Kiss Me, Kate

It was a pleasure to have once again visited with Edge Hill Players, only this time not in the guise of providing emergency cover but as your new District 5 NODA representative.  The warm welcome from your Front of House Team was most welcome, as were the chats with M-C and Wesley.  The complimentary glass of wine was certainly also greatly appreciated!

Kiss Me, Kate is a Cole Porter musical comedy that includes a ‘story within a story’. The Baltimore Players are staging a somewhat bizarre musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ but various conflicts between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and the leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi, cause unwanted problems both on and off stage. To this add various other personal problems, a sizeable gambling debt and a couple of loveable mobsters…

The cast appeared to have been carefully assembled, meticulously well-rehearsed and ultimately a pleasure to watch performing on stage. From start to finish the amount of time, effort and attention to detail were obvious to see. I found the whole production to be slick, highly polished and a resounding success. Not busy enough with her directing responsibilities, M-C also took on a wide variety of other responsibilities including sourcing props and production duties.

The four principals were exceptionally strong and it was impossible to fault their performances. Virtually on stage throughout the entire production, I was hugely impressed with their individual characterisation and vocal performance. They were nothing short of superb. I thoroughly enjoyed each musical number with ‘We Open in Venice’, ‘I Hate Men’, ‘Always True To You in My Fashion’, ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ and ‘Why Can’t You Behave’ being particular favourites. Working extremely well together, I was impressed with the pace, energy and sheer quality exhibited by these four individuals.

Kiss Me, Kate is a demanding show for any society to perform.  All in all, this was a sparkling and energetic production, imaginatively directed with a most talented and enthusiastic cast. 

Congratulations to everyone at Edge Hill Players for a huge success and good luck with your February pantomime – ‘Dick Whittington’.  I look forward to being invited to attend what I’m certain will be more highly entertaining, and quality productions, in the future.

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