Kiss Me, Kate is coming to over 500 cinemas across the UK and Ireland on November 17. You can find your local cinema screening and buy tickets at KissMeKateCinema.com.
Filmed live at the Barbican (largely before an audience, save a few close-ups) this summer, stage director Bartlett Sher and film director Brett Sullivan have documented Kiss Me Kate in a new and modern production.
The orchestrations have changed, not just to accommodate Adrian Dunbar’s lack of a true musical singing voice (he does OK, but the reprise of ‘So In Love’ highlights his limitations), but to give a more modern feel to numbers like ‘Why Can’t You Behave’ and ‘Tom, Dick or Harry’.
Cole Porter’s music is divine, one of the cornerstones of the Great American Songbook. Kiss Me Kate was his response to Oklahoma!, adding a connection between songs and script (the witty book is by Bella and Samuel Spewack).
It dates back to 1948, and is based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Just as that play raises eyebrows today with outdated misogynistic attitudes, so does the musical, so as the pre-show Q&A discussed, some tweaks had to be made.
This said, I’m glad that Fred-Petruchio (Dunbar) and Lili-Kate (Stephanie J Block) still have their spats and curses, and that wonderful moment of ‘Wunderbar’. They make a fiery pair – but also, clearly, made for each other.
There are some terrific moments in this show. Jack Butterworth stops the show in the 2nd half with ‘Too Darn Hot’, while Georgina Onuorah rips into ‘Always True To You In My Fashion’ (a song she confesses tripped her up on one memorable night).
For Block, there are two big numbers. ‘So In Love’ is a sweet and yearning piece; ‘I Hate Men’, a boisterous bit of physical comedy and vocal belt. Dunbar does well with ‘Where Is The Life That Late I Led?’, even f it is a little talk-sung.
This leaves Charlie Stemp, who admitted in the Q&A he “can’t do subtle”. His Bill-Lucentio is lively, sharp, and funny, and his song ‘Bianca’ is suitably censored for modern ears.
‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ is Kiss Me Kate‘s comic high point, and there’s good support work throughout from Nigel Lindsay and Hammeo Animashalin as the gangsters who dream of the stage.
Set on a revolving stage, Michael Yeargan’s set of front- and back-stage and connecting doors is fun, allowing the ensemble to carry out bits of background business with ease.
This is a 4* Kate, and an enjoyable one. In filmic terms, you have at least six other choices.
These are:
The MGM film, 1953. Filmed in 3-D, with Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller and Tommy Rall. Miller is my favourite Lois.
The 1958 TV version, with Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Julie Wilson and Bill Hayes. Morison is my favourite Lili.
The 1964 TV version, shown on BBC2, with Howard Keel, Patricia Morison, Millicent Martin and Irving Davies. Probably my favourite version overall.
The 1968 TV version, with Robert Goulet, Carol Lawrence, Jessica Walter and Michael Callan. Clips are available. Goulet is my favourite Fred.
The 2003 TV version, shown on Great Performances, with Brent Barrett, Rachel York, Nancy Anderson and Michael Berresse. Nicely done.
The BBC Proms concert version, 2014. With Ben Davis, Louise Dearman, Alexandra Silber and Tony Yazbeck. Dearman was very good in this.
Blend elements of all these together and you have the perfect Kiss Me Kate.
Image credit: Johan Persson