Rubber City Theatre will present its world premiere production of the new play “Tame,” opening Friday, June 7, at the theatre company’s new location, 243 Furnace St. (The WhiteSpace building).
The play is part of Rubber City Theatre’s Knight Arts Challenge-winning Shakesqueer Project, which reimagines Shakespeare through the lives of LGBTQ+ characters.
Written by Akron playwright Josy Jones, “Tame” is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” and focuses on Katherina Minor, a young, hot-tempered painter from Akron with a hard exterior.
Kat’s emotional walls begin to crack, however, after meeting Porter, an arrogant, smooth-talking outsider who is unafraid of Kat’s facade. These seemingly unmanageable personalities, their friends and families embark on a dark-comedic journey of wit, deception, a challenge of gender expectations and examinations of sexuality.
The play, the first phase of a two-part project, also is a winner of the Knight Arts Challenge, which funds ideas for engaging and enriching Akron through the arts.
Jones is an actor, director and playwright and the founder of the Chameleon Village Theatre Collective.
Directed by Dane Leasure, the cast comprises Channelle Bryant-Harris, Katie Wells, Kelsey Tomlinson, Chris Bizub, Emerson Thoenen, Alex Funk, Joe Soriano, Brett Voina, Tyler Barhorst and Kate Klika.
Please note the production will take place in a temporary location in the WhiteSpace part of the building while construction is completed on Rubber City Theatre’s new space.
“Tame” runs through June 23, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $25, with a “pay-as-you-like-it” opening performance June 7 (where residents may attend for free or make the donation of their choosing.)
Beginning one hour before a show, students with an ID may get a ticket for $5 (pending availability), and Thursdays and Sundays, anyone 18 and younger may attend for free. Residents under 16 must be accompanied by a paying adult.
For tickets, visit www.rubbercitytheatre.com/tickets, call (234) 252-0272 or email [email protected].
