Courtesy of Cornerstone Photography Lalanya Gunn plays Kate and Michael Lindsay portrays Petruchio in Classics in the Park's production of "The Taming of the Shrew."

Today's women often have a bone to pick with Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." Somehow it doesn't seem right that Kate is "tamed" by Petruchio through what certainly can be construed as emotional battering and physical force. When the calm, patient Kate in the final scene lectures other women — "I am ashamed that women are so simple / To offer war where they should kneel for peace" — moans can be heard in audiences.

Classics in the Park's production of the bawdy comedy approaches the sensitive issue boldly on two fronts. Director Irene Silbert and the cast emphasize the "in-joke" aspect of the show, with Kate relishing her moment to fire back, however decorously, at her perfect little sister, Bianca, who has always been the family favorite and, having won her own beau, proceeds to treat him like a vassal. More importantly, no matter how unbalanced the Petruchio-Kate alliance seems at first, they are portrayed as lusty soul mates who, now that they understand each other, seem set for a rollicking-good life.

The take on the tale is helped immeasurably by Michael Lindsay's portrayal of Petruchio as a hotblooded man of quick passions and ample wit. He doesn't just meet the recalcitrant Kate, he immediately trespasses on her personal space. He sees an opportunity to marry well and goes for it, even if he has to become as shrewish as Kate to demonstrate how she is her own worst enemy. No wonder Kate (Lalanya Gunn) is ultimately fascinated by Petruchio after loudly fending off previous suitors, who in retrospect must have seemed like wimps. (A costume enhancement worn through several scenes by Petruchio underscores his aggressive approach, but given Lindsay's sure grasp of the role may be more distraction than effective comic prop).

In a cast of mixed experience and finesse, there are other standouts who fasten on Shakespeare's sly humor and make the most of it. Mary Carrig as Tranio, the servant of Bianca's suitor Lucentio, fits perfectly into the spirit of the plot as she switches roles with her lord so that he can pretend to tutor Bianca while actually wooing her. Carrig's superb verbal and physical skills signal that she's well-suited to the Bard's challenges. Suzanne Tobin, as Baptista, the young women's widowed mother, makes the most of a role designed for a pater, not a mater familia.

Either way, the parent is the one with final say over the daughters' romantic entanglements, and Tobin plays it with zest. The male-female switch also adds amusing nuance to her acknowledgment that she "knew" Lucentio's father, Vincentio, very well. Theresa Secor, as Petruchio's aide Grumio, also matches clever lines with knowing delivery.

Others acquit themselves well and move the story along, but the novices in the show need to work on enunciation and projection, so that the words they've worked to learn can be heard and appreciated, and in some cases to pay attention to posture; noble words don't sound as important delivered from slouched positions.

The comedy is played at Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks before a minimal backdrop with sparse furnishings, an approach that will probably be a plus when the company moves to three other sites during its summer run.

But no matter how frugal the setting, the show belongs to Petruchio and Kate, and actors Lindsay and Gunn shoot off enough sparks to set the match afire.

— E-mail Rita Moran at ritamoran@earthlink.net.