Midsommer Flight will present a staged reading of THE TAMING, an all-female political farce and comedy by Lauren Gunderson, one of the US’s most frequently produced playwrights. Inspired by William Shakespeare's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. THE TAMING follows a conservative senatorial aide, a liberal political activist, and a very sparkly beauty queen who find themselves locked in a hotel room. Inside the heightened, cheerfully absurd world of THE TAMING, the play spanks America’s insidious sound bite politics with the switch of actual history and proves Shakespeare’s point that true debate is hot. Anna Rachel Troy, Artistic Director of Theatre Evolve, will direct a cast including Marley Doakes, Ebby Offord*, Ruby Sevcik, and Mary Eliza Willingham. THE TAMING will be performed on NOVEMBER 7, 2026, 7:00 pm, at The Flight Deck, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago, on the first floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (suggested price of $20.00) and space may be reserved at https://midsommerflight.com. Reservations are recommended as seating is limited.
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Indicates Midsommer Flight Artistic Ensemble Member
L-R: Anna Rachel Troy, Ebby Offord, Ruby Sevcik, Marley Doakes, Mary Eliza Willingham
LISTING INFORMATION
THE TAMING
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Anna Rachel Troy
One night only staged reading
Saturday, November 7, 2026
7:00 PM
The Flight Deck, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. (First floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church)
Pay-What-You-Can (Suggested Price - $20.00)
More information and reservations at https://www.midsommerflight.com
In this hilarious, raucous, all-female “power-play” inspired by Shakespeare’s Shrew, contestant Katherine has the political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions.
Lauren Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I AND YOU and THE BOOK OF WILL, the winner of the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer and children’s author. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. LaurenGunderson.com
ABOUT MIDSOMMER FLIGHT. Midsommer Flight is a theatre company dedicated to presenting high quality, accessible productions of Shakespeare’s plays in Chicago communities. After the company’s well-received inaugural production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM in 2012, the Chicago City Council honored Midsommer Flight with a resolution praising “the Midsommer Flight theater troupe on their dedication to bringing the arts to underserved communities.” The company incorporated as a not-for-profit in the state of Illinois in early 2013 and has produced ROMEO AND JULIET (2013, 2024), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (2014), MACBETH (2015), TWELFTH NIGHT (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) AS YOU LIKE IT (2016), HAMLET (2017), THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (2018), THE TEMPEST (2019), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (2012 AND 2022), CYMBELINE (2023), LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST (2025), and AS YOU LIKE IT (2026). The company was nominated in 2019 for the third time for the League of Chicago Theatres “Emerging Theatre Award.”