The crowning achievement of Cole Porter’s career was “Kiss Me, Kate,” a knockabout lampooning of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” that was a major hit during the 1948-49 Broadway season.
Porter was coming off three flops in a row, and there were rumblings throughout the Broadway community that he was, at age 57, over the hill.
The show, which won five Tony awards, includes some of Porter’s smartest and most tuneful songs, which are highlighted in Conejo Players’ current production of the show, which runs through Dec. 11.
Playwrights Bella and Sam Spewack put a twist on the story when they decided to make it a show-within-a-show, with egotistical actor/producer Fred Graham and his diva ex-wife Lilli Vanessi endeavoring to turn Shakespeare’s comedy into a musical.
In the beginning, Fred and Lilli appear to be amicable divorcees; they reminisce about happier, more romantic times in the duet “Wunderbar,” Porter’s spoof of Viennese operetta. But the tempestuousness of their relationship emerges after Lilli discovers that a bouquet of flowers delivered to her by Fred was meant for her flirtatious co-star, Lois Lane.
The couple’s frequent fights include a memorable spanking by Fred during a scene they are playing in “Shrew,” prompting Lilli to threaten to leave the company altogether.
Her exit is prevented by two thugs, who are attempting to collect on gambling debts incurred by Bill Calhoun, another member of the company who is also enamored with Lois and who signed Fred’s name to an IOU which the hoodlums possess.
Rachael Pugh and Darrin Ingram are wonderful as Lilli and Fred. Both have splendid voices and breeze through such Porter masterpieces as “Were Thine That Special Face” and “So in Love.”
Many of these songs were written in the context of the “Shrew” musical the cast is putting on and exhibit Porter’s genius in adapting his witty wordplay to Shakespearean language.
Pugh and Ingram get better as their characters get angrier with each other. Ingram is more bemused by it all, but Pugh is ravishing in her withering rage directed toward her ex (“I Hate Men”).
The show had one of those moments when the unexpected happened; a flat in the scenery came close to falling, causing the audience to gasp. Ingram, remaining in character, held up a hand and declared “Poor furnishings,” which brought a laugh of relief.
As Lois and Bill, Abby Collins and Arryck Adams are also excellent, Collins slinking around the stage making eyes at everyone, and Adams providing some impressive dance steps in his solo, “Bianca.”
The two boorish hoods are broadly played by Dale Alpert and Michael Worden, looking appropriately ridiculous in their Shakespearean get-ups as they infiltrate the cast. Their show-stopping 11 o’clock number, “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” features Porter’s masterful combining of Shakespearean references with Damon Runyon street slang.
The more minor roles are ably played by the supporting cast, but special nods go to Michael Seltzer, whose dancing as Gremio is especially noteworthy, and Robert Weibezahl as the strait-laced general who is betrothed to Lilli. Weibezahl sings “From This Moment On,” which was used in the 1953 movie version of “Kate” but not included in the stage show until its 1999 revival.
What keeps this production from being a total triumph is something the producers could not help: the uninspiring prerecorded soundtrack provided by licensing company Tams-Witmark. Individual voices are often drowned out by the music, which nevertheless still fails to fill the theater, especially on boffo production numbers like “Too Darn Hot” and “Another Op’nin’, Another Show.”
“Kiss Me, Kate” continues through Dec. 11 at 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.. For tickets, call (805) 495-3715 or visit www.conejoplayers.org.
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