Through Mar. 21 American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge is presenting Andrei Serban's high-tech take on The Taming Of the Shrew, in which Kate and Petruchio spar in a boxing ring -- literally -- while video cameras roll.
Starring in the show are Carolina Hall (Bianca), Don Reilly (Petruchio) and Kristin Flanders as Katherine, alongside Remo Airaldi, Dmetrius Conley Williams, Benjamin Evett, Jeremy Geidt, Will LeBow, Stephen Rowe, Jason Weinberg, Harry S. Murphy, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina, Danielle Delgado, Sophia Fox-Long, Scott Harrison, Leopold Lowe, Scott Lucy, Robert Ross, and Kevin Varner. At some performances, A.R.T. artistic director Robert Brustein will play Vincentio, which is also played by Jerry Flynn.
Designing Shrew are Catherine Zuber (costumes), Michael Chybowski (lighting), Christopher Walker (sound) and Christine Jones (set).
Previous plays staged by Serban at A.R.T. include Twelfth Night and The Good Woman Of Setzuan.
Upcoming at American Rep: Nobody Dies On Friday (April 1998)
Marilyn Monroe continues to inspire playwrights and screenwriters, including Robert Brustein, whose new play will be directed by David Wheeler. Friday tells of Monroe's visits to the house of her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, whenever she needed acting lessons or to seek asylum from Hollywood craziness. The play not only looks at her, but the tensions she brings out among the four Strasbergs, who quarrel over art, theatre and the cult of celebrity.
The Imaginary Invalid (May 8-31)
Moliere's last play, a satire of the medical profession wherein hypochondriacal Argan decides his daughter must marry a physician so that he'd always have ready healthcare. Shelley Berc translates the farce, which is directed by ART veteran, Andrei Belgarder (Ubu Rock).
American Rep uses a resident acting company, including Remo Airaldi, Thomas Derrah, Alvin Epstein, Benjamin Evett, Kristen Flanders, Jeremy Geidt, Will LeBow, Karen McDonald, Charles Levin, Don Reilly, Stephen Rowe and Jack Willis, alongside Leslie Beatty, Jay Boyer, D'metrius Conley-Williams, Emma Roberts and other new members.
Brustein, the founding director of the Yale Repertory and American Rep, has supervised nearly 200 productions. He serves as director of the Loeb Drama Center, Professor of English at Harvard, and drama critic for The New Republic. These days, he's most celebrated for his public arguments with playwright August Wilson about multi-cultural casting.
For tickets and information on the American Repertory Theatre season, call their Info-Line at (617) 547-8300 or check out their website at http://www.amrep.org.
-- By Rebecca Paller and David Lefkowitz
