My earliest appreciation for Shakespeare was primarily for his unique storytelling and unforgettable characters. So it is a pleasure to be reminded how well the Bard’s playful battle of the sexes, “The Taming of the Shrew” comes across without a word of iambic pentameter. The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago brings Shakespeare’s tempestuous relationship between Katherine and her tamer Petruchio to the stage in a vividly acted and brilliantly danced two act ballet.

            Of course, “The Taming of the Shrew” is hardly the first Shakespearean play to find voice in classical music and dance. Most notably, the Tchaikovsky ballet “Romeo and Juliet” set Shakespeare’s star crossed lovers to music, and Mendelssohn’s haunting score was a major part of the all-star 1935 movie version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The music for “The Taming of the Shrew” was adapted by Kurt-Heinz Stolze from more than 550 Sonatas for Klavier by the 17th Century Neapolitan composer Domenico Scarlatti, which lend the ballet an appropriate period flavor. As conducted by Allan Lewis, the live Joffrey Ballet of Chicago orchestra gives the music a bright and lively performance that manages to bring a bit of spring to a rainy Chicago evening.

            Created in 1969 for The Stuttgart Ballet of Germany and first performed by The Joffrey Ballet in New York in 1981, “The Taming of the Shrew” calls as much for intense acting skills as it does for pretty dancing. In fact, Maia Wilkins’ Katherine initially demonstrates more fiery temperament than grace. Wilkins walks a bit like a flat-footed duck, giving the role a comical sense of Katherine’s animal-like nature. But as Petruchio proceeds with the taming, her body language becomes more fluid, ultimately allowing herself to become as malleable as a puppet.

            Davis Robertson’s virile Petruchio is a superb combination of aerobic athleticism and a jocular sense of humor. The interactions between Wilkins and Robertson have wonderful expression and vibrancy. That’s a real slap that Katherine deals Petruchio. Their lifts are thrilling, the physical comedy with the two rolling on the ground is hilarious and exhilarating. Wilkins and Robertson dance these roles again on Friday and Saturday evening, while they are spelled by Taryn Kaschock and Willy Shives for the Saturday and Sunday matinee performances.

            The comical courtship of Bianca’s three suitors, the musician Gremio (Christopher Fellows), the handsome student Lucentio (Samuel Pergande) and the campy and fey Hortensio (Matthew Prescott) owe a bit of inspiration to the Marx Brothers with a touch of Chaplinese thrown in for amusing effect. The production receives a handsome Renaissance-flavored look in the simple arch and column drops, golden candelabras for the wedding scene, and eye-catching candy-striped clown revelers in Act 2, all designed by Elisabeth Dalton.

            “The Taming of the Shrew” is a charming confection that is sure to delight both lovers of theatre and dance. So brush up your Shakespeare and your grand jetes, and get thee to the Auditorium Theatre for this Joffrey Ballet of Chicago treat.