MSF’s ‘Taming of The Shrew’ is rollicking in Jackson
JACKSON, Mich.–Why would an accomplished, strong feminist play the part of a strong woman who yields up her temperament to a man agreeing that even the sun and the moon rise only at his word and not at the dictates of science?
In the case of Janice L Blixt, artistic director of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, it is the chance to revive the role she played 20 years ago with her now-husband, David Blixt, under the direction of John Neville Andrews. It is also the chance to portray her story with some new perspectives. Does Kate, in The Taming of the Shrew truly get tamed? Or is she taming Petruchio? Is she doing it for money? Is she doing it to revenge herself on those who mistreated her with their seeming submission and docile behavior?
The Michigan Shakespeare Festival officially opened its 2017 season with this controversial work of the Bard’s. They play it straight in period, removing only the play within a play aspect and adding an enthusiastic quartet of musicians.
The two Blixts play Kate and Petruchio while perennial Festival favorite Janet Haley is the younger sister Bianca. The two sisters fight with equal fury until their father, Baptista Minola, played by Tobin Hissong, shows up on the scene. Then Bianca bursts into crocodile tears, making her sister look the Shrew and herself the victim, even though she continues to torment her sister when the father looks away.
From there the play launches into the familiar tale of suitors who desire and scheme for Bianca even though Baptista has said he will not marry his younger daughter until his elder daughter, Kate, is married. Petruchio claims he is the man when he learns she comes with a large dowry.
Money is a continual theme in this show—with Baptista saying he will give his younger daughter to the man with the most money. Even the troublesome ending scene, in which Kate is called upon to scold the other women for not being soft, pliant women submissive to their husband’s whims, is saturated with economics, for it wins her husband a bet and a second dowry, and Director Neville-Andrews makes the eventual possession of this money a key part of the scene.
The two Blixts have all the chemistry you would expect from a couple married off stage as well as on and who have played these roles before. They make clear there is a spark between them, even when they are still fighting and butting heads. Nor do they hide their passions when the two manage to find those. They both have great energy and make the case that the two of them will have a long and loving marriage.
Bianca is a different role for Haley, who more often plays the strong, powerful women and not the ingenues. She makes it work by giving Bianca a spine that is often lacking in productions of this show. Her submissiveness is only a show and she is as much in charge as her sister is and capable of deep plots.
As always, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival has a cast that is strong from top to bottom. Alan Ball gives Gremio humor as the suitor who loses all and gains nothing. Ian Geers as Lucentio and Brandon St. Clair Saunders as his servant Tranio have fun exchanges as they plot to gain the hand of Bianca for the master. Lucentio’s other servant Biondello is played by Eric Eilersen and he has some speed speeches that leaves his stage-mates gasping for air.
Suzanne Young designed gorgeous period costumes for this play, ones that gave each character a station and underlined his or her personality. She rose to the challenge of creating costumes that are very specifically described in the script, especially Petruchio’s wedding outfit and the dress he has made for his wife. About the only complaint is that the dress brought in for Kate was not nearly as gorgeous as the one she was wearing, making her wonder over its beauty slightly less effective.
Jeromy Hopgood’s scenic design was kept simple and sparse—hanging buildings that were used for the various homes, allowing running scene changes. It will also be a set that will easily be packed up and taken to the Shake Fest’s second location in Canton for the last three weeks of its run.
“The Taming of the Shrew” will always be a challenging play to mount in today’s world. We look at women and their roles differently and many of the speeches are cringe-worthy. There is also the issue of Hortensio who sometimes seems to be two different characters merged into one, for he witnessed the “taming” of Kate and yet still took the bet against it. Likewise, he and Tranio-as-Lucentio swore off Bianca, but he seems to be unsurprised when he announces their upcoming marriage to Petruchio.
That said, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival has tackled these challenges head-on and put together a high-quality show that is filled with rollicking good humor.