Anyone expecting the same old “The Taming of the Shrew” from Wasatch Theatre Company this fall will get quite a surprise.
For this year’s performance, director J.C. Carter decided to include a fantastically feminist setting and tone for this traditionally misogynistic Shakespeare classic.
Carter chose Rosie the Riveter, from the World War II-era ad campaign, as the model for his Kate (the namesake Shrew). Played by Katey Lynn Lowder, this Kate goes from tomboy to lady and learns that being a “girlie girl” doesn’t make you weak.
Carter’s production cuts a small percentage of the script, but leaves the majority of lines unaltered. The crew focused on allowing actions to illustrate the theme: Several male roles were switched to female roles, and costumes further portray a sense of the burgeoning feminine power of the late 1940s.
