If the Nashville Shakespeare Festival needs your money, its Taming of the Shrew is good reason to give
by Martin Brady
"Put money in thy purse," scheming Iago counsels Roderigo in Othello. It may be bad advice for the lovesick fool—dollars won't undo Desdemona's inconvenient marriage—but it's pretty sound for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. A 22-year-old institution, the NSF is nevertheless feeling the pinch as strongly as other arts organizations, and the company is courageously and unabashedly soliciting financial support. You can (and should) toss cash money into their bucket at their Shakespeare in the Park double-header this summer, which leads off with a surprisingly zesty The Taming of the Shrew.
Under Brenda Sparks' direction, the NSF's apprentice company of teenage thesps comprises most of the cast. Despite their youth, they generally navigate the Bard's tale of recalcitrant lovers and gender warfare with confidence and sensible readings, not to mention some deft slapstick seemingly drawn from the Riverside Benny Hill. (The apprentices proved their mettle by pausing for an exceedingly noisy helicopter, then plowing forward with poise—such is theatrical life in the great outdoors.) Caitlin Owen Kelly makes a lively and spiteful Kate the shrew, while Kylie Davis, Diego Gomez and Haley Oldham stand out among the youthful supporting cast.
They're reinforced by seasoned players who add firepower to the apprentice ensemble. Benjamin Reed as Petruchio shoulders the lead role with unflagging energy (and dares to don a flamboyant gold rock-star outfit complete with purple wig). As the long-suffering Baptista Minola, Brad Brown offers a wry rendition of the sitcom dad trying to marry off his daughters. Watch also for Christopher Campbell, who'll join Reed and Brown in NSF's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), which opens Aug. 27 in the park for a three-week run.
Brightening up the Centennial Park band shell are a simple but clever set by Erica Edmonson and retro-mod costumes by June Kingsbury that colorfully evoke the swingin' '60s. Once the accompanying soundtrack kicks in—everything from the Stones, The Who and The Searchers to Janis Joplin and the gooey theme from Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet—the action turns as kaleidoscopically kitschy as a TV Land rerun of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. (We'll forgive the inclusion of "Close to You," technically a '60s tune, though the distinctive Carpenters version we hear was actually 1970.)
Whether you're too young to remember the '60s—or you were there and still don't remember—this Shrew is trippy fun. The huge opening weekend crowd even gave Centennial Park a bit of a Woodstock vibe. As we commemorate the Summer of Love, show some to that fundraising bucket.
Teenage angstland
Riding high on the buzz of its scheduled July 24-Aug. 9 run of Fame, Circle Players held the show over an extra weekend to close last Sunday. If you never made it to the Looby Theatre, you missed boundless youthful enthusiasm from a cast of 25; a leggy, sassy performance from Faith Kelm as the tragic Latina spitfire who drops out of performing-arts high school and falls prey to drugs; some wonderful singing by Hannah McGinley, in real life an NYU major in musical theater and from all evidence on the right career path; and professional-caliber work from musical director Rolin Mains and his small combo, who lent the score more style than it deserved.
What you didn't really miss is the play itself, part of the 1980 musical's ongoing franchise. The cheesy script is bad enough, reviving the whiniest excesses of the '80s television series (identity issues, self-esteem issues, yada yada yada) with enough corn to feed a herd of Herefords.The score is worse, distinguished only by the Dean Pitchford-Michael Gore title tune—the only one to survive from the movie. The other songs (by Steve Margoshes and former Dylan collaborator Jacques Levy) served mostly to deflate the initially jubilant dance numbers, though the cast radiated energy.
One saving grace: Because the show is dated, no one "texted" any of the dialogue. Teenage characters actually spoke to one another. Face to face. (Wow, a period piece!) Next up for Circle is Noises Off, opening Oct. 16.
Theater notes
• After a successful run at Jim Reyland's Writer's Stage on Charlotte, Music City Improv makes its first official appearance in East Nashville 8 p.m. Friday at Post-Depression Theatre, 107 N. 11th St. The still-fledgling comedy theater—made up of Improv Nashville vets—returns to the West Side 8 p.m. Aug. 28 at Edgehill Studios Cafe, 1201 Villa Place, one block off Music Row. Without a fixed home, MCI will probably continue to toggle back and forth like happy gypsies between various night spots. The company has launched a website—musiccityimprov.com—and issues updates via Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.
• The Dance on Widows' Row, a co-production of the American Negro Playwright Theatre and Sista Style Productions, was forced to postpone its scheduled Aug. 13 opening at Writer's Stage due to 11th-hour cast changes. The company will regroup and open the Barry Scott-directed show Aug. 27 at the same venue.
Email arts@nashvillescene.com.
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