10 Things I Hate About You as the female leads in the original play. Their surname is Stratford, a nod to Shakespeare's birthplace. Patrick's surname Verona references the home of his relative character Petruchio. The characters attend Padua High School, named after where the play is set. Cameron (Lucentio, who disguises himself as a tutor named Cambio) tutors Bianca in French and slips in a line from play while obsessing over her: ""I burn, I pine, I perish"". Patrick's character reflects the outlandish behavior of Petruchio, and Michael coerces Patrick into the marching band incident with the words from Sonnet 56: ""Sweet love, renew thy force"".
10 Things I Hate About You to stay close to home. Bianca wishes to date affluent senior Joey Donner, but Walter, an obstetrician worrisome of teenage pregnancy, will not allow his daughters to date until they graduate. Frustrated by Bianca's insistence and Kat's rebelliousness, Walter declares that Bianca may date only when Kat does, knowing that Kat's antisocial attitude makes this unlikely. When Cameron asks Bianca out, she informs him of her father's new rule and, as a pretense for allowing her to date Joey, suggests that Cameron find someone willing to date Kat. Cameron selects "bad boy" Patrick Verona, but Patrick scares him off. Michael