Kiss Me, Kate
Written by: Cole Porter, Bella and Samuel Spewack
Directed by: Mike Moran
July 21-23, 2005
Mount Vernon District Auditorium
Summary
In a Baltimore theatre, the cast of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew rehearses for the opening of the show that evening. Egotistical director/producer/leading man Fred Graham stars as Petruchio, and his movie star ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi, is playing Katherine. The two argue incessantly, and Lilli is particularly angered by Fred's interest in the atractive young actress Lois Lane, who is playing Bianca. After the rehearsal, Lois's boyfriend Bill appears; he is playing Lucentio, but he missed the rehearsal because he was gambling. He tells her that he signed a $10,000 IOU in Fred's name, and Lois reprimands him.
Before the opening, Fred and Lilli meet backstage, and Lilli shows off her engagement ring from Washington insider Harrison Howell, reminding Fred that it's the anniversary of their divorce. Two gangsters show up to collect the $10,000 IOU, and Fred replies that he never signed it. The gangsters say they’ll give him time to remember it and will return later. In her dressing room, Lilli receives flowers from Fred, and she realizes that she is still in love. Fred tries to prevent Lilli from reading the card that came with the flowers, because he actually intended them for Lois. But Lilli takes the card with her onstage, saying she will read it later.
The show begins. Baptista, Katherine and Bianca's wealthy father, will not allow his younger daughter Bianca to marry until his older daughter Katherine is married. But Kate is shrewish and ill tempered, and no man desires to marry her. Three suitors - Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio - try to woo Bianca, and she says that she would marry any of them. Petruchio, a friend of Lucentio, arrives, expressing a desire to marry into wealth. The suitors hatch a plan for him to marry Kate.
Kate, however, has no intentions of getting married. Nonetheless, Petruchio attempts to woo her. Offstage, Lilli has an opportunity to read the card. She walks on stage off-cue and begins hitting Fred, who, along with the other actors, tries to remain in character as Baptista grants Petruchio permission to marry Kate.
Offstage, Lilli furiously declares she is leaving the show. However, the gangsters have reappeared, and Fred tells them that if Lilli quits, he'll have to close the show and won't be able to pay them the $10,000. The gangsters, at gunpoint, force Lilli to stay.
Onstage, Bianca and Lucentio dance together. Petruchio and Kate, newly wed, exit the church, followed by the gangsters, now dressed in Shakespearean costume as they keep an eye on Lilli. Petruchio implores Kate to kiss him, and she refuses. He lifts her over his shoulder and carries her offstage while she pummels his shoulder with her fists. And that’s just the first act…
History
Kiss Me, Kate opened on Broadway on December 30, 1948 at the New Century Theatre, starring Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. The show transferred to the Shubert Theatre and ran for a total of 1,077 performances. A London production opened on March 8, 1951 and ran for 400 performances at the Coliseum Theatre. The original cast album issued in 1948 by Columbia Records was the very first Broadway cast recording to be issued on LP. And in 1949, Kiss Me, Kate won the very first Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1999, a revised version of the show was revived on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre, starring Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell. The production was extremely well recieved, and played for 881 performances. The 1999 revival at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London played for about 300 performances, starring Marin Mazzie and Brent Barrett. In 2018, the Roundabout Theatre Company presented a newly revised version of Kiss Me, Kate starring Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase. The critically acclaimed revival ran through June 30, 2019.
