#26
Posted: 1/19/24 at 7:19am
Thanks so much!
Updated On: 1/19/24 at 07:19 AM
Stephanie J. Block in Kiss Me, Kate – London — Page 2
#27
Posted: 1/19/24 at 9:48am
Tix onsale this morning. I’m actually really looking forward to this one.
Updated On: 1/19/24 at 09:48 AM
#28
Posted: 1/19/24 at 10:05am
Musicaldudepeter said: "Sher casts these shows meticulously and he usually takes at least a year to do so... I'm sure he has a concept in mind for this casting. I would love Block to lean in to the 'diva' nature of the role instead of the watered down vanilla Lili Kelli O'Hara gave us a few years ago. Talk about miscast. This is a romp of a show, and they would be better off approaching it so as Blakemore did in the 90s."
Except this revival was originally planned to have a different director and star so I'm not sure how long Sher has actually been working ok this, and it's casting.
#29
Posted: 1/19/24 at 11:03am
Doubt this will come to the states. We just had it a handful of years ago and it wasn’t that hottest ticket then.
I am big. It’s the REVIVALS that got small.
#30
Posted: 1/19/24 at 2:42pm
I had to Google Adrian Dunbar…he is a 65 year old character man who seems to have a pleasant but not particularly strong tenor. Why exactly is he playing a forty-something former matinee idol with a booming operatic baritone? Weird casting indeed.
Updated On: 1/19/24 at 02:42 PM
#32
Posted: 4/10/24 at 12:16pm
Full cast announced, including Charlie Stemp as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio. Any bets if this will transfer to the Beaumont?
https://playbill.com/article/see-whos-joining-stephanie-j-block-in-london-kiss-me-kate?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PlaybillPost_Fringeship
#33
Posted: 4/10/24 at 12:55pm
It wont transfer -- we've already had a recent revivlal of Kiss Me Kate on Broadway produced by a not for profit.
#34
Posted: 6/14/24 at 6:14am
I'll post my thoughts later, this is just about the changes to the text. I'm not an expert on KMK, so I'm not sure if some of these changes have already appeared in recent revivals.
* The cast rushes on stage before Fred/Petruchio spanks Lilli/Kate, so she never gets spanked
* After "Too Darn Hot", Fred has a little awkward speech in which he addresses the audience (the actual audience and the audience of the show) and talks about The Taming of the Shrew being an early modern play, with different sensibilities etc. Very clunky
* In "Always True To You" they replaced "When you know baby I'm your slave" with something like "when you know you're the one I crave" (Lois/Bianca is black)
* Like in the latest Broadway revival, Bill's colleagues act horrified when he sings "You'd better answer yes or Poppa spanka", and then the chorus girls prevent him from repeating the line when he tries to reprise it.
* They kept the original lyrics of "I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple" (the latest Broadway revival replaced "Women" with "People") but turned it into a conciliatory duet, which works nicely.
* There are several jokes on gun controls and guns not killing people – which sounded new to me? Defo not 1940s
#36
Posted: 6/18/24 at 4:06am
It looks very good. It looks like the Michael Yeargan set does what it did for My fair lady. Spinning around to different rooms.
#37
Posted: 6/18/24 at 12:18pm
Are they performing the original libretto or the revival version without the Overture and "From This Moment On" added?
#38
Posted: 6/18/24 at 12:58pm
Ouch. That promo was horrible. Not a single montage of the cast in performance and only the few seconds of the turntable set design impressed me. A bunch of ensemble dancers doing percussion flicks to “Too Darn Hot” is meant to excite people?
#39
Posted: 6/19/24 at 5:10am
It’s not exciting people, word of mouth in London hasn’t been good.
#40
Posted: 6/19/24 at 11:09am
It’s not the promo, I think it was just a clip of that number in the show
#41
Posted: 6/19/24 at 11:21pm
The reviews are all positive
#42
Posted: 6/21/24 at 6:29am
I saw the last London revival (or at least I think it's the last London one) at the Old Vic with Hannah Waddingham - which was a lot of fun. Am off to this in a couple of weeks, mostly to see Stephanie Block in my quest to see the Broadway names when they come to London to tick them off my list! Only bought the tickets yesterday - they were running an offer although actually mine weren't discounted, they were just the cheapest!
#43
Posted: 8/30/24 at 5:36am
http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/kiss-me-kate-with-stephanie-j-block-and-adrian-dunbar-set-for-cinema-release_1626351/
Cinema screenings announced
Updated On: 8/30/24 at 05:36 AM
#44
Posted: 8/30/24 at 11:06am
I was hoping for a cast album but this is better.
#45
Posted: 9/12/24 at 5:59pm
I was in London recently and made the mistake of going to see this, just because tix were 24 pounds and Mean Girls was about double. This venue is far from the West End, and had to take the tube to get there from a very central location. The male lead stole the show, but Stephanie although a gifted actress, wasn't a good fit for this role. The girl playing Lois was totally miscast also. Not good, unfortunately. I would feel terrible for anyone taking a plane to see this.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#46
Posted: 9/13/24 at 12:31am
In what universe is the Barbican “far from the West End.” Quickly.
Updated On: 9/13/24 at 12:31 AM
#47
Posted: 10/23/24 at 4:46pm
Details for the cinema screenings in late November / early December:
https://www.kissmekatecinema.com/
#48
Posted: 3/3/25 at 2:27pm
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