Theatre review: 'Shrew: The Musical'

Destined to be the Atlanta theater community’s summer crowd-pleaser, Shrew-sical is a bit of a stretch for a classical company that rarely dabbles in musical theater. It is not, however, a diamond in the rough. Rather, it’s a wonderfully performed Ginger-and-Fred-style diversion from the Elizabethan status quo that allows some actors to flex their underused vocal muscles and show off their dancey footwork. (Who knew that Tim McDonough and Allen O’Reilly could sing and swing so wonderfully?) You can only imagine that vocal director Ann-Carol Pence and choreographer Jen MacQueen had something to do with coaxing the latent talent from this hard-working group of hoofers and singers.

Much like the team that created Broadway’s “The Drowsy Chaperone,” Briggs and West (who died in 1994) demonstrate a love for the kind of jazzy, upbeat sounds that informed the work of Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, the Gershwins and other greats. But this writing duo has no smirk. There are songs about the foolish games of love and the bliss of finally giving in to love.

Playfully hop-scotching across decades, the book references everything from the Duchess of Windsor and Frigidaires to “I Love Lucy” and “Gone With the Wind.”

When Petruchio declares his intentions to marry Kate, she mocks him with a Scarlett O’Hara riff that Krausen plays to hysterical effect — imbuing her Bernadette Peters-like squeak with a Southern drawl and hopping across the stage with the faux-delicacy of the ridiculously prim. Brilliant.

While Knezevich may be the most polished ensemble member, Ann Marie Gideon (who plays Bianca) has a lovely singing voice that we don’t get to hear enough of. There are also delicious comedic bits from Daniel Thomas May (as a kind of squeaky, Boston-accented Tranio); Neal A. Ghant (as Lucentio in disguise as a nerdy tutor); Brad Sherrill (as a messy, falling-down drunk); and Courtney Patterson (as the slinkily costumed and turbaned Widow).

Speaking of clothes, this is the kind of frappe in which the men all wear ice cream suits and the women don luxurious gowns that would do Edith Head proud (designs by Doug Koertge). Liz Lee’s lighting softens the somewhat overly orange and purple shades of Rochelle Barker’s deco-inspired set.

While some Georgia Shakespeare productions don’t know how to put the brakes on the funny, “Shrew” finds just the right balance. Briggs and company know how to play up the physical comedy without wallowing in it. The night dances by all too quickly.