Shakespeare in summer, with tales of love, comic derring do, taken and mis-taken identities and lovers who win the day-all are in abundance in Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's "Taming of the Shrew," playing now through June 27 in Madison, NJ. Set in the bucolic splendor of the Kirby Theatre, on the Drew University Campus, it is even easily reached by adventurous Manhattan-ites, and the reward for such travel is great.

The stellar cast is headlined by heroically proportioned Steve Wilson, locking horns with the petite tornado Victoria Mack, and the two have sparks flying from the beginning. And if there was ever a doubt that communication is at the heart of our woes, obfuscation is often the object of some and the bugbear of others. But on to the show.

Delightful touches abound, like the pre-curtain speech being done in Italian. Even if you don't parlare Italiano, you've heard the speech often enough to enjoy "telefoni" and "caramelo" and thus know where you are in the speech. Mack's Kate is an auburn-haired jewel, fiery and showing up the would-be suitors of her sister Bianca, played with great aplomb by Katie Fabel. Seeking Bianca's hand are the long-in-the-tooth Gremio, the delightful John Seidman, and Hortensio, played to a fair-thee-well by the talented Scott Whitehurst. The benighted father of the ultra femme Bianca and the ultra virago Kate is the long-suffering Joseph Costa, whose Baptista is spirited, even as he despairs of finding a groom for his eldest, while many young bucks gather around his youngest.

New in town, Lucentio is played by the versatile Jack Moran. He played the youngest brother in last season's triumph, "Grapes of Wrath" and a very different role at Playwright's Theatre this spring. Ringing in early summer as a young scholar with an eye for the ladies, Lucentio is attended well by Jon Barker as Tranio, whose transition from man to master is masterful indeed. Joel Rainwater plays both Biondello and Curtis and is that most wonderful of Shakespearean jacks-of-all-trades. Petruchio's man, Grumio, is played by the gifted comic actor James Michael Reilly, who displays a gift for physical comedy as well as wordplay. Reilly is gifted in serious drama as well, having played Floyd Knowles in "Grapes of Wrath." When you work your chops on Shakespeare, you can clearly do anything! The company is rounded out by Amanda Bailey, Jake Berger, Stewart Schenk and Katie Van Rensalier, as the shifting moveable feast that Shakespeare's pallet of players includes. Talents all and shifting like shoals of summer fish, in and out of roles and scenes.

Shakespeare Theatre of NJ is continually pursuing theatrical innovation. Michael Giannitti's lights, Karin Graybash's sound design, and Erin Murphy's early 20th century costuming transported us directly into Bonnie J. Monte's vision. Deft touches abound and, where it would certainly have been possible to deteriorate into stridency, the humanity of Kate and Petruchio come through. Belly laughs abound and, when the world seems to be flooding, oil-spilling and tornadoing its way somewhere, we owe it to ourselves to cleanse the mental palate with good clean fun.

Tickets are available at www.shakespearenj.org or call the Box Office at 973/408-5600. Shows run through June 27, so get your tickets now. Better yet, subscribe and help support Shakespeare Theatre of NJ year round. It's topnotch theatre in our own backyard.