Kiss Me Kate
(This is a web only review, exclusive to this site)
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Boook by Sam and Bella Spewack
Directed by Graeme Roberts for Queensland Musical Theatre
Twelfth Night Theatre
Need to brush up your Shakespeare? Then you could do worse than getting along to see QMT's production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate.
This inspired musical is a play within a play, where the personal relationships of the central characters mirror those of the characters in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
Actor-director Fred (Lionel Theunissen) convinces his former wife, sometime movie star Lilli (Ruth Lloyd-Bridgstock), to appear opposite him in a stage production of Shrew. Lilli, who agrees to play Katherine to Fred's Petruchio, is being wooed by a general with White House connections, but her heart belongs to Fred - until she discovers he's sent some flowers to Lois (Tamsin Sutherland), the actress playing Bianca.
Meanwhile, the show's Lucentio, Bill (Matthew Parakas), signs an IOU on a huge gambling debt in Fred's name. A couple of mobsters (Michael Mudd and Brad Kendrick) come looking for Bill, who takes advantage of the situation by telling them he can only pay the debt if they ensure that Lilli remains with the show.
Sounds confusing? Well, it is - but not impossibly so.
The production was a little wobbly on opening night, but there's plenty of potential here and a lot of the bumps are bound to be smoothed out during the run.
The principals are well chosen, especially Theunissen, who has a great voice and perfectly captures the style of the ham actor in the Shakespeare scenes. Lloyd-Bridgstock has quite a few fine moments too, although she put unnecessary pressure on her vocal chords in the showstopper, I Hate Men.
Gangsters Mudd and Kendrick are a comic delight who are sure to have you humming Brush Up Your Shakespeare as you wander out of the theatre.
I'd completely forgotten that this show includes the steamy jazz number Too Darn Hot, but I thoroughly enjoyed the treatment it got from Bradley McCaw and the QMT ensemble.
If you've not seen Kiss Me Kate before, here's a chance to delight in the genius of Porter and to support some hard-working people who enthusiastically fill a gap in the Brisbane theatrical landscape.
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Boook by Sam and Bella Spewack
Directed by Graeme Roberts for Queensland Musical Theatre
Twelfth Night Theatre
Need to brush up your Shakespeare? Then you could do worse than getting along to see QMT's production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate.
This inspired musical is a play within a play, where the personal relationships of the central characters mirror those of the characters in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
Actor-director Fred (Lionel Theunissen) convinces his former wife, sometime movie star Lilli (Ruth Lloyd-Bridgstock), to appear opposite him in a stage production of Shrew. Lilli, who agrees to play Katherine to Fred's Petruchio, is being wooed by a general with White House connections, but her heart belongs to Fred - until she discovers he's sent some flowers to Lois (Tamsin Sutherland), the actress playing Bianca.
Meanwhile, the show's Lucentio, Bill (Matthew Parakas), signs an IOU on a huge gambling debt in Fred's name. A couple of mobsters (Michael Mudd and Brad Kendrick) come looking for Bill, who takes advantage of the situation by telling them he can only pay the debt if they ensure that Lilli remains with the show.
Sounds confusing? Well, it is - but not impossibly so.
The production was a little wobbly on opening night, but there's plenty of potential here and a lot of the bumps are bound to be smoothed out during the run.
The principals are well chosen, especially Theunissen, who has a great voice and perfectly captures the style of the ham actor in the Shakespeare scenes. Lloyd-Bridgstock has quite a few fine moments too, although she put unnecessary pressure on her vocal chords in the showstopper, I Hate Men.
Gangsters Mudd and Kendrick are a comic delight who are sure to have you humming Brush Up Your Shakespeare as you wander out of the theatre.
I'd completely forgotten that this show includes the steamy jazz number Too Darn Hot, but I thoroughly enjoyed the treatment it got from Bradley McCaw and the QMT ensemble.
If you've not seen Kiss Me Kate before, here's a chance to delight in the genius of Porter and to support some hard-working people who enthusiastically fill a gap in the Brisbane theatrical landscape.
<< Home