“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare was presented at Aaron Davis Hall and directed by Charles Burks from Thursday, October 20th, 2016 to Saturday, October 22, 2016. At the start of the show, I didn't have the slightest idea of what the play was about. I mean I should know right? It's Shakespeare for God's sake! But, no I didn't know the story and that's fine. With that being said, the play began on a great note. It was a nice treat to watch Treymeika Small portray the Lord! She has a larger than life personality, the Lord fit her perfect. She's pleasant to watch! Bibin Shrestha's portrayal of the Sly was on point! The audience was presented with a choreography by the cast with modern day music, very modern! I enjoyed the director's choice of incorporating social media, video, and dabbing in rhythm. The projector serving as a backdrop worked well with images appearing in accordance with the dialogue and what was being said. It was effective to better understand the setting of each scene and where the location was! There was also interaction with the audience, which blurs the world between the stage and the audience. We all become one! The one aspect that I couldn't help but notice was that the music was not distracting whatsoever! I was thankful for that; it helped me better enjoy my experience. Now that I have a better understanding of what this play is about, the director's choice of keeping the set simple yet flexible was clever! Although the language was a barrier and difficult to understand, the blocking choices, movements, and acting overall guided me along the way. He honored the classic style of commedia dell' arte, that was appreciated! We all love a good laugh! Gender roles was another theme that I encountered! It was phenomenal to have all women playing male roles, considering the fact that men play women roles on stage since always! It was a nice touch to a classic that is Taming of the Shrew! Tasiya Roseborough played Katharina well, with that smart mouth and violent demeanor. Christopher Laing's portrayal of Pertuchio was also pleasant. Tatyana Smith was one of my favorites on the stage, her raspy yet soft voice helped with her portrayal of the male, Baptista. Both their vocal projection was just right! The director made great casting selections, several actors were previous classmates of mine! The costumes were both modern and classic, I loved that contrast. With that said, women do not need taming in my opinion, haha! The ensemble made me laugh and smile, they were great to watch also. William Shakespeare plays are always long, and so I wish that I could've stayed for the rest of the show and see it until the end. Unfortunately, there was an intermission at 1:40p, 20 minutes before my class. If the director could've fit his version of the play in a certain time frame, it would've been ideal but of course it's not realistic. The only negative comment would be that I didn't get to watch the play in its entirety.
