Musical Monday: Kiss Me, Kate
Spoiler warning: The following review contains moderate spoilers for Kiss Me, Kate—a musical that was first performed 71 years ago, so do with that what you will.
Last theater season, two of the three nominees for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical were for musicals that are more than 60 years old. My Fair Lady and Carousel had to deal with trying to modernize stories, perhaps more than ever before, that were written 62 years and 73 years ago respectively. I noted in my reviews of the two musicals that this modernization sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. The revival of Kiss Me, Kate that opened this season and is currently running on Broadway suffers from this same issue—the original production opened on Broadway in in 1948. While the musical is big and gorgeous, it can’t help but feel a little dated.
This production has so many good things going for it. It is big Broadway in the best sense of the word—gorgeous choreography, large ensemble numbers, and impressive sets. Specifically, the It’s Too Darn Hot number was a near show stopper because of the stunning choreography and intensity of such a long dance. Kelli O’Hara is incredible in the lead role, which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with her. Her voice is astounding and her chemistry with co-star Will Chase exudes off stage. It’s really well done casting, and it works beautifully. Another special shout out to Corbin Bleu, who not only was quite talented in the role of Bill Calhoun and danced wonderfully but also was the absolute fan favorite of the two large groups of high school theater students presumably fond of his time in the High School Musical films.
Even most of the ways the musical feels dated are quaint. It’s tongue and cheek, silly, and innocent. The producers also made some changes to try and modernize the show. A major example is the song I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple is now changed and listed in the playbill as I Am Ashamed That People Are So Simple. There were probably several other changes, but it was certainly an effort that was taken to try and make modern audiences appreciate the story a little more. There was only one modernization I was really annoyed by—the fiancé of Ms. O’Hara’s character at one point makes a line about guns not killing people and it being a Second Amendment right. This was immediately followed by the fiancé saying he got an offer to be the vice president for both Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey, who famously lost the election after a newspaper misprinted “Dewey Defeats Truman.” It was clear from the tone and practical wink at the audience that these lines were especially emphasized. It felt like such a quick tonal shift that while others laughed around me, I mostly rolled my eyes.
Unfortunately, the main resolution is the thing that feels the most dated. Ms. O’Hara’s character leaves with her fiancé, Mr. Chase’s character sings a reprise of a song she sang previously about being in love. The very next scene Ms. O’Hara is back to be in love with the male lead. While her fiancé is terrible and not supportive of her actual dreams, we are not given any satisfactory answer of why she actually wants to be with Mr. Chase. It’s one of the romantic resolutions that feels like it had to happen in an old show, but I wanted her to not be with anyone—something that perhaps wouldn’t have gone over well with audiences in the 1940’s. The play wraps up shortly after the two are back together, and the show ends with the reminder that this show is just over 70 years old.
Kiss Me, Kate is a beautiful production of a show. It’s big and impressive with pretty sets and gorgeous dancing. It’s also a show that suffers merely from the time period in which it was written. While there were some changes to try and address these issues, they still held the show back a little. Since the original Kiss Me, Kate debuted between the two shows, perhaps it makes sense that I felt this production of Kiss Me, Kate fell somewhere in between my thoughts on the recent revivals of Carousel and My Fair Lady.