Word: shakespeareans
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...dramatic message, to the detriment of their performances. Mark Cuddy's Petruchio has a reason to deliver his lines like a third-rate caffeine-crazed vaudevillian, Since that is what he is supposed to be. But Kirsten Giroux, who plays Katherina, is clearly a talented if traditional Shakespearean actress, which makes her the wrong person for his role. Her mugging, posting and self-consciously exaggerated delivery make no sense; her gestures and poses look like they have been forced on her against her will. Too often Giroux's voice lapses into sincerity while her slapstick gestures scream of parody...
...PRODUCTION of theatrical lese majeste par excellence, this Taming of the Shrew is rich in intelligence and little strokes of genius, and wildly short of a unifying vision. The key dichotomy is between the feminist intent and the burlesque setting. Burlesque and Shakespearean comedy are close in many ways, and sometimes the technical devices have been successfully transplanted. But the spirit of burlesque is completely antithetical to McDonough's tragicomic conception of the Shakespeare work...
There are some moment's when the conceits and the text fall into sync. The little softshoe Latin lesson the disguised Lucentio imparts upon the eager Bianca is such a gem that the eyes dazzle for the next two scenes. Cue cards with handy translations of Key but obscure Shakespearean terms works so well they would be a welcome addition to very would be a welcome addition to every future production at the ART. But if the flourishes are brilliant, the total picture is murky...
...both in style and in significance - or so we are told in the program notes of the current production at the Agassiz. Such a definite statement is by itself intriguing, and becomes more so upon seeing the play performed. The play is replete with a number of similarities to Shakespearean drama, as well as notable differences and comparative weaknesses. One wonders whether Calderon, who wrote the play in 1636, had ever gotten the chance to read the work of his English counterpart, who died 20 years earlier. Certainly, there are striking parallels: the line "to a convent you must...
Director Carlos Lapuerta adds a sense of creativity and imagination to the staging as we watch the plot and subplots smoothly unfold. Look for the predictable (and typically Shakespearean) swordfights, women dressing like men, hidden identities, a death or two, an ending with two marriage engagements, and the requisite comic relief--basic ingredients for 17th century drama. The play, however, is not dated since it grapples with timeless questions such as the nature of truth, dreams and illusion. Yet with a monologue that closes on "Since life is a dream at best, and even dreams themselves are dreams," and lines...