Taming of the Shrew (Taming of the Dude)

Bethany Minola, a great gentlewoman of Padua, has 2 sons: the eldest, Nathaniel, is as terrifying as the youngest, Benjamin, is beautiful. Bethany, declares that no woman shall marry her son Benjamin, until she has a wife for her son Nathaniel. Henrietta and Gabrielle band together to find a wife for Nathaniel. In the meantime, only school tutors will have access to Benjamin.

Liliana, a young gentlewoman from Pisa, has just arrived in Padua for school, and overhears this entire encounter. Upon seeing Benjamin’s beauty, Liliana abandons her studies and swaps places with her servant, Teresa. Liliana will pretend to be a tutor named “Camilla”, so that she can be close to Benjamin. 

Enter Penelope! Penelope arrives in Padua, from her home in Verona. The sole purpose of her trip is to find a wealthy young man to be her husband. Henrietta suggests that she marry Nathaniel, who is very rich, but warns that he might be too terrible a dude for Penelope. Penelope agrees to woo and marry Nathaniel. Henrietta, in turn, asks that Penelope present her in disguise as “Lidia”, a music tutor, so she too can get close to Benjamin. 

What ensues, is a merry tale of love triangles, secret identities, battle of the sexes and true happiness. Penelope marries Nathaniel and begins her questionable tactics of “taming the dude”. Henrietta as “Lidia” and Liliana as “Camilla” battle it out to win Benjamin’s love. Teresa as “Liliana” uses all her wits to eliminate Gabrielle and Henrietta as suitors to Benjamin. 

In the end, the big question becomes: what makes for a happy marriage?