The Syosset High School ACT Club presented William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew for its spring drama to close out the main-stage season this year.
Under the direction of Gene Connor, this production of The Taming of the Shrew featured a mild upgrade from Elizabethan-era styling to Steampunk, as actors don bowler hats and motorcycle goggles.
The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s social jabs at gender equality and marriage, as multiple male suitors are thrown into a battle for the heart of two sisters, Katherine (Katlyn Menjivar) and Bianca (Jordyn Boscia).
Bianca is unable to wed until her older sister, “the shrew,” is married off. Katherine, a fierce, violent and independent woman gives her worst to her suitor, Petruchio (Adam Obedian), while Bianca is pursued by Lucentio (Perry Feinstein), Gremio (Max Carol) and Hortensio (Paul Esswein). In the end, we think the shrew is tamed. But is she?
The Syosset student cast also includes Dylan Eliassof as Tranio, Claire Del Sorbo as Baptista (Katherine and Bianca’s mother), Robert Kleiman as Biondello, Liz Cini as Grumia, Ally Braunschweig as Venetia and Angel Gracia as the Widow, newly married.
An ensemble cast of other characters and townsfolk lent energy and vibrancy to the performance as well. The show was open to the public for three performances, May 14-16.
