Playwright: William Shakespeare
At: First Folio Shakespeare Festival on the Peabody Estate, 31st Street and Route 83 in Oak Brook
Contact: ( 630 ) 986-8067; firstfolio@firstfolio.com, www.firstfolio.org
$23/$20 students, seniors.
Runs through: Aug. 7
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Unless it's all in fun, as in the rootin', tootin' wild west of The Taming of the Shrew. By setting the story of Kate the cursed and Petruchio the contemptible control freak in 1890 Colorado, directors Alison C. Vesely and David Rice have nearly drained the misogyny out of Shakespeare's most horridly chauvinistic play.
This is a production so rich with rollicking parody that when Kate delivers the blood-curdling 'women are bound to serve and obey' speech, it's not so hard to believe she's just hoodwinking her unsought husband with a bit of well-timed lip service.
It's notable that there is palpable chemistry between Erin Noel Grennan's Kate and Aaron Christensen's swaggering Petruchio—this is at least the fifth time I've seen The Taming of the Shrew, and the only time I've seen such crackling sexuality between the two central characters. This undercurrent of sex not only makes the play itself delightfully tantalizing, it goes a long way toward making Kate's eventual 'submission' palatable.
The steam starts rising the moment Kate gets her first look at Petruchio. He's slouched nonchalantly in front of the town whorehouse, cowboy hat completely obscuring his face. Kate yanks off the hat and—for a split second—is rendered speechless by the bolt of attraction that strikes. It's a subtle, marvelous moment.
Later, during a scene wherein they work together and wind up seriously messing with the head of a traveler, you can practically see the sparks flying between the Kate and her man.
It's nothing as obvious as overt lust that develops between the two—it's more the electric excitement that develops as they realize that as a team, they are a formidable force.
The Taming of the Shrew, of course, centers on Kate and Petruchio. The latter is the bull-headed, wildcat elder daughter of the rich Baptista ( Roger Mueller in a delightful performance of patriarch rendered clueless by testosterone ) . Kate's younger sister is the vapid, Barbie-doll like Bianca ( Rani Waterman, nicely doing the bubble-headed blonde routine ) . Bianca has scores of suitors, but isn't allowed to get married until Kate is disposed of via matrimony.
Into town swaggers Petruchio, looking to 'wive it wealthily' by marrying the richest bachlorette he can find. The balance of the story involves Kate's gradual transition from a hellcat defined by ever-present rage to a woman who achieves a goodly measure of inner peace when she finally realizes she is loved.
The production is peppered with original songs ( music by Michael Keefe, lyrics by Rice ) that add a hilarious, let's-all-gather-round-the-campfire element to the proceedings. When characters are called on to disguise themselves ( as they always are in Shakespeare's comedies ) , Rice and Vesely use the opportunity to pay homage to everyone from Clint Eastwood to the Lone Ranger.
And of course, since this is a western, there are plenty of fancy women bursting out of flame-red, cleavage-rich gowns; dusty brawls in the frontier streets, and stuffed squirrels on the dinner table.
First Folio has taken an unlikely setting and used it to make The Taming of the Shrew a viable comedy.