The Pirate Review - The Taming of the Shrew

Forget Liz Taylor and Richard Burton—in my opinion, this is the definitive film version of Shakespeare's classic play.

In the past few years, The Broadway Theatre Archive has begun to offer a number of vintage out-of-print theatrical productions on videotape. Its catalogue is still relatively meager, but contains a number of real gems—including ACT's production of "The Taming of the Shrew," finally available again on DVD and VHS.

During its 1973-74 season, the American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco performed this hilarious, often controversial early Shakespeare play about the battle of the sexes. Directed in the Italian commedia dell'arte style with plenty of risqué humor and slapstick, "The Taming of the Shrew" was popular enough to be filmed for the PBS Great Performances TV series, but quickly fell out of print and has been commercially unavailable for many years. I know, because I've been looking for it ever since the mid-'80s, when I first saw a taped-off-TV copy in my high school English class.

Before this experience with Shakespeare, I was of the mind that every play ever written by the Bard of Avon was basically somber, serious, plodding stuff. I had a pretty good grasp of Renaissance English (at least for a 15-year-old) and I'd seen several of the Zeffirelli film versions, but most of Shakespeare's wit was lost on me. I had never seen a live, professional production of a Shakespeare play; I had never realized how ancient, dusty, odd-sounding words and phrases could come to life, when spoken by the right actor. I think I sat gawping through most of the class; by the end I'd found my new favorite Shakespeare play.

This tape contains the original Great Performances opener from the mid-1970s, and a preface by Hal Holbrook. (A minor aside—while watching Holbrook discuss the play, I noted that casual smoking on television has all but evaporated since the '70s, to the point that seeing ol' Hal with a smoldering cigarette in hand was a little jarring. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; it's just an observation on the way our society has changed.) The performance is followed by a rather dry interview with ACT's director William Ball.

The production stars Fredi Olster as Katherina, Marc Singer as Petruchio, Stephen St. Paul as Lucentio and Sandra Shotwell as Bianca. Some of you may be scratching your heads and muttering, "Marc Singer... Marc Singer... that name... waitaminnit, BEASTMASTER Marc Singer? What are you trying to pull on us, TPK?" Yes, this is indeed the same Marc Singer who went on to star in the cheesy Beastmaster movies and the V TV series—but before he gained notoriety in these questionable productions, Singer was a talented stage actor and a regular with the ACT. In this production, he shows a remarkable understanding for Shakespearean dialogue and a talent for physical comedy that, unfortunately, never manifested in any of his subsequent films.

For those used to Method acting and modern interpretation of Shakespeare, this production may require a little gear-shifting. Shakespeare originally borrowed his plot from an Italian tale, and director William Ball decided to return to the play's roots by incorporating much of the look and feel of commedia dell'arte into this production. (For a good introduction to commedia, its history and stock characters, please see A Thumbnail History of Commedia dell'Arte.) The "clowns," who take incidental parts throughout the play as needed, wear the masks, tall hats and grotesquely protruding stomachs typical of commedia. A structure of poles has been erected around the stage, upon which all the clowns perch to watch the play—and occasionally make interjections. For example, whenever a character mentions "Padua," all the clowns cheer; when Signiore Baptista orders Bianca to go in, they all let loose with a dejected "Awww..." The characters also make use of lazzi, or comedic business, complete with sound effects produced onstage—and to a certain extent, these are the stock characters derived from commedia. There are running gags—the aged Gremio and his foul breath, the doffing of hats every time Petruchio's father Antonio is mentioned, and one hilarious moment where a thoroughly dazed actor begins quoting lines from "Richard III" and is hauled offstage.

As this is a film of a stage production, it actually has an advantage missing from most Shakespeare adaptations for the screen—namely, the ability to tell rather than show. Shakespeare didn't have the money for lavish set pieces or a backstage "tech crew"—he didn't even have a stage curtain—so his plays had to set the mood and create visuals through language alone. Too many films of Shakespeare plays attempt to show rather than tell, employing impressive cinematography that dwarfs the richness of the language. This production, almost a bare-stage play, returns to the roots of language to create a scene.

If this were all, it might be an interesting play, but not particularly noteworthy. But this production of "The Taming of the Shrew" goes further than that—it turns the characters of Petruchio and Kate into real people, obviously sexually attracted to each other, with a relationship that builds and matures through the course of the play. This is a tale of an inverted courtship, of two total strangers who wed and then fall in love with each other. Too often, the role of Petruchio is interpreted in such a way that he comes off as nothing more than a bullying brute; indeed, at the beginning of this production Petruchio is prepared to abuse his servant for a minor misunderstanding, although it's done in a comedic way. But here, we see more than just the gentling of the shrewish Kate; because of his honest affection for her, Petruchio also softens, becoming a more gentle person and a loving husband. In this production, there are two shrews who end up taming each other.

I have only one complaint with this video, and it's a minor one—since the production dates from the 1970s, the Age of Bad Film Stock, much of the picture looks washed out. The costumes, which were created almost exclusively in tones of red and white, don't help the situation much either. But don't let this minor complaint keep you from watching this production—it's hilarious, raunchy, sometimes obnoxious, occasionally touching and well worth seeking out.