The excited anticipation I had for seeing Shrew, the hype I created in my mind, made me expect a lot as I saw in the Festival Theatre. The Western theme both worked and did not work. Most of the time, the Wild West overtook the main story, the relationship of Katherina and Petruchio. There were more gags and gimmicks aimed at the audience than was necessary. One of the only audience interplays that got me to laugh was Paul Dunn as Biondello, when he announced that he was dog tired and followed it with a woof in the scene where Tranio and Lucentio search for a substitute Vincentio.
Plotwise, a theme seemed to be shedding the mask put on people by others. Although Graham Abbey's Petruchio was dressed as a bad boy gunslinger, scared people by simply mentioning his father's name, and agreed to woo and marry Kate for her money to pay his debts, he didn't always come across as the brash lout I'd expect Petruchio to be. The scene where he met Kate for the first time was one of the most effective. Seana McKenna's Katherina and her shrewish behaviour touched Petruchio's inner nice guy. At the same time, Petruchio's persistence was a match for Katherina's temper. The fight and the physicality that culminated set in motion just what a bttle it would be to shed the mask of "Kate the Cursed". My interpretation of Graham's Petruchio was that he decided to don the mask of a jerk to teach (or tame if you'd like) Kate a lesson. He said to her that she put too much of an emphasis on appearances and Graham's portrayal was a nice guy who pretended to be villainous to make a point while at the same time reaping the benefits of Kate's dowry. He turned the tables on Kate.
Seana McKenna was convincing as kate. Though a joke about age is hinted at via the text in the first meeting with Petruchio, she held my attention and the fact that she's older did not enter my mind. Like her red hair, Kate's entrance was fiery and noisy. She snapped her words and treated them like venom. She was relentless and guarded herself against Petruchio's advances during their introduction. There were words as well as slaps, headlocks, flung clothing, and even stealing Petruchio's gun.
The fire however diminished too quickly. She showed that she was tamed too early by bawling when Petruchio hadn't shown up yet for their wedding. Despite the change matching up with the "shed the appearances" remark and exposing Kate's vulnerability, Kate's being upset came across more as too instantaneous a change than a new look at her personality.
The chemistry of Seana McKenna with Deborah Hay who played Bianca really illustrated both characters' differences. What seemed slightly different was the playing up of Bianca's bad qualities (not very smart, selfishness) instead of portraying her as a great beauty and perfect angel. Her suitor sare blind to her unfavourable side but the audience gets dramatic irony and must try not to cringe at her Minnie Mouse from hell voice. It served as a great tool in showing the real Bianca but her voice really began to grate on my nerves.
Kyle Blair's Lucentio was the perfect lovesick puppy. He didn't have a clue what he was getting into. Love seemed to be fresh, new, and a thing that swept you off your feet to Lucentio. Kyle Blair's Lucentio was also like a stereotypical teenager, leaping into pursuit of Bianca, believing in appearances and his judgement that she was his soulmate.
Jonathan Goad's Tranio was a foil to Kyle Blair's Lucentio. The servant was smarter than the master. Right away he knew Lucentio's falling in love was all about sex and hormones. The only that bothered me was his Mexican accent. At times he sludged and slurred his words making it hard to understand him or the accent wandered on occasion. Despite the accent, Jonathan's Tranio was the voice of reason for Lucentio and seemed to love every moment of his master's courtship and marriage.
Regarding the other two characters portrayed with accents, Brad Rudy's Gremio was fine but I couldn't stand Wayne Best's Grumio. Accent-wise, his Southern (or Texan?) accent was the hardest to make out. His choice of having Grumio spit out his chaw got tiring, as did the dimwit, slapstick act.
Donald Carrier's Hortensio was nice and haughty. His portrayal of Hortensio was as a man who was so sure he'd win. That is, until the scene where Lucentio revealed his true identity to Bianca. He was quite tickled by his song despite Bianca mangling it. My favourite was his unique wave with a flourish.
The best thing about this production of Shrew was the ending. The speech in the final moments about obeying one's husband and being thankful by Katherina can be unsettling for people who disagree with it, for those who feel that women are masters of their own selves. Yet on this occasion, power is balanced. Seana McKenna's Kate finished her impassioned speech and Graham Abbey's Petruchio asks her to come kiss him again. Instead of doing so like before, this time she made him kneel first and then they kissed. This way, both people are satisfied. The play ends happily ever after. Thankfully that in the end, Petruchio and Katherina finally got the spotlight and the last laugh instead of the awkward Western theme.