Lesbians, Britney abound in new 'Shrew'

When Petruchio entreats, "Kiss me, Kate" near the end of the Dramat's The Taming of the Shrew, the line serves more to allude to the Broadway show—and all of its attendant associations—than express the character's feelings. Mollie Goldstein's, PC '02, production packs so much allusive power into every scene that it's difficult to remain grounded in the play itself. Transvestites, dildos, and Britney Spears all find their way into one of Shakespeare's most sexist plays. The subtext of the play seems to overpower the narrative structure of Shakespeare's work, just as the near-constant pop music sometimes overwhelms the actors' speeches.

Not all of the production's trappings, however, are dross. The message of Shrew—that an intransigent and unpleasant woman can and should be trained by her husband to be the obedient and gentle ideal wife—is nicely undercut by the reversal of gender in many of the lead roles; Kate and Bianca are ruled by their mother, and Bianca is wooed by a female Lucentio. The insertion of contemporary concepts of gender flexibility, embodied here by the presence of a transvestite and a lesbian, further subverts the original. It's difficult not to laugh at the script's insistence on traditional gender roles when the world that Goldstein creates on the YSD's New Theater Stage is a matriarchy.

And what a world it is—replete with Britney Spears videos and a hot, all-female soundtrack including Fiona Apple, Janis Joplin, and, of course, Britney. At one point, Patrick Knighton (as Tranio, who is in fact pretending to be Lucentio), TC '05, even plays "Hit Me Baby One More Time," on the saxophone. Andrew Sessa's, MC '02, set uses the space to its full capacity to physically ground this pink-hued and gender-bending world. Victorian architectural elements and a lit Hotel sign, as well as a quasi-romantic birdbath, fill the black-box theater, affording the cast two balconies, a living room, and a bar.

The one drawback to so many possibilities—albeit well-executed possibilities—is that the actors often seem uncomfortable getting to their next mark because they must circumnavigate chaise lounges and bar stools.

Notwithstanding the physical constraints on the crowded stage, the actors do a good job of using physicality for the desired effect, whether it's Daniel Effron's, DC '05, S-shaped, hunched-old-man caricature as Gremio, or the roughhousing between Petruchio and his servant Grumio, as played by Vira Slywotzky, ES '04.

Dan Berson, TC '03, is great at making Petruchio amiable—largely through physical comedy—despite his shrewdness in dealing with Kate. With his corkscrew curls and the awful get-up that the costume designers Molly Christian, SM '03, and Gabriela Salazar, BK '03, put him in, it's difficult to take him seriously, and the methods he uses to tame Kate seem the more light-handed and jovial.

Indeed, the costumes in this play are consistently a ton of fun—and go along well with the Madonna et. al.-heavy sound-track. When Kate (Lauren Johns, ES '04) first appears on stage, she bellows from one of the balconies, wearing a black vinyl bustier and a punk rock belt over a pleated skirt with shit-kicker boots. Allysha Powanda, CC '03, as Baptista, is attired like a 1980s power-lunching female executive. This effect is heightened when Baptista whips out her PalmPilot in order to auction off her daughter to the highest bidder. Powanda's performance is one of the best in the production; she manages to make Baptista seem ridiculous but at the same time familiar. She makes you feel for Kate, what with a mother like that.

Emily Guilmette, TD '03, gives another great performance as the lucky suitor, Lucentio, who wins Bianca's hand. Her numerous schemes to gain access to Bianca (Jessica Leventhal, BR '03) seem, from the beginning, effortless, and more playful than desperate. Guilmette's charisma serves her well—her Lucentio oozes confidence. She makes you know that Lucentio's the one you'd want to hang out with in Padua.

It's clear that with this Shrew, Goldstein looks to create a fabulous, fantastical world, which is only appropriate for a play that more than stretches our notions of what's possible or what's acceptable. And, mostly, she succeeds. Shrew is like a genie in a bottle; Goldstein knows how to rub it the right way.

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