Thomas Middleton’s masterpiece flips effortlessly between uncomfortably hilarious and genuinely heartbreaking. It goes like this:
The young and beautiful Bianca shocks her wealthy Venetian family by running away and eloping with Leantio, a Florentine salesman of modest means. But Bianca is quickly frustrated by the drudgery and routine of life in a small house shared with her husband’s mother. When the Duke of Florence makes Bianca a proposition she cannot refuse, she finds herself drawn into court intrigue and becomes the Duke’s kept woman.
Meanwhile, the noble Hippolito and the vibrant Isabella have secretly reached the same conclusion: there is no one in the world they love more than the other. There are just two problems. The first is that Isabella is arranged to be wed to the rich but childish and fatuous Ward of a prominent courtier. The second is that Isabella is Hippolito’s blood niece.
Overseeing all these desires is the Lady Livia, a twice-widowed woman of great wealth and influence. How can the Duke, Leantio, Hippolito, Isabella, and Livia all get what they want and live happily ever after? Leave the resolution in her capable, crafty, and perfectly persuasive hands.
What follows is a cycle of passion, betrayal, and revenge powered by arrows, poison, and gold. Opening Halloween night and performing just two weekends only at Madison’s Bartell Theatre. Tickets and showtimes available now.
