The Taming of the Shrew (1976)

San Francisco's prize-winning American Conservatory Theater's rowdy commedia dell'arte production incorporates slapstick, pratfall and earthy humor into William Shakespeare's comedy about the two unmarried daughters of a wealthy Italian merchant. While daughter Bianca is genteel and popular, daughter Kate is foul-tempered and strong-willed. No one dares to marry Kate, until Petruchio arrives in Padua and tries his hand at courtship. "...delivered with such clarity." --The New York Times. With Fredi Olster, Marc Singer, Stephen St. Paul, Sandra Shotwell, and William Paterson.

Best production on video.

This one is simply the best. I have no problem at all choosing between this production and the Burton/Taylor movie. This one wins without a contest. Grab it while you can!

William Ball's production remembers one thing that many productions forget: this is a comedy and it is supposed to be funny. It is not literary scripture to be intoned in solemn reverence to the great Bard of Stratford on Avon. To accomplish this Ball makes a robust and ribald presentation based on the Commedia dell'arte, a broad and slapstick style that was current in Shakespeare's time. The result is baldly, not subtly, hilarious.

More subtle is the direction of the story itself. Thoughtful direction, brilliantly delivered by the Marc Singer as Petruchio and Fredi Olster as Kate, is used to show Petruchio's increasing regard for Kate as the play proceeds. Even in the final scene it is clear that when he calls for Kate to come, after the other two wives have refused, that he is uncertain of the outcome. Thus he is surprised, delighted and gratified when she does come, not gloating in overbearing male chauvinist triumph. This goes a long way toward making modern sense of the now problematic text about the roles of men and women, and the way she is brought to heel. (I find the middle section of the play where the shrew taming is accomplished, with methods that include food and sleep deprivation, has an uncomfortable resemblance to modern day brainwashing and torture. It leaves today's audience with the question: Is it love? Or is it Stockholm syndrome? The very idea of such obedience is now controversial, even without the issue of abuse. This presents a huge challenge for the present day production of Taming of the Shrew as anything but a theatrical museum piece.) Portrayed in this way, Petruchio is not a just a swaggering playboy out to cash in a dowry, but someone who might be worthy of the obedience he expects, and is coming to value the strength and honesty of Kate and its advantages over the coquettish, spoiled personalities of Bianca and her friends back in Padua. Thus this production is both traditional and modern without upending the play entirely in some PC "re-visioning" or gender-bent re-interpretation. And most of all, it is funny.

I saw it one time on PBS before the VCR and I thought I would never see it again, and worse, nor would anybody else leaving Zeffirelli's text mangled showpiece or much duller "official" versions as the only ones available. I was overjoyed to find that it had been released on DVD in along with many other similar programs that I enjoyed on PBS (do not let the politicians kill PBS!) many years ago that are also in this Broadway Theater Archives series.

The Burton/Taylor/Zeffirelli version is just a movie. It places showcasing its marquee power, plush production, and cinematography far above the play itself. It seems like about half the play is omitted outright and the rest, even some the most prominent and well known speeches are hacked up. (Compare the play or this production to the "streamlining" done to the final scene in the movie. Completely unedited presentations of any Shakespeare are rare, and for good reason, but this was too much.) Seeing both in close sequence reminded me just how good this one is, and how much the other suffers after subtracting the contribution of movie stardom and lush production. August 19, 2008

Marc Singer as actor

This was a revelation- Marc Singer acting in Shakespeare! He should have done more and not spent his time on Beastmaster movies. But hopefully those were lucrative. August 2, 2008

Call Me Traditional

The acting was excellent and "choreography" timing perfect. The uproriousness got in my way and took my attention from Shakespeare's dialogue. But it was nice to see such good looking stars reprise the roles of Kate and Petruchio. Burton and Taylor are my favorite pair but the movie shortened the play too much. This Broadway Theatre production was inclusive. March 22, 2008

Witty and wonderful commedia dell'arte

This production of "The Taming of the Shrew" is so much fun to watch. This is one flimed stage production that really works -- they often don't. The staging and costuming are really well done and the acting is superb. I can't believe the way these players can precisely execute all their timed pratfalls while speaking flawless Shakespearean iambic pentameter. Their athleticism is amazing. They all really appear to be enjoying themselves, which makes this production shine. It is almost two hours long, but the time flew by.

This is one of Shakespeare's bawdier plays, so if you're planning to watch it with your children, as I did, check it out first. Most things will fly right over the heads of younger children and young teens, I imagine. Hopefully over the heads of older teens, too.

This was filmed in 1976, but it is timeless entertainment. I highly recommend it and plan to use it in a Shakespeare class I am teaching for a group of high school aged homeschoolers. February 14, 2008

The Best TOTS --bar none

While I will admit that this version takes some getting used to (non-traditional scenary and sound effects), it is still the best version of Taming of the Shrew that's been done, IMHO. I think it's the acting that makes this so superb. I have yet to see a better Petruccio and Kate. Certainly, the non-stop screeching of Liz Taylor in the Zeffirelli version is absolutely no match for Olsen's performance in this version.

I teach English, and I had my class read this play. They were sort of "ho hum" about it, but then I showed a scene from this version of the play (the scene where Petruccio meets Kate), and they were enthralled. Everyone was paying attention to the scene and laughing, and afterwards, they had nothing but positive comments about it.

Take my advice: This version is FAR better than the Liz Taylor/Richard Burton version. You won't regret buying this. January 19, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...