[NEohioPAL]Berko review: KISS ME KATE (Cain Park)

[Roy Berko]

‘KISS ME KATE’ off-mark at Cain Park; CCC preview

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Cole Porter, who wrote the music and lyrics for ‘KISS
ME KATE,’ now on stage at Cain Park, is noted for his
witty, sophisticated and barbed words.  He takes
ordinary language and makes it extra-ordinary. 

His shows contain hit song after hit song.  For
example, his musical ‘OUT OF THIS WORLD’ included
"From This Moment On" and "I Am Loved."  ‘CAN-CAN’
rendered, "I Am In Love" and "I Love Paris."  The
score of ‘SILK STOCKINGS’ included ’"All Of You" and
"Paris Loves Lovers."

The score for ‘KISS ME, KATE’ includes such standards
as,  "Another Openin’, Another Show", "Brush Up Your
Shakespeare", "I Hate Men", "So In Love" and "Too Darn
Hot."

The show, which opened in 1948, ran for 1,077
performances on Broadway, and was made into a popular
1953 MGM film.   

It tells the tale of two once-married, now-divorced
musical theater actors who are performing opposite
each other in a Broadway-bound musical version of
William Shakespeare's ‘THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.’  The
duo develops an emotional war mid-performance.  The
only thing keeping the show together are threats from
a pair of gangsters who are intent on collecting a
debt which is to be paid for by box office receipts. 
In classic escapist musical comedy fashion, madness
ensues, and the lovers ultimately reconcile.

To be successful, a production of ‘KISS ME KATE’ must
be able to create the intense zaniness of the
characters, stress Porter’s wonderfully witty lyrics,
make the characters so real that they become bigger
than life, and create a visual illusion that sparkles.
 Unfortunately, the Cain Park production generally
fails on all of these levels.

The very young cast simply doesn’t look or sound
right.  Characters, such as a military general, can’t
be portrayed by an early twenty year-old.  Especially
one who attempts a General Douglas MacArthur imitation
without the slightest sense of who the General was
other than a stereotype of his visual appearance.   

The staging must create appealing and realistic stage
pictures.  Standing in straight lines, singing
directly to the audience (ignoring that love songs are
sung by the lovers to each other, not directed at the
audience) does not create the right setting for
Porter.

The most surprising thing about the production is that
it is directed by the very talented Carol Dunne.  Last
season Dunne directed Cain Park’s smash hit, ‘SONGS
FOR A NEW WORLD,’ which I thought was one of the very
best musicals in the local area.  Somehow Dunne seems
to have gotten side-tracked.  Maybe it was the use of
such a young cast, but that was her casting choice. 
In productions of such shows as ‘HAIR,’ ‘GREASE’ or
‘RENT’ the age of cast members might not have been a
problem, but in KISS ME KATE it is.  The age of the
characters is basically written into the script.  They
can’t be fudged. 

As usual, Martin Cespedes’s choreography was
excellent, but the execution was left wanting.  Part
of the problem was Russ Borski’s set which pushed the
entire set close to the apron of the stage, giving the
dancers little space to move.  This created a cramped
look which led to visual chaos as performers were
squashed together, sometimes even running into each
other.

In the lead roles, Steel Burkhardt (Fred
Graham/Petruchio) displayed a nice singing voice, but
like his counterpart Emily Krieger (Lilli
Vanessi/Katharine Minola) there were places where they
off-key.   They both, as did most of the cast, sang
words, ignoring the meanings behind the words. 

Burkhardt’s other problem was his surface level
character development.  He just was not believable in
the role.   It may have been the difficulty in
portraying someone of the character’s age or it may
have been a lack of understanding of the nuances of
the role.

Krieger fared better in her acting, though her
characterization lacked the consistency of the
necessary real and feigned shrewness.   The duo did
have a wonderful moment during the scene where
Petruchio tames Katherine.

Katie Greiner (Lois Lane/Bianca) and Cornelius Bethea
(Bill Calhoun/Lucentio) never developed clear
characterizations.  Ms. Greiner’s “Always True to You
in My Fashion,” usually one of the show’s highlights,
illustrated little understanding of Porter’s rhythm
and rhyme pattern.  Bethea did not have the vocal or
personality dynamics needed for the razzle-dazzle cad.

The highlights of the show were Paul Floriano (one of
the few adults in the show) and Andrew Schmidt’s
delightful “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” and  the
creative “Tom, Dick, or Harry.”

Musical Director Larry Hartzell did an excellent job
with the orchestra, but not so well with the chorus
numbers which sometimes found the singers out of sync.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Cain Park’s ‘KISS ME KATE’ was
less than a satisfying theatrical experience.  The
youthful cast tried hard, but was not able to create
the proper mood or meaning for this Cole Porter gem.

‘KISS ME KATE’ runs through July 9 at the Evans
Theatre in Cain Park.  For tickets, which run $14-$20,
 call 216-371-3000.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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