READ THE REVIEWS:

March 14, 2019

I raise all this marital prehistory not to excuse the elements of the original “Kiss Me, Kate” that rankle our sensibilities today — its gender stereotypes and wife-slapping argument for womanly submission — but to suggest how the latest Broadway revival, which opened on Thursday in a production starring the sublime Kelli O’Hara, could be so enjoyable anyway.

READ THE REVIEW
Entertainment Weekly
BigThumbs_UP

Dave
Quinn

March 14, 2019

That’s just one of the smart shifts Ellis and company have made with this fresh Kiss Me, Kate. Gone is the shiny schmaltz of the Golden Age musical’s previous productions, Ellis instead grounding the piece, when necessarily, in sincerity and reality. “Another Op’nin’, Another Show”, led by Adrienne Walker’s soulful voice, now feels as a passionate rallying cry for artists everywhere embracing their craft. Even the costume designer Jeff Mahshie and set designer David Rockwell colorful creations seem to be slightly restrained.

READ THE REVIEW

March 14, 2019

The clever navigation of this Golden Age musical through today’s waters of gender politics is one of several plusses in an otherwise uneven production that is still able to score some highs in terrific dancing, Kelli O’Hara’s performance and, oh, those Porter songs.

READ THE REVIEW

March 14, 2019

For me, the production takes full flight with “I Hate Men,” about midway through the first act, when O’Hara (as Lilli as Shrew‘s Kate) delivers a full throated and beautifully arch takedown of what later generations would simply call patriarchy. “Kate” delivers this song with utter conviction – no sense of the I’m just a silly girl spouting off that earlier productions might have presented. In fact, despite some script doctoring by the talented composer-lyricist Amanda Green (she performed similar updating duties on her father Adolph Green’s On the Twentieth Century for a 2015 Roundabout revival), this Kiss Me, Kate feels as modern as anything from ’48 can. The updates seem mostly in tone and performance (and thankfully so – a “guns don’t kill people” joke proves just how hokey these explicit updates can be; better is Kate’s late-show song “I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple” shifting to “I Am Ashamed That People Are So Simple”).

READ THE REVIEW

March 14, 2019

But this is an immensely pleasurable show even in a production that occasionally lacks spark. The enjoyment is enhanced by David Rockwell’s sets, from the backstage area and dressing rooms to the old-fashioned painted flats and backcloths of the Baltimore run; by Jeff Mahshie’s colorful costumes, with some gorgeous outfits for O’Hara; by Donald Holder’s vibrant lighting; and Larry Hochman’s sumptuous orchestrations for 15 musicians, led with customary finesse by Paul Gemignani.

READ THE REVIEW