Photo by Jordan Fraker
Shakespeare's
The Taming of the Shrew
Running Time: 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
ASL Performance: Not Available
Sound Level:Comfortable
Noises/Visuals to Prepare For: Whip used, Comedy violence
Taming of the Shrew almost always causes a few ruffled feathers.Sitting in my Shakespeare Comedies class, twenty-one year-old me read the language with darting eyes, looking around the classroom to see if other females were reading the same text and hearing the same words that I was. Yep! Concerned glances, furrowed eyebrows, confused faces filled the room. What exactly is this saying to women, about women, and um, how dare you! Shakespeare, deberias estar avergonzado! I can laugh about this now, shake my head and keep reading--I encourage you to, as well. In a nutshell, this is what you can expect:
Katherine/Kate, (Liz Magallanes) "the shrew," lives at home with her younger sister, Bianca (Alyssa Carrasco) and mother, Baptista (Shelia D. Rose) In the original text Baptista is their father, but Shakespeare Dallas explores a more fluid gender representation that is both intriguing and respectful in today's time. The beautiful and delicate Bianca has many suitors, of all ages, who are ready to make her a wife: The rich elder, Gremio (Robert San Juan,) the established younger gentleman Hortensio (Adrian Godinez) and the young scholar Lucentio (Jayson L. Diaz.) However, Kate is the older sister of the two and Baptista refuses to let the suitors skip the line to the younger daughter before Kate has married first! Kate has a more mature, attractive belleza about her, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with her--except that she is a holy terror, especially when it comes to men! She has no interest in marrying, anyone, ever! Pobre Bianca!
This is where we can get too caught up in the politics and philosophy of the storyline. There are overarching questions and reasons why this play was presented in Shakespeare's time and why we still produce it today. I could (and I'm tempted to) dive in to all of that in this review, but I'll spare you the lecture, you don't need it to appreciate this incredible production. Verdaderamente magnifico! All I will say is that the themes did not die with their ancient time, they are still very much alive and well. And, seeing this play as an adult resonated with me much more than it did when I first read it in my younger, unmarried years. Marriage, if nothing else has taught me that I do not exist on this earth for only myself, just as I don't exist for my husband's sole purpose. It's not about me. It's not about him. It's about us. We depend on one another for this to work. It's true that this lesson is taught many different ways and in many different relationships, but never more so than it does through marriage, perhaps similar in parenthood.
Kate, like most women, values her independence, but unlike many women, she leaves mostly victims in her path, scorching anyone who tries to hold her down or confront her. She exists within her own perimeters, all others are burned from entrance. She has yet to meet her match, until now. Petruchio (Omar Padilla) is also no ordinary suiter. Like Kate, he has a hot streak, but has taught himself to laugh at his own fury in the moment. (Today, we'd call this coping--which Kate has yet to learn.) He also has yet to meet his match, until now. Ryan Matthieu Smith's production triumphantly celebrates Hispanic culture and traditions through a Bilingual version of Shakespeare texts, with a few alterations which include translations of selected lines of his verse by Amy Freed, and a setting of 1880's San Antonio, with the occasional visit to Petruchio's home in Brownsville. Petruchio has arrived in San Antonio in search of wife, which is perfect plot-timing, since Gremio and Hortensio are in search of a husband for Kate--he need not even LIKE the woman, he just needs to marry her! According to plan, Petruchio makes plans with Baptista to meet and marry Kate, assuming that he will be happier with her dowry than he will with her person. He provokes her to fury in the well-known "Tongue in your tail" battle of wits, then provokes her to passion, which he finds a little too hot to handle himself. Magallanes aggravates her well-groomed aggressor by whipping him into shape (quite literally with a whip!) Much to her surprise, he is no more afraid of her whip than he is of her tongue-lashing; he is, quite frankly, enjoying it. She is, quite frankly, enjoying it too. Foreshadowing at its finest! From their first introduction, Padilla and Magallanes are fire! It's getting hot out here, and it's not the weather.
Running parallel, at a slightly cooler temperature is Bianca and her new lover. (No, I'm not going to tell you which one, go see for yourself!) Carrasco's Bianco is daintily sweet and adorable in her cutesy pigtails and floor-length petticoat and skirt, polar opposite to her Magallanes' thigh-high red boots and blusa, whip ready in hand!
Scenic Designer, Uldarico Sarmiento Ossio's set has been transformed Shakespeare Dallas' Summer season into an explosion of bright color and gorgeous Latino textures and patterns, in conjunction with Director Smith's costume designs boasting ruffles, stitched floral patterns and rich hues. Sound Designer Noah James Heller has perfectly timed cartoon audio for each slap-stick comedy "fight" bit, organized brilliantly by Jeffery Colangelo.
Alongside the vibrancy of Hispanic culture and aesthetic, every element of Shakespeare Dallas' Taming of the Shrew has come together with exquisite perfection, making this a show that you'll want to see again and again! Tickets can be purchased at shakespearedallas.org through October 19.
Enjoy the Show!
Natalie Shaw
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