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Regional Reviews: New Jersey Zany Adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew
Why inapt when the play is severely foreshortened, and all of the remaining dialogue is from Shrew? Well, as such, all the depth and subtlety of character is missing. Katharina is the biggest pushover of a supposed shrew that we are ever likely to encounter. And, in the face of so easily a conquered Kate, Petruchio is no more than a doltish and purposelessly mean bully. Yet, none of this is what the delightful doings on the outdoor stage are really about. Under the direction (and script editing) of Brian B. Crowe, Shrew provides the framework for a most effective Marx Brothers style romp reminiscent of the best slapstick screen comedies of the 1930s. Providing a delightful ambiance is a musical score which is equally reminiscent of the music we now hear on the soundtracks appended to films of the great silent film comedians, and the music heard in the 1930s Paramount Marx Brothers films. Although I did not employ a stopwatch to time each scene, it appeared to me that less stage time is given to Petruchio's effort to break the independent spirit of Katharina and "wive it wealthily" with her than is given to the subplot, the pursuit of her younger sister Bianca by an assortment of mostly clownish suitors. Their father Baptista will not give consent for her to marry until the recalcitrant Kate is wedded. From the get-go, we find Bianca being pursued by two clownish Paduans, the long in the tooth Gremio and the foppish Hortensio, who disguises himself as a music teacher in order to be able to woo Bianca while ostensively instructing her. Lucentio, a young gentleman newly arrived from Pisa, is smitten by Bianca at first sight. Lucentio has his personal servant, Tranio, present himself to Baptista and seek permission to marry Bianca in his name, while he disguises himself as a tutor in order to woo Bianca. Endless complications ensue involving more servants, a widow in love with Hortensio, a traveling merchant enlisted to portray Lucentio's father, and, of course, Lucentio's father himself. Meanwhile, six servants of Petruchio gin up plenty of slapstick laughs as they are browbeaten by him as part of his calculatedly outrageous behavior as he breaks the spirit of his intended Kate. All in all, there are twenty-one featured roles played by an expert cast of nine principals who let their hair down and joyfully transform themselves into hammy vaudevillians for the night. Gregory Derelian and Ruth Eglsaer as Petruchio and Katharina provide lively humor, delivering each sentence with gusto and an exclamation point! The balance of the cast either doubles or triples in multiple roles, and all carry off each of their assignments with great aplomb. Maureen Sebastian (Bianca) and Nick Cordileone (Lucentio) add comic flourishes to their roles of ingénue and male ingenue. Damian Buzzerio (Gremio), Nick Cordileone (Lucentio), Bruce Cromer (Baptista), Brian McKnight (Hortensio), Maureen Sebastian (Bianca) and Corey Tazmania (The Widow) are each stylish and funny. David Foubert in his principal role of Tranio (pretending to be Lucentio) emerges as the evening's top banana (a vaudeville term referring to the star comedian). His W.C. Fields-like line readings are the centerpiece of a consistently hilarious performance. It is the clowns and not the lovers who are the stars of this Shrew, and this may well be the only production that we ever see of it where the star role is that of Tranio. Director Brian B. Crowe pulls out all the stops with great success. His actors get quite a workout making entrances from all about the rear of the amphitheatre behind and above the audience, performing scenes while transporting themselves up and down its steep steps. The scene in which Petruchio denies Kate a meal, pretending that he is being solicitous of her because the food is inferior, is a comedically choreographed slapstick gem in which his many servants scurry about like football receivers to catch each item that he tosses off. Crowe only falters only once, and that is at the end, when political correctness (and, quite possibly, the fear of feminist boo birds) rears its ugly head. After Katharina delivers a truncated version of the speech on a wife's duty to her husband, there is a pantomimed finale in which the newly married Bianca and Widow each bosses about her new husband. This is out of character for both, and deliberately undermines the theme and morality of the play. Need anyone fear that at the beginning of the 21st century someone might think that the 400-year-old mores of Elizabethan England could apply today? In fact, when Katharina describes to these newlyweds the obligations and dangers that husbands (then) faced, "while thy lay at home secure and safe," she helps us to comprehend a way of thinking in another time and place which is incomprehensible to many today. Costume Designer Martha Bromelmeier has designed appropriately loud, ill-fitting comic costumes for the men which reflect the same show biz era as the instrumental musical score. Jesse Dreiksen has designed a solid unit set which conceals the foliage at the rear of the stage. Because of the early (daylight) Sunday night curtain, most of the lighting effects could not be seen, but near the play's conclusion, the effects observed (particularly sunlight peeking from between window slats) revealed some good work by lighting designer Tony Galaska. Happily, the run of Shakespeare Theatre's delightfully vaudevillian The Taming of the Shrew has been extended through August 12. It is quite a bargain for families with free admission for children 5 and under, and tickets at $15 for those 12 and under (admission is $28 for the rest of us). It is an excellent show with which to introduce a youngster to the joy of theatre. The Taming of the Shrew continues performances (Tues.-Sat. 8:15 p.m./ Sun 7:15 p.m.) at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Outdoor Stage on the College of St. Elizabeth campus, Route 124 and Convent Station, Morristown, NJ. Box Office: 973-408-5600; online: www.ShakespeareNJ.org. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare;
directed by Brian B. Crowe Cast (In Order Of Appearance)
Photo: © Gerry Goodstein
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