A picnic, then a gender-swapped Shakespeare play at a historic site? Sign us up! $25 per ticket, and picnic time beforehand for socializing! Time to see a gender-bent modernization of Taming of the Shrew. Performances will be live, in-person at Hawaiian Mission Houses (following CDC guidelines).

In recent years, public sentiment has transformed Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew from one of his most-loved plays (for its physical comedy and sexual banter) to one of his most loathed (for its abusive primary relationship). Cruel Theatre founder Taurie Kinoshita tackles this problematic play with a materialist feminist deconstruction that takes place in 1950s America straightjacketed by traditional sexual mores and gender roles, then gender swaps several characters.

Kate is the man. Petruchio is the woman. Some male characters are played by men, some by women; some female characters are played by women, some by men. What follows remains one of Shakespeare’s great, comic romances, viewed through a subversive lens. Kate learns to love Petruchio, and Petruchio falls in love with Kate—and characters are who they know and believe themselves to be.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.