Logan High's "Taming of the Shrew" Anything but Tame

Flappers and mobsters graced the stage of 's drama department's rendition of "The Taming of the Shrew" Wednesday night.

Set in 1920s Chicago, "The Taming of the Shrew" is Logan's first dramatic production in the brand new Center for the Performing Arts. The first performance was held last week. The play continues tonight and closes on Sunday.

With the ample space in the new facility, the drama department can now put on larger productions than they could in the more intimate Little Theater.

Under the direction of drama teacher Debbie Hughes, the cast of more than twenty students makes Shakespeare accessible to the common playgoer.

Hughes explained that she wanted to create as much opportunity for students to take part in a production, and "The Taming of the Shrew" has many parts to play. It's also good to "do Shakespeare every once in awhile," she said.

The theme of the play lends itself to the newfound freedom women enjoyed in the 1920s, Hughes said.

"The Taming of the Shrew" is about hot-tempered Katherine and her beautiful younger sister, Bianca. They are the daughters of Baptista Minola, who will not allow Bianca to be married until older sister Katherine weds. It then becomes a witty tale of how Bianca's suitors win her love and also find someone that can be Katherine's equal in marriage.

Courtney Henderson plays the fiery lead role of Katherine, who meets her match in love interest Petruchio, played by Jake McKee. Their performance is believable and even, with some intense moments marked by a few angry slaps and, later, delicate kisses.

The audience of parents and students chuckled throughout this comedy, especially during Tom Hu's performance as Gremio, the foolish old suitor who tries to woo Bianca. Hu, a senior, makes his theatrical--and hilarious--debut in this performance.

Another strong actor, Ashraf Dahud, plays his roles of a lord and Baptista Minola with charisma and gusto.

The production staff made good use of the state-of-the art flight system to raise and lower their backdrops of downtown Chicago. Aside from that, the set construction was quite sparse, and looked even more minimal by the huge expanse of the new stage.

Members of the audience sported nothing but grins, though, for the cast and crew.

Logan High junior, Jyoti Swamy, gushed, "Courtney is amazing. I love her. Tom is super funny!"

Cast members couldn't say enough about being a part of the debut theatrical performance in the new center.

Tom Hu remarked that he felt like he was "making history because it's the first production."

Sophomore Skyler Lee, who plays Biondello, said that performing in the center was like a breath of fresh air, and that he couldn't stop smiling when he first set eyes on it.

Logan High drama department's "The Taming of the Shrew" continues tonigt at 7 p.m. and closes on Sunday at 2 p.m.