This program is not a production of Spokane Children's Theatre
Petruchio has come to wive it wealthily in Padua. Bianca is desperate to marry, but is unable to until her older sister Kate marries. Petruchio vows to marry Kate and tame her, even as Kate fights back with a vengeance. As one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, The Taming of the Shrew is also one of his most controversial. Is it a classic battle of the sexes or a jarring portrayal of a woman crushed by the patriarchy?
First performed around 1610, The Tamer Tamed was written by Shakespeare’s contemporary John Fletcher, as a direct response to Shakespeare’s play. In it, Kate has died and Petruchio has taken a new wife, Maria, who appears to be demure and obedient. Upon their marriage though, Maria sets out to “tame” her new husband. She incites a rebellion that eventually spreads to all the women of town. Underneath it all, has power truly shifted? And can Petruchio be redeemed?