The Old Globe Announces The Cast For THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

The Old Globe has announced the cast and creative team for William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Shana Cooper (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare, Yale Rep) directs a cast of 20. The Bard's popular comedy kicks off the return of the Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival under the stars at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. The Taming of the Shrew will begin performances on June 5 and run through July 10, 2022, with the opening on Saturday, June 11. Tickets are available at www.TheOldGlobe.org.

"After a two-year absence, Shakespeare returns to the Globe's outdoor Festival stage with a riotous and deeply inventive new production of The Taming of the Shrew," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "One of Shakespeare's most famous comedies, it's given a fresh, modern, and wildly energetic production by Shana Cooper, a renowned interpreter of the Bard's works. She takes the play very seriously even as she mines new levels of romance and laughter in its complex views of gender, power, and love. San Diego audiences will enjoy this Shrewunder the stars, and we could not be happier to welcome them again."

"Come on, and kiss me, Kate." Is anyone a match for the brash and strong-willed Katherine? The dashing adventurer Petruchio thinks he's up to the challenge. Two of the sexiest figures in all of world theatre set off sparks in a clash of wills that is as bold as it is uproarious. Shakespeare's masterful comedic take on "the battle of the sexes" turns everything we think about love, marriage, and gender on its head. Director Shana Cooper, brings to the Globe her daring and contemporary staging, which The New York Times praised as "an exhilarating new way to look at the comedy through modern eyes," and The Wall Street Journal's theatre critic called "the best Shrew I've ever reviewed."

An earlier version of this production of The Taming of the Shrew premiered at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (Davis McCallum, Artistic Director; Kate Liberman, Managing Director) in June 2018.

Cooper directs a cast of 20, which includes Armando Durán as Baptista (Oregon Shakespeare Festival's A View from the Bridge), Felicity Jones Latta as Tranio (Broadway's Metamorphoses), Orville Mendoza as Grumio (Broadway's Pacific Overtures), Jesse J. Perez as Gremio (The Old Globe's El Borracho, Romeo and Juliet), Cassia Thompsonas Bianca (The Book Club Play), John Tufts as Hortensio, Biondello, and Merchant (Pride and Prejudice, Lucille Lortel nomination), James Udom as Petrucio (Joel Coen's Macbeth with Denzel Washington, Lincoln Center's The Rolling Stone), and Deborah Ann Woll as Katherine (Karen Page in Netflix's "Daredevil," Jessica Hamby in HBO's "True Blood").

The cast also includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program:Henian Boone (Vincentio, Ensemble), Brett Cassidy (Peter, Ensemble), Jacqui Dupré (Tailor, Nicholas, Ensemble), Savannah Faye as (Philip, Ensemble), Komi M. Gbeblewou (Nathaniel, Ensemble), Camilla Leonard (Ensemble), Becca Lustgarten (Widow, Joseph, Ensemble), Jeffrey Rashad (Haberdasher, Ensemble), Bernadette Sefic(Curtis, Police Officer, Ensemble), Jude Tibeau (Lucentio), Nathan VanAtta (Sugarsop, Police Officer, Ensemble), and Maggie Walters (Ensemble).

In addition to Cooper, the creative team includes scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Ásta Bennie Hostetter, lighting design by Stephen Strawbridge, sound design by Paul Peterson and Paul James Prendergast, original music by Paul James Prendergast, voice and text coach Ursula Meyer, movement consultant Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, casting by Alaine Alldaffer, CSA and Lisa Donadio, production stage manager Marie Jahelka, and assistant stage manager Kendra Stockton.

The Old Globe's 2022 Summer Shakespeare Festival will conclude with A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Bard's most joyful and popular comedy, which will be directed by Old Globe Resident Artist Patricia McGregor. Performances run July 31 through September 4, with the opening on Saturday, August 6. And the Globe's popular annual event, Thinking Shakespeare Live!, hosted and directed by the Globe's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, will be held on Sunday, July 17 at 11:00 a.m. on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in The Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Taming of the Shrew will play in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at The Old Globe in San Diego's Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). Performances play from June 5 through July 10, 2022, with the official opening on Saturday, June 11 at 8:00 p.m. The performance schedule is Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Schedule note: There will be no performance on Saturday, June 18. Tickets are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or at our Box Office in Balboa Park. Regular tickets prices start at $30.00. For additional information about The Taming of the Shrew, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.

In alignment with the State of California, which has removed mask and vaccine requirements for indoor events, The Old Globe will not require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or to wear masks while attending shows or events in either our indoor or outdoor venues. However, the theatre still strongly recommends mask-wearing while at the Globe, and patrons should feel comfortable wearing a mask anywhere on our campus if they choose.

The Taming of the Shrew is supported by lead production sponsor Darlene Marcos Shiley and production sponsors Diane Berol in memory of John Berol, Karen and Donald Cohn, Silvija and Brian Devine, The Conrad Prebys Foundation, Jean and Gary Shekhter, and the Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Fund, with additional artist sponsors The Lodge at Torrey Pines (for director Shana Cooper) and Lisa and Tom Pierce (for actor Deborah Ann Woll as Katherine). This production is supported in part by the Jean and Gary Shekhter Fund for Classic Theatre. Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fundprovides leadership support for The Old Globe's year-round activities.

The Tony Award-winning The Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego's flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre's artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community's understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres-such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star,The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!-have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.