Taming of the Shrew

by Janet Anderson

There’s barely an arabesque to be seen in Pennsylvania Ballet’s Taming of the Shrew now onstage at the Academy of Music. Faces get slapped and feet get stomped on more than they gently rise upward on pointe. One scene features the heroine falling off a horse repeatedly. John Cranko’s inventive choreography moves along briskly, telling Shakespeare’s comic story rather than providing poses to illustrate it.

Pennsylvania Ballet first mounted Taming of the Shrew three years ago. This time around, the opening-night cast was made up largely of dancers who'd performed the roles back then, and they looked like they'd been doing nothing but practicing this gem ever since. That's how easy and confident they appeared doing Cranko's pratfalls, mugging and sheer buffoonery. Martha Chamberlain and David Krensing, as leads Katherina and Petruchio, gave strong, confident and very funny performances as Shakespeare's ill-tempered heiress and the suitor who wants to tame her temper, the better to enjoy her fortune.

Shrew is jam-packed with dishy small roles, and of these Jeffrey Gribler gets first honors, making a small comic masterpiece out of the ridiculous Gremio. His sidekick Hortensio proved another hoot when danced by Edward Cieslak. Alexei Borovik's role as the suitor of the younger sister is less showy, yet he maximized the laughs and characterization of poor Lucentio. Riolama Lorenzo and Christine Cox as courtesans were lusty, totally outrageous and hilarious. Into this heady mix of highly polished performances came corps member Jennifer Smith, getting a first try at a major lead role dancing Bianca, Katherina's younger sister. Smith handled the dancing with aplomb, though she's not quite at the point to be able to turn mimed gesture into real stage characterization.

The production is a beautiful one, with stylized Renaissance-flavored costumes and faux marble backgrounds suggesting painting of that era. The music is "after" Scarlatti and serves the ballet well without being particularly memorable.

What makes Cranko's Shrew so appealing, however, is that this master choreographer, who died at 45, located dance in a vision of total theater. At the finale, there's a coda where the cast suddenly unleashes several rounds of traditional ballet variations. After all the clowning, it's a bit startling. Behind me, a gentleman said, "Oh, I'd almost forgotten we were at the ballet. They haven't danced much." Around 50 people dancing to create an impression of pure storytelling? Now that's dance theater.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

Through Feb. 28, Academy of Music, Broad and Locust sts., 215-893-1999

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