The Taming of the Shrew in performance reviewers as being extremely physical. Lunt and Fontanne were the most famous celebrity couple of the time, and their backstage fights were rumoured to be just as ferocious as their on-stage performances. So legendary did the tempestuous reputation of the couple become that Cole Porter's 1948 musical "Kiss Me, Kate", about a fiery couple attempting to stage an adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew", was based on their real-life antics. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the play has been frequently staged all over the world. Some notable productions include: "The Shrew"s popularity on stage has continued
The Taming of the Shrew in performance at newing ton my Lord Admeralle men & my Lorde chamberlen men as ffolowethe [...] 11 of June 1594 Rd at the tamynge of A Shrowe." This could have been either "A Shrew" or "The Shrew", but as the Lord Chamberlain's Men were sharing the theatre at the time, and as such Shakespeare himself would have been there, scholars tend to assume it was "The Shrew". The earliest definite performance of "The Shrew" was at court before Charles I and Henrietta Maria on 26 November 1633, where it was described as being "likt". Aside from the court performance, evidence of