#ShakespearesPlaylist: Twelfth Night

This is part of the #ShakespearesPlaylist series! You can read all of those posts here!

So I LOVE finding songs to fit the mood of #Shakespeare plays. Basically every time I hear a song I love on the radio, I think about how I could fit it into a production. I can’t help it. My brain just does that, which is funny, because I’ve only directed one production (my own one-act) and questioned myself and my abilities the entire time, so I don’t necessarily see myself directing anything else any time soon, but I just like to dream about the music anyway.

I’ve decided to play with this habit of mine more and make full-fledged Spotify and Youtube playlists for each play by Shakespeare, under the umbrella name and hashtag #ShakespearesPlaylist .

So Twelfth Night has long been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (like, since age 10) and I’ve performed in it twice myself, so the summary and song list in this post are longer than any I’ve written so far in this series! I just can’t help myself, I really love this play, hah.

The Britches and Hose Production of Twelfth Night in 2011. I was Viola!

The Britches and Hose Production of Twelfth Night in 2017. I was a wandering singing musician person - we called ourselves the Festettes!

Quick Wikipedia Summary: Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria. Believing that her twin brother Sebastian is dead, she disguises herself as a young man under the name Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino. Duke Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with the noble lady Olivia, who is mourning the recent deaths of her father and brother and refuses to see any men or entertainments. Duke Orsino then uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia, however, falls in love with 'Cesario', setting her at odds with her professed duty. In the meantime, Viola has fallen in love with Duke Orsino, creating a love triangle: Viola loves Duke Orsino, Duke Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario.

In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that Olivia has fallen for him. This involves Olivia's riotous uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, a silly squire named Sir Andrew Aguecheek; her servants Maria and Fabian; and her melancholy fool, Feste. Through a fake love letter, Malvolio is encouraged to make a fool of himself in front of Olivia, who is convinced that he is mad and leaves him to be cared for by his tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity, both disguised as a priest and as himself. Sir Toby later marries Maria for this jest. When Malvolio is finally released, he swears revenge on all who conspired against him.

Meanwhile, Viola's twin, Sebastian, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea captain who previously fought against Orsino, yet who accompanies Sebastian to Illyria, despite the danger, because of his admiration for Sebastian. Sebastian's appearance adds the confusion of mistaken identities to the comedy. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola reveals her identity and is reunited with her twin brother. The play ends in a declaration of marriage between Duke Orsino and Viola.

I chose “Hey Brother” by Avcii to demonstrate the familial love between Viola and Sebastian. Both of them believe the other has drowned in the crash and are pretty devastated about it. The chorus in particular fits this storyline:

What if I'm far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call!
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out!
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

Amy Winehouse’s cover of “To Know Him is to Love Him” is a perfect illustration of Viola’s love for Duke Orsino.

To know know know him
Is to love love love him
Just to see that smile
Makes my life worthwhile

Why can't he see?
How blind here he be?
Someday he'll see
That he was meant just for me, oh oh oh oh

Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” also represents Viola’s situation, simultaneously in love with Orsino but pretending to be his male friend, having to woo another lady on his behalf. It’s so bubblegum pop that I really resisted including it in this list, but honestly, the lyrics are so ridiculously perfect for this plotline that it had to happen.

If you can see I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me
You belong with me

Walkin' the streets with you and your worn-out jeans
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself
Hey isn't this easy

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down
You say your fine
I know you better then that
Hey what you doing with a girl like that

…I'm the one who makes you laugh
When you know you're about to cry
And I know your favorite songs
And you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong
I think I know it's with me

I’ve chosen Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” to represent Malvolio, who is so overproud that he willingly believes his mistress Olivia is in love with him, despite the ludicrousness of the fake love letter and the situation as a whole. He literally thinks the letter is about him!

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain,
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

I chose Mad World by Gary Jules to represent Sebastian’s massive confusion about arriving in Illyria. Everyone seems to know him and have strong opinions about him, but he just got there! What the heck is going on. (I’m not so certain on this choice, as I think the overall mood of the song is too melancholy for Twelfth Night, but I really want something in here about Sebastian’s POV. I may replace this one later if anyone has any good suggestions!)

The Lumineers’ “Hey Ho “is a great song to represent Feste, as Feste’s song in the show literally includes the words “Hey Ho, the wind and the rain.” Plus, the laid-back troubador style of Hey Ho works really well for Feste’s casual and humorous approach to life.

Finally, here’s a video of an actual production of Twelfth Night which I actually was in. It’s the final song in the show, The Rain it Raineth, with music by Dave Seidman-Joria. Feste in this version is played by Sam Stenecker! Then from left to right in the back is: Lauren Sutton, Leandra Lyn, Megan Fraedrich, Rachael Dickson (my non-writing superhero alter ego), and Dan Clark.

Six the Musical Queens 1-3: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations

All My Six Posts!
Over-Analyzing All the Historical References in Six- “Ex Wives,” “No Way,” “Don’t Lose Your Head” “Heart of Stone” “Haus of Holbein” “Get Down”
The Tudor Crown Inspiration in Six’s Logo; The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
Six the Musical Wives 1-3: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations; Six the Musical Wives 4-6: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations
The Ladies in Waiting of Six: Historical Inspirations and Costumes; Details from Six Costumer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram Takeover
The Early Costumes of Six the Musical: From Edinburgh to Cambridge to London
Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!; The Shoes of Six the Musical
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical; How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Virtual Dance Workshops and Q&As with Different Six Cast Members!

So I’ve gotten pretty obsessed with the musical Six lately, which is based on the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII. It’s set up as a girl group pop concert, in which the six women each sing the stories of their lives.

I’ve been dying for more information about the costumes in the show and haven’t been able to find a ton of information. The costume designer, Gabriella Slade, was nominated for an Olivier award for her work. In one article, she said:

“It was an amazing brief. There needed to be an echo of Tudor fashion, but obviously the contemporary influence of the pop industry. It’s an amazing thing to be able to infuse period costume with contemporary style. Lucy [Moss, writer] had ideas about which pop stars related to which queens. Catherine of Aragon is Beyoncé, Jane Seymour is Adele, Catherine Parr is Alicia Keys, Catherine Howard is Ariana Grande, Anne Boleyn is Lily Allen and Anne of Cleves is Nicki Minaj meets Rihanna.”

Other than that though, I haven’t been able to find a lot about her process or inspiration in designing these costumes. So I decided to look into the costumes myself. I’ll be directly comparing them to their historical counterparts and their modern pop artist inspirations.

These are all just educated guesses (based on lots and lots of reading and photo/portrait examining), but I am by no means a fashion or a pop music expert! If you have any contributions or comments, please send them my way - via the comments here, Twitter (@RachaelDickzen), Facebook (@RachaelDickzenAuthor), or email at Rachael.Dickzen@gmail.com. I’d love to hear what you have to say!

This will be the first of several posts on the costumes in Six. Second post will be Wives 4-6 and the Third will take a look at the alternates’ costumes! I also want to do a post looking at how the costumes evolved over time.

Historical Note: Spelling wasn’t standardized in Tudor times, so you’ll see these Queens’ names spelled a number of different ways.

Portrait of a noblewoman, traditionally considered Catherine of Aragon c. 1502 (but also could be Mary Tudor), by Michael Sittow.

Catherine of Aragon, portrayed by Jarneia Richard-Noel. (Idil Sukan)

My name is Catherine of Aragon
Was married 24 years, I'm a paragon
Of royalty, my loyalty is to the Vatican
So if you try to dump me
You won't try that again

Unknown artist, oil on panel, early 18th century (copy of a lost original portrait)

Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess, the youngest child of the famous Ferdinand and Isabella (yes, the same ones who sent Christopher Columbus out on his fun genocidal adventure, but THAT’S another blog post). She was Queen of England from June 1509 - May 1533.

She was betrothed to Henry’s older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, when she was three years old and married him when they were both 16. However, he died in 1502, only a few months after they married.
What movies/TV shows don’t often tell you about Catherine of Aragon was that she had a HELL of a hard time after Arthur died (The Spanish Princess on Starz got a /bit/ into this, but didn’t fully explore the length of this time in her life. Henry was TEN when she married his brother). By the terms of her marriage contract, if she returned home to Spain, King Henry VII had to return her 200,000 ducat dowry (half of which he hadn’t even received yet). King Henry was broke and totally couldn’t afford this. He briefly considered marrying her himself (after his wife Elizabeth of York died in 1503 after trying to give him another son to replace Arthur), but eventually it was decided that she would marry Henry, Duke of York. However, he was five years younger than her, so they had to wait for him to grow up. His father also continually delayed their marriage. For the next seven years, Catherine lived in near-poverty in London, trapped between her father and her father-in-law. She had to sell many of her goods to survive and was not often seen at court due to the shabbiness of her clothes.

She finally married Henry after his father’s death and his ascension to the throne in 1509. They were married for the next 24 years and for many years, they appeared to be quite in love. Catherine got pregnant seven times but most of her children either miscarried or stillborn; only three survived the birth, and only one, Princess Mary, survived past two months of life. Catherine was always known as a highly intelligent and religious woman, but as more and more of her children died, she became increasingly devout and more interested in academic matters, particularly in ensuring the education of her daughter.
After Henry became obsessed with Anne Boleyn and his all-consuming desire to have a son, he attempted to get his marriage to Catherine annulled on the basis that she was his brother’s wife first. He also asked Catherine to retire to a nunnery. She steadfastly refused all efforts to put her aside and maintained until her death that she was Henry’s rightful queen and wife. Because of her stubbornness, Henry moved her out of his household and into increasingly shabbier and more isolated homes. He also refused to let her see her daughter, Mary. By the time she died in 1535 (probably of cancer), she likely had not seen her daughter for three or so years.

Catherine’s daughter Mary eventually became England’s first queen regnant and ruled the country for five years.

Historical Influences: The costume has some pretty direct homages to Catherine of Aragon’s portrait as a young woman. You can see that in the gold chains and gold grommeting around the collar, the square neckline, and the overall color scheme of the costume. In addition, Catherine somewhat famously had auburn hair, which is clearly shown in at least this actress’s hair. There are fewer similarities to her second portrait, but I’ve included it anyway. This portrait too, though, features a dark dress with a square neckline and touches of gold. The gold throughout the Six costume could also be referencing the wealth of Spain and her royal credentials.

Beyonce at the 2017 Grammys (Getty Images for NARAS)

Beyonce at the Super Bowl 2016 (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Beyonce in 2018 (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Pop Culture Influences: The character of Catherine is supposed to be inspired by Beyonce, which comes across pretty clearly in her song “No Way.” Stylistically, it fits with Beyonce’s more melodic songs (like “Irreplaceable,” below), and content-wise, the righteous anger throughout reminds me a lot of some of the songs on the brilliant “Lemonade” album (see “Sorry”).

I also think you can see hints of Beyonce in the costume - particularly in the gold “crown” in her hair. The character’s hair (which appears to be a wig, from videos and photos I’ve seen) is very similar to Beyonce’s, albeit shorter (it does appear that the character’s hair started out a lot longer and then was cut down in both volume and length over time). In addition, the overall cut and strong silhouette of the outfit really seems influenced by Beyonce’s style.

I did find a video in which one of the Aragon actresses said she considered Shakira an inspiration for the character as well, but I’m not really finding any Shakira outfits that are similar to this costume at all. I’m guessing that’s really more of a musical inspiration, as there is a definite Latin beat to Aragon’s song, which represents her Spanish heritage.

Accessories Note: Only two queens in the musical have crown-like spikes in their hair, Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves. This may be because their historical counterparts were royal /before/ marrying Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn, by Unknown English Artist, oil on panel, late 16th century, based on a work of circa 1533-1536

Anne Boleyn, portrayed by Millie O’Connell. (Photographer Unknown)

Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Anne Boleyn, by Hans Holbein

I’m that Boleyn girl
And I’m up next, see
I broke England from the Church
Yeah, I’m that sexy
Why did I lose my head?
Well, my sleeves may be green
But my lipstick’s red.

Anne Boleyn - Henry’s second wife (who was queen from May 1533- May 1536) is probably the most well-known and notorious, as she was the victim of a vicious propaganda campaign that has lasted for so long that even well-educated people these days will refer to her as a whore. And honestly, I think you can see a lot of that propaganda even in her song from Six, which characterizes Anne as “just tryin’ to have some fun,” which is in my opinion, tremendously unfair to the brilliant woman she really was. I will write a FULL TED TALK LECTURE worth of opinions for a blog post later, but I should probably give you a brief overview so we can talk about the costumes now, yeah? (Note: I have not had the opportunity to see the full show yet , so my posts are just based on the costumes and songs. I’ve been advised that the dialogue provides a much more fleshed out, non-stereotypical view of Anne. I’m seeing it on Broadway in February and may then come back and update my posts!)

Anne Boleyn was Henry’s first English wife, the daughter of a highly respected diplomat and a noble lady from the Howard family (the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk). She was by no means a “commoner,” but she certainly wasn’t a princess like Catherine of Aragon. Anne was considered so precocious and talented that at age 12 (or possibly younger!), she was invited to join the court of Margaret of Austria. In her youth, she also was a maid of honor to Mary Tudor, the new Queen of France, and Queen Claude, the even newer Queen of France (Maids of Honor were young, unmarried noblewomen who attended on women of higher rank). Here, Anne was almost certainly exposed to the ideas of both Renaissance humanism and courtly love (which I’ll explain more in a later post, but didn’t actually involve any physical love), which influenced a lot of her later actions and words.

Anne was recalled to England to marry a cousin to settle a land dispute, but this plan fell through. She went on to the English court to serve Catherine of Aragon and became known as a tremendously charming, intelligent, and quick-witted woman. Henry VIII began pursuing Anne in 1526, but we know from his love letters to her throughout their seven-year courtship that their affair remained unconsummated for a very long time. Both Henry and Anne assumed that his marriage could be annulled fairly easily, as the Pope had granted annulments to several Kings in the past without much fuss. However, Catherine’s connections to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles (her nephew) ensured that this did not happen, and Henry would eventually have to break with the Catholic Church and form the Church of England to get his longed-for annulment. By the that time, most of England and Europe hated Anne and called her a whore. A mob of Londoners actually attacked her during dinner once; she barely got away.

Henry and Anne did eventually get married, after she was already pregnant with the future Princess Elizabeth. By all accounts, she was a doting mother and frequently visited her daughter (and thus, I’m pretty annoyed that Anne’s song in Six literally doesn’t even mention Elizabeth, even though Aragon’s and Seymour’s songs mention their kids). Anne was paranoid for her safety and the safety of her child, and when Henry began pursuing other women at court, she lost her temper at the king publicly several times. Her anger at seeing Henry with Jane Seymour may have led to her final miscarriage.

It’s a bit unclear who actually orchestrated Anne’s downfall - it may have been Henry’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell (although there were numerous sloppy mistakes in the falsified evidence, which seems too careless for Cromwell, IMO). But in the end, Anne would be tried and convicted of high treason due to adultery with five men, including her own brother. All six of the accused were arrested and executed in late April- mid-May 1536. There’s really no evidence supporting any of the charges and historians widely believe that the charges were completely manufactured.

In a final fuck you from the grave though, Anne’s daughter Elizabeth I would ultimately become one of England’s greatest monarchs. She reigned for over 40 years in a golden age of progress and led England to becoming a great world power.

Historical Inspiration: The historical inspiration for this costume is more subtle, but you can still see a few touches. The beading in Anne’s dress is reflected in the silver grommets in the modern costume. The actress also has Anne’s famous dark hair and eyes. Her blush even looks like it might be applied to match Anne’s? And of course, there’s the giant “B” necklace. The green of the costume appears to be tied to the legend that Henry VIII wrote “Greensleeves” about Anne, which is referenced several times in the musical’s soundtrack.

Kate Nash

Lily Allen (PA Images)

Avril Lavigne

Pop Culture Inspirations: Anne is supposed to be inspired by Lily Allen, Avril Lavigne, and Kate Nash (per Millie O’Connell, an early originator of the role). The Lily Allen influence is most obvious in Anne’s song “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” which has the same sort of sassy wit and obvious non-posh British accent usually found in Lily Allen’s work. I’m guessing the use of this accent in the song is meant to refer to Anne’s “commoner” status; although she was from a good family, she wasn’t a Spanish princess! (And yes, that could just be the actress’s natural accent, but I’m sure they would have had her sing with a less emphasized accent if they didn’t want it in the story).

The Lily Allen fashion influence seems to come across in the dress silhouette. The punky checks are reminiscent of outfits commonly worn by both Kate Nash and Avril Lavigne (and also can honestly be seen worn by many female artists with a “punk” style, like Gwen Stefani or Pink). The wrist covers are a common punk fashion element as well.

The hair is more confusing though; I couldn’t find any photographs of the stated influences for Anne wearing double buns. However, double buns are pretty popular among young stars that go to Coachella; the real life Anne had a reputation for being very fashionable, so it’s possible this is a reference to that.

Apparently the green hair accessories shown in this photo have been replaced with leather and spikes. Anne’s costume is the only one that exposes the shoulders and a significant amount of arm.

Accessories Note: It appears from photos that the only two queens in the show with choker necklaces/choker style necklines are Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, who were both beheaded. They were also cousins and are the only queens to sport their initials on their necklaces.

Left: Kendall Jenner (Credit: Madison McGaw / BFA.com)
Right: Chiara Ferragni (Credit: Ari Perilstein / Getty)

Jane Seymour, Queen of England. Oil on Wood. 1536, by Hans Holbein.

Jane Seymour, portrayed by Natalie Paris. (Photographer Unknown)

Jane Seymour, from “The Family of Henry VIII” c. 1543-1547. Unknown artist, after Holbein. Hampton Court Palace.

Jane Seymour, the only one he truly loved
(Rude.)
When my son was newly born
I died, but I’m not what I seem?
Or am I?
Stick around and you’ll
Suddenly see more

Jane Seymour was Henry VIII’s third wife and Queen of England from 1536-1537. She was his second English born spouse and the daughter of a courtier who was knighted by Henry VII. She had a much more traditional woman’s education than either Catherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn and though she could read and write, she was better at household management and needlework. She was from a large family, which may have contributed to Henry’s interest in her, as presumably, she was as fertile as her mother.

Jane was definitely a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon as of 1532, but may had been serving her for several years before that. She then went on to serve Anne Boleyn. The first reports of Henry courting Jane are from February 1536, about three months before Anne’s execution and indicate that Jane had rejected a gift from Henry. In March, he sent her another gift; she responded by saying that she had “nothing in the world but her honour, which she would not wound for a thousand deaths.” Jane eventually did accept a small portrait of the king, which she wore on a necklace. Henry had given a similar present to Anne during their courtship; it’s reported that Anne snatched the necklace from Jane’s throat when she saw it.

in April 1536, Jane’s brother and sister-in-law moved into Thomas Cromwell’s former chambers in Greenwich, which were connected to Henry’s apartments by a secret passage. Henry visited her there with her family as chaperones. Jane was kept away from court during Anne’s trial, but was betrothed to Henry only a day after Anne was executed. They were married within two weeks.

She had well-publicized sympathies with Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary and took efforts to reunite Henry with both of his daughters. She was praised by various ambassadors and courtiers as being very gentle, peaceful, and meek (basically the polar opposite of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn).
Jane Seymour became pregnant in early spring 1537 and gave birth to Prince Edward on October 12. Later that day, she reportedly was sitting up in bed writing letters and received guests on the day of Edward’s Christening. However, she fell ill and passed away on October 24. It’s believed she died of puerperal fever, an infection that can occur after childbirth.

Henry wore black for months after Jane’s death and did not remarry until 1540. Years later, when a family portrait was painted for Henry VIII, the painting included Jane Seymour, her son Edward, and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. When he died in 1547, he was buried next to Jane’s grave on his request.

Historical Influences: I’m not seeing much of an homage to Seymour’s portrait here, aside from slight similarities in the neckline and necklace line. Jane’s character is depicted with the longest skirt by far, which may be a reference to her meek reputation. She also has the heavy grommets seen in the other costumes, but in silver, rather than in gold. The white in the costume may refer to her peace-making efforts. Jane’s dress also has strong armor vibes, although I’m a bit unclear on what that could refer to.
UPDATE: Since I wrote this post initially, the designer has confirmed that Jane Seymour’s costume is heavily influenced by Tudor architecture. I’ve added in an example of a Tudor style house below.

Tudor House, Southampton

Lady Gaga in her music video for “Telephone”

Adele (Credit: Kevin WInter / Getty)

Pop Culture Influences: Adele, Sia, and Lady Gaga have been listed as inspiration for Jane Seymour in Six. Jane’s power ballad “Heart of Stone” has a definite Adele power ballad feel to it. The piano background is reminiscent of numerous Adele and Lady Gaga songs. The high whistle notes part at the end is a bit more Mariah Carey than any of these singers though, IMO; Gaga and Sia are both known for high /belting/ at the end of songs, but that’s not quite the same.

Adele is known for wearing a LOT of black (in one interview, she said she sometimes goes out wearing color and people don’t recognize her) and she often goes for long sleeves and classic silhouettes that emphasize her hourglass figure, just like Jane’s costume. Sia uses black and white in her wigs and costumes on a pretty regular basis.

I initially thought I’d have trouble finding Lady Gaga inspirations, but the prison dress outfit from the Telephone music video definitely seems similar to Jane’s strong black and white stripes ensemble, plus they both share that trademark light blonde hair. Jane’s pulled back hair with volume seems like a pretty clear Adele reference as well.

Accessories Note: Earlier photos of Jane show that her costume used to incorporate a black leather hair piece with little silver spikes, but that appears to have been removed at this point.

#ShakespearesPlaylist: The Taming of the Shrew

This is part of the #ShakespearesPlaylist series! You can read all of those posts here!

So I LOVE finding songs to fit the mood of #Shakespeare plays. Basically every time I hear a song I love on the radio, I think about how I could fit it into a production. I can’t help it. My brain just does that, which is funny, because I’ve only directed one production (my own one-act) and questioned myself and my abilities the entire time, so I don’t necessarily see myself directing anything else any time soon, but I just like to dream about the music anyway.

The Globe Theater cast of The Taming of the Shrew from 2013 - photo from https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/the-taming-of-the-shrew/

I’ve decided to play with this habit of mine more and make full-fledged Spotify and Youtube playlists for each play by Shakespeare, under the umbrella name and hashtag #ShakespearesPlaylist .

Quick Wikipedia summary: The Taming of the Shrew depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate “shrew” in the title. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship; however, Petruchio "tames" her with various psychological torments, such as keeping her from eating and drinking, until she becomes a desirable, compliant, and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's younger sister, Bianca. who is seen as the "ideal" woman. The question of whether the play is misogynistic or not has become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among modern scholars, audiences, and readers.

I chose Florence + The Machine’s Kiss with a Fist to represent the domestic abuse prevalent in Taming of the Shrew. This is the part of the play that makes everyone uncomfortable, but it’s such an integral part to the plot that you really can’t remove it or gloss over it without changing the story completely. This is one of those problem plays that I think needs to be done carefully and respectfully, with a lot of conversation and care. Sure, perform it, but make sure to discuss the problematic aspects of it in your program or in a post-show discussion.

Husband John and I saw a version of it at The Globe in London in 2013 that featured an all-female cast; that choice retained the original story while portraying it in an explicitly feminist way that helped me see it in a really different way. It was very affecting. Because of those problematic aspects though, I personally have never been involved in a production of it nor have I seen many productions of it. One study (reported on Priceonomics) found that it was the fifth most popular Shakespeare play (in terms of professional performances by major theater companies between 2011-2015; this kind of surprises me? It is quite possible though that I’ve just happened to live in areas where it’s just not commonly performed. Plus, I mostly work with and am around community theater productions, and they seem to be slightly less willing to put on controversial plays (just my observation, not sure why).

I should note- Kiss with a Fist is not actually about domestic violence. Florence Welch explained the meaning of the song on her blog: “It is about two people pushing each other to psychological extremes because they are fighting but they still love each other. The song is not about one person being attacked, or any actual physical violence, there are no victims in this song. Sometimes the love two people have for each other is a destructive force. But they can't have it any other way, because it's what holds them together, they enjoy the drama and pushing each other's buttons. The only way to express these extreme emotions is with extreme imagery, all of which is fantasism and nothing in the song is based on reality. Leona Lewis's ‘Bleeding Love’ isn't actually about her bleeding and this song isn't actually about punching someone in the mouth." (I grabbed this explanation off Wikipedia)

Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation is a bit of an obvious choice for representing a woman who refuses to conform to society’s expectations of her, but I love this song and had to include it anyway.

Yeah, that’s a really short explanation of that, but I really can’t think of anything else to say. Joan Jett is awesome.

Etta James’ It’s a Man’s Man’s World addresses the gender dynamics of the play, as ultimately Katherina has little choice when it comes to her husband. Although Katherina does ultimately “agree” to marry Petruchio when he shows himself willing to counter her sharp wit, she has no ability to stop the ceremony when Petruchio hits the priest and drinks the communion wine and is completely helpless when Petruchio abuses her by withholding food and gaslighting her until she does his bidding. He shows off her “tame” self at the end to the other men. The setting of this play truly is “a man’s world” and Katherina is trapped in it.

Finally, since these songs have mostly been pretty dark, I’m ending on a lighter note with Letters to Cleo’s I Want You to Want Me. This cover was prominently featured on the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack. 10 Things is a loose adaptation of Taming of the Shrew and also coincidentally is one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time, probably because it came out in 1999 when I was 11 and thus was one of the first modern romantic comedies I ever actually watched.

#ShakespearesPlaylist: Comedy of Errors

This is part of the #ShakespearesPlaylist series! You can read all of those posts here!

So I LOVE finding songs to fit the mood of #Shakespeare plays. Basically every time I hear a song I love on the radio, I think about how I could fit it into a production. I can’t help it. My brain just does that, which is funny, because I’ve only directed one production (my own one-act) and questioned myself and my abilities the entire time, so I don’t necessarily see myself directing anything else any time soon, but I just like to dream about the music anyway.

I’ve decided to play with this habit of mine more and make full-fledged Spotify and Youtube playlists for each play by Shakespeare, under the umbrella name and hashtag #ShakespearesPlaylist .

Quick Summary of the Play from Wikipedia: “Set in the Greek city of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.”

I actually acted in a minor role in Comedy of Errors earlier this year! It’s an extremely silly play, and probably one of my least favorites, but the director and assistant director had a really fun vision for it that included lots of slapstick and physical comedy, plus a prominently featured rubber chicken. I got to wear a lovely costume and a ridiculous mustache and got to do some really fun comedic acting just reacting to the shenanigans aroudn me! Here’s a publicity pic of me for it (pre-mustache):

Plus I just got to work with the best people. Here are a couple of us in a ridiculous cuddle pile on the floor backstage, lol.

ANYWAY, when I think of this play, I tend to think of exceptionally ridiculous songs or songs about “double vision” or confusion. So I’m putting in Yakety Sax, the classic slapstick song, Double Vision by Foreigner to refer to the Twins/mistaken identity plot, and One Week by BareNaked Ladies to evoke the shenanigans feel of the whole play. I’m also throwing in Crazy by Gnarls Barkley (a cool slowed down version!) in here to refer to every character’s mutual feeling of “What is going on here? Am I going mad?” by the end of the show".

What songs would you add to this list? You can suggest them here or on Twitter at #ShakespearesPlaylist :D

#ShakespearesPlaylist: King Lear

This is part of the #ShakespearesPlaylist series! You can read all of those posts here!

So I LOVE finding songs to fit the mood of #Shakespeare plays. Basically every time I hear a song I love on the radio, I think about how I could fit it into a production. I can’t help it. My brain just does that, which is funny, because I’ve only directed one production (my own one-act) and questioned myself and my abilities the entire time, so I don’t necessarily see myself directing anything else any time soon, but I just like to dream about the music anyway.

I’ve decided to play with this habit of mine more and make full-fledged Spotify and Youtube playlists for each play by Shakespeare, under the umbrella name and hashtag #ShakespearesPlaylist .

The incomparable Larry Yando as Lear in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production in 2014. Photo from https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/lear

Quick Summary from Wikipedia: King Lear is the tale of a king who bequeaths his power and land to two of his three daughters, after they declare their love for him in an extremely fawning and obsequious manner. His third daughter gets nothing, because she will not flatter him as her sisters had done. When he feels disrespected by the two daughters who now have his wealth and power, he becomes furious to the point of madness. He eventually becomes tenderly reconciled to his third daughter, just before tragedy strikes her and then the king.

I’m starting with King Lear because I just watched Kurosawa’s “Ran” with my husband, which is basically King Lear set in feudal Japan, so it’s on my brain anyway.

Here are a couple songs on my King Lear playlist. What would you add to this list? :D

Both Viva La Vida by Coldplay and Pompeii by Bastille fit King Lear’s “former leader watching his world crumble” theme, IMO.

Okay these two are a little more specific and require some explanation.

Frank Sinatra’s Where Do You Go? - I went to law school in Chicago and lived there for a few years after, so then-boyfriend/now-husband John and I went to a lot of shows at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. They have a great under-35 program that allows younger adults to get discount tickets and it was AWESOME.

In 2014, they did a friggin’ astounding version of King Lear that portrayed Lear as someone who really loved Frank Sinatra and used Sinatra’s music throughout the play to illustrate his growing madness. This specific obscure Sinatra song was used to illustrate how lost and alone Lear was and was mixed and looped to show his growing distortion. Right before the intermission, this one house set that had been standing up the whole time came toppling down over the actor playing Lear, who stood in just the one hole for the window so he wasn’t actually crushed, with rain and thunder and this haunting song in the background.

So clearly it made an impression. I definitely think of Sinatra whenever I think of Lear now.

Ravel’s Bolero is my pet choice and something I would include if I ever had the opportunity to direct Lear in the future. There was an amazing Radiolab episode a while back which discussed how the repetition in Bolero and in one woman’s paintings were a strong symptom of their own mental illnesses. It fascinated me and ever since, I have wanted to use Bolero as a metaphor for Lear’s madness.

What obvious songs am I overlooking? Do you have any choices that might seem odd without further explanation? I want to hear them all! Use the hashtag #ShakespearesPlaylist to get them to me. :)