REVIEW: CSC's 'Shrew' Wonderfully Slick Rain or Shine

The best kept secret in theatre in the Baltimore/Washington area is about to go national, and their current production of The Taming of the Shrew stands as a loud, funny testament as to why. This time next year, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company will again be presenting 2 plays in rep at the ruins, but next year it will be under the national spotlight of the Shakespeare in Washington/>/> festival. As that draws thousands from all over the world, I suspect tickets will not be easy to come by. If there is any justice (and the weather gods cooperate) tickets this summer will be just as scarce.

In company tradition, CSC offers a truly "no 4^th wall" approach to theatre, and it was fun to watch combat rehearsals (for King Lear, opening this weekend), chat with the actors and creative staff and take in the outdoor ambience of the beautiful Patapsco Female Institute ruins. The stone walls, doorways and windows offer a beautiful backdrop to the show and have been fully incorporated in the design of the show (designed by Chuck Leonard) and are creatively used throughout by the cast. Kudos are also due to costume designer Kristina Lambdin, who has created a visual feast of texture and layers, mixed with practicality. One imagines the costumes won't be too bad the balmy days of midsummer.

This was Shakespeare done as it was meant to be, in the closest approximation to the open air Globe Theatre I've attended locally. Of course, it opens up the possibility of rain outs. Opening night did not have the full cooperation of the weather. Did it matter? No, I am thrilled to report. And about 25 minutes into Act One, it started to rain, causing the stage to become unsafe. So, the show stopped and we were all guided to a large tent set up outside the stage area. There it was nice to commune a little more with the actors and the rest of the audience. As luck would have it, the rain stopped, and back we went. (In true company spirit, it was wonderful to see leads and ensemble and staff and crew working hand in hand to ready the stage for the rest of the show.) A brief announcement that we got our intermission early and that the cast might slow down a little, and on with the show. Then, just as everything was ready to come to a climax, the clouds again opened up! We were one scene away from the end, but then the creativity of CSC really came to the fore, as we all - cast, crew and groundlings alike - ran to the tent, and the performance finished, in modified blocking, of course. They went effortlessly into character, and improvised blocking that was so smooth and appropriate it was astonishing. And, as is the hallmark of this classics-only company, their "make it accessible to everyone" philosophy informed the entire production to such an extent that not one word was lost, unable to be understood, and even the little girl who sat wide-eyed in the tent as Bianca sat right next to her to do a bit, knew exactly what was going on. Other local companies attempting Shakespeare really need to take a look at this way of doing things. When an 8 year old can follow the entire plot and not one actor chewed the scenery or showed of his/her "acting Shakespeare" technique, something right is going on here. And lest the Shakespeare literati get their upturned noses in a twist, this production is also impressive for its authenticity and artistry. Why is it that only CSC consistently remembers that Shakespeare wrote for the masses, not for Harvard post-grads?

Oh! How was the show? Well, it was just terrific! And I have to give director Patrick Kilpatrick much of the credit. His company was so well-prepared; they could have done it in the parking lot in shorts and t-shirts! He has created a more traditional Shrew, fast paced, physical and romantic. Interestingly, this is the first production of it that I have ever seen where the Bianca and her suitors storyline has been given equal weight to the Kate/Petruchio story. The result isn't a tamer Shrew, but a more antic, funnier and more romantic production. It also made the production less ho-hum – everyone knows the story of the crude Katherine – but I'd be willing to bet most of the crowd was surprised at just how much Kate's sister figures into it all. Most productions seem to forget that the whole reason there is a need to tame a shrew is because Bianca can't get married until Katherine is married first. Here, Bianca's travails are just as important (and rightly so). The result is a much more full-bodied evening. Credit here must also be shared by the four main actors in this love rectangle – BJ Gailey as Petruchio, Kate Michelsen-Graham as Katherine, Ashly Ruth Fishell as Bianca and Scott Graham as Lucentio. Each gives an amazing performance – any time they are on stage you are riveted by their every move and word. The haughty arrogance of Gailey's Petruchio emulates a masculinity that is a powerful match for the screams and tormented wails of Michelsen-Graham's infuriatingly misunderstood Kate. Both give these time worn characters a surprisingly modern edge and spar like pro boxers (I can only imagine the bruises each has to nurse after each performance) and for once, you actually wonder if maybe this time Kate will win the battle. And thank Thespis, we finally have a Bianca that isn't played like a vapid Barbie doll. Miss Fishell has created the most fully realized Bianca I have ever seen. Here, Bianca isn't a withering flower waiting to be wooed. She is as aggressive as her sister (I wouldn't want to meet this Bianca in a bad mood on a dark street), but effuses such charm and grace, and a subtle sexuality that it is hard not to join the long line of suitors. Fishell is a little tornado of energy that is magnetic. Whether she is center stage or in the background she is totally in character and mesmerizing to watch. And Graham's Lucentio, is love-struck, but thankfully, not a boorish boob of slack jawed stupidity as the character is often portrayed. This may be the first time I've seen a Shrew where I totally believed that Bianca would fall for Lucentio. All of this makes the final moments all the more fun and satisfying. Both couples are so right for each other and so realistic that their verbal sparring is a treat, and as fast-paced and thrilling as any of the physical shtick earlier in the play. Shakespeare was a feminist! These women are their men's equals in every way - and what a great message for young and old alike.

The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, and many are the very embodiment of the old saying "there are no small parts, only small actors". Each has created distinct characters that are fun to watch and entirely appropriate – not a scene stealer among them. Kevin Costa as Grumio, Petruchio's servant, is absolutely delightful, playful, very funny and the perfect foil to his master (I'd like to see what Costa and Gailey could do with The Odd Couple). Jacob Rothermel as Hortensio is a scream as Bianca's love-struck suitor in disguise as her music tutor. He has priceless facial expressions, and the dry delivery of his lines is a riot. Jennifer Crooks as Trania, Lucentio's servant who must disguise herself as Lucentio, also gives a masterful (no pun intended) performance, equally convincing as a lovely young woman and a man's man. What gives her performance such fullness is the fact that she never forgets (and never lets the audience forget, either) how hard it is to maintain a disguise, especially a gender-bending one. The fleeting looks of panic in her face every time she almost gets caught in the act, and the determined look in her eye remind us that she knows that lives hang in the balance by her success or failure. Of course, it is touching, too, that she plays it such that we know she does this selfless act out of love for her master. Lastly, in the small ensemble of servants that populate Padua/>/>, Christopher Niebling and Valerie Fenton are delightfully funny, as they, like everyone else in the play have "found love" and pop up all over the place smooching and pawing each other. It is yet another example of the completeness of director Kilpatrick's vision. Such a unity of concept is difficult to achieve, and he has succeeded in every way.

Get thee to this Taming of the Shrew! And look for my review of King Lear this time next week!

PHOTO by Kitty R Photography: BJ Gailey (L)as Petruchio and Kate Michelsen-Graham (R)as Katherine

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