Madcap pace, delicious froth of 'Taming'

Leave it to director Domenick Scudera to set Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival's production of

The Taming of the Shrew

in the era of Cole Porter's

Kiss Me, Kate

, a musical that itself referenced the Bard's take on love and marriage. Scudera was wise to set this particular work in a pre-feminist world of pennant-waving college boys and wealthy old men sporting monocles and bowler hats.

There's a certain squirm factor involved in watching Petruchio torture his new bride into submission that seems, at the very least, less anachronistic here. But, while wisdom is nice, what's even better is the madcap pace Scudera brings to the proceedings, whipping the Elizabethan jokes and jibes into a delicious froth. It goes down easy and tastes great along the way - as long as you can ignore the slight bitter aftertaste of your modern sensibilities.

Damon Bonetti's Petruchio and Teresa Castracane's Katherine first meet in a scene whose pacing is played as though written for Bogie and Bacall, complete with witty banter and smoldering magnetism.

The pair's polarity is so much fun to watch that the production loses some momentum once Kate's spitfire spirit has been dampened. The subplot regarding Bianca, who must fend off her cadre of suitors until someone, anyone, agrees to marry Kate, is also well-matched. David Raphaely's Lucentio and Tim Gross' Tranio turn on the charm as they conspire to win the affections of Christie Parker's sticky-sweet Bianca, while Dan Higbee's Grumio and Brian Anthony Wilson's Hortensio delight as Bianca's less-fortunate admirers.

All are enjoying themselves here, including the audience, and no character, however peripheral, is left out of the fun.

Susan Schaeffer's costume design is surely the cherry atop this confection, accenting the characters as befits their circumstances. Tranio's attire is brought to life with the waggish pop of a persimmon-colored sweater. Kate is dragged from the rich lapis cardigan she wears at home, to a khaki suit drained of color (as Petruchio sets about draining her of her choler), until finally she is rewarded with a russet gown that highlights her newly found connubial passion.

Paired with Shannon Zura's lively sound design, which draws equally from silent film (as the background to several wordless comic vignettes), and goofy cartoon noises, the production delivers an all-ages treat to satisfy first-time Shakespeare viewers and veterans alike.