Frog & Peach Theatre Co Presents
William Shakespeare’s

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
https://our.show/frogandpeachshrew

Directed by LYNNEA BENSON

Featuring

AMY FRANCES QUINT, ANUJ PARIKH, CAMELIA ITURREGUI FUERTES, DAZMANN STILL, DAVID ELYHA, ELLEN LANESE, ERIC SWANSON, FERNANDO GAMARRA, HARI BHASKAR, JAIXA IRIZARRY, JAMES NASH, JOHN I. PAYNE, KENNETH MICHAEL, KEZIA TYSON, LENNY CIOTTI, MARK VAUGHN, NINA DAVID, PADRAIG BOND, STEVEN UNGAR, VENKATESH VOHRA, and VIVIEN LANDAU

The Cullum Theatre at The American Theater of Actors
314 West 54th Street, NYC
February 28 – March 23, 2025

There’s not too much you can do to make Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW politically correct, but Frog and Peach Theatre Company has added some daring costumes (Asa Benally), a bit of flashy choreography (Geneva Jenkins), and the playing of feminist-based songs to let you know we are all in on joke.

The play begins with several bids for the hand of Bianca (Camelia Iturregui Fuertes), but Mama (Vivien Landau) insists that her eldest daughter must be married first. Enter The Shrew (deliciously portrayed by Amy Frances Quint). As Bianca’s suitors switch roles and construct tangled plots to gain her attention, the search is on to find a husband for elder sister Katerina or as some would call it “a marriage with hell.” The charming and courageous Petruchio (DazMann Still) picks up the gauntlet and runs with it. As the taming begins, chaos ensues.

It's a talented cast that can pull this off (shout out to veteran David Elyha who seems so comfortable with Shakespearean language), and Director Lynnea Benson keeps the pace brisk in the first act. As all the plots co-mingle and resolve themselves in the second act, the tempo slows a bit. Nonetheless, this production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW brings well-earned laughter to a present-day audience.

- Laurie Lawson -