Unique to this production is the addition of a new prologue written by award-winning playwright Neil LaBute. The prologue replaces Shakespeare's seldom produced introduction to the story which is a short two-scene play-within-a-play, in which a nobleman plays an elaborate practical joke on the town's drunken tinker introducing some of the play's themes and setting up the story for a troupe of actors to perform The Taming of the Shrew. Director Josie Rourke invited LaBute to re-imagine this prologue from a contemporary perspective, providing a twenty-first century lens through which to view The Acting Company's performance of the story in its original sixteenth-century setting.
"One of the reasons I first thought of Neil for this project is his ability to take on big themes and go to the extremes of what it is people want in their lives," says Rourke. "He is very funny and he writes with great speed of thought. His writing has kind of a classical energy to it, and it sits very interestingly with Shakespeare in that sense because his plays move very, very quickly. He can establish in a few lines what most dramatists establish over a number of pages."
Neil LaBute is an award-winning American playwright recognized on both sides of the Atlantic, who first worked with Josie Rourke at the Bush Theatre when he premiered Helter Skelter/Land of the Dead in 2008. Often recognized for taking on challenging themes, LaBute's critically acclaimed plays include: In the Company of Men, which he later adapted into a film that garnered the New York Critics' Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmakers' Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival; The Shape of Things; The Distance from Here; Fat Pig; Some Girl(s) and reasons to be pretty. Mr. LaBute has premiered plays at New York's Public Theater, MCC Theater and The Donmar Warehouse in London, among others. He is the author of several fictional pieces that have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar and Playboy. A collection of his short stories called Seconds of Pleasure was published by Grove/Atlantic in October 2004.
Scenic and Costume Designer Lucy Osborne returns to CST following her collaboration with Rourke on last season's Twelfth Night. In the European tradition, Ms. Osborne is designing both scenery and costumes for this production, which will span LaBute's contemporary scenes and the lush world of the Italian Renaissance in Shakespeare's story of The Taming of the Shrew. Last season she received a Joseph Jefferson Award for creating the dreamlike world of Ilyria on CST's Courtyard Stage. Ms. Osborne's extensive theater credits include designs for the Bush Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Northampton Theatre Royal, Edinburgh Festival and Cambridge Arts Theatre.
The production team for The Taming of the Shrew also includes Lighting Designer Phillip Rosenberg; Sound Designer Lindsay Jones; Wig and Makeup Designer Melissa Veal; Properties Master Chelsea Meyers and Fight Choreographer Matt Hawkins.
The Taming of the Shrew runs April 7 through June 6, 2010 in the Courtyard Theater. Tickets are $44?$75 and may be purchased by calling Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Box Office at 312.595.5600 or by visiting the Theater's website at www.chicagoshakes.com.
Programs in conjunction with performances of The Taming of the Shrew include:
Pre•Amble: half-hour introductory lectures on The Taming of the Shrew presented by scholars will take place 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30 at 1:00 p.m. and 4/17, 5/1, 5/8 5/15, 5/22, 5/29 at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free and reservations are not required.
Post-show discussions follow each Wednesday 1:00 p.m. performance. Admission is free. No reservations are required.
The audio-described performance for patrons with visual impairments will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Patrons should reserve a headset when purchasing tickets in advance. "Access Shakespeare" tickets are $27.
The duo sign-interpreted performance for patrons with hearing impairments will be held on Friday, May 28, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Patrons should request the specific seating area when purchasing tickets in advance. "Access Shakespeare" tickets are $35.
Dates April 7-June 6, 2010
Performance Schedule
Previews
Wednesday April 7 7:30 p.m.
Thursday April 8 7:30 p.m.
Friday April 9 7:30 p.m.
Saturday April 10 7:30 p.m.
Sunday April 11 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday April 13 7:30 p.m.
Performances Weekdays
Tuesday May 18, 25 7:30 p.m.
June 1
Wednesday April 21, 28 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
May 12, 19, 26
May 5 7:30 p.m.
June 2 1:00 p.m.
Thursday April 15, 22, 29 7:30 p.m.
May 6, 13, 20, 27
June 3
Weekends
Friday April 16, 23, 30 7:30 p.m.
May 14, 21, 28
June 4
May 7 6:30 p.m.
Saturday April 17, 24 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
June 5
Sunday April 25 2:00 p.m.
May 2, 9, 16, 23
April 18 2:00 p.m.and 6:00 p.m.
May 30
June 6
Ticket Prices
Previews $44
Tue, Wed, Thu $55
Fri $68
Sat, Sun Mat $75
Sun Eve $55
Location Courtyard Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
800 E Grand Avenue
Tickets $44-75
Box Office www.chicagoshakes.com
312.595.5600
Group Sales 312.595.5678
groups of 10 or more
