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Sunday, June 4, 2017

HUDSON SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY BEGINS 26TH TOURING SEASON WITH “THE TAMING OF THE SHREW” IN VARIOUS VENUES IN NORTH JERSEY

shrew PR 2THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jon Ciccarelli

WHEN & WHERE:

  • Wednesday, June 7th @ 7pm
    Secaucus Public Library
    1379 Paterson Plank Rd, Secaucus, NJ 07094
  • Thursday, June 8th @ 7pm
    Montclair Public Library
    50 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ 07042
  • Saturday, June 10th @ 2pm
    Old Bridge Library
    1 Old Bridge Plaza, Old Bridge, NJ 08857
  • Monday, June 12th @ 7pm
    Frank Sinatra Park
    Hoboken, NJ
  • Tuesday, June 13th @ 7:30pm
    Fort Lee Monument Park
    Palisade Ave & Angioletti Pl, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
  • Thursday, June 15th @ 7pm
    Hamilton Park
    9th st and Jersey Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07302
  • Tuesday, June 20th @ 7:30pm
    Fort Lee Monument Park
    Palisade Ave & Angioletti Pl, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
  • Wednesday, June 21st @ 7:30pm
    Hackensack Cultural Arts Center
    101 State Street, Hackensack, NJ
  • Thursday, June 22nd, @ 7pm
    Milburn Free Central Library
    200 Glen Ave, Millburn, NJ 07041
  • Tuesday, June 27th @ 7:30pm
    Fort Lee Monument Park
    Palisade Ave & Angioletti Pl, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
  • Wednesday, June 28th @ 7:30pm
    Hackensack Cultural Arts Center
    101 State Street, Hackensack, NJ
  • Thursday, June 29th @ 6:30pm
    Hoboken Public Library
    500 Park Ave, Hoboken, NJ 07030
  • Saturday, July 1st @ 2pm
    Stratford Library
    2203 Main St, Stratford, CT 06615

ADMISSION: Free

The Hudson Shakespeare Company returns for its 26th season of touring summer Shakespeare with a retro spin on Shakespeare’s classic war of the sexes romp,  Taming of the Shrew. The action is moved from the 1590s to 1960s Italy and reintroduces the characters in this new period and foreign setting taking influences from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and AMC’s Mad Men.

Written in the early 1590s, Taming of the Shrew has been both a crowd pleaser filled with colorful characters and comic bits inspired by Italian Commedia Dell’Arte such as the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton version and a lightning rod of controversy over the treatment of Kate. According to director Jon Ciccarelli, the beauty of Shakespeare is that the same work can inspire so many different takes.

“Its incredible that these 400-year-old plays can still inspire debate and new interpretations however you have to be careful that any choices are supported by the text. Shakespeare’s strength is that he can show both sides of an issue where you emphasize with them equally. Petruchio can come off as fortune seeking, misogynist however, Kate is also both physically and verbally abusive to people around her.”, he said. “However, by the end of the play both of them are endearing and you root for them to get together.”

In transposing the action to 1960s Italy, Ciccarelli wanted to try something new with the show. “I have seen both modern, New York set presentations, which I find a bit dull, and period specific which are more English based and wondering what else could I do with this.”, he said. Inspired by his parents newlywed years in early 60s Rome, Ciccarelli decided to immerse the action in the era and setting. “The production is very much inspired by pictures and stories that my parents shared with me about a time in their lives when they first married and I thought this would make a unique take on an Italian set show about couples getting together.”

The Hudson Shakespeare Company has been touring to Shakespeare and modern titles to NJ parks, libraries and other civic locations since 1992.

The company will return with 90s grunge inspired Romeo and Juliet in July and a horror-inspired Macbeth to North Jersey libraries in October. For more information on Taming of the Shrew and other upcoming productions, please visit www.hudsonshakespeare.com.