Katherine and Petruchio (Unabridged)

Summary

This script is renowned 18th century actor/director David Garrick’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” Garrick greatly abbreviated the Bard’s classic comedy, deleting most of the scenes dealing with Bianca and her suitors, and condensing the work down from five to three acts. There were critics, like Edgar Allan Poe, who did not think these cuts improved upon the original. In an 1845 review in his Broadway Journal, Poe gave his opinion that the show was “a mere jumble of unmeaning, rant, fuss, whip-smacking, crockery-cracking, and other Tom-Foolery of a similar kind.” However, Garrick’s reduced version of “Taming of the Shrew” was the favored choice of many theatrical companies until late into the 19th century.