African-American Shakespeare Company Present 1970s-Set THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

The Taming of the Shrew Will Close out the African-American Shakespeare Company's 2023-24 season. Directed by Giulio Cesare Perrone and AASC Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, this “comedy with sharp teeth” as Callender calls it, sees Katherine and Petruchio showing up in 1970s San Francisco. 

“Our intention with The Taming of the Shrew is to play with the play by setting it in San Francisco in the 1970s, just a few years post the summer of love" says Callender. “By doing that we can highlight some of the ridiculous, archaic behavior of men who while they seem quite sure they have all the answers, we know they do not.”

This modern verse script from Play On Shakespeare and written by Amy Freed allows the company the freedom to play with the play and put the SF Bay Area front and center. Characters will hail from different parts of the world, including Lagos and Nigeria as well as more locally, Oakland, Vallejo and Baja California.

The play, known for its wit and word play between the jousting will-they-or-won't-they-be-a-couple, has been the basis for a number of approaches over the years including the musical Kiss Me Kate, and 10 Things I Hate About You, the film version set in and 1990s high school starring Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Larisa Olynik. This modern verse version by Amy Freed by the AASC is made possible in part by Play On Shakespeare, which is dedicated to the promotion and creating of contemporary translations of Shakespeare's work. 

Directed by Giulio Cesare Perrone who has directed theater both in Bay Area and Europe has over 300 theater and opera productions to his credit. He has worked for theaters and opera companies including the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Festival Opera, Dell'Arte International, ACT Academy, Opera San Jose, California Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Works, A Traveling Jewish Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, The Magic Theatre, The Denver Theatre Center, Arizona Theatre Company,  The Alley Theatre and others. International credits include theaters in Milan, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Croatia, Hungary, and Denmark. 
 
What: The African-American Shakespeare Company presents The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare 
When: May 11-26
Where: Marines' Memorial Theatre
Tickets: $40.00 general and $15.00 for those under 21 with the Jazz Pass option at City Box Office

About the African-American Shakespeare Company

The award-winning African-American Shakespeare Company (AASC) was established in 1994 by professional theater artists from The American Conservatory Theatre as an alternative answer to the “Color Blind Casting” initiative that began in the early 90s. While this initiative temporarily changed the diversity on stage, African-American Shakespeare Company noticed color blind casting was ignoring these artists' rich cultural heritage and not making the most of the dynamic, cultural vibrancy that actors of color could bring to classical works. Moreover, since mainstream classical theaters often lack the ability to attract truly diverse audiences, The African-American Shakespeare Company aspires to highlight the dynamic cultural vibrancy that artists of color bring to classical productions. 

The African-American Shakespeare Company's received a Certificate of Honor from Mayor London Breed and former San Francisco Mayor and now California Governor Gavin Newsom; named “Best Live Theatre” by San Francisco Magazine in 2018; received a Jefferson Award for Public Service (Silver Recipient) in 2018; The Paine Knickerbocker Award in 2014 for Outstanding Achievement for a Theater Company by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, along with a Community Partner Award from University of San Francisco's Leo T. McCarthy Center for outstanding collaboration in providing a quality Service-Learning program.

African-American Shakespeare Company is funded in part by Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest; San Francisco Arts Commission, City and County of San Francisco's Dream Keeper's Initiative, Grants for the Arts, California Arts Council, Theatre Communication Group, Black Seed Fund, Black Theatre Fund, Theatre Bay Area, Wattis Foundation, Bothin Foundation, Kimball Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Union Bank Foundation, Community Vision, Boys and Girls Club, Office of Economic and Workforce Division, and the RHE Foundation.

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