The Taming of the Shrew

Set in Padua, Italy in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca and the mean-spirited Katarina, the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista. Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katarina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katarina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as more suitors--such as Lucentio, a student who begins working as a tutor in the Hordern household just so he can be near Bianca--line up to wed the maiden. No man approaches Katarina until Petruchio--a wanderer who arrived in Padua just to find a rich wife--falls in love with her. After an intense, occasionally furious, courtship, Katarina eventually agrees to marry him, and they move to Petruchio's shoddy house, which is located outside of the city. Following the wedding, Lucentio reveals that he is not a student, but instead the son of one of the most respected men in town. Lucentio gets permission to marry Bianca and a mild-mannered Katarina shows up at the wedding, giving advice to her sister on how to be a good wife.