I saw this production for a 2nd time yesterday. I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed Will Chase a lot more this time around. Haley Fish has rejoined the cast. She is such a stunning dancer. Still think the choreography should have won the Tony. Wish I could see this again before it closes.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
Agree that Warren Carlyle should have won the choreography Tony. Dare I say KMK should have triumphed over OK!? I dare. KMK was intelligently updated without changing anything of substance. So glad the spanking was removed. On the other hand, in my opinion OK! went too far in its final minutes. An interesting, darker tone went full-tilt nuts and completely subverted the notion of justice and what seemed to be the original intentions of its creators. Whatever its faults, KMK was the more satisfying and entertaining production.
DottieD'Luscia said: "I saw this production for a 2nd time yesterday. I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed Will Chase a lot more this time around. Haley Fish has rejoined the cast. She is such a stunning dancer. Still think the choreography should have won the Tony. Wish I could see this again before it closes."
So glad you liked it. One of the better times I had at the theater this year.
Richard Kind is now playing one of the gangsters. I was kind of surprised when I saw the slip in my playbill saying he was joining the cast. I don't think I had heard that anywhere nor seen a press release or anything. I would think that would be a big draw in the show's final weeks.
Any way, this was a nice surprise because I heard the gangsters were the worst part of this production, but they were actually kinda funny...
I LOVED it. Everything about this production was pure joy from beginning to end. Kelli sings and acts like an absolute dream, and she has improved greatly in the comedic aspects of Lilli/Katherine by now, judging by some of her earlier reviews. Will Chase was enjoyable; I was split on my feelings on his singing- at times he was powerful and at others vocally miscast. Stephanie was adorable and has a lot of talent, her number alone would’ve been worth the price of admission. Corbin got overwhelming applause tonight; he was excellent. The gangsters were fairly funny too, and it might’ve helped they were played by an understudy and a new cast member. It was just a great performance, no doubt bolstered by the energy and enthusiasm in the crowd and onstage.
While I wouldn’t have considered the show a favorite before tonight, it has certainly climbed up my list. It was an entertaining night of theater that does what it set out to do- be funny, flashy, and fun.
mamaleh said: "Agree that Warren Carlyle should have won the choreography Tony. Dare I say KMK should have triumphed over OK!? I dare. KMK was intelligently updated without changing anything of substance. So glad the spanking was removed. On the other hand, in my opinion OK! went too far in its final minutes. An interesting, darker tone went full-tilt nuts and completely subverted the notion of justice and what seemed to be the original intentions of its creators. Whatever its faults, KMK was the more satisfying and entertaining production. "
Ummmmmm..... The creative team literally REWROTE one of Shakespeare’s passages. It comes off as Cheap and is unacceptable. If you can’t do Kiss Me Kate in 2019 without making changes to make millennials feel more comfortable, then DON’T PRODUCE KISS ME KATE IN 2019. Simple as that.
How dare they think that their lyrics are an improvement over Shakespeare’s. I was kind of insulted and still roll my eyes whenever I think of this production.
I see no reason why they couldn’t keep it the way it was in 1999.... they copied everything else, from orchestrations to dance moves....... so why not that song? at the end of the passage, Marin looked at the audience and gave a comical *wink wink*. this was the perfect solution because it lets the audience know that the woman is still in control, even if the man thinks he is.
No text changed. No harm done. A great resolution.
Also, you’re so happy the spanking was removed but have no problem with her kicking the s*** out of him? Sounds like a double standard to me......
I’m sorry to rain on the kiss me Kate love thread, but you can’t say that nothing of substance was changed, when that passage is one of the most important parts of the show, and ties everything together.
"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."
I see no reason why they couldn’t keep it the way it was in 1999.... they copied everything else, from orchestrations to dance moves....... so why not that song? at the end of the passage,Marin looked at the audience and gave a comical *wink wink*.this was the perfect solution because it lets the audience know that the woman is still in control, even if the man thinks he is.
No text changed. No harm done. A great resolution.
I get your point in general. If you are going to depict the people of a different era, then you have to have those people interact culturally and socially as they did in that time. If you are going to go back and display those people acting in the way that we currently believe to be proper, why bother to go back?
Particularly when going back to the late 16th century to The Bard, if you take the Shrew out of Taming of the Shrew, or the stereotyped Jew out of The Merchant of Venice, then you have nothing to stage. No reason to produce either of them.
But Kiss Me, Kate is a different animal. We learn in advance that this drama is there to provide entertainment, not instruction. Very few would entertain the notion that we may turn back the clock on our own cultural biases in reaction to what we see there.
And in the "modern" setting of Fred and Lilli, Lilli retains the battlefield while Fred walks off whining about his bleeding eye.
It's a lot to ask these days, but one is thoroughly justified in turning off the sensors that monitor for current day cultural gaffes. Just enjoy all the great talent on display.