On the eve of the first anniversary of their divorce, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi are rehearsing for the leading roles in Taming of the Shrew. Bill Calhoun, a member of the cast, has incurred a gambling debt and tells actress Lois Lane he has signed Fred’s name to an IOU.

As the play begins, Fred, as Petruchio, seeks a wife and finds a fascinating possibility in the shrewish Katherine, as played by real life ex-wife Lilli. In the meantime two thugs arrive and demand payment from Fred for Bill’s IOU. At first, Fred claims he has signed no such document, but when Lilli threatens to leave the show for Fred’s too realistic portrayals of the shrew tamer, he changes his mind. He talks the gunmen into donning costumes and escorting Lilli bodily through all the scenes for the remainder of the play’s engagement.

In the end, Fred tames the shrew, both on and off the stage, their real life romance is revived and the gunmen get a good lesson in Shakespeare.

– © TAMS-WITMARK