Gannon University’s very own Schuster Theatre will stage a real British production this month.
For the past 16 years Cambridge University in England has sent its most talented actors and production teams to the United States for Shakespeare education.
These students major in science and math, but because of their love for the theatre they participate in the Cambridge American Stage Tour, also known as CAST.
This year the group will be performing Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew.” The group travels up and down the eastern U.S. coast, and Gannon has the honor of hosting it this semester.
“The Taming of the Shrew” is a comedy play written by Shakespeare in the late 1500s. In this play, a lord discovers a drunk and passed out English beggar named Sly and takes him into his house. There the lord and his servants trick Sly into thinking that he is really a lord. Sly believes him and a play is shown in his honor.
This play becomes the main focus of the story. It consists of the youngest daughter of a merchant who is wooed by many suitors in her village, but her father will not allow her to marry until her older sister does.
As you may have guessed her older sister, Katherina, is indeed the “shrew” the play is named after, and finding someone to love her, or even marry her, is not the hard part.
Taming Katherina turns out to be the real challenge, but also over the top and humorous.
For those out there who are not big fans of Shakespeare, do not let his classic plays scare you away from this renovated version. Jax Vadney, technical director and design instructor here at Gannon, calls the CAST’s performance “top notch” and “worth every penny.”
She marveled at their twists on Shakespeare’s plays, from the modernized clothes, edits on the scripts and the “20-year-old energy” they bring to the stage.
The two main characters bring a slapstick comedy she cannot wait to see. Most importantly, she noted how these are real British actors, with real British accents that will make this production unlike any other Shakespeare play you will ever see.
CAST will be performing at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Schuster Theater.
Earlier in the day they will be offering specialty workshops. More information and a schedule will be available on the Schuster Facebook page, facebook.com/schustertheatre.
The admission cost for anyone wishing to watch the performance will be $8. All the proceeds will go straight to CAST and benefit this and further productions.
For additional information contact the Schuster Box Office at 814-871-7494. For more about CAST, information is available at castcambridge.com.
LAUREN SOVISKY
