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KISS ME KATE
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Sam and Bella Spewack. A Lyric Theatre and Northern Ireland Opera co-production.
This is a play within a play. Actor and Director, Fred Graham is preparing his cast for his adaptation of the Taming of The Shrew, but his co-star and ex wife Lilli has a new lover, Lois Lane is flirting with Fred and there are two gangsters backstage looking for the owner of an IOU signed by company member Bill Calhoun in the name of his director, Fred.
The love story of Taming of the Shrew is echoed in the theatre company.
Characters and Costumes:
Melle Stewart plays Lilli Vanessi, the actress, who acts the part of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. She is tall, slim with short curly dark hair, square face, dark eyes, and pale complexion. She first appears wearing a beige and red patterned dressing gown over wide red trousers.
In Padua, as Katherine she is dressed in a red top with low neckline and narrow black trousers.
The part of Fred Graham who acts Petruchio is played by Norman Bowman. He has a narrow face, dark wavy hair, and close shaven moustache and beard. As Fred, the show’s producer, he wears a cream jacket with a rose on the collar, dark cravat and handkerchief, yellow and red checked shirt, beige trousers, and brown shoes.
As Petruchio, he adds a wide brimmed hat, long brown open coat, red scarf, and brown boots, and has a leather whip. For his wedding he is dressed in top hat and tails, still carrying his whip.
Jayne Wisener plays Lois Lane, the actress who acts the part of Bianca. She is young and slim, with an oval face, high cheek bones, large eyes, wide mouth and long blond hair. She wears a v-neck blue dress, then as Bianca she wears a white top, wide blue skirt, and white high heels. For the wedding she has a knee length white bride’s dress, with veil and wedding bouquet.
Jack McCann plays Bill Colhoun, the actor who plays the part of Lucentio. He is of medium height; his tanned oval face has a long nose, faint moustache, small mouth, dark eyes, and short brown hair. He first appears in a maroon and cream zipped jacket, over a white T-shirt, grey trousers, and cream trainers.
Alison Hardin acts the part of Ralph, the stage manager. Of a stocky build, she has a wide smile, plump cheeks, and short dark hair. As Ralph she wears a waistcoat, shirt and trousers.
With the other female cast members, she dances and sings, all wearing short net skirts, skimpy satin tops, with gauze wings attached, band of flowers round their hair, and white shoes.
Brigid Shine is Hattie, Lillie’s dresser, who has dark hair tied back from her face. She wears a dark dress with a white collar.
Marty McCann plays the first gangster: an older man, with lined face, small eyes, and cropped hair, he menaces Fred, wearing a pinstripe suit, black fedora hat, and black shoes with white spats.
Darren Franklin plays the second gangster, similarly dressed. He is young with short black hair, and eyebrows, a small mouth and tanned oval face.
Richard Croxford plays General Harrison Howell, Lillie’s new lover, and Baptista, the father of Katherine and Biance. Padded to look stout in both roles, he is an older man, with a wide, face, deep set eyes, and short, greying hair. He first appears looking through the curtains, exposing his padded stomach.
As the General he wears a Stetson hat, and cream linen two piece suit, and is accompanied by a soldier in an American uniform. As Baptista he wears a dark pinstripe three piece suit, with a watch chain and watch across his ample stomach.
Hortensio, one of the suitors in Padua, has dark hair sweeping over his forehead, dark eyebrows and eyes, glasses, long nose, and neat moustache and beard. He wears a v-neck white sweater, with grey trousers and white shoes. He is played by Raymond Walsh.
The second suitor Gerimo is acted by Matthew Cavan, wearing a grey jacket and red trousers, white shirt with bow tie, and brown shoes. He is tall with very short black hair, and a wide smile. As Paul, Fred’s dresser, he wears a white shirt, dark waistcoat and trousers, and has a tape measure around his neck. In the second act, as Paul, he leads in tap dancing and singing sequences.
Brigid Shine and Maeve Byrne, both young with long dark hair, complete the ensemble, appearing as dancers, and bridesmaids. They also appear as servants in Act Two, wearing tiny aprons over their dance clothes.
At the wedding in Padua, the men wear top hat and tails, and the females short white wedding dresses.
Set
Kiss Me, Kate opens and closes with a 3-sided frame made of brightly coloured blocks that is lowered down from above. It hides the rest of the set that sits behind it and has space in the middle to look like a living room at the start, and for the cast to come through and take a curtain call at the end.
A brown leather armchair is always on the stage somewhere. It glides about on wheels so it can be easily moved and spun.
Kiss Me, Kate is set in Ford’s Theatre in Baltimore and features scenes from The Taming of the Shrew set in Padua, so there are sets within sets. There are lots of doors and places where the cast can enter and exit from.
Ford’s Theatre has a full-length purple curtain that can be pulled and it sits about half way back in the depth of our whole stage. The front of the theatre is represented by a brightly twinkling lit sign that drops down from the roof and says, “Theatre. The Taming of the Shrew. Lili Vanessi. Fred Graham.”
Lots of the action takes place backstage at Ford’s Theatre.
On the left there is a dressing room. It has a dressing table with two chairs and mirrors with lights. The dressing room sits on a slightly raised floor and has a door at a right angle. People can go out this door and exit the stage on the left. This whole set can be moved on wheels.
Still on the left, behind the dressing room, there is a set of metal steps leading up to a small landing and door with an illuminated Exit sign.
The back wall of the stage has different backdrops. At first it is sky blue with clouds. Sections can open in this backdrop so members of the cast can look through. Later it is a Padua Italian skyline scene with a dome and a bell tower.
On the right are tall panels the full height of the stage. They can be pulled out and rotated to become the Padua houses. The cast can exit on the right at the back. Close to the front of the stage on the right are two very large metal knobs set in a panel. They are like old fashioned TV dials with numbers on them. This panel is also a door and can swing open for entrances and exits.
Kate’s family house in Padua has peeling pink paint and old posters stuck to the front and the side. It is narrow, about 6ft wide and has one small side wall. There is an arched door on the ground floor at the right and a window with blue shutters on the first floor at the left. The Padua house set can be turned on wheels. When it is turned, we are in effect backstage at Ford’s Theatre. We can see the ply board construction of the set with batons and props and see how the stairs to the first floor window are blue metal, free standing and on wheels.
The church in Padua is another panel that can be pulled out from the left. It has a tall arched double door with a painted flower motif in the middle. This is also turned round for a backstage effect.
At the end of Act One a panel is dropped that says, “It’s Intermission Time” and this is raised half way during the song Too Darn Hot.
The main room in Petruchio’s house is a large folding set made up of three panels – a broad back wall with a door on the left and two smaller side panels that fold out at a slight angle. It has one picture on the wall and grey and white striped wallpaper, and the leather armchair on the right. Later a small table with an old fashioned TV is brought in. This set is dropped in and lifted away on wires.
The last Padua scene is the garden of Baptista’s House where Kate’s wedding is to be celebrated. It’s a walled garden, with a green lit lawn on the stage, and two sets of steps leading down from an upper level with a painted stone balustrade.
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Sam and Bella Spewack. A Lyric Theatre and Northern Ireland Opera co-production.
This is a play within a play. Actor and Director, Fred Graham is preparing his cast for his adaptation of the Taming of The Shrew, but his co-star and ex wife Lilli has a new lover, Lois Lane is flirting with Fred and there are two gangsters backstage looking for the owner of an IOU signed by company member Bill Calhoun in the name of his director, Fred.
The love story of Taming of the Shrew is echoed in the theatre company.
Characters and Costumes:
Melle Stewart plays Lilli Vanessi, the actress, who acts the part of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. She is tall, slim with short curly dark hair, square face, dark eyes, and pale complexion. She first appears wearing a beige and red patterned dressing gown over wide red trousers.
In Padua, as Katherine she is dressed in a red top with low neckline and narrow black trousers.
The part of Fred Graham who acts Petruchio is played by Norman Bowman. He has a narrow face, dark wavy hair, and close shaven moustache and beard. As Fred, the show’s producer, he wears a cream jacket with a rose on the collar, dark cravat and handkerchief, yellow and red checked shirt, beige trousers, and brown shoes.
As Petruchio, he adds a wide brimmed hat, long brown open coat, red scarf, and brown boots, and has a leather whip. For his wedding he is dressed in top hat and tails, still carrying his whip.
Jayne Wisener plays Lois Lane, the actress who acts the part of Bianca. She is young and slim, with an oval face, high cheek bones, large eyes, wide mouth and long blond hair. She wears a v-neck blue dress, then as Bianca she wears a white top, wide blue skirt, and white high heels. For the wedding she has a knee length white bride’s dress, with veil and wedding bouquet.
Jack McCann plays Bill Colhoun, the actor who plays the part of Lucentio. He is of medium height; his tanned oval face has a long nose, faint moustache, small mouth, dark eyes, and short brown hair. He first appears in a maroon and cream zipped jacket, over a white T-shirt, grey trousers, and cream trainers.
Alison Hardin acts the part of Ralph, the stage manager. Of a stocky build, she has a wide smile, plump cheeks, and short dark hair. As Ralph she wears a waistcoat, shirt and trousers.
With the other female cast members, she dances and sings, all wearing short net skirts, skimpy satin tops, with gauze wings attached, band of flowers round their hair, and white shoes.
Brigid Shine is Hattie, Lillie’s dresser, who has dark hair tied back from her face. She wears a dark dress with a white collar.
Marty McCann plays the first gangster: an older man, with lined face, small eyes, and cropped hair, he menaces Fred, wearing a pinstripe suit, black fedora hat, and black shoes with white spats.
Darren Franklin plays the second gangster, similarly dressed. He is young with short black hair, and eyebrows, a small mouth and tanned oval face.
Richard Croxford plays General Harrison Howell, Lillie’s new lover, and Baptista, the father of Katherine and Biance. Padded to look stout in both roles, he is an older man, with a wide, face, deep set eyes, and short, greying hair. He first appears looking through the curtains, exposing his padded stomach.
As the General he wears a Stetson hat, and cream linen two piece suit, and is accompanied by a soldier in an American uniform. As Baptista he wears a dark pinstripe three piece suit, with a watch chain and watch across his ample stomach.
Hortensio, one of the suitors in Padua, has dark hair sweeping over his forehead, dark eyebrows and eyes, glasses, long nose, and neat moustache and beard. He wears a v-neck white sweater, with grey trousers and white shoes. He is played by Raymond Walsh.
The second suitor Gerimo is acted by Matthew Cavan, wearing a grey jacket and red trousers, white shirt with bow tie, and brown shoes. He is tall with very short black hair, and a wide smile. As Paul, Fred’s dresser, he wears a white shirt, dark waistcoat and trousers, and has a tape measure around his neck. In the second act, as Paul, he leads in tap dancing and singing sequences.
Brigid Shine and Maeve Byrne, both young with long dark hair, complete the ensemble, appearing as dancers, and bridesmaids. They also appear as servants in Act Two, wearing tiny aprons over their dance clothes.
At the wedding in Padua, the men wear top hat and tails, and the females short white wedding dresses.
Set
Kiss Me, Kate opens and closes with a 3-sided frame made of brightly coloured blocks that is lowered down from above. It hides the rest of the set that sits behind it and has space in the middle to look like a living room at the start, and for the cast to come through and take a curtain call at the end.
A brown leather armchair is always on the stage somewhere. It glides about on wheels so it can be easily moved and spun.
Kiss Me, Kate is set in Ford’s Theatre in Baltimore and features scenes from The Taming of the Shrew set in Padua, so there are sets within sets. There are lots of doors and places where the cast can enter and exit from.
Ford’s Theatre has a full-length purple curtain that can be pulled and it sits about half way back in the depth of our whole stage. The front of the theatre is represented by a brightly twinkling lit sign that drops down from the roof and says, “Theatre. The Taming of the Shrew. Lili Vanessi. Fred Graham.”
Lots of the action takes place backstage at Ford’s Theatre.
On the left there is a dressing room. It has a dressing table with two chairs and mirrors with lights. The dressing room sits on a slightly raised floor and has a door at a right angle. People can go out this door and exit the stage on the left. This whole set can be moved on wheels.
Still on the left, behind the dressing room, there is a set of metal steps leading up to a small landing and door with an illuminated Exit sign.
The back wall of the stage has different backdrops. At first it is sky blue with clouds. Sections can open in this backdrop so members of the cast can look through. Later it is a Padua Italian skyline scene with a dome and a bell tower.
On the right are tall panels the full height of the stage. They can be pulled out and rotated to become the Padua houses. The cast can exit on the right at the back. Close to the front of the stage on the right are two very large metal knobs set in a panel. They are like old fashioned TV dials with numbers on them. This panel is also a door and can swing open for entrances and exits.
Kate’s family house in Padua has peeling pink paint and old posters stuck to the front and the side. It is narrow, about 6ft wide and has one small side wall. There is an arched door on the ground floor at the right and a window with blue shutters on the first floor at the left. The Padua house set can be turned on wheels. When it is turned, we are in effect backstage at Ford’s Theatre. We can see the ply board construction of the set with batons and props and see how the stairs to the first floor window are blue metal, free standing and on wheels.
The church in Padua is another panel that can be pulled out from the left. It has a tall arched double door with a painted flower motif in the middle. This is also turned round for a backstage effect.
At the end of Act One a panel is dropped that says, “It’s Intermission Time” and this is raised half way during the song Too Darn Hot.
The main room in Petruchio’s house is a large folding set made up of three panels – a broad back wall with a door on the left and two smaller side panels that fold out at a slight angle. It has one picture on the wall and grey and white striped wallpaper, and the leather armchair on the right. Later a small table with an old fashioned TV is brought in. This set is dropped in and lifted away on wires.
The last Padua scene is the garden of Baptista’s House where Kate’s wedding is to be celebrated. It’s a walled garden, with a green lit lawn on the stage, and two sets of steps leading down from an upper level with a painted stone balustrade.
