The Taming of the Shrew (1976)

This production is in the style of Italian commedia dell'arte. In Padua, a rich young man, Lucentio... See full synopsis »

Director:

Kirk Browning

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Raye Birk, Earl Boen, Ron Boussom

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raye Birk	...	Gremio
Earl Boen	...	A Pedant
Ron Boussom	...	Grumio (as Ronald Boussom)
Barbara Dirickson	...	Sugarsop
Bobby F. Ellerbee	...	The Haberdasher
Harry Hamlin	...	Mariamo
Rick Hamilton	...	Tranio
Charles Hyman	...	Camellio
Daniel Kern	...	Biondello
Michael Keys Hall	...	Emilio
Deborah May	...	A Widow
Fredi Olster	...	Katherina
William Paterson	...	Baptista
Stephen Schnetzer	...	Lucentio (as Stephen St. Paul)
Sandra Shotwell	...	Bianca

Storyline

This production is in the style of Italian commedia dell'arte. In Padua, a rich young man, Lucentio... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare's the taming of the shrew | based on play

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

La fierecilla domada

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Conservatory Theatre, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally broadcast on Great Performances.

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Connections

Version of The Taming of the Shrew (1908)

User Reviews

Passing wonderful!

It is a great pleasure to review something you liked twenty years ago to find that it is actually better than you remembered it. Such is the case with this production of "Taming of the Shrew"

This is not only by far the most lively and good-natured version of the play I have ever seen on stage or film, but it also seems to be directed in accord with the commedia dell'arte tradition that has surely been very much on Shakespeare's mind when he wrote the play. There is a multitude of 'in-your-face' gags (the audience is never lured into the deceptive ruses of naturalistic theater, but are constantly made aware of their own presence) and scores of Italian 'lazzi' - stunts of every kind. We have a remarkably acrobatic duo in Kate (Fredi Olster) and Petrucchio (marc Singer), and their first scene together - where every piece of Shakespearean lewdness is brought out to us with a vengeance - is rewarded by a full minute of accolades from the delighted, live audience before which the production was filmed in 1976.

Of all in the cast I only knew Marc Singer, and remembered him only from a sci-fi series ("V"?) and a Harold Robbins series (Park Avenue 79?), but this is truly his claim to fame.

If you never see another Shakespeare play in your life, be sure to catch this one. After 25 years of searching in vain, it was finally brought to me by the miraculous combination of the internet and my visa card. Brave new world, indeed!