Kiss Me Kate

Kiss Me Kate, with its wonderful score and lyrics from the pen of Cole Porter is not performed nearly as often as is deserved and tonight, Glenrothes AMA gave it a welcome airing!  The show offers a wealth of songs and dance opportunities for principals and chorus alike.

The main characters without exception displayed exceptional acting skills and lovely voices. Experience came to the fore with Fred Graham/Petruchio (Greig Hill) and Lilli Vanessi (Caroline Warburton). The casting of this duo was first class, and especially a pleasure to see Caroline venturing out into the musical world, from the genre of G&S in which I normally see her. Caroline’s feisty Lilli added to the fun of the whole evening. Brodi Orkney provided us with a lovely Lois Lane, whose singing voice paired superbly with Logan Booth’s Bill Calhoun in “Why Can’t You Behave?”. The two Gangsters, playing for every laugh in the script, took on “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” with energy, and made a showstopping number of it.  A whole host of minor principals make up the cast list in this musical, and in each and every case added to the comedy and spectacle of the show. General Harrison Howell (Andrew Butchart) deserves mention as the blustering army friend of Lilli Vanessi – “From This Moment On” found both he and Lilli in particularly fine voice. Chorus work in Kiss Me Kate is limited, but when they do appear in the opening choruses and finales of both acts, any absences from the stage at other times can be totally forgiven, with Lorna Lewis’ clever and interesting choreography adding to the colourful stage pictures. Lorna’s skill and experience was allowed to shine whenever her team of dancers took to the stage – never at any time appearing to be out of their depth in their dance routines.

Scott Melvin’s directing and Robert Nee’s musical direction brought the icing to the cake, adding to the polished performances of those on stage.

The costumes, the scenery, the make-up, the props (have I heard this somewhere before?) were all excellent and together with fine sound and lighting all added to a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Congratulations to GAMA for choosing and presenting  a wonderful evening of musical entertainment.

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