SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 12, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — I honestly can’t remember the last time I cried with laughter in a theater. I won’t tell you exactly what made those tears fall at “Taming of the Shrew” and give away the surprise, but suffice to say, it involved Cheez Whiz, someone’s forehead and someone else’s tongue.
It’s worth noting as well that although this moment occurred on the opening night of Mad King Productions “Taming” at the Alliance Theater at Trolley Square, I honestly couldn’t tell you whether it was a planned moment or just part of the madcap hilarity that unfolds during every performance.
If you haven’t heard of drunken Shakespeare, well, it’s arrived in Salt Lake City, and judging by the size and enthusiasm of the audience, it’s here to stay. I grew up in England and was first aware of shows of this kind in London; I did a little bit of research and it appears, of course, that the concept originated at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Back in 2014, the notion arrived in New York in the form of The Drunk Shakespeare Society. The premise in this company is that there are five cast members, and one of them drinks five shots, then goes on to perform while the other actors stay sober. The audience is also encouraged to imbibe. The Drunk Shakespeare Society now also plays in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Phoenix and Houston.
Mad King Productions takes on the concept slightly differently, because of course, we are in Utah. In the venue they are performing at currently, only beer and hard seltzers are allowed, so at the beginning of the show, cast members have a beverage, with many shotgunning beers. It is worth noting though, that they don’t have to imbibe. Then in the first act, the cast continues to drink randomly, and there is a Venmo code on each program that audience members can donate $5 to an actor during Act 2 and a stage manager will then deliver a drink to them on stage.
The company also sets each show they do in a different time period; in 2019, their first drunken Shakespeare production, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” was set in the 1980s, while the 2020 show, “Much Ado About Nothing,” took place in the roaring ’20s and the 2021 show, “As You Like It,” was set in the post-war 1940s. This time, “Taming” occurs in the 1960s, which gives a free-wheeling, easy breezy quality to the proceedings. Audience members are also encouraged to partake in a beverage and light heckling is encouraged.
But will it make you laugh? So here’s the thing: I’ve seen a LOT of Shakespeare plays, and I have to say, in modern times, they aren’t always that funny (writer pauses here to see if a strike of lightning hits her.) Don’t get me wrong, I love the Bard as much as the next woman-dressed-as-a-man, but I’ve seen various productions where even though they have been placed in different time periods or have clever staging ideas, just weren’t that comical. Another factor is that in modern times, audiences often feel that they need to respond reverently to Shakespeare’s plays. Where in fact, his work may have been partly for the folks with money who would pay to have seats with cushions, but it was also aimed at the groundlings, who would pay a penny to stand in the pit, just below the stage. Hell, some audiences even brought their lunches and would throw them at the actors if they didn’t like the show. And for them, crude jokes and slapstick humor were provided and characters were created that they could identify with.
The genius thing about the drunk Shakespeare productions, I realized about five minutes in, is that they are returning the plays to what they are supposed to be: bawdy, raucous, and side-splittingly funny. The fact that both the actors and the audience are drinking takes away any embedded reverence one might have towards the production. Imbibing almost acts like a key that unlocks a world where the actors have license to play with other elements of the production, such as props and blocking, and the whole thing becomes a riot. An example; one actor, Dallyn Steenerson, playing Biondello, basically eats through most of the show; he assembles a peanut butter and chip sandwich, then munches on a small tub of Pringles, which is where the Cheez Whiz joke comes in, then still later consumes a bowl of what could have either been Jello or salad or possibly Jello salad. As the actor playing Petruchio, James Naylor, says to him playfully at one point: “You can’t steal every scene you’re in!” Another actors sports what he dubs an excellent disguise; a false nose, eyebrows and mustache that goes over his own nose, eyebrows and mustache that look remarkably like the disguise. The play has also been trimmed, and the actors sometimes improv a line or a bit.
Kudos must be given to the actors, with the help of director Carleigh-Jo Naylor, who co-founded the company with Christopher Madriaga, because they maintain focus and keep the show moving even with all the shenanigans. A production like this needs both precision and a sense of play and every single actor achieves that. There is fight choreography by Conor Thompson that requires the actors be totally on the ball even though some were tipsy. Hope Juliana Oliver as Kate and James Naylor as Petruchio stood out to me particularly for keeping all the balls in the air, though I enjoyed the performances across the board.
Director Carleigh-Jo Naylor must also be commended for taking on “Taming of the Shrew” in the first place. As you may know, the subject matter of the play has become controversial in recent times, as you can probably deduce from the title. There is a long monologue from Kate at the end of the show that basically implies she has been successfully “tamed” by Petruchio.
She describes the husband as “lord,” “king,” “governor,” and “sovereign,” and explains that “Such duty as the subject owes the Prince, even such a woman oweth to her husband.” In the director’s notes, Naylor writes: “I knew we had to show Petruchio being the true problematic character and in the end accepting Kate for her ‘shrewdness’ and loving her for all of it. That Kate would then in turn allow him into her heart for letting her be exactly as she is and that he instead changes by seeing her as an equal rather than a conquest to tame.” The director also drastically trimmed Kate’s closing monologue; a good move, I think.
The production values are also successful. The costume design by Jeffrey Black is a standout for me; he must have had a blast visiting vintage stores because the ’60s outfits looked very retro and totally groovy. The set (designed and built by James Naylor) is comprised of raised staging areas of different heights with various blocks that can be moved around, and curtains on each side for entrances and exits. This worked perfectly well and anything more complicated could have become a little too fussy and hampered the actors’ movement. The lightning design by Carleigh-Jo Naylor and Sara Goldberg is straightforward, mainly comprised of washes of various colors. The sound design also adds to the mood of the show with plenty of throwback classics.
The show, which opened on Friday, June 9, plays this week on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and June 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 18 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available here. I highly recommend that you attend, and perhaps see Shakespeare in a whole new light, as it was supposed to be.
