Kiss Me Kate

#1

Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 11/16/07 at 9:47am

I am directing a production of Kiss me Kate next summer and was wondering if anyone has any innovative ideas - original or witnessed as an audience member - that they would be willing to share?
All the productions I have seen have attemptesd to emulate the recent Broadway revival DVD with Rachel York. While it is a fantastic production I want to move away fom that and adopt a fresh, or at least a different approach.
Any ideas on staging? Set? etc.
Any ideas would be greatly received. Thank you.

#2

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 11/16/07 at 9:55am

I was in a production that really tried to get into the Commedia thing heavy, it was a disaster. Maybe with a director who wasn't certifiable it would have worked, but she made every choose which Flower they were, and she would go around quizzing people on which flower they were at any moment. She was nuts.

Stay away from that, that's all I can say.

#3

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 11/16/07 at 11:56am

There is a dvd of a production of Shrew from the 70s that was done at ACT in SF. The star was The Beastmaster himself, Marc Singer in a pair of white tights and often little else and he is terrific as is the entire production.

The key is that it oozes sex. Hot is such a small word about this production.

If there is sex in Shrew then you can fill Kate to the brim with it.

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"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher

#4

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 11/25/07 at 1:41pm

Thanks I ordered a copy of the DVD and it arrived this weekend. it is a great production, proved really useful, thanks.

Does anyone else care to share any other interesting ideas?

Thank you.

#5

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 11/25/07 at 1:53pm

Where are you directing this production?

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"In the U.S.A. You can have your say, You can set you goals And seize the day, You've been given the freedom To work your way To the head of the line- To the head of the line!" ---Stephen Sondheim

#6

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/3/07 at 5:17pm

I'm directing it in Manchester, England.

#7

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/7/07 at 1:47pm

I was thinking of having the orchestra on stage, anyone seen this done before? How did it work? Any advice?

#8

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/7/07 at 2:18pm

Why? Things like the orchestra on stage ought to justified in some way. Right off the bat, I can't justify this for the book scenes. The show-within-the-show, perhaps yes, but not the rest of it.

Make sure that the audience knows that Bill and Lili are stars--not just the leads, but stars. 5 years ago Marin Mazzie's wordless entrance told us this character was a 'star'. Yes, she was costumed glamourously, but she also just radiated star quality. Brian Stokes Mitchell's entrance was the same.

True 'stars' are larger-than-life.

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"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher

#9

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/8/07 at 5:06am

Thanks, I was thinking the same about the orchestra. Plus, it would mean doing the show without a drop, and the show relies on the drops to cover the scene changes between the play-within-a-play and the theatre.
Just trying to get as many ideas as possible. And to find out what has worked in the past and what hasn't.
Thanks for your input.

Updated On: 12/10/07 at 05:06 AM

#10

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/11/07 at 5:33pm

I can't believe so few people have an opinion on Kiss Me Kate. Come on guys ... what are your thoughts and opinions on the show? What do you think would work? Or what have you seen that has worked well?
Thanks for your time.

#11

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/11/07 at 8:23pm

I would never take on a show to direct until I was sure I could do it justice :S

But, as they have said, these characters are supposed to be stars, and full of charisma, so you better have strong performers.
It's hard to bend concepts, as the script is very specific about time and place, but I think that the more "adult" oriented stagings work best, the show can be very spicy and steamy.

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Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE

#12

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/11/07 at 8:24pm

The revival works best for me. If you watch the DVD you can see a good direction to go in.

#13

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/11/07 at 8:28pm

The movie was fine but great in 3 D

It is a shame Another Openin was lost but replacing it with From This Moment On ain't bad. Seeing a young Bob Fosse with Howard keel belting out the songs is great.

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Poster Emeritus

#14

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/11/07 at 10:40pm

Kiss Me, Kate is my favorite musical of all time. I agree with what's been said, and the revival was perfection. I doubt you have the resources for this, but I've always imagined the orchestra rising out of the stage for the "Shrew" scenes.

#15

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/12/07 at 1:41pm

"I would never take on a show to direct until I was sure I could do it justice :S"

Blaxx, just because I want to discuss ideas with others, does not mean that I can not do the show justice. Before I direct a show, I always discuss as many different possibilities as possible, then make a decision about which direction is the best/most suitable for our production.

Thanks for your ideas guys. I agree the recent DVD version is SO amazing, I actually prefer Rachel and Brent to Marin and Brian. However, most recent productions I have seen of the show have just tried to imitate this, and it becomes boring (well, unsurprising).
I like the idea of playing (no pun intended) as much as you can to the sexual sub-text.

#16

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 11:27am

As is the case with a lot of local theatre, we are struggling to cast boys that are a triple threat (act, sing and dance). Therefore I am toying with the idea of asking the guy who we may cast as Bill to, also sing and dance (lead) Too Darn Hot. What do you reckon to that? I know it is supposed to be Paul, but there is no reason why Bill can't sing it, because the lyrics are appropriate for his character.

Updated On: 12/28/07 at 11:27 AM

#17

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 11:39am

This is pretty "out there" and I don't know if anything like this has ever been tried before BUT...what if there WAS no ORCHESTRA? The CAST could play all the instruments! Maybe EVERYONE BUT Bianca plays instruments and then, at the end, when she "submits," she could suddenly pick up an instrument and play?

#18

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 12:03pm

I saw Kiss Me Kate at the Music Circus in Sacramento, very innovative because its in the round. Remember its Cole Porter, and he wrote about sex. Don't back off the double entendres or adult humor.

#19

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 12:48pm

i agree with the point made about playing out the sexual subtext. we did this my freshman year in high school and our director said "i dont want any of you thinking that this show is about anything but sex. because its not. everyone in the cast (of shrew) is having sex with someone else in the cast. and i need to see that." so i agree that things should be as sexual as possible.

#20

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 1:15pm

chinto1984 - how did they get around the double setting of the play within a play, in the round?

#21

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 1:16pm

I'm sorry, but I'm confused re: everyone in the Shrew is having sex with someone else. According to my count:

Fred has had sex with Lili but Petrucio is trying to have sex with Katherine
Lois is having sex with Bill but Bianca is having sex with Lucentio and at least two other swains at the same time;
Fred may have had sex with Lois;
Lois may have had sex with "gentlemen" admirers; and
Lili may have had sex with her fiance.
That leaves a lot of cast that we don't know about. Who did Hattie have sex with? Who did the two goons have sex with as their characters in Shrew? "Everybody" is a dangerous term to use when discussing anything.

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BroadwayEd

Updated On: 12/28/07 at 01:16 PM

#22

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 1:25pm

hattie was not in the cast of shrew.
technically neither were the two goons.

i think the director was saying that the actors who were in shrew the musical were all very sexually driven. numbers like too darn hot and another opening were (at least in our production) a glimpse into the lives of the ensemble of shrew and both were treated very sexually in my production.



and i dont think he was trying to imply that "everyone" had sex during the course of the show, but i believe he meant that at some point during the rehearsal for shrew, everyone in it had fooled around with someone else in it.

#23

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/28/07 at 1:29pm

I stand by my opinion. And the two goons were technically part of Shrew at the end of the first act.

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BroadwayEd

#24

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/31/07 at 5:50pm

i see where you're coming from. i guess you could say the goons became part of the cast, but they were not originally.

#25

re: Kiss Me Kate

Posted: 12/31/07 at 5:57pm

well hattie and paul did seem rather "close" in the revival...

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"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel