Subtlety falls under the wheels of Shenandoah Shakespeare
Express's rollicking production of "The Taming of the Shrew." But it's
just the thing to see if all you want is a good belly laugh -- and if
you can ignore the play's, ah, less-than-feminist implications. Which
inadvertently get thrust to the fore as a result of the jolly good time
everyone has.
The Express is dedicated to presenting its namesake's
plays as much as possible the way Elizabethan actors presented them
to their audiences. That is, in natural light, with no set and a minimum
of props and scenery. Company members not only acknowledge the presence
of an audience, they occasionally interact with it, incorporating spectator
responses into the action. And the acting style is, in a word, big.
Really big.
Shakespeare's comedies can certainly stand up to that
style (and just about any other you care to throw at them). Take, for
example, the Express's equally rollicking production last year of "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" -- not in the least poetic despite the highly
poetic language. It was, instead, anarchic and loony and extremely entertaining.
But "Shrew" -- about a man who agrees to marry, well,
a shrew of a woman for her dowry, but ends up in love with her (and
she with him) -- is a special case. Its theme of forcing women into
submission isn't exactly easy to ignore. But it wasn't intended to be
the point of the play even when Shakespeare wrote it: Man's dominion
over woman was, at the time, simply a given. The point was rather a
comic portrait of love developing between the original odd couple. A
love that emerges subtly amid the laughs. But if the comedy is too broad
and rolls over it, you're left with a man teaching a woman how to behave.
As directed by Ralph Alan Cohen and Peggy O'Brien, this "Shrew" is a
cross-cultural carnival, mixing iambic pentameter with sight gags and
routines that could have come from Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges
and "Hee Haw." It's a pie in the face of every tedious, academic production
or lecture of Shakespeare you've ever experienced. It's also very kid-friendly:
Children, as far as I could tell, loved it. For both those things, the
Express should be thanked.
In particular, a pat on the back goes to Kate Norris,
whose portrayal of Kate, the title character, shows you a great deal
of why she's so impossible -- she's genuinely hurt from endlessly losing
out to her conniving younger sister, Bianca (Jessica Meyer). As Petruchio,
the tamer, Carl Martin is the picture of unflappable self-confidence.
Michael Glenn plays Grumio, Petruchio's servant, with a sort of wonderful
haplessness. Other fine supporting work comes from Tim Gore, Walter
Elder, Jonathon Church and Scott Nath.
Cohen and O'Brien have produced a campy, athletic hoot,
but at the expense of the play's soul. The stage antics, which get wilder
with every scene, are platforms for Petruchio's will to gain advantage
over Kate's. You'll laugh a lot, but heartlessly: The love that eventually
develops seems to be the natural result of a woman's recognizing her
place, instead of two people recognizing things about themselves.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Directed
by Ralph Alan Cohen and Peggy O'Brien. Production design by Susannah
Anderson. With Heather Peak, Tom Summers and Kathryn L. Van Meter. In
rep with "Richard III" and "Measure for Measure" through July 3 at the
Folger Shakespeare Library. Call 202-544-7077.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
