mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 1/16/04
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is one of his more controversial scripts. Feminists bristle at the inherent message of wifely subservience and the psychological torment of the strong-willed Katherina by the equally strong-willed Petruchio. Director Lisa Wolpe is well aware of potential pitfalls, and her Southwest Shakespeare Company production balances on a very fine line, even while attempting some interesting acrobatics simultaneously. She returns the script to its Renaissance Italian commedia dell arté roots in presentation, testing the boundaries of good taste by reveling in the baseness of this early Shakespearean humor. Wolpe also extracts the textual through line that keeps Petruchio and Katherina’s courtship from becoming mean-spirited. She does so, ironically, but keeping more of the script intact than I’ve ever seen, and by depending on her generously talented leads, Maren Maclean and James Kiberd, to stress the obvious attraction these two pointedly witty characters feel toward each other. Between sight gags about halitosis and grandly choreographed comic fights that lead to enormous pratfalls, is a very meticulous observation of social castes and a fiery romance between two people attempting to transcend the prescribed gender barriers of the day.
The dramaturgy that has gone into the production is obvious from the nearly perfect way that everyone observes the position in this rigidly hierarchical society. However, Wolpe also makes a few daring choices, most notably in how the treatment of Katharina by her father Baptista (a broad and strong handed Sandy Elias) establishes the tenor of the family’s behavior. The spry pacing propels the comedy, but it does not inhibit the intelligence of the piece.
Maclean and Kiberd have excellent chemistry. Maclean is a great Katherina, equal parts intellect and passion. She handles all of the physicality as gracefully as she explores her character’s arc. Kiberd is big and full of himself as Petruchio, though not quite as subtle as Maclean, and his diction is not as strong. Still, he is quite enjoyable to watch. Balancing this couple is the humorous pursuit of younger sister Bianca. Jennifer Bemis starts well as the object of everyone’s desire, but her final character switch is done much too abruptly, needing more building up to the transition. Paul Silver’s Lucentio is a little flat, but the humor of Peter Good as Petruchio’s servant Grumio, Michael Sherwin’s Tranio, and Christian Miller’s hilarious accented Hortensio is excellently realized.
Jeff Thomson’s set is a solid representation of renaissance perspective, and Dori Brown’s lighting works well. The most impressive design element is Lois K. Myer’s costuming, which captures period and character nicely. David Barker’s fight choreography is intricate and quite enjoyable.
This evening is an expert mix guaranteed to please those looking for big laugh lines and deep thought.
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