Niles West theatre will be presenting “The Taming of the Shrew” Thursday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 25 in the Black Box Theatre.

The play is based on William Shakespeare’s very own rendition, except this version is set in Italy’s 50’s.  It’s the tale of two sisters, Bianca, played by senior Katie Buckley, and Katherine, played by senior Rachel Prale. Bianca has many suitors, but she is not allowed to date unless the disagreeable  Katherine gets a boyfriend first. The play is the basis of the popular 90’s movie “10 Things I Hate About You.”

Theatre Director Andrew Sinclair feels that “The Taming of the Shrew” is relevant to current society.

“There is a romantic aspect..it’s all about gender and gender stereotypes..the 50’s are relatively modern.. [this way the play] is more accessible[while watching],” Sinclair says.

Showtimes are set to begin Thursday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m., a free community performance. “The Taming of the Shrew” will continue its run on Friday, Feb. 24 at both 4 and 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets for adults costs $10, and the price for students, senior citizens, and children is $ 7.

Junior Alex Wood, who plays Baptista Minola, thinks that students should come to the play.

“This show is a comedy you won’t want to miss! It’s absolutely hysterical and filled with tons of twists and turns even someone unfamiliar to Shakespeare can understand! It’ll be one wild ride,” Wood says.

Junior Sarah Meehan, who is the Props Mistress, agrees with Wood.

“People should come because we put a really cool twist on the show… the costumes and set are amazing…the show is also in the round which means that there will be audience members on all sides of the stage, so each person will be getting a kind of different perspective of the show,” Meehan says.

“Too often we just look at Shakespeare like it’s a job, rather than watching it performed, the way Shakespeare intended it. [Our]set is really awesome.. and it’s really funny,” Sinclair says.