>There’s small choice in rotten apples.
True enough, but it’s just about the only memorable line from a very funny play. I went last night–a long day, after the trip over to Charlottesville for the Virginia Festival of the Book–to a really wonderful production of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew at Shenandoah Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Playhouse right here in Staunton. It is truly incredible that this theater company and their playhouse exist right here in the middle of nowhere; it is an underappreciated asset, although judging from the size and enthusiasm of the audience last night, that is changing. Now in its 4th year, the organization just keeps getting better. This season’s repertoire includes The Tamer Tamed, a “sequel” to Shakespeare’s play about Kate and Petruchio, by John Fletcher, and A King and No King by Fletcher and Francis Beaumont. I’ll have to see both of them next week, as the season closes soon. (Coming this Spring: Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, and Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer. Should be great.)
