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By James Scarborough Gazette Theater Critic
I
have never trusted reality television's claims of unabridged and unedited,
gritty life-as-lived reality.
This life-within-a-life is too contrived, too ratings-driven, and too much for me to stomach.
Better to stick to the literary version of a play within a play. And there is no better literary version than Musical Theatre West's epic production of Cole Porter's musical, "Kiss Me Kate," directed by Rick Sparks and choreographed by Jane Lanier.
This is the story of Fred Graham, who plays the role of Petruchio in a production of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and Lilli Vanessi, who plays the role of Katharine Minola.
They were once married to each other, but have moved on to other partners, Fred to sweet young theatrical things and Lilli to a high-ranking Army guy in Harry S. Truman's administration. But the love-fire still burns, even though flowers Fred meant to give to his current flame ended up with Lilli.
When
she discovered the mistake, her role of the Shrew became more than playacting.
Why? Because she still loved Fred, that's why. And once Fred resolved some
nasty gambling debts, they ended up happily ever after.
This nastiness spilled over into the company's production of the Shakespeare play with very funny results.
The musical features superb performances by David Engel as Fred and Elizabeth Ward Land as Lilli. As they sang, as they danced, when they cooed or when they verbally and physically abused each other, their chemistry sizzled.
The set changes were sudden and dramatic, going from 16th century Padua to the back alley of a theater in the blink of an eye. The music and the dancing were crisp and inspired. I noticed a lot of happy feet all around me throughout the performance..
7/16/2004
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