Shrew Romance: CAST Shakespeare Production

    Shrew Romance: CAST Shakespeare Production Review


    On Monday, September 14, the Cambridge American Stage Tour (CAST) under the direction of Kennedy Bloomer, immersed Frostburg State into the world of Shakespeare with their production of The Taming of the Shrew. CAST takes an original Shakespeare play and adds their unique interpretation. The actors flawlessly embody classic Shakespearean characteristics while adding a modern day flavor.

    CAST emerged from Cambridge University and are now in their sixteenth year. They are the university’s largest international performers. Every year Cambridge University Students travel to the United States to showcase their talents at numerous universities. The cast and crew change every year but the tradition of excellency continues.  English department faculty sponsor the CAST members to stay with Frostburg for the duration of their production and allow students to meet with the cast and crew prior to the production.

This play is centered around Petruccio’s strife to tame Kate, the shrew, who can only be married once her younger sister, Bianca, is wed.  Throughout the play, Bianca’s many suitors conjured a plan to help Petruccio marry Kate.  Through manipulation and authority Petruccio puts Kate through many trials and eventually she becomes “tamed”.  Kate and Petruccio’s relationship can be characterized as one of disdain and admiration as the two lovers mutually dislike each other but admire each other’s wits.  Meanwhile, Baptista hired tutors for Bianca who, unknown by her, are her suitors in disguise. 

CAST takes an original Shakespeare play and adds their unique interpretation.  For example, the role of Baptista was played by a female as the mother figure as opposed to the traditional father figure found in Shakespeare’s original work.  It was a mother of a play.  The actors flawlessly embody classic Shakespearean characteristics while adding a modern day version. This year CAST performed The Taming of the Shrew. They conserved the Victorian language but they added 80s theme music which lightened the environment but not the intensity of the situation or the language.  The modern theme plays off the language to enhance the comedic factor.   “The play was hilarious” says Frostburg’s own, Nick Gray.

 Toby Marlow owned the stage with his portrayal of Petruccio.  His bright green spandex shorts, paired with the red boots, were as unforgettable as the play was.  On the stage, Toby was fearless and fully committed to the role.  Kate Reid was the embodiment of Shakespeare’s Kate and was born to play this role.  Her sarcastic, sharp tongue came naturally and the two Kate’s were indistinguishable.  Will, Marco, and Robbie were exceptional in all three of their roles and truly became each individual character.   The chemistry between the two lead roles was reminiscent of the classical high school prom king and queen.

            The production crew was flawless in their execution of lighting and sound quality.  Their many spotlights for the various characters’ monologues were masterful.  Their work behind the scenes cannot be undervalued because without it the production would have been lifeless and dull.  Because they are a traveling company, they skillfully made props that were easy to travel with but also portrayed the full setting.  They creatively used the decorated boxes for the scenery as well as for props.   They showed enough for the audience to get a sense of the Victorian era setting while still encouraging the audience to use their imagination to create a more relatable story.  Paige Hunter says “The set was simple, yet very practical.  It really accentuated the creativity the production team utilized to make this play not only easy for them to travel with also to help the audience get all of the movement in the plot.”  The music in between scenes helped add fluidity to the production.   It was also appreciated that CAST used popular music from the United States even though they originated in Britain.  The costumes were also understated but the simplicity added more depth to the characters because they portrayed the true personalities of the characters.

     On a global scale this play illustrates a common Shakespearean theme that is still prevalent in today’s society. This production parallels the struggle of the modern woman to maintain their independence while still performing their domestic “duties”.   Nick Callis raves “I have a new found appreciation of Shakespeare and student actors.” More importantly the CAST performance resonates with the viewers, reminding them of the ability of the language to capture audiences of all ages.  

CAST is continuing their tour as they proceed to other universities.  From here, many of the CAST members will continue to use this experience to establish themselves as actors as they continue in their career.  Frostburg looks forward to hosting CAST for next year’s play. 

CAST homepage


 

 

 Frostburg Students pose with the cast and crew after the show.

(Photo courtesy of Tabitha Fish)