for a school project I have to tell more about the differences between the original version of kiss me kate and the broadway revival version. Can anyone help me, because i cannot found information about this topic on the internet.
The main change was the character of Harrison Howell. In the original he is a senator, in the revival he was an army general. In the original, Lili decides not to marry Senator Howell because he is old and boring (he actually falls asleep in her dressing room). In the revival, she decides not to marry General Howell because he is even more chauvinistic and bossy then Fred.
In the original, Howell was a non-singing role. In the revival, Lili and Howell sang a duet - "From This Moment On" - a song originally written by Cole Porter for the musical OUT OF THIS WORLD, but cut before opening. It was used in the movie version of KISS ME KATE, sung by Biana and Lucentio.
Other than that, from the production point of view, the revival had the actors entering the theater in Baltimore, during the overture, while the in the original production, the overture was played before the curtain and the curtain went up to reveal the end of the rehearsal. Other than that, I can't really remember anything different (I saw a revival of the original a long time ago) but there was probably some "tweaking" of the original book by John Guare. Although not listed, it was generally known that he worked on the revival and the new touches came from him.
Daredevil reminded me of the different opening. In the original, the overture ends,the curtain goes up, Fred tells the conductor the overture sounds fine, then there is the scene in which the cast rehearses the curtian call and lili calls Fred a bastard. "Another Openin', Another Show" comes at he end of the scene.
In the revival, the overture segued into "Another Openin', Another Show". The "bastard" scene followed it.
