Interested in sending your father a subliminal message on his special day?
Then, here?s a suggestion: Take him to see the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company?s “Taming of the Shrew,” a comedy about Baptista, an over-protective merchant who refuses to let his younger daughter marry before his elder daughter.
And the merchant?s daughter is a little ticked off about good old Dad turning into a control freak.
If you are looking for a little more intense action ? then King Lear might be the ticket. Best of all, it?s a cheap date with Dad because fathers get in for free. Don?t tell Dad that though, because you want to make him feel special. (Children younger than 18 who come with an adult also get in free.)
Both plays are being performed this summer by Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, which continues to build a following that craves to see Shakespeare how it was meant to be produced in the park with a bucket of chicken or other picnic delights.
“Our audience was asking for more Shakespeare, so we decided to expand the season in length,” said Lesley Malin, the managing director. “We?re offering people two completely different things, the comedy for people interested in the lighter side, and the greatest play ever written.”
On Father?s Day, the company will be performing “Taming of the Shrew” because “we thought it might be too cruel to perform ?King Lear,” laughed Malin. Shakespeare?s “Lear” is the story of a king , who decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters according to who loves him the most based on their flattery.
B.J. Gailey, who plays the part of Petruchio in “Shrew,” said the comedy is about gender relations and what it means to be in love back then and today. “Can two people who are stubborn and hard-headed co-exist and fall in love?” he asked.
The company also tries to involve the audience during the performances.
“I always say my favorite audience member is the middle-aged man who comes up to me afterwards, kind of stunned, and says, ?That wasn?t as bad as I thought it would be,?” Malin said. “We try to make the atmosphere as informal as possible. Accessibility is a major part of what we?re about.”
“We?ve been getting some great responses, people are really enjoying the liveliness and humor of Shrew, and are seeing that King Lear is not all gloom and tomb, but a really exciting play,” Malin said.
