The Taming of The Shrew : Play Review


The opening night of The Taming of The Shrew on April 6, 2016 at the Roxy Theatre, was a play I will never forget. The leads playing Petruchio and Katherina, Jonathan Whitney and Margaret Eilertson, were phenomenal at portraying character transformation as well as creating depth to the characters beyond an act. However, the rest of the cast was equally brilliant in the portrayal of their roles and emphasizing Shakespeare’s wit and humor with every delivery of every line. The set remained a simple backdrop of columns to resemble the home of Baptista and his daughters, Katherina and Bianca; whereas when the travels of Katherina and Petruchio occurred, there was a fabric backdrop of various places and landmarks. While the theme of the play was obviously rather crude in that a man should have the capability to “tame” his woman/wife, the humor and mocking of this social mentality was the message depicted through Shakespeare’s words and the actor’s portrayal.  An overall wonderfully amusing and entertaining production thanks to the cast, director, and of course, Shakespeare himself.

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