Mardi Gras-themed Shrew to open on NE Campus

By Dylan Bradley/ne news editor

Jason Floyd/The Collegian  Brandon Wimmer, left, and Brendon James, right, rehearse scenes for The Taming of the Shrew. The show will run Feb. 26-March 1 at 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee in the NE Theater.
Jason Floyd/The Collegian Brandon Wimmer, left, and Brendon James, right, rehearse scenes for The Taming of the Shrew. The show will run Feb. 26-March 1 at 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee in the NE Theater.

The NE drama program will offer Shakespeare with a twist this semester.

The Taming of the Shrew, running Feb. 26-March 1 at 7 p.m. in the NE Theater, will be set in the New Orleans French Quarter.

The comedic Shakespearean play centers on the characters Katherine and Petruchio. Katherine, a stubborn, hot-headed bachelorette, must be married off for her sister Bianca to be married. Petruchio, a wealthy bachelor, agrees to marry Katherine after striking a bet with Lucentio, a young rich traveler who falls in love with Bianca.

Director and drama associate professor Stephen Thomas chose the French Quarter setting because Mardi Gras is the Tuesday after opening night, and the commedia dell’arte theme works well with the time period the play is set in.

“There’s mistaken identity and slapstick humor,” he said. “Simple, crude comedy.”

NE student Priscilla Hatcher plays the leading lady Katherine. This is her fourth Shakespeare play at TCC.

“My favorite part is we definitely have the freedom to play with it and have fun with it, so we can make the character unique to us,” she said. “Katherine is a very dominant female in this time, and no one stands up to her. Then she meets somebody, and it kind of shocks her, and she does not know what to do at all.”

NE student Brandon Wimmer plays Petruchio, Katherine’s wooer. This will be Wimmer’s last performance with TCC after more than 10 shows performed.

Petruchio’s romantic experiences have much in common with Wimmer’s own, he said.

“When I got the role, I texted two of my exes: ‘Thanks for the practice,’” he said. “This is really just a caricature of how all relationships are.”

Wimmer plans to audition with the Artisan Center Theater in Hurst and hopes to soon run his own productions.

“Sharing the stage with my friends feels like the right way to say goodbye,” he said.

The play will feature food, drinks, music and dance in Mardi Gras fashion.

“We’re essentially throwing a party with the play,” Thomas said. “If they don’t want to come to Mardi Gras, I can’t help.”

Tickets are free for TCC students, faculty and staff, $3 for other students and senior citizens and $6 for general admission.

For more information or reservations, contact the NE box office at 817-515-6687 or neplayhouse@tccd.edu.