"Kiss Me, Kate"
satisfies right to the last syllable
BY JUDITH NEWMARK
Post-Dispatch Theater Critic
12/12/2001 02:56 PM
What do you go to the theater for? Whatever it is, "Kiss Me, Kate" probably has it. The generous production that opened Tuesday is one of the most satisfying productions the Fox has offered in years - a real "play" in every sense of the word.
Its assets include Cole Porter's dazzling songs, a king's ransom in imaginative sets, electrifying dance numbers and a beautiful, massively talented leading lady, Rachel York.
More? The whole thing is based on Shakespeare. If that doesn't cover the gamut of reasons to see a show, then nothing will.
This is the first national tour of director Michael Blakemore's production, which last year won the Tony award for Best Revival of a Musical. Blakemore, choreographer Kathleen Marshall, costume designer Martin Pakledinaz and scenic designer Robin Wagner shrewdly make no attempt at updates. Setting the show in 1948 endows the production with instant style, and spares its loony plot - the backstage antics of actors performing a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew" - from too much scrutiny.
York plays Lilli, a famous actress starring as Kate the Shrew in a musical costarring, written, produced and directed by her ex-husband, Fred (Rex Smith). Of course, they still love each other but they don't know it, although in a pensive moment, they wonder what went wrong. "It could have been your temper," Fred offers helpfully. "It could have been your ego," Lilli sighs. We know that by the time the play is over, it won't matter anymore. Why let little realities intrude?
York wouldn't let them anyway. The woman was built for the stage; she even has a stage face, with extra room between her flashing eyes and crimson mouth for Peter Kaczorowski's lighting to caress. And her superb voice, shown off in swooning Porter love songs such as "So in Love," proves just as agile in comedy numbers.
Given all that, she still has to hold her own every moment. Otherwise, the show might be stolen by almost anyone in the talented cast - with Porter's help, no less, since he provides many characters with star spots of their own.
The most obvious candidate is Jenny Hill, a vivacious singer and dancer blessed with the gold-digger's anthem, "Always True to You (in My Fashion)." But Richard Poe and Michael Arkin as a pair of comic gangsters just about bring down the house with "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."
Smith, a tenor, does not have the kind of rich voice, speaking or singing, that's usually associated with Fred/Petruchio. But Smith knows how to buckle his swash, swaggering deliciously through comic numbers like "Where Is the Life That Late I Led?" Besides, the men are mainly here to complement their costars. Smith has no problem doing that; neither does dancer Jim Newman, wooing his unreliable girl with supple acrobatics in "Bianca."
That's a fairly athletic routine. Choreographer Marshall gives us a little bit of everything. She tucks a sultry grape-stomping dance into the play-within-a-play; she turns "Too Darn Hot" into a steaming swing engine, driven by vivacious Randy Donaldson and carrying the ensemble.
The "Kiss Me, Kate" score includes, among other things, a waltz, a rumba and a music-hall turn; the lyrics match the music in breadth as well as wit. Thank Blakemore for including the vamp in the songs; thank the cast for uniformly good enunciation. This "Kiss Me, Kate" is worth every single syllable.
"Kiss Me, Kate"
Where: Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30
p.m. Sunday
How much: $28-$64
Tickets: Fox box office; Metrotix locations; 314-534-1111; www.metrotix.com