Thinking Cap Theatre
presents
The Taming of the Shrew
By William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Nicole Stodard

For Immediate Release
Contact: Bree-Anna Obst
breeanna@thinkingcaptheatre.org | 954-610-7263

March 12, 2024

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:  Thinking Cap Theatre will officially kick off 2024 this March with a main stage production of The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by TCT’s Founding Artistic Director Nicole Stodard. The production will run from March 22^nd through April 3^rd at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

TCT’s last Shakespearean revival, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s great tragedy King Lear, was named one of the top ten plays of 2018 by Boca Magazine.  With Shrew, TCT turns to one of Shakespeare’s most controversial works, a play that has left audiences divided on whether the playwright was a misogynist or a proto-feminist.  Made famous in a mid-twentieth century revival that starred real life sparring lovers Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, this comedy dramatizes the age-old battle of the sexes in the tumultuous courtship of the characters Katherina and Petruchio. 

Despite being one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, The Taming Of The Shrew epitomizes Shakespeare’s fascination with raising, but not ultimately answering, pressing social questions.  In Thinking Cap’s innovative new staging, performers and audiences alike will be able to experience and judge different casting and directorial choices in real time to explore our shifting perceptions of what’s playable, offensive, or funny.  “Shakespeare’s works play differently in every age.  This particular work presents a meaningful opportunity, in this moment, to ‘hold a mirror up to nature,’ in the words of Hamlet, and to demonstrate the perennial nature of some of our current debates,” says Stodard.

This main stage production is part of The People vs. Shakespeare’s Shrew, a multifaceted project that invites audiences to engage deeply with this problem play through complementary programming that includes the following: a staged reading of John Fletcher’s 1611 response play entitled The Woman’s Prize or the Tamer Tamed; Sunday Talkbacks with the cast and creative team; and Shakespeare Was Here, a 6-episode podcast series with Shakespeare practitioners and scholars from around the country.

The staged reading of The Woman’s Prize or the Tamer Tamed, will take place on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at Art Serve in Fort Lauderdale.  Doors open at 6:30pm; curtain at 7pm.  Tickets are $20 and include complimentary catered refreshments.  Art Serve’s address is 1350 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 
Staged reading ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-tamer-tamed-or-the-womens-prize-play-reading-tickets-816509641317?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Shakespeare Was Here: New Podcast Series:

TCT’s podcast, Thoughts on Theatre and Life, includes multiple ongoing series, the newest of which explores the living legacy of William Shakespeare.  Guests of The Taming of the Shrew can deepen their engagement with the production by tuning into Shakespeare Was Here for stimulating conversations with leading Shakespeare scholars and practitioners from coast to coast.  The podcast is available on Amazon, Apple, Google, and Spotify.  Podcast guests who will discuss The Taming Of The Shrew inlcude: Vernon Dickson, Ph.D. (Florida International University), Carla Della Gatta, Ph.D. (University of Maryland), Jemma Alix Levy (Washington & Lee University), Carmen Pelaez (playwright), Ian Smith, Ph.D. (University of Southern California, President of Shakespeare Association of America).

The Taming Of The Shrew  Performance Dates/Times:

Friday, March 22 | 7:30pm
Saturday, March 23 | 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, March 24 | 3:00pm
Thursday, March 28 | 7:30pm
Friday, March 29 | 7:30pm
Saturday, March 30 | 7:30pm
Sunday, March 31 | 3:00pm
Monday, April 1 | 7:30pm
Wednesday, April 3 | 11:00am & 7:30pm

Ticket Prices for TCT’s Main Stage Productions:
$45 General Admission
$20 Student Rush Tickets at the Door for 21 & Under w/ Valid Student ID

Theatre Company Website: http://thinkingcaptheatre.org
Thinking Cap Theatre Box Office Phone: 954-610-7263
Venue Address:
Broward Center for the Performing Arts,
201 Southwest 5th Avenue ,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

Funding:
Support for this program has been provided by the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: John O. and Victoria C. Kirby Fund, Frederick W. Jaqua Fund, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund.  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is also sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts, Broward County Cultural Division and a grant from The Our Fund Foundation, an LGBTQ community foundation, with support from the Broward Center’s Arts Access Program.

About Thinking Cap Theatre (TCT):
Founded in 2010, TCT prides itself on theatrical experimentation, equality, and excellence.  To this end, the company has amassed a loyal fan base that appreciates the opportunity to see daring theatre locally that it could not otherwise see without traveling to New York, Chicago, or L.A.  “TCT thrives on experimentation, both in terms of the plays we select and how we rehearse and stage them. We challenge conventions and embrace playfulness.  This is how we work to keep the art form dynamic and evolving” says Stodard.  True to its mission, TCT also champions equity and diversity on- and off-stage.  As one example, TCT has upheld gender and sexual parity in play programming in every single season.  The proof is in the numbers: 18 male playwrights, 20 female playwrights, and 1 non-binary playwright. “Prioritizing diversity and inclusion is in the DNA of our organization’s mission. And for far too long, TCT was a lone voice in the region addressing these issues,” says Stodard.  Since its inception in 2010, TCT has also striven for excellence with a particular emphasis on steadily improving production values and increasing artist compensation.