A. Taylor*
Grumio
Ten seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Mark Anthony (aka M.A.) is delighted to contribute to this holiday tradition once again. He has most recently been seen in The Taming of the Shrew (Grumio), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Speed), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Actor 3), Othello (Gratiano), An Ideal Husband (Phipps), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Flute/Fairy), A Christmas Carol (Charity Man/Old Joe), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Durdles) and Twelfth Night (Fabian). Also among his credits: Candy in Of Mice and Men (directed by Adrian Hall) for PTTP/Rep, Dracula for Boise Contemporary Theater in the title role, Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Gravedigger/Player King in Hamlet for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and Crave & Fully Committed for Tooth & Nail Theater in Salt Lake City. Other productions include Arsenic and Old Lace, The Crucible, She Stoops to Conquer, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tooth of Crime, Translations, An Ideal Husband, All the King’s Men, The Effects of Tobacco, Swan Song, Saint Joan and The Count of Monte Cristo. He holds an MFA from the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP). He wishes to give special thanks to my supportive families, both professional and genetic. Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night! Ten seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Mark Anthony (aka M.A.) is delighted to contribute to this holiday tradition once again. He has most recently been seen in The Taming of the Shrew (Grumio), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Speed), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Actor 3), Othello (Gratiano),...
Rod Wolfe
Gremio
Great Lakes Theater debut: Rod has performed seven seasons with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Favorite ISF roles include Trinculo in The Tempest, Cleante in The Miser, Conrad/Balthazar in Much Ado About Nothing, Valentine in Twelfth Night, Protean in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Audrey 2 in Little Shop Of Horrors and Officer Klein in Arsenic And Old Lace. Shakespearience roles include Claudius/Ghost in Hamlet/ Roderigo in Othello, and Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Rod has also performed with Boise Contemporary Theater as Sagot in Picasso at The Lapan Agile and as Jeeter in Last Of The Boys for Alley Rep Theater. Rod is also co-founder of Idaho Theater for Youth. Some favorite ITY roles include Mark Twain in Liar's Stew, Fool in Commedia De Lazzi, Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, Tubby in Little Lulu and Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. He dedicates his work to his family. Great Lakes Theater debut: Rod has performed seven seasons with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Favorite ISF roles include Trinculo in The Tempest, Cleante in The Miser, Conrad/Balthazar in Much Ado About Nothing, Valentine in Twelfth Night, Protean in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Audrey 2...
John Woodson*
Baptista Minola
Five season at Great Lakes Theater: John Woodson, has been a working theatre professional for over thirty years. NYC credits: Broadway-Jason Medea, starring Dame Diana Rigg; Kent in King Lear with Hal Holbrook at Roundabout Theatre; Kent in King Lear with F. Murray Abraham at the NY Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre, Exeter in Henry V, NY Shakespeare Festival. Regionally, John has worked in many outstanding theatres including: Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Dallas Theatre Center, Alley Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival(company member) Cleveland Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Fesival, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Long Wharf, Buffalo Studio Arena and the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (a founding company member).John served as Artistic and Executive Director of The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC from 2002-2006. In 2007 John founded Atlantic Stage in Myrtle Beach, SC and served as its Artistic Producer until 2010. Five season at Great Lakes Theater: John Woodson, has been a working theatre professional for over thirty years. NYC credits: Broadway-Jason Medea, starring Dame Diana Rigg; Kent in King Lear with Hal Holbrook at Roundabout Theatre; Kent in King Lear with F. Murray Abraham at the NY Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre,...
* Members of the Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Tracy Young
Director
Great Lakes Theater debut: This is Tracy’s first season with the wonderful Great Lake’s Theater, and she’s very happy to be here! Thanks to the amazing cast and production team. Directing: The Imaginary Invalid, The Servant of Two Masters, Luis Alfaro’s Breakfast Lunch and Dinner (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella (Yale Repertory Theatre, co-directed with Bill Rauch); The Winter's Tale (Ten Thousand Things); Michael Schlitt's Jesus Ride (The Marsh, San Francisco); Alison Tatlock's Jolly Good Fellow (Chalk Repertory Theatre); The Estrogen Map (The Improv, LA); Your New Best Friends, An Anti-Clown Show (Onyx Theatre); Shishir Kurup's Merchant on Venice (Taper Too workshop); Yehuda Hyman's Center of the Star (Greenway Court); Laural Meade's The Wide Open Ocean Ate Aimee Semple Whole (Los Angeles Theatre Center); Liberty! (Inside the Ford); Hysteria, Euphoria, DreamPlay (The Actors’ Gang). Other credits: Resident Director, The Actors' Gang, 1992-2001; Associate Artist, Cornerstone Theater Company, 1996-2002; Assistant Director, The Clean House (Lincoln Center Theater). Playwriting: DreamPlay , Euphoria , Hysteria (Actors' Gang Theater); Adapting : The Imaginary Invalid, The Servant of Two Masters (with Oded Gross); Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella (with Bill Rauch); Four Roses (based on the plays of Tennessee Williams). Awards: Connecticut Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly and Backstage West Garland Awards for direction; finalist for the Alan Schneider Directing Award, CTG Robert Sherwood Directing Award, and the P.E.N. West Playwriting Award. Great Lakes Theater debut: This is Tracy’s first season with the wonderful Great Lake’s Theater, and she’s very happy to be here! Thanks to the amazing cast and production team. Directing: The Imaginary Invalid, The Servant of Two Masters, Luis Alfaro’s Breakfast Lunch and Dinner (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella (Yale Repertory Theatre, co-directed with Bill Rauch); The Winter's Tale (Ten Thousand Things); Michael Schlitt's Jesus Ride (The Marsh, San Francisco); Alison Tatlock's Jolly Good Fellow (Chalk Repertory Theatre); The Estrogen Map (The...
Alex Jaeger
Costume Designer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Alex designs costumes for film and theater nationally. His credits include Two Sisters and a Piano for the Public Theatre N.Y., August:Osage County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Romeo and Juliet, Fuddy Meers, Handler, and Stop Kiss for Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Once in a Lifetime, The Homecoming, November, Rock N Roll, and Speed the Plow for A.C.T. in San Francisco; over a dozen productions including The Habit of Art, Caroline or Change, Grey Gardens and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead for the Studio Theatre in D.C.; Rock N Roll for the Huntington in Boston; Interpreting William for Indiana Repertory; Mauritius, OR, Oedipus El Rey, and many others for the Magic Theatre in San Francisco; Looped (with Valerie Harper), Tally's Folly and Doubt for the Pasadena Playhouse; Eclipsed and The Paris Letter for the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Alex received his MFA from UCLA. He has taught design at UCLA, FIDM and UNLV and is the recipient of many awards including the Ovation award, L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, several Backstage Garland and Drama-Logue awards and the TCG/ NEA designer fellowship. Alex is a member of USA 829 Great Lakes Theater debut: Alex designs costumes for film and theater nationally. His credits include Two Sisters and a Piano for the Public Theatre N.Y., August:Osage County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Romeo and Juliet, Fuddy Meers, Handler, and Stop Kiss for Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Once in a Lifetime, The Homecoming, November, Rock N Roll, and Speed the Plow for A.C.T. in San Francisco; over a dozen productions including The Habit...
Michael Locher
Scenic Designer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Michael Locher makes his GLT and Idao Shakespeare Festival debuts with The Taming of the Shrew. Recent and upcoming credits include Troilus & Cressida (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) Goldfish, Mrs. Whitney, Or and Llyod Suh's Jesus in India (Magic Theatre Company); Happy Days (Guthrie Theater), Trouble in Mind (Yale Repertory Theatre), La Finta Pazza (Yale Baroque Opera, American premier), Happy Days (Playmakers Rep, NC). In New York, his recent and upcoming work includes Off-Broadway productions of Dramatis Personae, Crane Story (The Playwrights Realm / Cherry Lane), SIN (Rose Nagelberg), Thomas Bradshaw's The Bereaved (Partial Comfort, associate designer), and assistant design credit for Broadway's Guys And Dolls. Michael is a longtime artistic associate of the Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco, where his credits include Marcus Gardley's Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi, Pelleas & Melissande, Victims Of Duty, Bone To Pick, The Bald Soprano, Macbeth, The Vomit Talk Of Ghosts, Roberto Zucco, and The Tempest. Additional SF credits include The Bright River (The Jewish Theatre), Liz Duffy Adams' The Train Play (Crowded Fire), and several seasons with The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Ain’t Misbehavin, and The Black Nativity). Michael also works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, specializing in artwork for theater companies and related organizations. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego (Stewart Prize) and Yale School of Drama (Donald Oenslager Scholarship in Stage Design), Michael relocated this Spring from New York City to the SF Bay Area. Great Lakes Theater debut: Michael Locher makes his GLT and Idao Shakespeare Festival debuts with The Taming of the Shrew. Recent and upcoming credits include Troilus & Cressida (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) Goldfish, Mrs. Whitney, Or and Llyod Suh's Jesus in India (Magic Theatre Company); Happy Days (Guthrie Theater), Trouble in Mind (Yale Repertory Theatre), La Finta Pazza (Yale Baroque Opera, American premier), Happy Days (Playmakers Rep, NC). In New York, his recent and upcoming work...
Rick Martin
Lighting Designer
Nine seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Many productions with: ISF and GLTF. Other Theatre: US premiere of Kurt Weil’s Marie Galante (Opéra Français de NY), Hekabe, The Illiad and The Rage of Achilles with Music-Theatre Group (New York and Santa Fe), The Bitter Tears of Petra van Kant (Henry Miller Theatre) Opera: Castor et Pollux, Pelléas et Méllisande and To Be Sung (Opéra Français de NY). Roméo et Juliette (Spoleto Festival USA). Concerts: Orchestre national de Lyon and the Orchestre de Champs-Élysées (Lyon, Poitiers, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, São Paulo). Coming up: La Chute de la Maison Usher, Le Diable dans le beffroi (Opéra national de Paris), Le martyre de Saint Sébastien (Cité de la Musique) Member: USA 829, IATSE Nine seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Many productions with: ISF and GLTF. Other Theatre: US premiere of Kurt Weil’s Marie Galante (Opéra Français de NY), Hekabe, The Illiad and The Rage of Achilles with Music-Theatre Group (New York and Santa Fe), The Bitter Tears of Petra van Kant (Henry Miller Theatre) Opera: Castor et Pollux, Pelléas et Méllisande and To Be Sung (Opéra Français de NY). Roméo et Juliette (Spoleto Festival USA). Concerts: Orchestre national...
Peter John Still
Sound Designer
Nine seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Awards: 2002 Drama Desk nomination for Cymbeline. Education: Oxford University. Great Lakes Theater: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Tempest, Hay Fever, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), The Importance of Being Earnest, Nickel and Dimed, Hamlet, Tartuffe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and All’s Well that Ends Well. Broadway: Awake and Sing. Royal Shakespeare Company: Cymbeline. West End: several productions, including Sir John Gielgud’s last stage production The Best of Friends. Off-Broadway: Pericles, Don Juan, Waste, Cymbeline and Twelfth Night. Regional: Guthrie Theater, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Intiman Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville, Portland Stage Company, Boise Contemporary Theater, Playmakers Rep and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Nine seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Awards: 2002 Drama Desk nomination for Cymbeline. Education: Oxford University. Great Lakes Theater: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Tempest, Hay Fever, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), The Importance of Being Earnest, Nickel and Dimed, Hamlet, Tartuffe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and All’s Well that Ends Well. Broadway: Awake and Sing. Royal Shakespeare Company: Cymbeline. West End: several productions, including...
Tim Kinzel
Stage Manager
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Tim is feeling jolly about celebrating the holidays in his hometown of Cleveland. Stage manager credits for GLT include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and The Taming of the Shrew. For Idaho Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). For Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: Twelfth Night. For NYC Cherry Lane Theater and Playwrights Horizon: Asking for It. For Houston’s Stages Repertory Theater: The Giver, Old Stories, Always Patsy Cline. Assistant stage manager credits for Great Lakes Theater include The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Christmas Carol. Production assistant credits for Houston’s Stages Repertory Theater include Mr. Marmalade, Rounding Third, Lady, Unseen, Altar Boyz, Black Pearl Sings, The Souvenir. For Great Lakes Theater: The Comedy of Errors. Tim cannot ask for a better family and group of friends. He is thankful for their continuous support and encouragement through his journey. A Merry Christmas to you and Go Browns! Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Tim is feeling jolly about celebrating the holidays in his hometown of Cleveland. Stage manager credits for GLT include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and The Taming of the Shrew. For Idaho Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). For Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: Twelfth Night. For NYC Cherry Lane...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
...a truly awesome cast...you'll have a bitchin' time. Fer sure...
By The Plain Dealer
-Andrea Simakis
Great Lakes Theater has staged "The Taming of the Shrew" at least six times in its 50-year history, but it's safe to say none of those productions was quite so gnarly as this season's iteration of the Bard's troubled, tempestuous comedy.
And by gnarly, we mean totally radical, dude.
In a canny move, director Tracy Young, in her first outing with the company, has set William Shakespeare's tale of the unmarriageable, unmanageable Katherine and her fearless suitor Petruchio in Los Angeles "sometime in the 1980s."
Cue joggers in fuchsia tights, Rubik's Cubes, Zack "Saved By the Bell" Morris-size cellphones and an homage to Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear to "Old Time Rock and Roll" from the classic '80s movie "Risky Business."
The guys wear Topsiders without socks, "Miami Vice" blazers with rolled-up sleeves and glowing yellow polos with popped collars. The girls in this Valley sport white pumps, ankle socks and bustiers a la Madonna.
The effect is buoyant and giddy, infusing a weird, coked-up energy into a play penned when another unmarriageable, unmanageable woman, Elizabeth I, sat on the English throne.
"When Sunday comes, I will to Tiffany's . . ." Petruchio announces before his wedding day. Here, Kate's won't-take-no beau is "a gentleman of Montana," played by Great Lakes newbie Jim Lichtscheidl, who imbues the classic role with a pop-eyed, sweaty jitteriness that argues a penchant for the aforementioned Bolivian marching powder. (In one of the best time-capsule surprises, Petruchio shows up late for his nuptials spouting a London cockney accent and wearing the war paint and bastardized Revolutionary War coat of Adam Ant.)
Along with nimble, surgical rewrites of the script, sound designer Peter John Still makes wicked-clever use of the bouncy, New Wavey pop that dominated the airwaves in the Reagan era -- "Relax" from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" (complete with zombie models in black tube dresses) and a catalog of Prince songs.
Katherine's father, (the deliciously exasperated John Woodson) a "citrus baron" modeled after Donald Trump, as evidenced by a migrating thatch of hair and a blond assistant named "Ivana," sets the madcap mess into motion. He declares that his youngest daughter, Bianca (perfect, pouting Kjerstine Rose Anderson in her Great Lakes debut), a spoiled little rich girl with a penchant for Versace and manipulation, can't marry until his eldest, the willful Kate (a luminous, limber Sara M. Bruner, telegraphing her butch individuality in Diane Keaton vest, cowboy boots and baggy pants), ties the knot.
It's always a gamble to produce Shakespeare's take on the timeless battle of the sexes and its ultimate takeaway -- that headstrong women, like horses, can be made docile and obedient through starvation and bullying -- no matter what the century.
First printed in 1623, "Shrew" has been offending modern sensibilities ever since, it seems. In 1888, playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote a tongue-in-cheek -- but no less stinging -- critique of its message by posing as Dame Ribbonson, an Englishwoman down from Devon and passing through London where the play was being produced. Sorry that she had not arrived earlier to make "a more timely protest," Ribbonson wrote to a local newspaper that, "In the future, I hope all men and women who respect one another will boycott 'The Taming of the Shrew' until it is driven off the boards."
No such boycotts -- or feminist treatises by the likes of Germaine Greer -- have knocked the play out of repertory rotation. If anything, the image of the unrepentant, shrewish woman is now celebrated in pop culture, thanks to the rise of reality TV. The everyday antics of any of "The Real Housewives" make Kate look like a shrinking Ophelia, despite her colorful tantrums.
But let us back to the production at hand. No matter how or when the work is performed, Petruchio's intentions, at least at the outset, are strictly mercenary. He takes on the task of taming a fearsome Kate for the handsome dowry. That he decides she's a formidable equal as the play wears on -- but crushes her spirit nonetheless -- is another story.
His initial motive gives credence to setting the play in the self-centered, "greed-is-good" decade. Plus, the retro costumes, synth-heavy music and vapid sensibility of the 1980s are more fun than sitting through a historically faithful version, particularly when all the air is sucked out of the candy-colored balloon -- and the audience -- during Kate's squirm-inducing speech exhorting her sisters that "thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper . . ."
But don't worry, be happy, cuz soon, the truly awesome cast will be line-dancing, using moves from "Thriller" -- and you'll have a bitchin' time. Fer sure.
2011 cleveland.com. All rights reserved.
-Andrea Simakis
Great Lakes Theater has staged "The Taming of the Shrew" at least six times in its 50-year history, but it's safe to say none of those productions was quite so gnarly as this season's iteration of the Bard's troubled, tempestuous comedy.
And by gnarly, we mean totally radical, dude.
In a canny move, director Tracy Young, in her first outing with the company, has set William Shakespeare's tale of the unmarriageable,...
Cleveland's Classic Company Commences 50th Anniversary Season with A Tony Award-Winning Musical & 1980s-Infused Battle of the Sexes
October 10, 2011
CLEVELAND, OH (September 1, 2011) - Great Lakes Theater (GLT) will commence its 50th anniversary season at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, with a Fall Repertory that features the Tony Award-winning musical, Cabaret and William Shakespeare’s uproarious battle of the sexes, The Taming of the Shrew. The productions will be performed in rotating repertory September 23 – October 30, 2011. The Fall Repertory features GLT’s resident artistic company of actors performing two alternating plays on the same stage over six weeks. Victoria Bussert will direct Cabaret and Tracy Young will direct The Taming of the Shrew. (Cabaret was adapted from the...
Irreconcilable differences? Actors Sara M. Bruner as Katherine and Jim Lichtscheidl as Petruchio star in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A plan is hatched. Hortensio (actor Eduardo Placer, center) convinces the fortune-hunting bachelor Petruchio (actor Jim Lichtscheidl, left) to try and tame a shrew while Petruchio's servant Grumio (actor M.A. Taylor, right) listens to the details in Great Lakes Theater’s 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A husband and a wife strike a "delicate balance" thanks to the support of a father's firm hand. Actors Sara M. Bruner (planking, top right) as Katherine, Jim Lichtscheidl (bottom right) as Petruchio and John Woodson (left) as Katherine's father Baptista star in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
She's the apple of her father's eye. Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson) scores some spending cash from her doting father (actor John Woodson) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Sibling rivalry? Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson, with chair) attempts to even the score with her shrewish sister Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner, dodging) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. â€"The Taming of the Shrew,†by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"It's a nice day for a white wedding." Bianca (actor Kjerstine Rose Anderson, center) dances up quite a storm with her suitor Lucentio (actor Reggie Gowland, right) and his servant Tranio (actor Neil Brookshire, left) in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"Biondello say relax." Actor Danny Henning takes center stage as the retro-rascal-messenger Biondello in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Actor Jim Lichtscheidl (as Petruchio) takes center stage, Adam Ant-style, as fellow cast members Neil Brookshire (as Tranio, left) and John Woodson (as Baptista, right) observe in disbelief during Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Lucentio (actor Reggie Gowland, left) and his servant Tranio (actor Neil Brookshire, right) make a picture perfect pair in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Road trip! An unlikely foursome (actor Eduardo Placer as Hortensio, left front/actor M.A. Taylor as Grumio, right front/actor Sara M. Bruner as Katherine, left back/actor Jim Lichtscheidl as Petruchio, right back) make magnificent mayhem during their journey home in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The "blushing" bride Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner) takes a center stage stand by sitting down in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Katherine (actor Sara M. Bruner) and Petruchio (actor Jim Lichtscheidl) ultimately make a perfect couple in Great Lakes Theater's 1980s-infused production of "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, plays in rotating repertory with Great Lakes Theater's production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Cabaret" through October 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
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