A raucous night of theater just as the bard intended awaits audiences of the Olde School Shakespeare Collective’s production of The Taming of the Shrew. Hosted at My Buddy’s bar, a favorite haunt for theater folk and sports fans alike in the Uptown neighborhood, this production of Taming is imagined as the good time Shakespeare intended (plus shots). OSSC’s Artistic Producer of New Projects, Hayley Procacci, served as the production’s captain rather than its director to mirror the old-school ways.
Finding yourself in for a night of Taming might once have meant cramming beforehand on Spark Notes to make sure you got characters and plotlines straight (or at least rewatching 1999’s film adaptation, 10 Things I Hate About You). But in the OSSC’s production, Shakespeare’s often convoluted storylines make sense through a modern lens, even using helpful visual aids like a chalkboard to trace the primary characters’ desires and motivations. The story is the familiar one: suitors are infatuated with Bianca Baptista (Olivia Evans), however, her mother, Baptista Minola (Victoria Cruz) will not part with her younger daughter before the eldest, Katerina (Jack Disselhorst), is wed. Also called Kate, the eldest daughter presents a challenge to potential matches, since she is strong-willed, quick-witted, and not easily impressed by macho bravado.
However, if anyone is up for the task, it is the confident and crafty Petruchio (Becca Rowland), who is motivated by Kate’s dowry as well as the challenge of “taming” her wily spirit into the picture of docile domesticity. Jostling alongside another suitor for Bianca’s heart, the competitive Hortensio (Crystal Claros), Lucentia (Sophie Murk) contrives a scheme to get closer to her by posing as her tutor. The typical Shakespearean hijinks ensue, with a decidedly fresh energy and the chaotic adrenaline of only 12 hours of rehearsal time before opening night. The cast also includes Emma Anderson as Biondello, Gwyneth Clare as Grumio, Scout Gregory as Tranio, Fiona Ross as Gemia, Wyatt McCall, Hayley Procacci and Jen Sinnen as ensemble.
Modernity lives everywhere in this production, which feels historically accurate to writing that appealed so directly to the culture of its time. Why shouldn’t Lucentia be reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle and Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz? Why shouldn’t the cast bend gender and names and dynamics, as Shakespeare’s works did in their original forms, casting all male actors in women’s roles? Modern music is incorporated to add emphasis: Big & Rich’s hilarious song Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy plays when a character scooters onstage, 50 Cents’ Candy Shop ushers in a boisterous Petruchio, and Senora Baptista sings Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All directly to the audience during a wedding scene.
All the sexual innuendo is made explicit, as with any good Shakespearean production. The bro vibes of Bianca’s second suitor Hortensio are immediately apparent, as he chest bumps and dances his way through most scenes, abbreviating Shakespeare’s language and adding silly zingers here and there. The fun and the masquerade of Shakespeare’s original work was only compounded in this production’s vibrant adaptation; pretending to be the faux suitor Cambia’s father, ensemble member Jen Sinnen donned a flimsy fake mustache, replacing it with backups pulled out of her sleeve when they inevitably lost their stick. Petruchio entered wearing a “Femboy Bussy Inspector” shirt and assless lingerie under his pants. His scenes also have clear BDSM vibes, with “Bratty submissive girlfriend teases you in public” flashing on screen at one point. Shakespeare’s already risque lines—like “Thy lover is thy whip”—are thrust into a literal interpretation, and the bard’s body humor—like flirty banter about eating meat on one’s wedding night—reaches its greatest potential for laughs.
The strong improvisers on stage turned a few line flubs into modern English jibes, finding their way to the next dramatic road marker with good-natured flexibility. I was prompted into audience participation twice, so shy theatergoers should make their preferences clear if and when you make eye contact with an approaching cast member. With all the distractions of a working bar, I was still paying complete attention to the play. Of course, I credit the original dramatic source material, but the star of the night was OSSC’s hot and heavy brat-taming interpretation.
The show is playing at My Buddy’s, 4416 N Clark St, at 7:30pm on September 3 and September 13, and 10pm on August 31 and September 27. (The cast warned that the humor will be especially raunchy for the 10pm shows). The show runs about 90 minutes with an intermission. General admission is $15 with VIP tickets at $30, available here: https://www.theoldeschoolshakes.com/upcoming-shows.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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