Поцелуй меня, Кэт: История мюзикла 1948 года

1948 stage musical

Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex wife Lilli Vanessi. A secondary romance concerns Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her gambler boyfriend, Bill, who runs afoul of some gangsters. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. Kiss Me, Kate was Porter's response to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! and other integrated musicals; it was the first show he wrote in which the music and lyrics were firmly connected to the script. The musical premiered in 1948 and proved to be Porter's only show to run for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. In 1949, it won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.

The musical was inspired by the on stage/off stage battling of husband and wife actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne during their 1935 production of The Taming of the Shrew, witnessed by future Broadway producer Arnold Saint Subber. In 1947, he asked the Spewacks (undergoing their own marital woes at the time) to write the script; Bella Spewack in turn enlisted Cole Porter to write the music and lyrics.

After a 3½ week pre Broadway tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia starting December 2, 1948, the original Broadway production opened on December 30, 1948, at the New Century Theatre, where it ran for nineteen months before transferring to the Shubert, for a total run of 1,077 performances. Directed by John C. Wilson with choreography by Hanya Holm, the original cast included Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, Harold Lang, Charles Wood and Harry Clark. The 1949 original cast recording has been inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for the album's "cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation's audio legacy".

The original West End production opened on March 8, 1951, at the Coliseum Theatre, and ran for 400 performances. Directed by Sam Spewack with choreography again by Holm, this production starred Patricia Morison, Bill Johnson, Adelaide Hall and Julie Wilson. The original Australian production played from February 1952 at His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, before seasons in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide until 1954. The production featured Hayes Gordon and Joy Turpin (later replaced by Evie Hayes).

A London revival opened in December 1970 at the London Coliseum, in a production by the Sadler's Wells Opera. The cast featured Emile Belcourt (Petruchio), Judith Bruce, Eric Shilling, Ann Howard (Kate), Francis Egerton and Robert Lloyd, with direction by Peter Coe and choreography by Sheila O'Neill. Coe did a translation for British audiences, including having "a tea wagon", and included "traditional English music hall jokes". This revival had a "brief run", according to the Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. The Royal Shakespeare Company staged a production which opened at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, on February 10, 1987, toured the UK from March to May, and then played at London's Old Vic Theatre from May 19, 1987. Directed by Adrian Noble and staged by Ron Field, the production starred Nichola McAuliffe and Paul Jones as Lilli/Kate and Fred/Petruchio, with Tim Flavin and Fiona Hendley as Bill/Lucentio and Lois/Bianca. The gangsters were played by Emil Wolk and John Bardon, who shared the 1987 Olivier Award for Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical, while McAuliffe won the Olivier for Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical. The production moved to the Savoy Theatre on January 15, 1988, with a new cast.

A short lived Broadway revival ran at the Broadway Theatre in January 1952. It was directed by John C. Wilson and choreographed by Hanya Holm. Holly Harris and Robert Wright starred as Lilli and Fred. A Broadway revival opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on November 18, 1999, and closed on December 30, 2001, after 881 performances and 28 previews. Directed by Michael Blakemore, Produced by Richard Godwin, and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall and Rob Ashford, the opening night cast included Marin Mazzie, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Amy Spanger, Michael Berresse, Ron Holgate, Lee Wilkof and Michael Mulheren. This production won the Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Mitchell; Marin Mazzie received a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and Michael Berresse, Lee Wilkof and Michael Mulheren received Tony nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

A West End revival opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre on October 30, 2001, and closed on August 24, 2002. As with the 1999 Broadway revival, Michael Blakemore was the director with choreography by Kathleen Marshall. Brent Barrett and Marin Mazzie co starred. Chichester Festival Theatre's 2012 revival of the show transferred to the Old Vic Theatre on London's South Bank in November 2012, with an official opening in December. It starred Hannah Waddingham as Lili/Kate and Alex Bourne as Fred Graham. The production was directed by Trevor Nunn. The show received positive reviews from critics and audiences. Hannah Waddingham and Alex Bourne were both nominated for the 2013 Olivier Awards as Best Actress/Actor in a Musical for their performances.

In September 2015 Opera North presented a revival directed by Jo Davies, choreographed by Will Tuckett. The production opened at the Leeds Grand Theatre before touring to Theatre Royal Newcastle, The Lowry Salford, and Theatre Royal Nottingham. The production was co produced with Welsh National Opera who continued to tour it in 2016, first as part of the Shakespeare400 season at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, and then to Liverpool Empire Theatre, Bristol Hippodrome, New Theatre Oxford, Mayflower Theatre Southampton, Birmingham Hippodrome, and Venue Cymru Llandudno, before returning to Cardiff. The production was revived at London Coliseum briefly in June 2018, following a return visit to Leeds Grand Theatre in May 2018.

The Roundabout Theatre Company presented a revised third Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate with Kelli O'Hara as Lilli Vanessi/Kate, Will Chase as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Stephanie Styles as Lois Lane/Bianca, and Corbin Bleu as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio. The production is directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, with minor "feminist" updates by Amanda Green to make the musical "more accessible for today’s audiences". Roundabout produced a benefit concert of the show with O'Hara, Ellis, and Carlyle in 2016. The revival had a limited run at Studio 54. Previews began on February 14, 2019, with the opening on March 14. The production closed on June 30, 2019.

A revival of the musical directed by Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast is scheduled to play at the Barbican Theatre in London from June 4 to September 14, 2024, with an official opening on June 18. The production will star Adrian Dunbar as Fred / Petruchio and Stephanie J. Block as Lilli / Katharine.

Character Original Broadway cast (1948) 1999 Broadway revival 2019 Broadway revival Fred Graham/PetruchioAlfred DrakeBrian Stokes MitchellWill Chase Lilli Vanessi/KatharinePatricia MorisonMarin MazzieKelli O'Hara Bill Calhoun/LucentioHarold LangMichael BerresseCorbin Bleu Lois Lane/BiancaLisa KirkAmy SpangerStephanie Styles First ManHarry ClarkLee WilkofJohn Pankow Second ManJack DiamondMichael MulherenLance Coadie Williams Harrison HowellDenis GreenRon HolgateTerence Archie Henry Trevor/BaptistaThomas HolerJohn HortonMel Johnson, Jr. HattieAnnabelle HillAdriane LenoxAdrienne Walker PaulLorenzo FullerStanley Wayne MathisJames T. Lane