For Immediate Release: February 6, 2007
Media Contact: Karyn B. Lyman, Lantern Theater Company, 215.829.9002

Lantern Theater Company presents a bold new staging of Shakespeare's classic, The Taming of the Shrew, this March and April. An all-male cast gives new energy to the lusty sparring between Katherine, Padua's town shrew, and the capricious, oddball bachelor, Petruchio. This innovative re-imagining of Shakespeare's famous battle of the sexes returns to the gender bending roots of Shakespeare's own time, with hilarious results. The Taming of the Shrew will perform from March 30 - April 29, 2007. Ceal Phelan, company member at People's Light and Theater Company in Malvern, directs this production.

"What does taming mean in a man's sensibility—what does it feel like to be subjugated by a patriarchal society, filtered through a man's perspective?" questions director Ceal Phelan. "From an actor's perspective, women want to play Hamlet and Lear; fewer men are dying to do Shakespeare's women. Though men, of course, originated those female roles, did Shakespeare's company commit as fully to playing women as they did to playing men? Is it discomfiting for a man to expose his feminine side and to be tamed by another man? Like any concept for a production of Shakespeare, an all-male cast (though certainly not a new idea) will be a way of exploring, in this case, the vulnerabilities of both men and women."

Local favorites Tom Byrn (Petruchio) and Ben Lloyd (Katherine) play the couple at the center of the comedy. Rounding out the cast are Philadelphia area actors Keith Conallen (Bianca, Biandello, Grumio), Ben Dibble (Lucentio; 2006 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist), John Lopes (Gremio, Vincentio), Jered McLenigan (Tranio, Widow), Buck Schirner (Baptista), and Frank X (Hortensio, Pedant). The Taming of the Shrew is also designed by a team of talented local artists: Nick Embree (sets), Millie Hiibel (costumes), Janet Embree (lighting), and Nick Rye (sound).

The Taming of the Shrew previews begin on Friday, March 30, 2007. Preview performances run March 30, 31, April 1 and 3. Opening night is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, and the show runs through Sunday, April 29, 2007. Single tickets, now on sale, range from $15 to $30 and may be purchased by calling the Lantern Box Office at 215-829-9002 or ordered online at www.lanterntheater.org or in person at the box office at St. Stephen's Theater. The Lantern box office is located at 10th and Ludlow Streets and is open 10am-6pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour before curtain on performance days. Discounts are available for students, seniors, and groups of 20 or more.

Where:
Lantern Theater Company
At St. Stephen's Theater
10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia

When:
March 30 - April 29, 2007

Reviewing Press:
are invited to attend Opening Night of The Taming of the Shrew on Wednesday, April 4 (7pm performance).

Other Press: may arrange for tickets for the first week of production, April 5 - 8, 2007, by calling 215-829-9002.

Associated Events:
Lecture Series (with John-Paul Spiro, March 19, 7pm)
Director's Discussion (with Ceal Phelan, April 6, 7pm)
Symposia (with Lois Potter, April 15, 4pm)

Single tickets for the 2006-2007 season are $15-$30, with student, senior and group rates available. New this season: weekday performances at 7pm and a special 2pm Wednesday matinee offered once per run. Events, dates and times subject to change. For tickets and information, please contact the Lantern Theater Company box office at (215) 829-9002 or visit us online at www.lanterntheater.org.

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