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The next production w/c 12th April 2010 will be Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate, the 1999 Broadway revised version. Rehearsals have started every Wednesday at 8.00pm at The Victory Hall, Chigwell, Essex.
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Samuel and Bella Spewack Kiss Me, Kate was a comeback and a personal triumph for Cole Porter. After several successful musicals in the 1920's and 1930s, Kiss Me, Kate was a response to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! and it proved to be his biggest hit and the only one of his shows to run for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It won the first Tony award presented for Best Musical, in 1949 A brief synopsis: This is a play within a play. Imagine yourself as part of a travelling company of American actors putting on a production of William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. But not only that, imagine the director is an actor himself taking the leading role and has set the whole production to music! Then imagine that he has cast his ex-wife, their better acting days behind them, as his leading lady….get it. It is a parody of The Shrew as they fight and argue off stage as well as on…but they really love each other still.. ‘So in Love’. BUT he has had a fling with Lois who is in love with Bill. Bill Has a gambling habit and has the heavies after him…well not exactly him because he put Fred Graham's name (the Director) on the IOU!! Hence the 2 gangsters go after Fred and enter the production in full costume complete with Bronx accents, to make sure Lilli doesn’t leave the show, in order to collect the money owed. Confused now…..well you ought to be! I can tell you that good acting good singing, good dancing as well as great comedy set pieces abound. The score is wunderbar, excuse the pun, and there’s plenty of entertainment for all. I hope that I’ve set the scene for you and whet your appetite. Jenny
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