"Taming
of the Shrew" opens
Feb. 12 in Schwarz Theatre
By Jeff
Petersen
The La
Grande Observer
Published: Feb. 5, 2004
DATES: Feb. 12-14, Feb. 26-28
SITE: Schwarz Theatre
ADMISSION: $7, general; $5, students and seniors (ticket office:
962-3757)
John Nehlich is a big fan of the old classic movie
stars -- Jimmy Stewart, Humphry Bogart, Lauren Bacall and James Dean.
So what's the 19-year-old sophomore from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, doing
playing the dirty old man Gremio in "The Taming of the Shrew,"
which opens Feb. 12 at Schwarz Theatre?
Getting a crash course in Shakespeare, that's what.
It's the theater performance major and writing minor's first Shakespeare
show, and he's finding it a challenge to master his lines. Normally
with a smaller part like Gremio, Nehlich would write the lines down
repeatedly until they become second nature. If he had a bigger part,
with lots of lines, he would record cues coming a few lines before
he went on and then say his lines. In this case, he is having to go
over his lines repeatedly out loud.
Nehlich credits Coeur d'Alene High School theater teacher Pat Caloca
with igniting his passion for being on stage. As a freshman, he signed
up for an advanced class and was extremely intimidated by the juniors
and seniors. But he survived and eventually thrived under Caloca's
caring tutelage. She helped him overcome his insecurities and realize
what he could accomplish if he tapped into his full potential.
"She'd say, 'I cast you in this role because I know you can do
this'."
Since coming to EOU, Nehlich has made it a habit to answer the door
whenever opportunity knocks. Among his credits to date are roles in
"A Broadway Christmas" and playing Trevor Jockhart in "A
Hole in the Sky," the show EOU is taking to the regional contest
which falls, by the way, in the middle of staging "The Taming
of the Shrew."
It has been hectic preparing for both shows, plus going to classes.
But Nehlich is up for the task, as is his director Lyle Schwarz, who
stepped out of a retirement for a year to fill the shoes of April
Curtis, who is in sabbatical.
"All the directors I've had so far have greatly differing styles,"
Nehlich said. "Having a theater named after him, I expected Lyle
to be arrogant, but he's not like that at all. He's a laid-back director.
He tells you what he wants and if you ask if you can do it some way,
he says, 'Try it. See if it works. If it does, keep it. If not, we'll
try something else'."
It's not hard to imagine those old classics -- Stewart, Bogart, Bacall
and Dean -- working with their directors in a similar way.
Lyle Schwarz, director
Character name/actor
Baptista/Kenn Wheeler
Petruchio/Robert Power-Drutis
Gremio/John Nehlich
Hortensio/Joe Quintana
Vincentio/Greg Monahan
Lucentio/Todd Tschida
Grumio/Stephan Zacharias
Tranio/Alex Mitzenberg
Biondello/Jeri-Lynn Roberts
Pedant/David Gammage
Curtis/Jenny McCoy
Tailor/Dan Petznick
Haberdasher and others/Frederick Stutzman
Kate/Jocelyn Berado
Bianca/Iris Hinz
Widow/Neva Sanders
