If all the feminists in all the play-going world could vote to remove one production from the lists, it would probably be unanimous to expunge Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Oh, some regrets would ensue: We would rue the loss of such lines as, “I’ve come to wive it wealthily in Padua. If wealthily then happily in Padua.” And it’s a hilarious plot point that the reigning town fat cat, Baptista, insists on marrying off his over-the-top nasty daughter, Katharina, before her sweet kid sister, Bianca, can have her pick of swooning swains. The characters are witty and colorful, the action madcap, the setting as flavorful and picturesque and musical as Shakespeare’s comedies tend to be.

Really, the only rotten part is at the end when the arrogant bridegroom, Petruchio, after starving and sleep-depriving the peevish Katharina, subdues her into her long speech of capitulation, at the end of which she declares, “Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband,” after which she kneels to place her hand beneath his boot. As we Valley girls used to say, “Gag me with a spoon!”

The bard is so beloved that basically even the staunchest of feminists have raced to defend this play with its subplot of, pardon the expression, domestic violence. Shakespeare fans rush to point out that the playwright has populated the stage with strong, astonishingly admirable female characters including Rosalinde, Viola and Beatrice. He has also created love matches of enduring equality: Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, even Lady Macbeth and Mr. Macbeth, to name a few. Plus his country’s supreme ruler and one of the playwright’s greatest patrons was no less than Elizabeth I, arguably the toughest and most productive of all of England’s monarchs. So a sexist, even one of Renaissance shadings, William Shakespeare was not.

Many critics have argued that the way around the blatant abuse of Katharina at the hands of Petruchio is to demonstrate a ferocious attraction between the two of them; the depth of the taming is part of an elaborate game, a game with an expiration date ending in true love. In the Vineyard Playhouse production of the comedy, this summer’s amphitheatre offering, Chelsea McCarthy as the shrew and Joe Forgione as the tamer, are partially successful. Ms. McCarthy is certainly luscious and sassy, and Mr. Forgione is studly and cute, but a few more sparks of the romantic variety could fly for us to appreciate the good kind of passion alchemizing from the bad. Ms. Mc­Carthy is fantastic in the bitch part of the program, as she stomps around in dark shades and high boots — the wardrobe is modern — and Mr. Forgione takes center stage as a striking presence. Past productions of Shrew have shown Katharina in her subjugation display a slight subtext of mocking as if to say, “I’ll offer lip service now, but I’ll get even with him — in a loving sort of way — down the line.”

That small quibble set aside, this outdoor production, directed by Johanna McKeon, is pure pleasure. The short preface regales us with a drunken pauper in the English countryside, Christopher (Xavier Powers), being taken in by a local lord and his staff (Annie Finnerty, Rebecca Fineberg, Emma Urban and Katharine Pilcher), and tricked into thinking the ordeal of his life was nothing but an insane dream, and he has awakened as a lord himself. The unfolding plot in Padua is presented for his delectation and, of course, ours.

In Padua, a rich youth, Lucentio (Max Cramer) arrives with his servants, Tranio (Mac Young) and Biondello (May V. Oskan) and, after spotting the lovely Bianca (Zoe Morris), he trades places with his staff to position himself as Bianca’s Latin tutor. Biondello disguises himself as her music teacher, and Tranio becomes the young lord Lucentio. Go figure: it’s the kind of storyline mix-up and horse-play that makes Shakespeare’s comedies Shakespeare’s comedies.

Of course, Bianca already has a set of goofy suitors, Hortensio (Mac Young) and Gremio (Billy Meleady, always a natural in these Elizabethan farces). All these guys falling over one another to get at the prize leads to extra opportunities for tree-bumping and pratfalls. Clad like Merle Haggard in black shades, black shirt and black slacks, Bill Cookson is the hippest Baptista (the young ladies’ dad) going, while Ms. Pilcher doubles in a hilarious turn as Lucentio/Tranio’s fake father, and Mr. Powers fills in as the genuine, unexpected father, Vincentio.

As ever, there is no bigger treat than sitting in the al fresco amphitheatre at the Tashmoo Overlook watching the Vineyard Playhouse present this season’s Shakespeare comedy. Costumes are by Chelsea McCarthy, composer of all the merry outdoorsy tunes is Steve Lighty, stage manager is Geneva Monks, artistic director the incomparable M.J. Bruder Munafo, poster graphics are by Stephen M. Zablotny, and amphitheatre maintenance is overseen by Andrea Myers, Mr. Zablotny, and Vineyard Gardens. Laundry services are provided by the Airport Laundromat, whose assistance is definitely needed after an afternoon of rough-and-tumble on the outdoor theatre’s earthen floor.

Taming of the Shrew runs Wednesdays through Sundays at 5 p.m. through August 9.