KINGSTON, RI—February 16, 2011 – Next month, the University of Rhode Island Department of Theatre will present one of William Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, The Taming of the Shrew.

The show will be staged March 3-5 and 10-12 at 7:30 p.m. and March 6 and 13 at 3 p.m. in the Robert E. Will Theatre in the URI Fine Arts Center on the Kingston Campus. General admission for the performance is $16, $12 for seniors, URI faculty/staff, and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased by calling 401.874.5843 beginning Feb 21 or online at www.uri.edu/theatre.

The Taming of the Shrew tells the story of Kate and Bianca, two un-married daughters of a wealthy Italian merchant. Although they are equally beautiful, they have strikingly different temperaments: Bianca is gentle and loveable, while Kate has a sharp tongue and a quick wit. Bianca has many suitors, but cannot marry until her older sister Kate does. No one has been brave enough to challenge the strong-willed Kate, until the handsome nobleman, Petruchio, comes to town. Hold onto your hats as the sparks fly in this high energy, bawdy tale performed in the style of the commedia dell’arte.

The show is directed by Alan Hawkridge, URI lecturer, (The Foreigner, Amadeus and LesLiaisons Dangereuses), costumes by Marilyn Salvatore, sets by Christian Wittwer, associate professor, lighting design by David Roy, and sound design by Mike Hyde.

The Sunday, March 6 performance is dedicated to the memory of Thomas R. Pezzullo, a former vice president for University Relations at URI and frequent actor who died in 1992 at the age of 49. All proceeds from that performance will go directly to the Thomas R. Pezzullo Memorial Scholarship Fund. The Theatre Department was pleased to award Pezzullo scholarships this year to Cory Crew of Putnam Valley, N.Y., Shannon Hartman of Coventry, R.I. (who are in the current production) and Stephanie Morgan of Westfield, Mass.

Pictured above right — ‘Happy Family’: Once Katherine, Betsy Rinaldi of Coventry (front left) has been ‘killed’ with kindness by beau Petruchio, Cory Crew of Putnam Valley, N.Y., then Baptista, Kira Hawkridge of Pawtucket, smiles as Lucentio, Jesse Dufault of Narragansett and Bianca, Shannon Hartman of Coventry will marry as well. URI Theatre photo by Randy Osga.

Family Ties: The wealthy parent Baptista, (Kira Hawkridge of Pawtucket), declares that the sweet, soft-spoken Bianca, Shannon Hartman of Coventry (left), will not be wed until her headstrong sister, Katherine Betsy Rinaldi of Coventry (right) marries first. URI Theatre photo by Randy Osga.

The complete cast: Actor, Character, Hometown

Cory Crew, Petruchio, Putnam Valley, N.Y.

Betsy Rinaldi, Katherine, Coventry

Shannon Hartman, Bianca, Coventry

Jesse Dufault, Lucentio, Narragansett

Albert Coelho, Tranio, E. Providence

Kira Hawkridge, Baptista, Pawtucket

Travis Greene, Gremio, N. Kingstown

Miles Boucher, Hortensio, Coventry

Josh Andrews, Biondello, Coventry

Collin Brown, Merchant, N. Kingstown

Josh Christensen, Vincentio, Warwick

Emily Foster, Widow, Ivoryton. CT

Johnny Sederquist, Grumio, Middleboro, MA

Julia Batoletti, Chorus, Charlton, MA

Daren DeFrank, Chorus, W.Hartford,CT

Alex Maynard, Chorus, E. Providence

Frank Juarez, Chorus, Brentwood, NY

Mojisola Solawon, Chorus, Providence

Birk Wozniak, Chorus, N. Kingstown

Gregory Infussi, understudy Gremio, N. Providence