For the second time in two days, I saw one of Shakespeare’s plays. This time it was The Taming of the Shrew, put on by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, a.k.a., Free Shakespeare in the Park. After seeing Friday night’s play, I just happened to see an online post, and realized it was happening in Pleasanton, so I thought I’d just get some more this weekend.
It was a nice evening to be out in the park watching a play. This rendition of the play included some rarely performed introductory scenes involving the drunkard Christopher Sly, which basically makes the main story a play within a play. While it was a little uneven, the main actors were solid and did a very good job. As is sometimes the case, they tried to make it a little too slapstick for my taste, rather than confronting the story head on. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable evening, and nice to see one of my favorites not too far from home. Since my next CalShakes show is this Thursday, this is going to be a week of lots of Shakespeare.