On Thursday, Oct. 25, the Aquila Theatre performed “The Taming of the Shrew” at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Center for the Arts.
The Aquila Theatre is a non-profit organization founded by Peter Meineck in London in 1991. According to their website, Aquila is based out of New York City and their mission statement is “to bring the greatest theatrical works to the greatest number.” The Aquila Theatre performs a season of plays in New York and international festivals. They also tour in over 70 North American towns and cities every year.
“The Taming of the Shrew” is a classic Shakespearean romantic comedy about a shrewish woman named Katherine, played by Lewis Barfoot, and her would-be husband Petruchio, played by James Bellorini. Katherine has a younger sister Bianca, played by Caroline O’Hara, who is beautiful and sweet in nature and has numerous suitors wishing to marry her. Their father Baptista, played by Jamie Bower, has declared that no man may marry Bianca until her elder sister Katherine has wed first.
Thus begins a hilarious attempt from Bianca’s suitors Hortensio, also played by Jamie Bower, Gremio, played by Edward Harrison, and Lucentio, played by Alexander Gatehouse, to find a man willing to marry cursed Katherine. By the end of the show Petruchio helped Katherine to realize that underneath her prickly exterior was a loving woman just waiting to show herself.
Kayla Leibfried, the public relations assistant for the performing arts, writes press releases for shows, interviews people for articles and helps run events.
“(The Aquila Theater) had been to UW-Platteville before and their Shakespearean plays always sell really well on the campus,” Leibfried said.
The Aquila Theatre does a variety of shows, but the UW-Platteville theatre department specifically chose “The Taming of the Shrew” for them to perform.
Bob Briggs, English education and theatre major, attended the show.
“I enjoyed the modernization of a classic to make it more accessible and relatable,” Briggs said. “I also enjoyed the audience involvement before and, especially, during the show,”
Senior William Kuehni, political science and history major and student body president, also attended the show on Thursday.
“The performers were good at making subtle gestures that added to the comedy of the play,” Kuehni said. “However, the best part of the show, and of the night, had to be the inclusion of a student into the play.”
Audience participation was encouraged throughout the show with joke competitions set up by the actors and volunteers becoming part of the cast. A man from the audience was pulled from the crowd to play Lucentio’s father in one of the final scenes.
The Aquila Theatre was well-recieved by Platteville’s residents who await their future performances.