Photo Flash: First Look: Telluride Theatre's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

This summer's Shakespeare in the Park production on the Town Stage will introduce audiences to two of Shakespeare's most famous and fraught lovers: Kate & Petruchio, played by Michael Raver (TV's TURN: Washington's Spies) and Telluride Theatre's own Cat Lee Covert (A Midsummer Night's Dream). Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, penned at the height of his powers as a playwright and London entertainer, is both a play full of deception, dress-up and ultimately one of the most tumultuous and true relationships between any two characters in any of his 38 plays.

"It's a difficult play with a difficult premise," says Director Colin Sullivan. "The title let's you know right up front that Kate and Petruchio's relationship isn't meant to be even, and their courting may be even less so. But their relationship is, in most ways, very modern - it's beautiful and complicated, they exhaust each other, they speak sometimes from their hearts and sometimes from their egos, and even protect each other."

Telluride Theatre is committed to advancing the performing arts in our region through innovative productions, education programs and community involvement. We create theatre that lives in moments of truthful human connection, promotes joyful celebration and is an open dialogue, accessible to all audiences.

"People often see this as an issue-driven play, but I think that's selling the power and nuance of these characters short, especially Kate," Sullivan says. "This play is on fire from the first scene. We need to let it burn."