“Slightly Sordid, Very Witty, and Absolutely Fascinating”
The Taming of the Shrew is the production that everyone’s talking about! Adaptor and Director Marti Lyons’s bold interpretation reignites age-old questions about gender, class, and power, inspiring the type of spirited debate that makes live theatre so worthwhile and exciting.
Deception, disguise, and desire. Power and play. It’s all here, and it’s waiting for you. Read what reviewers are saying below and don’t miss The Shrew Experience. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at (773) 753-4472.
“The most innovative and engaging take on Shakespeare that Chicago audiences will see this season…the performances magnificently deliver on the brash and upfront characters so beloved by Shakespeare while filling all the cracks and crevices of the play with the minutia of their characters…making for a truly spectacular experience where every place on stage drips with meaningfulness.”
“This is not like any production of Shrew I have ever seen. And I love it…pleasure, not punishment, drives the story. Power is a game, and everyone in the room is choosing to play….It is rare for a Shrew to feel so sensual and so intellectually alive.”
“Marti Lyons’ stunning and hilarious reinterpretation of The Taming of the Shrew, now playing at the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, takes Shakespeare’s comedic and contentious rough-cut, sapphire-of-a-play and creates a cloud of dazzling diamond dust. This is a slightly sordid, very witty, and absolutely fascinating production.”
“Lush, sexy, dark, funny, disconcerting, exceptionally cast and exceptionally funny…a play worth reviving because of resurging clashes in society over sexual equality and gender expression.”
“The timing and chemistry of the cast are excellent across the board...The Court Theatre production of The Taming of the Shrew is funny, twisted just enough, and gives new meaning to taming.”
“[In Lyons’s adaptation, we] see how patriarchy sets women in opposition to each other. If I’ve made it sound like this production is entirely heavy, that’s not right. There are many humorous interludes…But I’d also argue that there’s simply no way to make Shrew work without leaving us with unease (not even [Cole] Porter could totally achieve that). That’s where Lyons’s reinterpretation does ring true”
— Chicago Reader, Reader Recommended
“Evocative and a pleasure to look at”
“A strong cast…[Melisa Soledad] Pereyra is fiery and funny, and later when she succumbs to Petruchio’s abuse, she plays the transformation with an interesting mix of vulnerability, ambivalence, and practicality.”
“Lyons really brings out the comedic aspects of Shakespeare’s play, capturing its inherent wit while adding a delightful layer of energy and spirited humor…The energy, flow, and satire were masterfully woven into this production, giving it a life of its own.”
— Let’s Play Theatrical Reviews
“[Jay Whittaker, playing Petruchio, and Melisa Soledad Pereyra, playing Katherina] are also well-matched, like so many of Shakespeare’s sparring couples, and their encounters are highly charged erotically”