Kiss Me, Kate

I have the DVD of the Broadway revival and have not compared it to the original. It's certainly superior to the Howard Keel filmed version except for some marvelous choreography presumably by Bob Fosse (uncredited) who was in the cast. It was the first film, incidentally, in wide screen and 3D! This gave the illusion one was watching a staged musical and perhaps that's the problem with the flat screen presentation, especially if it is pan-and-scan. The 1959 Broadway revival won the Tony for a revival.

I think that parts of the plot could update a bit, making any satirical interlacings more to the point.

Perhaps, having the female lead be someone who has tried to make it in opera but who seems not able to rise above pop-diva attempting to make herself more comfortable with a career in musical revivals?

The show I saw was too consciously 1946-47 with the female wearing the made up version of hte Dior sketch for the New Look. The contemporary political point of view was jarring in that context.

I think that Alfred Drake was in the original Broadway cast. Now, there was a sex symbol!!

I directed a Little Theater production of "Kiss Me Kate" back in the mid-seventies and chose to stage the closing scene with a great deal of winking and grimacing from the women of the cast and a certain amount of popinjay posturing from the men.

Two critics loved the "update"--and a third hated it.

All you can do is try....

I saw a wonderful production of the original, The Taming of the Shrew, at the AMerican Repertory THeatre in Cambridge a few years back with my then boyfriend and my two older children.

My daughter had to be dragged to the show because she had seen the Liz Taylor, Richard Burton version and hated it. "All Liz Taylor does is scream. She can't act. It's a terrible play." No, it isn't, I said.

Besides, we ushered and so saw the show gratis, or rather for an hour's work.

They were wonderful! The man who played Petruccio was very tall and used the opportunity to lampoon every man culture hero of the day. The woman who played Kate was tiny and came out dressed in a skin tight red suit, complete with red top hat, cracking a whip and with fire in her eyes.

Well, at the end, when they have the hat speech, this tamed Kate bent down, bowing to touch the stage with her forehead, her hands flat. Petruccio watched for a minute, then bent down and put his hands over hers. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Beautiful!

Another great version was directed for television by former doctor whatever his first name is Miller, starring John Cleese. Cleese, who also rejected a knighthood, didn't want the part because of the "twinkling" which most actors instilled in the role. Cleese was terrific and so was the Kate, who seems to have vanished from sight.

I thouroughly enjoy the Broadway revival DVD -- Brent Barrett and Rachel York in the dual roles carry off the comedic connection of the Shakespeare characters with the real life actors extremely well and with two great singing voices.
It actually won 5 Tonys and 6 Drama Critics Awards. The disc is a shot in live digital with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound which on a big screen is really close to a live stage performance. The two thugs turn out "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" in rousing performances. It's the entire 147 min. stage presentation and was shown on PBS.

Brent Barrett looked like the classic Broadway leading man and I did like his voice. I thought Rachel was a tad horsey looking and that her voice wasn't as good as his. The two thugs stole the show! Great actors!

They did steal the show -- the libretto is classic farce with some very witty lines. Rachel was very good but not as good as Brent. Her delivery of lines was par excellance, however. All and all, I can play this DVD once a year and always enjoy it. I wish they'd video more of the successful Broadway revivals -- it seems to be dependant on whether PBS wants to telecast the effort.