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GreenStage presents The Taming of the Shrew
August 15, 2019 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm PDT
Free
FREE Shakespeare in the Park!
A troupe of Women’s Suffragists perform one of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies as part of a raucous protest demonstration for Women’s Rights. The story of strong-willed, outspoken Katherine and arrogant Petruchio’s attempts to tame her into marriage at the entreaty of the men of Padua makes for rich material as Shakespeare’s Shrews tackle marriage, gender roles, and social hierarchies. But what is a little social commentary without a healthy helping of laughs and a dash of love?
Shakespeare wrote his plays at a time when England was experiencing a “crisis of order.” During Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the privileged classes experienced anxiety and fear of the uprooting of social hierarchies based in gender, demographics, and class, and more specifically fearing female rebellion. Since the Elizabethan era, history has seen several gains for women’s rights as well as the accompanying anxiety and backlash of those possessing power and privilege. GreenStage and this production revel in the successes of the movement. In 2019, we celebrate the anniversary of Congress’s vote on what would become the 19th Amendment (The Action on Women’s Right to Vote. 2020 will be the 100th anniversary of the certification of the amendment.) We also saw a historic number of women participate in the 116th U.S. Congress. This production is dedicated to all the outspoken women that came before us, are with us today, and will lead us into the future, who refuse to be tamed or silenced in their fight for equality.
Directed by Jennifer Crooks
CAST
Allison Adams: Grumio
Mary E. Brown: Baptista
MJ Daly: Tranio
Carol Gnojewski: Vincentio
Emily Huntingford: Hortensio
Jordan Kerbs: Gremio
Isis King: Lucentio
Marina Kleinpeter: Bianca
Cassandra Leon: Kate
Caitlin Macy-Beckwith: Petruchio
Melissa Wilson: Biondello
CREW
Heather Bernadette: Stage manager
Julia Trimarco: Costume designer
Ken Holmes: Technical director
Conor Smith: Props
Stacey Bush: Fight Choreographer
Max Koh: House manager
