Main Street Theater to Host Free Inauguration Day Staged Readings

As part of a nationwide initiative, Main Street Theater will present 2 staged readings of Lauren Gunderson's The Taming on Inauguration Day, January 20. More than 40 theaters across the country are participating.

Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss AmErica Pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female "power-play" inspired by Shakespeare's Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip.

"With the sea change in America already swirling I thought 'Write, girl! Write!' But then I thought, 'I think you already wrote about this. And it's called The Taming.' I wrote this all-female political farce to laugh with the painful truth about extremism on both sides, to toy with our country's history and wrestle with its foundational imperfections," writes playwright Lauren Gunderson. "And I wrote it before HAMILTON so my Hamilton jokes were legit and trendsetting :)"

With these performances of The Taming, MST will also introduce a new engagement series.

Theater Anywhere is Main Street Theater's community engagement program designed to make theater more accessible to diverse audiences in the Houston area. Plays that are part of Theater Anywhere transform non-traditional theater spaces into artistic arenas. MST works with area organizers and leaders of different organizations to collaborate on artistic projects that best serve the needs of their specific communities. Just as many neighborhoods have a corner post office, corner store, and little league team, Theater Anywhere strives to ensure they have a corner theater as well.

Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, our MainStage produces professional, intimate, literary plays for adults; our Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and we offer Education and Outreach programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 - high school. We perform locally in 2 facilities: our Rice Village home on Times. Blvd., and as part of the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.