Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Aurora, New York— The Wells College Arts and Lecture Series announced a performance of “The Taming of the Shrew” by the Aquila Theatre Company. The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 13 in Phipps Auditorium of Macmillan Hall on the Wells College campus. The performance is free.

Set in the idyllic town of Padua, “The Taming of the Shrew” is Shakespeare’s take on the timeless battle of the sexes. Bianca Minola, the beautiful daughter of a lord, is eligible for marriage but cannot be courted until her elder sister, Katherina, finds a husband. Katherina’s quick temper and acerbic wit, however, frighten off every potential suitor. Feeling that they are running out of options, two suitors hire a newcomer named Petruchio to seduce and “tame” Katherina. After their exchanges of wisecracks and double entendres, Petruchio succeeds in dragging Katharina to the altar then away to his country home. Once there, the taming process begins, with both sides unwilling to yield.

From its earliest productions at the Globe Theater to Michael Bogdanov’s 1978 production at the RSC to Gil Junger’s modern retelling in the film “10 Things I Hate About You,” “The Taming of the Shrew” has adapted with each generation. The story, with its domestic power plays and controversial depiction of marriage, has been the subject of multiple operas and was the backdrop for Cole Porter’s Tony Award winning musical “Kiss Me Kate.”

Since its founding in London twenty years ago, the Aquila Theatre Company has developed its mission to make classical works accessible to the greatest number and to acknowledge and explore newfound classical works. Now based in New York City, Aquila is the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States and a major part of New York's theatrical landscape. Their performances have earned acclaim from sources such as the New Yorker, the Boston Globe, the New York Times and the American Reporter.

The company has recently performed at the GYM at Judson, the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, and the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Their performances also appear in numerous festivals and at venues around the world including performances in London, Holland, Germany, Greece, Scotland, Canada and Bermuda. Aquila recently performed Euripides’ Herakles at the Festival of the Aegean in Syros, Greece and the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens.

Aquila is dedicated to theatre arts education and produces three major initiatives: Workshop America, a nationwide program that provides an opportunity for people to share in the art of Aquila; Theatre Breakthrough, which brings America’s schools to the stage; and Shakespeare Leaders, an after-school program that enables inner-city students to perform the classics at Frederick Douglas Academy in Harlem, N.Y.

v8i42