The Taming of the Shrew: Ada Rehan (1859-1916) as Katherina, 1893.

"Mr. Daly's charming theatre in Cranbourne Street was opened on Tuesday.... It was wisely decided to commence the season with "Tamimg of the Shrew," and Miss Ada Rehan, whose representation of the principal role is so well known and so intensely admired in London, was received with a burst of hearty applause when she appeared on stage as Katharine. She has never been seen to greater advantage; her performance was not marred by a single blemish. Miss Rehan is ably supported by Mr. George Clarke as Petruchio, by Mr. Lewis as Grumio, and by Mrs. Gilbert as Curtis, the servant. Mr. Henry Loraine, a popular English actor, successfully undertook the part of Baptista. The piece is admirably mounted." From our London Correspondent, The Yorkshire Herald, July 1, 1893: 19th C British Library Newspapers.

This dynamic actress excelled in such "strong" roles as Mrs. Ford, Helena, Rosalind, and Beatrice. William Winter wrote, "Her physical beauty was of the kind that appears in portraits of women by Romney and Gainsborough - ample, opulent, and bewitching - and it was enriched by the enchantment of superb animal spirits." Not exactly a pushover for Petruchio? HMR Courtesy of the Hampden-Booth Library, New York.