Stage Production Notes
Following on from a string of flops, Kiss Me, Kate was Cole Porter’s most successful Broadway musical. It was the first musical to win the Tony Award for Best Musical, and seventy years later, continues to be performed around the world.
The musical follows the story of formerly married actors Lilli and Fred who are performing in a musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The presence of former lounge singer Lois Lane, and her gambling lover Bill, add complications to the lives of the dueling leads. The story is thought to be based on the real-life backstage drama between Lynn Fontane and Alfred Lunt.
Kiss Me, Kate opened on Broadway at the New Century Theatre on December 30, 1948. The production starred Patricia Morison, Alfred Drake, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang. The show played 1077 regular performances on Broadway before closing on July 28, 1951.
In January 1952, the national touring company performed a limited 8-show run at the Broadway Theatre.
The musical was adapted into a film by MGM in 1953. Directed by George Sidney, the screenplay was written by Dorothy Kingsley, and Bella and Sam Spewack. The film starred Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, and Tommy Rall. It was one of the first movie musicals to be released in 3D.
Kiss Me, Kate opened on the West End on March 8, 1951 at the Coliseum. Patricia Morison reprised her role of Lilli, and was joined by Bill Johnson, Julie Wilson, and Walter Long.
New York City Center performed two revivals of the musical, first in 1956 and again in 1965. Patricia Morison and Robert Wright both appeared in the latter production.
Kiss Me, Kate was revived on Broadway in 1999 at the Martin Beck Theatre starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Marin Mazzie. The production was nominated for, and won, a slew of awards including the Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical (Brian Stokes Mitchell), Best Direction of a Musical (Michael Blakemore), Best Orchestrations (Don Sebesky), Best Costume Design (Martin Pakledinaz), and Best Revival of a Musical. The revival also won 6 Drama Desk Awards, 4 Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Revival.
The 1999 revival transferred to the West End in 2002. The production starred Rachel York, Brent Barrett, Nancy Anderson, and Michael Berresse.
The London revival was filmed live by PBS in August 2002. It aired on North American television on PBS in February 2003. Image Entertainment released the film on DVD in the same year. Shout Factory released the recording on Blu-Ray in 2017.
On December 12, 2016, Roundabout Theatre Company presented a benefit performance of Kiss Me, Kate at Studio 54. The staged reading was directed by Scott Ellis, choreographed by Warren Carlyle, and featured Kelli O’Hara, Will Chase, Robert Fairchild, and Helené York.
The fully realized production opened at Studio 54 in March 14, 2019. It played for 125 performances before closing on June 30, 2019. Critics have noted that the domestic violence and dated gender politics portrayed in The Taming of the Shrew does not hold up well with modern audiences.
Since its first celebrated opening in 1948, Kiss Me, Kate has been widely performed in the UK and in the United States. The show is available for licensing through Tams-Witmark.
Following on from a string of flops, Kiss Me, Kate was Cole Porter’s most successful Broadway musical. It was the first musical to win the Tony Award for Best Musical, and seventy years later, continues to be performed around the world.
The musical follows the story of formerly married actors Lilli and Fred who are performing in a musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The presence of former lounge singer Lois Lane, and her gambling lover Bill, add complications to the lives of the dueling leads. The story is thought to be based on the real-life backstage drama between Lynn Fontane and Alfred Lunt.
Kiss Me, Kate opened on Broadway at the New Century Theatre on December 30, 1948. The production starred Patricia Morison, Alfred Drake, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang. The show played 1077 regular performances on Broadway before closing on July 28, 1951.
In January 1952, the national touring company performed a limited 8-show run at the Broadway Theatre.
The musical was adapted into a film by MGM in 1953. Directed by George Sidney, the screenplay was written by Dorothy Kingsley, and Bella and Sam Spewack. The film starred Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, and Tommy Rall. It was one of the first movie musicals to be released in 3D.
Kiss Me, Kate opened on the West End on March 8, 1951 at the Coliseum. Patricia Morison reprised her role of Lilli, and was joined by Bill Johnson, Julie Wilson, and Walter Long.
New York City Center performed two revivals of the musical, first in 1956 and again in 1965. Patricia Morison and Robert Wright both appeared in the latter production.
Kiss Me, Kate was revived on Broadway in 1999 at the Martin Beck Theatre starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Marin Mazzie. The production was nominated for, and won, a slew of awards including the Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical (Brian Stokes Mitchell), Best Direction of a Musical (Michael Blakemore), Best Orchestrations (Don Sebesky), Best Costume Design (Martin Pakledinaz), and Best Revival of a Musical. The revival also won 6 Drama Desk Awards, 4 Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Revival.
The 1999 revival transferred to the West End in 2002. The production starred Rachel York, Brent Barrett, Nancy Anderson, and Michael Berresse.
The London revival was filmed live by PBS in August 2002. It aired on North American television on PBS in February 2003. Image Entertainment released the film on DVD in the same year. Shout Factory released the recording on Blu-Ray in 2017.
On December 12, 2016, Roundabout Theatre Company presented a benefit performance of Kiss Me, Kate at Studio 54. The staged reading was directed by Scott Ellis, choreographed by Warren Carlyle, and featured Kelli O’Hara, Will Chase, Robert Fairchild, and Helené York.
The fully realized production opened at Studio 54 in March 14, 2019. It played for 125 performances before closing on June 30, 2019. Critics have noted that the domestic violence and dated gender politics portrayed in The Taming of the Shrew does not hold up well with modern audiences.
Since its first celebrated opening in 1948, Kiss Me, Kate has been widely performed in the UK and in the United States. The show is available for licensing through Tams-Witmark.
Filmed Production Notes
The John Wilson Orchestra had performed My Fair Lady and The Broadway Sound at the 2012 Proms to much acclaim. Conductor John Wilson has earned a reputation for rediscovering, and reviving, original scores of Broadway and Hollywood musicals.
The 2014 BBC Proms performance of Kiss Me, Kate was staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Cole Porter’s death. Performed as a one-night-only special event, the production was rehearsed over about 10 days.
The performance was of a new edition of the show, featuring the original orchestrations and previously cut numbers. Although advertised as “semi-staged,” the Proms production was fully costumed and choreographed.
The production received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Critics praised the stellar performances by the cast, extraordinary musicianship of the John Wilson Orchestra, and the delightful surprise of a near fully-staged production.
The Telegraph’s Ivan Hewett described it as a “fabulous production…[and] a joy from start to finish.” Geoff Brown of The Times stated it had “Dazzling costumes, swirling choreography, singing and acting with genuine zing…” while Sebastian Scotney writing for The Arts Desk noted it was “meticulously planned, ambitiously resourced, staged and choreographed.”
Few critics discussed the problematic gender politics of the production. Caroline Crampton, writing for the New Statesman, claimed that the strong performances by the female leads helped to address the gender issues. The Evening Standard’s Barry Millington felt otherwise, noting “…in every department, except political correctness, it was a show difficult to find fault with.”
Sebastian Scotney was the sole commentator to write about the fact Kiss Me, Kate was filmed live for television. Scotney noted that the performance “is bound to come across even better in the version in which most people will see it when it is broadcast on TV — and presumably released commercially — from December.”
Kiss Me, Kate was broadcast live on BBC radio during the performance, and re-broadcast on January 1, 2015. The program was also made available to stream on radio via BBC Radio 3 iPlayer for one month after the performance.
BBC2 broadcast the filmed recording of Kiss Me, Kate on Christmas Day, 2014.
The 2014 BBC Proms performance of Kiss Me, Kate is not officially available to view.
The John Wilson Orchestra had performed My Fair Lady and The Broadway Sound at the 2012 Proms to much acclaim. Conductor John Wilson has earned a reputation for rediscovering, and reviving, original scores of Broadway and Hollywood musicals.
The 2014 BBC Proms performance of Kiss Me, Kate was staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Cole Porter’s death. Performed as a one-night-only special event, the production was rehearsed over about 10 days.
The performance was of a new edition of the show, featuring the original orchestrations and previously cut numbers. Although advertised as “semi-staged,” the Proms production was fully costumed and choreographed.
The production received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Critics praised the stellar performances by the cast, extraordinary musicianship of the John Wilson Orchestra, and the delightful surprise of a near fully-staged production.
The Telegraph’s Ivan Hewett described it as a “fabulous production…[and] a joy from start to finish.” Geoff Brown of The Times stated it had “Dazzling costumes, swirling choreography, singing and acting with genuine zing…” while Sebastian Scotney writing for The Arts Desk noted it was “meticulously planned, ambitiously resourced, staged and choreographed.”
Few critics discussed the problematic gender politics of the production. Caroline Crampton, writing for the New Statesman, claimed that the strong performances by the female leads helped to address the gender issues. The Evening Standard’s Barry Millington felt otherwise, noting “…in every department, except political correctness, it was a show difficult to find fault with.”
Sebastian Scotney was the sole commentator to write about the fact Kiss Me, Kate was filmed live for television. Scotney noted that the performance “is bound to come across even better in the version in which most people will see it when it is broadcast on TV — and presumably released commercially — from December.”
Kiss Me, Kate was broadcast live on BBC radio during the performance, and re-broadcast on January 1, 2015. The program was also made available to stream on radio via BBC Radio 3 iPlayer for one month after the performance.
BBC2 broadcast the filmed recording of Kiss Me, Kate on Christmas Day, 2014.
The 2014 BBC Proms performance of Kiss Me, Kate is not officially available to view.
Kiss Me, Kate PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: Royal Albert Hall, London
Producer: Helen Mansfield, Francesa Kemp
Book: Sam and Bella Spewack
Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter
New critical edition: David Charles Abell, Sean Alderking
Director: Shaun Kerrison; Film: Bridget Caldwell
Choreography: Alistair David
Design: Chris Webster
Costume Design: Robert Jones, Geoff Slack
Lighting Design: Bernie Davis
Stage Manager: Shaun Kerrison
Conductor: John Wilson
Cast:
Ben Davis (Fred Graham/Petruccio), Alexandra Silber (Lilli Vanessi/Katherine), Louise Dearman (Lois Lane/Bianca), Tony Yazbeck (Bill Calhoun/Lucentio), James Doherty (First Man/Gunman), Michael Jibson (Second Man/Gunman), Ian Talbot (Harry Trevor/Baptista), Louise Marshall (Hattie), Jason Pennycooke (Paul), Alex Bourne (Harrison Howell), Christopher Howell (Ralph), Michael Pickering (Gremio), Gary Watson (Hortensio), John Wilson Orchestra, The Kiss Me, Kate Ensemble.
Theatre: Royal Albert Hall, London
Producer: Helen Mansfield, Francesa Kemp
Book: Sam and Bella Spewack
Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter
New critical edition: David Charles Abell, Sean Alderking
Director: Shaun Kerrison; Film: Bridget Caldwell
Choreography: Alistair David
Design: Chris Webster
Costume Design: Robert Jones, Geoff Slack
Lighting Design: Bernie Davis
Stage Manager: Shaun Kerrison
Conductor: John Wilson
Cast:
Ben Davis (Fred Graham/Petruccio), Alexandra Silber (Lilli Vanessi/Katherine), Louise Dearman (Lois Lane/Bianca), Tony Yazbeck (Bill Calhoun/Lucentio), James Doherty (First Man/Gunman), Michael Jibson (Second Man/Gunman), Ian Talbot (Harry Trevor/Baptista), Louise Marshall (Hattie), Jason Pennycooke (Paul), Alex Bourne (Harrison Howell), Christopher Howell (Ralph), Michael Pickering (Gremio), Gary Watson (Hortensio), John Wilson Orchestra, The Kiss Me, Kate Ensemble.
Sources
Books
Articles
Websites
- Dan Dietz, The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals, Rowman & Littlefield (2015)
Articles
- Michael Billington, “Prom 21 review: John Wilson Orchestra/Kiss Me, Kate – uneasy Cole Porter semi-staging” The Guardian (Aug 3, 2014)
- Geoff Brown, “Kiss me, Kate at the Albert Hall, SW7,” The Times (Aug 4, 2014)
- Caroline Crampton, “Proms 2014: the John Wilson Orchestra thrills with Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate,” New Statesman (Aug 3, 2014)
- Ivan Hewett, “BBC Prom 21, Kiss Me, Kate, review: ‘fabulous’,” The Telegraph (Aug 3, 2014)
- Barry Millington, “Proms 2014: Kiss Me Kate/John Wilson Orchestra/John Wilson, Royal Albert Hall - music review,” Evening Standard (Aug 4, 2014)
- Alice Newton, “10 wonderful things about the John Wilson Orchestra's 'Kiss Me, Kate' at the BBC Proms 2012,” Royal Albert Hall (Aug 4, 2014)
- Sebastian Scotney, “Prom 21: Kiss Me, Kate, John Wilson Orchestra,” The Arts Desk (Aug 3, 2014)
Websites
- BBC: Proms, “Kiss Me, Kate at the Proms: 2014”, Accessed via: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04w0vg3
- BBC: BBC Proms 2014, Accessed via: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04vdyt0
- blu-ray.com, “Directed by Chris Hunt: Kiss Me, Kate, 2003,” Accessed via: http://www.blu-ray.com/Kiss-Me-Kate/439650/
- The John Wilson Orchestra, “News: Kiss Me, Kate at the Proms (TV Broadcast),” Accessed via: http://www.johnwilsonorchestra.com/newsandreviews/christmas-day-bbc2-performance/
- Roundabout Theatre Company, Kiss Me, Kate Playbill, Accessed via: https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/Roundabout/media/Roundabout/PDF/KissMeKate_Playbill_Program.pdf
- Roundabout Theatre Company, “Shows and Events: Kiss Me, Kate,” Accessed via: https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/Shows-Events/Events/Benefit-Readings/Kiss-Me-Kate.aspx
- The Sondheim Guide, “Kiss Me, Kate: 2003 Television Production,” Accessed via: http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/kiss03tv.html
Written by Luisa Lyons (July, 2018; updated July 2020)