Taming of the Shrew Review Phoenix New Times By Julie PetersonJanuary 23, 2014

After feeling kind of "meh" about the last couple of SWS shows I got to see, I was delighted by director Sabin Epstein's attention to detail over the short course of our heroes' courtship, the energy, humor, and shades of emotion in the entire supporting cast, and the quirky but appropriate designs.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be backstage at Mesa Arts Center during rehearsals and found myself in an elevator with a few Shrew actors in costume, including one who turned out, I later learned, to have been Jon Gentry, a man I've known for decades. He sported a bottle-blond mullet wig and a white satin track suit with shiny gold trim, unzipped halfway down his chain-bedecked chest.

This gave me the impression that maybe the whole show was sort of glammy in concept (and got me interested in attending), but in fact this character who looks like incontinent Rod Stewart from an episode of South Park is just one (amazing) cog in a relatively eclectic band of weirdos -- bikers, hipsters, people who look like Etsy models -- dressed by costume designer Adriana Diaz. Pegi Marshal-Amundsen's mostly red scene design is a luxe setting for Diaz's mostly monochrome outfits.