Shakespeare is here

While "Shakespeare" and "Cedar City" are considered synonyms by many theatergoers during the summer, audiences who want to stick closer to home should be amply rewarded by productions in Salt Lake City and Orem.

Two Shakespearean classics will open over the next couple of weeks in two Wasatch Front theaters.

The romantic comedy of "The Taming of the Shrew" will be on the stage of Hale Center Theater Orem — the first time in the Hale family's more than 50 years of operating theaters that it has mounted a full-fledged Shakespearean production. (The same venue's version three years ago of "Kiss Me, Kate" — Cole Porter's Broadway spin on "Shrew" — doesn't count.)

The political turmoil of "Julius Caesar" will be presented by Salt Lake Shakespeare, now in its seventh year of producing "summer-stock" works on the University of Utah's Babcock Stage. Tony Larimer has the title role.

• "THE TAMING OF THE SHREW" is directed by Syd Riggs, one of Utah County's busiest stage directors. "I earned my master's degree from Brigham Young University, and 'Shrew' was my master's thesis," said Riggs, who convinced the Hale theater that its audience could have a great time with this particular Shakespeare piece.

"I've always loved it," Riggs said, "and I know how accessible it can be. The audience has grown up with us, and I felt that now was the time.

"Some people think they're going to get hung up on what they think of as chauvinistic material, but 'Shrew' is all about understanding and developing relationships. In the end, Kate truly is the winner, because she gets it. We're playing it like real people with real emotions and — like married couples today — they develop an understanding and a way of communicating with each other. You learn to communicate and have fun and not be at odds with each other." (Riggs also directed Hale's "Kiss Me, Kate" three years ago.)

Riggs' partially double-cast ensemble includes Whitney Wilkins and Celeste Barrand as Katherina (also known as "Kate the Cursed") and Amie Einerson and Jenny Latimer as her younger sister, Bianca, with David Hanson as Petruchio, Kate's suitor, and Larson Holyoak as Baptista, the women's father.

Maryann Hill is costume designer, with Cody Hale and Cody Swenson designing the set.

• "JULIUS CAESAR," directed by Salt Lake Shakespeare artistic director Craig Rich, will have a contemporary look, with business suits replacing togas.

Like many of Shakespeare's classic dramas, this, too, touches on issues that are still alive today — patriotism, war, democracy versus dictatorship.