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It comes from the golden age of musicals and
at a time when Porter is enjoying renewed success.
His
earlier work Anything Goes is currently a triumph in the West
End.
His productions are always clever, but this
one is even more so. Kiss Me Kate is a marriage of music and
Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew.
It's about a failed marriage between actors
Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who are performing the play on
tour in Baltimore.
In the Bard's original work Kate hates men
and is determined not to wed. This gives Cole Poter plenty of
scope as he marries these two stories, both on and off stage.
We see both. Into this comes a pair of
gangsters, who think Fred Graham owes their boss a gambling
debt.
It's got farce and mayhem written all over
it. Some are wary of this show, thinking you need a good
knowledge of Shakespeare to enjoy it.
This is not the case. It is all simple to
follow and great fun.
It's wrapped up with a catalogue of songs so
familiar that you go into the theatre singing them.
It starts with that great anthem to the
theatre Another Opening, Another Show and takes in Wunderbar,
So In Love and the witty Brush Up Your Shakespeare into which
Porter crammed so many of the Bard's titles.
The line about "give her a kick up the
Coriolanus" always goes down well. The Norfolk and Norwich
amateurs, who are directed by Ray Jeffery, are on good form
here.
The leading ladies are Sarah Pryde as
Kate/Lilli, with a belter of a voice, and Amanda Howell is
just right as the dumb blond Lois with the Bronx
accent.
Fred Graham is well played by Peter Howell
and Ian Chisholm and Andy Boesen are the two gangsters.
The latter could have got more out of Brush
Up Your Shakespeare which, on the opening night, wasn't the
show stopper it should have been.
It wasn't helped by a curtain which came in
rather pointlessly halfway through. There were other minor
hiccups including problems with the radio mikes which slightly
took the gloss off things, but not much.
But when the whole cast was on stage for the
big numbers, like Too Darn Hot - which opens the second half -
and the terrific finale, it's so well done.
The stage looks good, thanks to sets from the
Beccles-based Scenic Projects and excellent lighting which
brings out the warmth of Italy.
There's a hoo-hah in the West End over
Cameron Mackintosh's plans to downsize pit orchestras by
replacing some musicians with a synthesiser, but here Kiss Me
Kate is blessed with a full band.
It's directed by Geoff Davidson, which gives
those well-loved tunes such verve. Great stuff. Don't miss
it! | 
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