ANW Presents THE TAMING OF THE SHREW 3/7-5/17

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed repertory theatre company, begins the second half of its 2008-09 season with Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, a rough and raucous ride on the road to romance and one of the Bard's most popular, high-spirited comedies, which opens Saturday, March 7 and runs through Sunday, May 17, 2009.

(Previews begin Saturday, February 28.)

Directed by ANW Co-Founder/Co-Artistic
Director Geoff Elliott, the cast includes Allegra Fulton (Katherine), Steve Weingartner (Petruchio), Apollo Dukakis (Baptista), Alan Blumenfeld (Grumio) and Tom Fitzpatrick (Gremio), who garnered critical raves as Fagin in ANW's Oliver Twist earlier this season. In many ways The Taming of the Shrew is a perfect play, says
Elliott.

It's beautifully balanced with sometimes soaring imagery, a fast forward-moving energy, and deep and relevant substance concerning relationships between men and women." He adds, "As controversial as the play has become over the years with regard to ?the taming of Kate, I believe that it's first and foremost a fun-loving comedy about two childish individuals who, over the course of the play,
complete each other, mature, and fall truly and deeply in love."

Elliott sets this production around Italy in the 1950's. "Not only do I love the look of the period," he says, "I also think that because this was a time in which the dust of the terrible WWII world upheaval was settling, people were once again turning their attention to marriage, love, family, and just plain having fun. It is also a wonderfully vibrant time musically.

Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin and other Italian crooners had arrived, and some of this musical style is being incorporated into the sound of
the production."

A Noise Within (ANW) is the only classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature year-round and working in the repertory tradition of rotating productions using a
resident company of professional artists. ANW is led by
Founders/Artistic Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott.

Over the last 17 years, ANW has attracted fiercely loyal audiences and high praise from the media for its productions of great works of world drama and also as a leading regional force in arts education. The company's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with 26 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, Los Angeles highest recognition for theatrical achievement, and other similarly substantial honors. Since its founding in 1991, A Noise Within has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing a minimum of six plays from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière, to Ibsen, O?Neill and Shaw, to Miller and Williams. The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle named A Noise Within's production of O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet Best Revival of 2006, and the LA Stage Alliance nominated Jarry?s Ubu Roi for six Ovation Awards. In 2004, the theatre collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen in a tandem performance of Shakespeare?s A Midsummer Night?s Dream at the Hollywood Bowl.

A Noise Within?s 2008-09 season is dedicated to the De Pietro family for their unflagging generosity and support for the past 17 years.

Single Tickets are $44 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); $40 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees); and $28 (previews). Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are
$15, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.

A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204. To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.

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