Taming of the Shrew: Hello, Seattle

This Saturday, Shakespeare girl and I took a day trip up to Seattle. Needless to say, a few weeks prior to the trip, I googled all over the internet for a Shakespeare production in Seattle that weekend. But I came up with... nothing. I admitted my failure to Shakespeare girl, and she told me, "Oh, no, there's a production of Taming of the Shrew up there that night." She had seen it on facebook. Facebook > Google?

Anyway, I'm very pleased I was able to go to the quiet - that's the name of the theatre company, not a description of the play - production of The Taming of the Shrew last weekend (incidentally, the Shakespeare quote "Nay, let them go, a couple of quiet ones" is from The Taming of the Shrew - III, II, 242). Review below!

First off, if I had been paying attention as I entered the theatre, I would have known that Director Josh Hornbeck's vision for the play focused on the gender issues in the play, specifically the ill-treatment of women. I could have guessed this because of the lovely (not really) posters adorning the entrance to the theatre.

Examples.

"Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere." Well, tobacco was introduced to Europe in the late 1500's, shortly before 'Taming' was written....

And if that one's not bad enough...

Read more »

Ah min hawaa - The Taming of the Shrew

Egypt. Land of the pyramids, the Nile and the pharaohs - and Shakespeare? We've been reminded these last few revolutionary weeks that Egypt, that ancient superpower, is still a force to be reckoned with. And while the world watches the sweep of events in Cairo, Shakespeare girl is holding up the side by bravely watching: Egyptian Shakespeare!

The 1962 film Ah Min Hawaa, or Beware of Eve, is a loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Set among a wealthy, westernized modern Egyptian elite, Amira (Lubna Abnel-Aziz in the "Kate" role) is beautiful, intelligent, educated and incredibly fashionable.

(Amira has an extensive wardrobe of cute 1960s clothes)

Nine suitors have expressed interest in her. The problem? She was rude to all of them - and she's consistently obnoxiously hostile to everyone she comes in contact with. As the blurb on the back of the dvd puts it:

 In a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, the handsome veteran [Shakespeare girl's note - veterinarian] finds himself obliged to tame the beautiful but wild with the support of her family who is suffering from her tantrums and her tyranny in this comedy presented by a group of the most prominent Egyptian film stars.

Got that?

Amira's long-suffering grandpa Sayyid Amin is at his wit's end, but much to his delight, Dr. Hassan Shukri (Roshdy Abaza, playing the part of "Petruchio") arrives on the scene - he's a veterinarian from Cairo who has come to stay at the family’s estate in order to cure their sick farm animals. Hassan and Amira clash when he is not willing to tolerate the kind of ill-treatment she dishes out to everyone, and Hassan promises grandpa that he will try to help both "the animals in the stable and the animal upstairs [in the house]". But it isn’t until Amira decides to spread a malicious, slanderous lie about the veterinarian that he turns the tables on her - and the taming begins.

First, I have to say that this is a fun, funny, well-made movie. A film can be an easy-to-understand entry point to intersect with a foreign world, and this movie really works for that - it’s stylish and zany in the best tradition of screwball comedy, and the excellent and appealing actors throw themselves into their roles with energy and good humor. I totally enjoyed it. But going beyond the slapstick, it’s interesting to look at the transfer of this play, all about marriage and gender roles, into a Middle Eastern context.

Amira gets rid of an unwanted suitor:

Some of the concerns of the story seem similar to the issues Shakespeare was examining from a Renaissance European viewpoint, but were still applicable to 1960s Egypt: Yvette Khoury, in her interesting article about the film The Taming of the (Arab-Islamic) Shrew: Fatin 'Abdel Wahab re-frames Shakespeare's comedy for the Egyptian screen (published in Literature-Film Quarterly, April 2010), notes that The Taming of the Shrew has been adapted as a film no less than five times in Egypt, and that "Of all Shakespeare's comedies The Taming of the Shrew seems to resonate most with the domesticity of Arab-Islamic patriarchal societies....the subjugation of women to men as in The Taming of the Shrew is a phenomenon which is more oriental in spirit than western."

In the film as in the play, we have a very well-educated and clever woman who must stay under the authority of her grandfather (male authority figure), who is bound by his culture to take care of her, despite what she might say and do (the grandpa announces that he would disown Amira because of her rude attitude if she were a boy). Again, like the original play, the girls' grandfather has total veto power over whom they will marry, or when.

However, some of the issues dealt with in the film seem to arise specifically out of Egyptian culture. We see concerns over dishonor to the family, leading to threats to kill one of the girls to remove the shame; lots of the later conflict in the story arises from the potential non-permanence of marriage based on the easy access to divorce in Islamic societies.

A huge topic in the film is an examination of how people's behavior and treatment of each other sets them apart from animals. It's no accident that Hassan is an "animal doctor" who needs to give Amira some (literal and figurative) medicine; she, for her part, regularly insults him - and others receiving her wrath - by calling them animals. Related to this focus on the animal world is the film's preoccupation with fertility, which is indicated by Hassan's care of little baby goats, for example, and his concern for laying geese and ducks, which he then relates back to Amira and any future children she might have.

At times Hassan's treatment of Amira can be absolutely cringe-inducing - a major plot point rotates around a plan where Amira will assert that Hassan has given her a bad beating, and Hassan's statement that "women need to be insulted to cooperate" fits with his determination "to help [Amira] learn to be a good housewife". However, Hassan's hard-line stance towards Amira can perhaps be rationalized in the audience's minds by the fact that Amira seems even more malicious and out of control than Kate in The Shrew, and thus in need of some payback from Hassan. It is interesting to note that in this film the "wild animal" Amira not only accepts "Petruchio's" presence in her life, as Shakespeare's Kate does, but she also undergoes a very clear humanization. For the first time, she feels compassion for her family, and reacts with emotional sensitivity, empathy, and self-sacrifice in response to the needs of the people and animals around her.

Ultimately, the film seems to underscore, as Hassan says to Amira, that "marriage is not a game." He's right - in this movie, it's more like a war. Will there ever be peace? We'll leave that to the audience to determine!

All in all, this comedy makes for a fun, crazy and very Egyptian ride, and underscores the universal application of Shakespeare's take on the battle of the sexes. Just don't forget to beware of Eve - and watch out for Adam too.

"All Talking! All Laughing!"

The above quote was the advertising byline for the 1929 film version of The Taming of the Shrew, starring the Hollywood royalty of the day, America's Sweetheart Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks, the well-known action-adventure hero, as Kate and Petruchio!

Pickford plays Kate as a whip-wielding harpy whose ferocity could only be matched by Fairbank's swaggering, piratical Petruchio. It just so happens that BOTH habitually carry big black whips around - most convenient for cracking at dramatic moments. And we have these moments aplenty - this was an age of acting on a large scale, where expansive gestures and dramatic poses were an actor's stock-in-trade. (For a taste of the movie, click here to watch a clip on youtube - the video quality is not so great, and there's the added delight of Spanish subtitles. However, it's an opportunity to glimpse the whips, plus Petruchio's pirate suit!)

Though Emma and I both laughed at some of the old-fashioned acting that seems over the top to us, there is a lot to admire about this movie. Although Pickford and Fairbanks don't perform in the naturalistic style  that we are accustomed to, their energy and magnetism makes it easy to understand why they were stars. The film was one of the very first talkies after the silent era, and it's clear that it's the product of an art form in transition. While Pickford and Fairbanks declaim their lines with gusto, there are also several short comedic routines that are pretty much completely silent.

The production is lavish - much of the visual look and setting of the film, including the rowdy crowds on the street and the scenes outside and inside the church, seem like a possible inspiration for similar settings in Zefferelli's later film.

(Petruchio arriving for his wedding. Are you taking notes, Franco Zefferelli? In case you can't tell, that's an upside-down boot on our hero's head.)

This version is very clearly an adaptation - according to IMDB, one of the film's claims to fame is an unintentionally hilarious author credit: "By William Shakespeare, with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor." The plot is considerably simplified, characters are condensed, and at just over an hour, it's much shortened from the play. As we near the end of the movie, there are also several dizzying plot twists that will leave your head spinning.

In general, the plot variations in this adaptation deal with the question that we've discussed - how can we enjoy a story where all the power ends up resting with only one partner in a marriage? In this Shrew for the modern 1920s, we see a much more even power dynamic where both Kate and Petruchio essentially "tame" each other. 

Ironically, the making of this movie, where the unequal marriage roles of the Renaissance are changed in favor of a more modern, level playing field, was apparently so acrimonious that it contributed to the break-up of the marriage of the two stars and their ultimate divorce. Ordinarily, I would not comment on the personal lives of the actors involved in a production, but I think that this movie is an exception in that the revisionist nature of this adaptation makes a very strong statement about what was perceived as appropriate gender roles and marriage mores for the time. The relationship between the two stars - a "celebrity couple" in a movie-crazy culture that equals our present-day infatuation with Hollywood scandal - feels like a very strong subtext to the whole production, as is shown by the poster above, featuring the two in modern dress, united and smiling at the camera. But it didn't last - no "peace...love, and quiet life" (5.2.1625) for this modern American couple.

Ultimately, this movie is fun to watch as a time capsule. It delivers a message about gender and marriage that the America - or Hollywood - of the time perhaps wished that Shakespeare had written, as well as showing two talented actors who made it to the top of the Hollywood tree. However, there are other options if you want to see The Shrew as Shakespeare wrote it - without dialogue help from Sam Taylor.

Great Petruchios, Part 2

Petruchio the Great II

Pop quiz time! Which legendary Hollywood star said the following?

"The great roles are always Shakespearean."

Kenneth Branagh? Leslie Howard? Laurence Olivier? Derek Jacobi? Ian McKellen?

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.




Answer:

Surprise! At least, I was surprised.

After such an introduction, it is perhaps not quite as much of a surprise for me to say that it is Charlton Heston who is the second great Petruchio I'd like to talk about (I can't be surprising all the time). His interpretation of Petruchio can only be seen, as far as I know, in the Studio One TV Version of the Taming of the Shrew (1950).

Now, before I watched this video, I already had an inkling that Heston was a great Shakespearean actor, simply because his speech as the Player King is a great moment, one might say the *only* great moment, in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (if you'd like to see it, click here -but if you do watch it, please pay no heed to the silly flashbacks - as Mark Steyn pointed out, the Player King may be old, but probably not quite old enough to literally *remember* the fall of Troy. This sort of thing is not what Shakespeare meant when he called it "senseless Ilium").

The Studio One made-for-TV version of The Taming of the Shrew is considerably less well-known -and almost incalculably less expensive -than Branagh's Hamlet, but Heston again exceeded my expectations. He brings a wonderful, charismatic performance, along with a lot of youthful energy (he was about 27 at the time it was filmed). Like John Cleese, he somehow makes you believe that he really is thinking of each line in the moment - it all does seem to be "extempore, from [his] mother-wit." Cleese and Heston are rare in their ability to do this with Shakespeare, and it has a tremendous impact.

This photograph of Heston is not actually from The Taming of the Shrew, but he looks a lot the same.

I have to admit that Heston overshadows everyone else in the cast, but the other actors are generally pretty lively and entertaining. I liked that by the end of the movie, Petruchio and Kate (Lisa Kirk) seem to see all of his oddities as a shared private joke - definitely makes the story more palatable. The production is set in "modern times" (1950), something which makes the costuming pretty delightful: Grumio wears a propeller hat! Petruchio wears a trench coat and sunglasses!

Lest we get too excited... there are a few big problems. The first is that the film is interspersed with commercials for Westinghouse Radios, Fans, and Floodlights. But this could easily be fixed with a little digital video editing, or even a nice big pair of scissors and some scotch tape (we watched it on VHS). The commercials are sort of entertaining, honestly, so it's not too bad.

"You can be sure, if it's Westinghouse" (I learned that by watching this production).

A much more serious flaw is that it portrays Petruchio's servants as stuttering half-wits. A charitable interpretation would say this is in poor taste, others - like me - might find it a downright offensive portrayal of mental disability. Mercifully, this section is quite short.

Overall, Heston's thoughtful, laughing interpretation of the part made me genuinely like Petruchio, and that, I think is key to making the story successful. Although this film was too short and too TV-oriented to be to be the Taming of the Shrew for the ages, I found it to be worth watching.

A side note to the review: Although both Petruchio's and Katherine's behavior would have been considered strange by their contemporaries, to us nowadays it all seems pretty long ago and far away. But in this film, the modern setting and Heston's unstudied delivery doesn't allow us to distance ourselves like that. Instead, it (perhaps unintentionally) poses the question: how would we feel about the story of Petruchio and Katherine if it had happened in 1950's America? If it were the courtship story of our parents or our grandparents?


"I am he am born to tame you, Kate"

Looking at it this way brings out one of the most uncomfortable aspects of this story - namely, that both Katherine and Petruchio could easily be categorized as abusers.

I think Shakespeare asks us with Taming to consider: what do you do if there are adults in your society who, like Katherine, have never learned self-discipline? She is obviously angry, out-of-control and dangerously violent. Her father seems to be unable or unwilling to deal with the problem, and she is already an grown-up, with adult rights. Can we help people like this? Can discipline be imposed from another person, like Petruchio? He has to get into some pretty harsh behavior patterns himself in order to "help" Katherine, and remember that he's also married to her. Is there any way at all this would ever, ever really work?

Great Petruchios, Part 1

Well, I finished Henry VI part 1, but I haven't started part 2 yet. Pretty exciting stuff! I'm still chewing on what to say about it, so in the meantime, I wanted to offer what may be my last Taming of the Shrew movie review for now (but no promises - The Taming of the Shrew is such a popular and famous play that there are many, many movie versions ; we ordered some from the library that only just arrived! Don't know if I'll have time to watch them - silly me for not placing holds on them until the last minute).

Anyway, so far there are two Taming of the Shrew movies that I think are really only notable for their great Petruchios. Here's my review of one of them - my review of the other is to follow shortly!

Petruchio the Great I: The Complete Shakespeare BBC Version (1980)

This video is very, very slow. The production quality is not great. Some of the lines are almost incomprehensible, because many of the actors' diction is rather poor. Katherine is too old. Why am I recommending it to you? Because John Cleese, aka Basil Fawlty, aka various Monty Python characters, plays Petruchio. And he plays him splendidly.

Petruchio meets Katherine (Sarah Badel) and breaks the news of their engagement

It is worth slogging through the slow bits of this movie just to see John Cleese attend his wedding in a hat with an unbelievably enormous feather, and an equally enormous yellow daisy in his button hole. His Petruchio is incredibly natural, amusingly hurt when crossed (Cleese fans will know exactly what I'm talking about), and surprisingly reflective. He also has just the right tinge of the obnoxious, and when he rails on his servants, it is in a manner reminiscent of the finer moments of Fawlty Towers. Best of all, he is somehow able to give us the sense that he is doing Monty Python-style ad-libbing, all while reciting complicated Shakespearean lines.

Sometimes the greatest Shakespearean actors are just great actors, and not Shakespearean in their careers at all.

Could this man really be a great Shakespearean actor? Really?



In my opinion, the only other standout performance was David Kincaid, whose Grumio provides a nonchalant foil to Cleese. Now, if the the BBC had snagged the other Monty Python guys to play Hortensio, Gremio, etc - I believe this production would have been incredible (and please don't take that as an endorsement of the entire Monty Python body of work, but they SHOULD have done Shakespeare!). Alas, the moment is past.

These guys could have livened things up a bit for the BBC Shakespeare Department.

Petruchio to the Rescue?!

At last - the eagerly awaited post that I promised on Petruchio coming to the rescue! Probably my last post for a while on The Taming of the Shrew, as I'm deep in the Henrys by now - but I wanted to tie up a few loose ends about that most controversial character, Petruchio. Why he worthy of discussion? Because Petruchio's relationship with Kate is so wild! Should we as the audience hate him? Should we love him? Do we watch this play - in horrified fascination - only to be shocked ? Although Katherine hits and verbally assaults people on a regular basis, Petruchio uses some techniques in his "taming" of this woman that seem unjustifiable. He starves her; he isolates her from friends and family; he prevents her from sleeping. Sounds more like a KGB interrogation session than a honeymoon, right?

Petruchio as a "patriarchal oppressor" is a pretty popular interpretation of the character among some critical schools right now; for proof of this I offer this link to The Taming of the Shrew wikipedia page. The man comes across as a black-hearted villain!

(Petruchio, with a fearsome scowl, on the left)

Maybe not. For evidence of this, I'm going to point to some contrasts between Petruchio and Katherine's father, Baptista Minola. I've already exposed this guy's infamous behavior - not going to sing that song again. However, Petruchio, unlike dear old dad, helps Kate in one specific way: for the first time in her life, someone makes her look good in front of other people.

This favorable re-positioning and re-interpretation of Kate's behavior starts right away with Petruchio's first meeting with her. He comes up with a story (that, granted, helps him out) but also makes her look good in front of her friends and family:

Petruchio. Father, 'tis thus: yourself and all the world
That talk'd of her have talk'd amiss of her.
If she be curst, it is for policy,
For, she's not froward, but modest as the dove;
She is not hot, but temperate as the morn...
(2.1.1141-1145)

 Petruchio, in his one meeting with Kate, is perhaps savvy enough to figure out that WHATEVER happens, she will complain and kick about it. (Even when it's something she wants -  Katherine tries to send Petruchio about his business DIRECTLY AFTER she's been crying about her chances of being an old maid.) SO - could be that Petruchio's pretty sure she'll make a scene at the wedding and reception. What does he do? Through his outrageous behavior, he gives her something to complain about! If her complaining is not unreasonable, she won't be judged so harshly by her peers.

Note that after Petruchio returns to Padua for the wedding (dressed in his super special suit) and starts in on his "taming" by behaving much more socially strange than Kate, suddenly all her acquaintances who previously jeered at her start sounding a lot more conciliatory. Petruchio is taking a lot of the criticism that Katherine was previously getting.

Tranio. Curster than she? Why, 'tis impossible....

Gremio. Why, he's a devil, a devil, a very fiend.

 Tranio. Why, she's a devil, a devil, the devil's dam.

Gremio. Tut, she's a lamb, a dove, a fool, to him!
(3.2.1516-1519)

(Of course, the very fact that after the wedding all these "friends" laugh as their sister/daughter/friend goes off with this guy who they think is "a devil" kind of shows you what kind of environment Kate is coming out of.)

Likewise, Petruchio's servants get their first taste of Kate in comparison with him at his worst, and they come out with better feelings about Kate than they otherwise would have:

Curtis....By this reck'ning he is more shrew than she.

Grumio. Ay, and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find
when he comes home.

(4.2.1689-1691)

In a way, Petruchio's willingness to be obnoxious in front of everyone - to be more offensive in public than Katherine - to give up his "reputation" to make Katherine appear better - could be interpreted as self-sacrificial love.

On the other hand, it's really bonkers to think that Petruchio has to be meaner than Katherine to show her how unpleasant mean people really are. That's not the way grown-ups work things out! Also, although Petruchio makes himself appear ridiculous in public to benefit Kate, he also does it so he can get what he wants: "peace... and love, and quiet life" (5.2.1614). But that's what Katherine wants too - and that's why Petruchio really is a rescuer.

It's clear that Kate is very unhappy with the status quo, living with her father and sister, and longs for change. Why else does she weep when she is faced with the prospect of remaining single while Bianca is married? "Nay, now I see/She is your treasure, she must have a husband;/I must dance bare-foot on her wedding-day" (2.1.871-873).  She doesn't want to stay at home for the rest of her life! A husband is her one way out.

Petruchio, though domineering and sometimes mean, is able to take her away from her horrible family, rehabilitate her reputation, and give her a respectable position where once she had been an object of scorn. And that's why we manage to smile and give a thumbs up at the end of this crazy ride of a comedy. I'm not  ready to sign onto this (joking) slogan one of my brothers came up with, but...food for thought, eh?

Two Halfway Decent Versions of the Taming of the Shrew

Although the Monsterpiece Theater version of the Taming of the Shrew is pretty great, it is in fact not the "better versions" that I was referring to in my earlier post. It's true that as far as I've seen, the great Taming of the Shrew film has yet to be made. But take heart! There are a few movies that are worth noting before we enter the gory world of Henry VI movies. So, if you're still in the mood for Christopher Sly and the Players, I'd recommend you check out one of the following productions (both of which actually do include Christopher Sly, incidentally)...

1. The BBC Animated Tales version (1994)
This short (26 minutes), sweet version can only be described thusly: adorbs. I especially loved Katherine - not only does she have cute red curls, which bounce up and down with her emotions, her voice is done by the wonderful Amanda Root (whom you might remember as Anne in Persuasion).

This is Amanda Root. If you watch the puppet production, you won't actually get to see her, so I'm putting her picture here.

All of the puppets are quite well done - judging by the credits they seem to have been put together by a whole host of clever Russian puppeteers, led by director Aida Zyablikova. Of course, the length means that much of the text is cut, but I was impressed that the adapter, Leon Garfield, was able to tell the story with mostly Shakespearean lines in the time given.

Puppet Petruchio woos Puppet Katherine. She remains hard-hearted.

Of course, because this is basically a mini-version of the play - both in length and the size of the players - it can't be a comprehensive or definitive version. Also, I would have liked to have seen a little more rapport between Katherine and Petruchio by the end - puppet Katherine seemed a little too dejected in the final scenes - but you can't have everything in 26 minutes of puppetry, I suppose. Overall, these animators do a great job of capturing some of the fire and fascination of this play, all in a delightful format. BTW, I actually found and watched this entire production on youtube (here). Or, buy the set on amazon (and support What Shall Shakespeare Say Today):

2.Stratford Ontario Shakespeare Festival Version (1986)

Hands-down the best version if you want to see an entertaining, straightforward production of the play. The comic elements and rhyming couplets are brought out. Gremio (Rod Beattie) and Hortensio (Patrick Christopher) find their places as comedic, rather than tragic or serious, characters. What's going on is always clear. Every scene is light, quickly paced and full of -mostly- amusing gags.

Hortensio has disguised himself, apparently as a chipmunk, by carrying a lute and filling his mouth with marbles. Thus he hopes to win Bianca's love.

One reason that this enjoyable production has not taken its place as THE movie version of The Taming of the Shrew is that it is a TV recording of a play on a stage, without the film quality or visual interest of an actual multi-set movie.

Another reason is that although all the actors are competent and funny, there just is not an extremely compelling star here. Petruchio, played by Len Cariou, is highly energetic and engaging, but is also somewhat one-dimensional. Kate (Sharry Flett) is great in that she is pretty, yet thoroughly unpleasant, yet thrilled to have a suitor; however, she's also a little screechy (screaming probably worked better on stage than it does on film). Lynne Griffin does stand out from the rest of the cast with her hilarious, bratty, and totally text-supported portrayal of Bianca, but generally, the strength of this production is not in star performances, but in the excellent ensemble work, great pacing, and the whole cast's beautiful, understandable diction.

Lucentio (Peter Hunt) and Bianca. Everyone likes Bianca!

Overall, both Shakespeare girl and I really enjoyed this funny, traditional version - so far, it is our top recommended production of this play. I only wish I could zip over to Ontario and see it live, but alas, it closed about 25 years ago! This one's available on amazon too:

Taming of the Shrew RADIO!

Re: Emma's post on not-so-great movies of The Taming of the Shrew, something I've noticed that is so important for a Shakespeare production (film or live performance) is pacing - good speed, good tempo. If the lines come too slowly, I personally start to feel very tired and restless. But happily, in our adventures poking around the deep recesses of youtube, Emma and I found this cool clip from an audio version of The Taming of the Shrew with Peter O'Toole and Sian Phillips. Now here's some good pacing!

(Note that this clip goes straight from Act 2 scene 1 into Act 4 scene 1 with no break.)

Also, as can be clearly seen from our continued enthusiasm for The Taming of the Shrew into what officially is Henry VI's week, Emma and I won't be confining ourselves to commenting on the plays only in the week in which we read them - as long as we're still excited about the work, we'll continue to share and think about the plays for a few weeks after their official time the spotlight.

Unhand Me, Grovero

Finally, a great movie version of the Taming of the Shrew....er, Shoe.



H/t The Bard Blog.

Four Reasons We Need a New Taming of the Shrew Movie

Have you ever started watching a movie, and turned it off before the show was even halfway through? I must confess that when I watch TV or movies I have a tendency to watch everything - yes, even Random Reality Shows Set In Malibu - all the way to the end. This is (part of) why I really should never, never, never have a TV in the house.
Yet, among the few times that I have not finished a movie, I must number four, yes count them, FOUR versions of The Taming of the Shrew!!! Weird, right? Clearly, someone needs to make a good one. Any filmmakers reading this, your task is before you...

Although I hate to post any negativity on this generally groovin' blog, in the interest of helping you avoid these videos like the plague, I have decided to post my top four partially-watched reasons we need a new Taming of the Shrew movie:

1. The ShakespeareRe-Told, New BBC Version (2005)
Within the first few minutes, I was disappointed to find that they had written their own - not clever, and utterly crude - dialogue. It's cheating to try to pass such stuff off as Shakespeare! Time to move on.

2. The Comedia dell'arte Version (1976)
The lines are delivered stiffly - seemingly in an effort to keep the dialogue from distracting us from the equally stiff pantomimes. A lot of visual monotony, which was occasionally and startlingly broken by some rather embarrassing spandex.

3. The Zeffirelli Version (1967)
Just gorgeous visually, but very slo-o-w - and it doesn't help that the lucky few Shakespearean lines that were chosen to appear in this movie are often repeated over and over (why?).
Also, literally every single time - every time! - Petruchio (played by Richard Burton) speaks, his dialogue is punctuated by this: *evil cackle*, while Katherine (Elizabeth Taylor) generally runs about breaking furniture in the background. Honestly, the characterization work in this film would only be pleasing to those whose vision of Petruchio is of a mean, possibly insane, dipsomaniac, resembling no one so much as King Henry VIII in his later years (note that half of Henry VIII's wives were named Katherine. Coincidence? I think not.).
Thankfully, Zeffirelli made some other - quite excellent, movies - so we can enjoy his work elsewhere.


Franco Zeffirelli, looking worried about his production of The Taming of the Shrew. However, note that his Romeo and Juliet is not bad, and his Hamlet is totally awesome. Unrelated: he also designed some extremely cool opera productions.

4. Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Writers always write about writers, Broadway people love making musicals about the stage. It just doesn't have much to do with Shakespeare. If you adore 1950's musical technicolor dance sequences, this might be a great film for you. I regret to have to warn you, though, that I personally found them ghastly (and this is coming from someone that deeply appreciates the Broadway musical genre). My advice: watch Singin' in the Rain instead (a musical about show business from around the same time, but a lot more fun!).

Singin' in the Rain

I hope to report back on some better versions of the Taming of the Shrew in the next blog post!

More Useful Insults, Courtesy of Petruchio

Thou flea, thou nit, thou winter-cricket thou
(4.3.2072)

These insults, directed by Petruchio at the hapless tailor, are so amazing in and of themselves that I confess I know not what to say. What exactly is so bad about a winter-cricket anyway? Coupled with these other creepy-crawlies it certainly sounds rather horrible.

Baptista Minola - "What a Cruel Father's He"

Petruchio. And you, good sir! Pray, have you not a daughter
Call'd Katherina, fair and virtuous?

Baptista Minola. I have a daughter, sir, call'd Katherina.
...
Petruchio. I am a gentleman of Verona, sir,
That, hearing of her beauty and her wit,
Her affability and bashful modesty,
Her wondrous qualities and mild behaviour,
Am bold to show myself a forward guest
Within your house, to make mine eye the witness
Of that report which I so oft have heard.
...
Baptista Minola. Y'are welcome, sir, and he for your good sake;
But for my daughter Katherine, this I know,
She is not for your turn, the more my grief.

Petruchio. I see you do not mean to part with her;
Or else you like not of my company.
 (2.1.883-885, 889-894, 903-905)

Have you been keeping up with reading The Taming of the Shrew?  One of Shakespeare's most famous comedies, this rough-and tumble battle of the sexes, where the determined and bossy Petruchio marries the crabby and quick-tempered Kate, always gets an audience to sit up and take notice. But in this post, I'm going to concentrate on someone that I feel is kind of an overlooked character - Katherine's father, Baptista.

As I mentioned previously, Katherine has a really bad reputation among the gallants of Padua. Tough for her that she's way smarter and more witty than any of the guys in her hometown. From what we see and hear of her behavior, it seems clear that she's a young woman with a flash-quick temper and a razor wit who does not suffer fools - or mistreatment - gladly.

 But what does Katherine have to be so angry about? I think most of the guys in the play - with the exception of Petruchio - completely miss the point of Katherine's anger and point at her as the problem. But I believe that if you've got dead fish in a river, you'll be wasting your time trying to perform CPR on the fish. Look upstream for the problem and find out what is poisoning them! Which leads us directly to the villain of the piece -

BAPTISTA MINOLA

(Baptista Minola is the grumpy, mean-looking guy in the middle)

Baptista, from the productions that I have seen, is usually portrayed as an ill-used, bewildered father who simply can't understand why he has such a bad-tempered daughter. He's so put upon! He'd be so grateful to anyone who would take her off his hands! "Was ever gentleman thus griev'd as I? "(2.1.877). Boo hoo!! Well, I for one do not feel sorry for him. Let's take a look at what Baptista actually says and does, shall we?

We first meet him parading Katherine and Bianca around in the public square, loudly proclaiming his determination that no one will be allowed to wed his daughter Bianca until Katherine, the older sister, is married. Although many directors seem to have interpreted this as Baptista offering an incentive for Bianca's lovers to help him find a husband for Katherine - which is in fact what Hortensio ends up doing - I believe that Baptista had a very different motivation. He thought that he was insuring that neither daughter would ever marry.

This certainly seems to be the way both Hortensio and Gremio interpret the news - Hortensio tells his friend Petruchio that, essentially, Baptista has both the girls locked up in a "keep" and that Baptista doesn't think anyone will ever want to marry Katherine. Katherine doesn't marry, then Bianca doesn't marry. Game, set and match to Baptista! Here's the relevant passage:

Hortensio. Tarry, Petruchio, I must go with thee,
For in Baptista's keep my treasure is.
He hath the jewel of my life in hold,
His youngest daughter, beautiful Bianca;
And her withholds from me, and other more,
Suitors to her and rivals in my love;
Supposing it a thing impossible-
For those defects I have before rehears'd-
That ever Katherina will be woo'd.
 Therefore this order hath Baptista ta'en,
That none shall have access unto Bianca
Till Katherine the curst have got a husband.

(1.2.663-674, emphasis added)

Gremio compares the idea that anyone would be able to handle being married to Katherine to the "impossible tasks" that we might be familiar with from fairy tales, myths and legends - only a hero, half-god, like Hercules could possibly have a chance!

Gremio.  Yea, leave that labour to great Hercules,
And let it be more than Alcides' twelve.

(1.2.810-811)

(Hercules and the Hydra)

SO - Baptista thinks he's got a sure thing that no one will ever court Katherine. No one ever has wanted to. Hortensio and Gremio rack their brains and can't think of any single guy they know who would be interested. No one wants to marry Katherine because of her awful reputation: as Hortensio observes, she is "Renown'd in Padua for her scolding tongue" (1.2.648).

Question is - why does Katherine have such a terrible reputation? Sure, her behavior is out there - she hits people, which is certainly no way to solve your problems,  and her angry speech is unattractive. However, if we remember that in the Renaissance women's arena was the home and that they did not necessarily participate much in public life, Katherine's noteriety becomes more surprising. Could it be that Baptista (purposely?) puts Katherine into in humiliating situations where, if she lashes out, it will be seen and spoken of by everyone? This kind of treatment is shown at the beginning, where Baptista deliberately leaves Katherine in the company of men that he - and she - both know don't like her and, in fact, are in love with her sister. Baptista's part in tearing down Katherine's reputation is touched on by Petruchio, who says to him that "Father, 'tis thus: yourself and all the world/ That talk'd of her have talk'd amiss of her" (2.1.1141-42).

Another indication that Baptista is not really serious about wanting to get Kate married is his reaction to Petruchio when the young man presents himself as a suitor. This is the exchange quoted at the top of this post. Petruchio says he wants to marry Katherine - what is Baptista's response? "But for my daughter Katherine, this I know,/She is not for your turn, the more my grief." SERIOUSLY? Woah, woah, woah. Stop it right there. This guy has just made a huge production out of the fact that he wants Katherine to get married - but when an actual, flesh and blood, interested MAN shows up, Baptista is all like, "oh....sorry...you wouldn't like her....I'm pretty sure..." LAME.

Petruchio's response to this is often interpreted by actors as sort of a satirical joke. However, let's look at what Petruchio actually SAYS. If we take his answer at face value, then Petruchio has put his finger on exactly what is going on: "I see you do not mean to part with her."

This accusation by Petruchio is backed up by Baptista's next action - he welcomes all the gentlemen, and vaguely talks of taking a walk: "We will go walk a little in the orchard, /And then to dinner." (2.1.954). He's not even going to let Petruchio talk to Kate! Petruchio, however, is pushy and challenges the old man on this: "Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste,/ And every day I cannot come to woo" (2.1.957-8).

As everyone knows, Baptista gives in and lets Petruchio court - and marry - Kate. Why does he allow this if goes against his agenda to keep both girls single at home? Well, Baptista made one rather stupid mistake - he announced in front of witnesses that he was willing to have Kate married off. He committed himself publicly in front of his peers - wealthy gentlemen of Padua - and he couldn't go back without serious shame (not to mention that he might be afraid to disappoint strong young Italian men who are intent upon winning both women AND money).

(thou know'st not gold's effect!)

  Next question - WHY would Baptista want to keep both his daughters unmarried at home? Well, the first obvious motive is money. He has to give them healthy dowries if they get married - that much less loose cash in the old coffers. One possible support for this theory is that Baptista arguably gives a pretty lame bid for a dowry when he offers Petruchio 20,000 crowns. Perhaps he didn't think that Petruchio would immediately accept this, because Baptista could obviously have offered a lot more - this is shown when he is able to double this dowry at the end of the play. If Baptista had really been intent on simply getting rid of Katherine, one would think he would have offered as much as he could afford to sweeten the deal with cash.

However, I think that Baptista was more likely just a creepy, mean dad, rather like the notorious Mr. Barrett, father of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This guy was famous for flying into apoplectic rages whenever any of his children hinted they might like to get married (those brave enough to defy his wrath and marry were disinherited).

Plus, Baptista clearly has a very doting relationship with Bianca, his pretty younger daughter. Observe his lovey-dovey talk to her: Katherina, you may stay; /For I have more to commune with Bianca (1.1.399); And let it not displease thee, good Bianca,/ For I will love thee ne'er the less, my girl (1.1.372). So, if Baptista is so besotted with his charming younger daughter that he never can bear to let her go, what better way to deflect blame away from himself than to create a useful scapegoat? When Bianca and her suitors start to ask questions about why Baptista will never give his consent, all the father has to do is point to Katherine and come up with some phony baloney story about how she must be married first. This way, Baptista has no incentive to help Kate get over her anger-management problems; he drives a wedge between the sisters, transferring Bianca's affection from Kate to himself; and he feeds Kate's feelings of bitterness and unhappiness because she is a major target for resentment, both from Bianca and all her thwarted suitors. Ick, ick, ick. Bad, bad, bad.

Well, now that I've established the facts on what a crumb-bum Baptista is, stay tuned for my next post - in which I'll look at how Petruchio comes to the rescue! Don't miss it!



I woo not like a babe

Petruchio: Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all:
So I to her and so she yields to me;
For I am rough and woo not like a babe.

Speaking of babies, here's one that's being raised right (click to enlarge - really, you need to see this):



But how about that Petruchio, anyway? He gets a bad rap, pretty often - and he's self-confessedly rough. But is he *too* rough? By the end of the play, Katherine doesn't seem to think so.


John Drew as Petruchio

Petruchio has grown on me. In reading the play right after Two Gentlemen, I was struck by how different Petruchio is from guys like Valentine and Proteus. He's no slave of passion (except having strong feelings about how a sleeve should be cut, and other such important issues). But then again, he doesn't drop a girl at the drop of a hat. Instead of always being in thrall to the most charming person in the room at the time, he's willing to take a chance on a an intelligent, but spoiled, neglected girl that's despised by her society. He believes that she CAN have a happy, respectable life. Not so bad, really!

Next question: how do you pronounce "Petruchio"? "Petruchee-o" or "Petrukee-o"? I've heard it both ways from those who ought to know...

Beef and Mustard

Grumio. What say you to a piece of beef and mustard?

Katherina. A dish that I do love to feed upon.

Grumio. Ay, but the mustard is too hot a little.

Katherina. Why then the beef, and let the mustard rest.

Grumio. Nay, then I will not; you shall have the mustard,
Or else you get no beef of Grumio.
(4.3.1979-1984)

I love finding these homely passages in Shakespeare that show that the world has just not changed that much in the 400 years since this play was written. As any of Shakespeare girl's friends and family could tell you, I LOVE beef and mustard - they go so well together! Give me bread, beef and mustard, and I'm good.

This is also a great Shakespeare quote for everyday household use. Next time anyone asks if you want mustard on your sandwich, just reply airily that it is "a dish that I do love to feed upon."

I also think Grumio's concern is totally hilarious that the mustard, being "hot," would by its spicy properties encourage Kate's feisty temper. This theory is put forward by Petruchio, in a classic scene - his proficiency with insults suggests that he doesn't need any anger-inducing food to get him going:

Petruchio. What's this? Mutton? ...
'Tis burnt; and so is all the meat.
What dogs are these? Where is the rascal cook?
How durst you villains bring it from the dresser
And serve it thus to me that love it not?
There, take it to you, trenchers, cups, and all;
[Throws the meat, etc., at them]
You heedless joltheads and unmanner'd slaves!
What, do you grumble? I'll be with you straight.
.....

 I tell thee, Kate, 'twas burnt and dried away,
And I expressly am forbid to touch it;

For it engenders choler, planteth anger;
And better 'twere that both of us did fast,
Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric,
Than feed it with such over-roasted flesh.

 (4.1.1764, 1768-1775, 1779-1785)

Another useful phrase: next time you don't like your dinner, call out "where is the rascal cook?" Might want to watch out with this one if the founder of the feast is perhaps your mom or your spouse - but on the other hand, Petruchio seems to make it work for him...

Excuse me, off to eat some beef and mustard.

Katherine's Bad Day

Baptista Minola. What, will my daughter prove a good musician?

Hortensio. I think she'll sooner prove a soldier:
Iron may hold with her, but never lutes.

Baptista Minola. Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute?

Hortensio. Why, no; for she hath broke the lute to me.
I did but tell her she mistook her frets,
And bow'd her hand to teach her fingering,
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit,

'Frets, call you these?' quoth she 'I'll fume with them.'
And with that word she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way;
And there I stood amazed for a while,
As on a pillory, looking through the lute,

While she did call me rascal fiddler
And twangling Jack, with twenty such vile terms,
As she had studied to misuse me so.

(The Taming of the Shrew, Act 2, scene 1, 989-1003)

Poor Kate really gets a bad rap from all those gossipy guys in Padua. Surely everyone has a bad day once in a while! (Granted, this is a really, really bad day.) But sometimes the "twangling Jacks" of the world really fret us over the edge. Good thing Katherine has a ready supply of insults! She sure seems to be the perfect match for Petruchio, for as we shall see, he has a goodly store of insults all his own... 

Read The Taming of the Shrew!

New week, I'll be starting in on a new play - The Taming of the Shrew! Read along!

We'll also be finishing up a few movie reviews AND a play review for The Two Gentlemen - and Taming of the Shrew movies are also on the menu! Stay tuned!