Cast Set for THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (AN EXPLORATION OF GENDER EXPRESSION) at Hollywood Fringe

The cast has been set and rehearsals are underway for the Queer Classics production of William Shakespeare's controversial and often polarizing commedia dell'arte comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. Conceived and directed by Casey Kringlen, this unique re-imagined exploration of gender expression in the comedic style of I Love Lucy comes to the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival for six performances only.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Shaan Dasani, Ryan Leslie Fisher, Suzanne Fortin, Julie Rei Goldstein, Taylor Goss, Bobby Gutierrez, Zach Kanner, Jeffrey Masters, Gordon Meacham, Dawn Medina, Nathan Mohebbi, Schaeffer Nelson, Lauren Parkinson, Angel Payne, Gia Ryan, and Sebastian Vegara. Lighting design is by Dan Weingarten and the stage manager is Amber Bruegel.

Performance dates and times are as follows - Saturday 6/6 at 7pm (press preview); Thursday 6/11 at 10:30pm; Thursday 6/18 at 5pm; Friday, June 19 at 5pm; Saturday 6/20 at 2pm; and Sunday 6/21 at 3:30pm. The performance running time will be 80 minutes. In the Queer Classics version of modern times, Kate and Petruchio might identify as trans, but the 1950s are a completely different world. In this new and sexy adaptation, the lead lovers explore their expression of gender in a time before there were labels to define it.

Queer Classics is dedicated to sharing classic stories re-imagined through a queer lens - art for the LGBTQ community and its supporters. Visit www.queerclassics.com. This event is presented as part of the City of West Hollywood's One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival which this year celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Cityhood with the theme 'WeHo@30, Life@30.' Events take place from Harvey Milk Day, May 22, to the end of June with a special full day of theatre in Plummer Park on June 27. For more info and to see a full roster of events visit www.weho.org/pride.

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community. Each June during the Hollywood Fringe, the arts infiltrate the Hollywood neighborhood: fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places host hundreds of productions by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.

Tickets for the Queer Classics production of The Taming of the Shrew are $10 for the preview on Saturday, June 6 at 7pm and $20 for all other performances and may be obtained online at www.hollywoodfringe.org or by phone at (323) 455-4585. For more production information, go to http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/2349. The Other Space at the Actors Company is located at 916 N. Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles, 90036. Street and lot parking are available.