By Jackie Demaline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival begins its 10th anniversary season by introducing its strongest company ever in Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare's comedic battle of the sexes (which, not coincidentally, was the company's first production when it debuted as Fahrenheit Theatre in 1994.)

It's a disappointing Shrew, but I'll take the great promise of what seems within reach.

Company founding member Marni Penning returns to take the title role of Shakespeare's irksome, brawling scold to Matt Johnson's bombastic, swaggering Petruchio, the guy who sets out to tame her by killing her with kindness.

In Shrew, this time set early in the 20th century, Kate is elder sister to the lovely Bianca (Nancy Eyermann, in an impressive festival debut).

The men of Padua are drooling, but there will be no wedding Bianca until Kate, the terror of the town, is settled. Enter Petruchio, who first likes the sound of her dowry then likes the look of her.

Over the last decade of watching Penning on stage, I've been pretty much persuaded that she could create chemistry with anything that breathed.

I'm sad to report I was wrong. On opening night, Penning and Johnson were giving big performances but connecting very little, for all their forced merriment.

I'll lay a lot of the responsibility on Johnson, whose work here is showy but not deep.

I'll lay even more responsibility at the feet of director Nick Rose, who hammers home every emotional shift (no delicate mutual joy of discovery here); who doesn't demand soul-deep performances from his romantic pair; who puts his actors in period costume but doesn't demand a uniformity of period behavior (Penning is the worst offender); and who mistakenly fashions a kinder, gentler Shrew, emphasizing verbal rather than physical sparring.

The problem is that when Kate is merely barking instead of biting, Petruchio's mad methods of forcing her into line seem excessive. And Johnson gives the distinct impression that Petruchio enjoys acting out so much that he sometimes forgets there's anyone else in the room but himself and his audience.

There are nice moments - Penning's comedic flair flashes in the second act and the show's quieter moments have resonance. But this is a very loud show. And, call me old-fashioned, but Shrew still works best with a smart and sexy Petruchio.

There is a lot to like elsewhere on stage from people we can always count on - Brian Isaac Phillips, Christopher Guthrie, Taylore Mahogany Scott - and from members of what is clearly a wonderful Young Company.

Along with Eyermann, Kevin Pierson, Zack Whittington, Gabriel Wimberly, and Bhavesh Patel all make me want to come back for more.

Christopher Zorker and his hair send the audience into riotous laughter as he returns in various guises from studly manservant to fey French tailor to extremely imposing (and not especially feminine) widow.

This Shrew is set in the Edwardian era (Kate sports a "Votes for Women" sash) and costumer Heidi Jo Schiemer must have burned the midnight oil. But the set needs something more than a black backdrop that doesn't put an exclamation point on raucous comedy.

The Taming of the Shrew, through Oct. 12, Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. 381-2273.