Theatre Review—

Shrewd Directing And Chemistry Make ‘Taming’ A_Holiday Sparkler

By Julie Stern

NEW MILFORD — The other morning on Public Radio I heard a Los Angeles English teacher observe that while some high schoolers might think Shakespeare’s plays set in Renaissance Verona and Padua might hold no meaning for American teenagers who know nothing about those places, the point is that Shakespeare didn’t know anything about them either. He merely knew about human beings, and used exotic settings as an excuse for handsome costumes and a sense of theatrical atmosphere.

This is certainly demonstrated by TheatreWorks New Milford’s sparkling production of The Taming of the Shrew, this year’s seasonal family entertainment. While it is true that in the wrong hands Shakespearean comedy can be interminably boring (I once slept through the last four fifths of Shrew down at Westport one summer) that is certainly not true here, and for two important reasons.

The first is the shrewd and gifted direction of Jane Farnol, who uses broad comedy and a fast pace to keep audiences laughing at both the lines and the sight gags and body movements. The sign of a top director is that every player is part of the grand scheme, performing well and contributing to the overall effect of the play.

In addition to TheatreWorks regulars, cast members have come from Newtown, Sherman, Oakville, Pawling and other community theaters for the chance to be in this show. From 77-year-old Jack Murphy, who plays the part of the jealous old suitor Gremio as if he had been acting all his life instead of only the last three years, to 13-year-old Marilyn Hubbell, who plays the part of a servant along with being assistant stage manager, and Jaxom Pettibone, a six-year-old Labrador Retriever, the 17 people and one dog are entertaining throughout. Nobody is going to sleep through this one.

Secondly, and just as important in making this show a winner, is chemistry. By having three married couples play the respective lovers, the romance is that much more believable to see. This is particularly the case with Richard and Suzanne Pettibone, in the lead roles of Petruchio and Katherine. Along with artistic director Bill Hughes, the Pettibones have been the backbone of this company for years, serving as both actors and directors. However, with the exception of Night of the Iguana, I don’t recall seeing them play together, and in that show theirs was not a romantic relationship.

Here, Richard Pettibone is perfect for the role of the strutting Petruchio, the young man from Verona who has “come to wive it wealthily in Padua,” by taming and marrying the shrewish Katherine, whose wealthy father has vowed that his sweet-tempered younger daughter, Bianca, can receive no suitors until her older sister is married off.

Suzanne Pettibone, a marvelous singer in musicals, conveys a frightening harridan, with withering scorn for the surrounding fools, who yet contains within her the potential to love sweetly the man brave enough to face up to her attitude. If you know the play — or if you’ve seen Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate, which is a musical about a company of actors performing the Shakespearean work — you know how Petruchio does it: feigning elaborate courtesy and professing tender concern, while he ignores her kicks and blows and starves her into submission, at which point the couple really does discover they love each other.

In this case the aforementioned chemistry is absolutely compelling. You can practically see the pheromones flying between these two. When they finally kiss it is with joyful passion the whole audience can take delight in.

As in other Shakespearean comedies, the secondary and tertiary couples are less important, serving as foils to the main plot. However, Christopher and Lisa Simo-Kinzer are also extremely convincing as the young Veronese Lucentio and his beloved Bianca.

Lucentio has to take on a disguise as a schoolmaster in order to get close to Bianca, communicating his love under the pretense of Latin declensions. This also allows TheatreWorks regular Jackob Hofmann time to shine in the role of Lucentio’s servant Tranio, who pretends to be his master while Lucentio plays the household scholar.

Jonathan Ross, another regular member of the company, represents the competition for Bianca in the person of Hortensio, who finally settles for a rich widow, played by his real-life wife, K.C. Ross.

If you saw and enjoyed the movie Shakespeare In Love you should really like this version of The Taming of the Shrew because it seems true to the idea of what Shakespeare had in mind, and also to the way his comedies were staged, earthily, bawdily and meant for a small stage surrounded by a laughing audience. This is not for little children, but it is a great Christmas show for families with middle-schoolers on up.

You can introduce your kids to Shakespeare and give them a good time as well, one that goes beyond pop culture comic strip specials.

(A matinee of Taming of The Shrew will be presented this weekend, on Sunday at 2 pm. Regular performances continue Friday and Saturday evenings through December 30. A New Year’s Eve performance will also be presented. Regular tickets are $12.50 for adults and $10.50 for students and seniors; the New Year’s Eve show, which will include a post-performance champagne party, is $20 per person. Contact TheatreWorks’ box office at 860/350-6863.)