Hugs and kisses to the wonderful pair (Lillie played by Angela Bond and Fred by David Engel) who rediscover their love through sparring and starring in a musical version of Taming of the Shrew. There may be Sharon Scott's rousing "Another Opening, [but it's not just]Another Show" as director Will Mackenzie uses all his TV expertise fitting onto a relatively small stage the excitement of a Broadway extravaganza. Oh, yes, he uses the whole theater, too (so nicely for "We Open in Venice") and has more than the doublings called for by the script.
Dashing Engel, a newcomer to Sarasota, is a real find, his voice and diction so well suited to Porter's clever lyrics, especially for Petruchio.
I almost didn't recognize Angela Bond. Her lovely voice impressed in Fiorello a while back, but her beauty (enhanced by tussles of thick auburn curls) is more pronounced. "Wunderbar"isn't just the name of her romantic duet with Engel; it applies to their lyrical and love match. Their waltz in a dressing room is typical of Charlene Clark's imaginative use of space, as is the choreography of "Too Darn Hot," not as expansive as the original's, yet steamy still.
Has there ever been a funnier Baptista (father to Kate the Shrew and her mild, lovely sister Bianca) than sly Ian Sullivan? And that's some change he undergoes to be star Lilli's fiance, an old fogey of a senator who leads a secret life away from The Hill as well as Old Homestead!
If there's a weakness in the production, it's in Dana Marie's voice as Lois, the chorus cutie who's been romancing Fred but claims to love dancer Bill and be "Always True to You Darling (in My Fashion)." Maybe she was cast because there's more dancing by Lois than in the original production, since she's not half bad kicking up her heels. (On the other hand, in the chorus is just-as-good-looking blond Jillian Johnson, who can both dance and belt out a tune.) Dewayne Barrett is as slick on his feet and he is with explanations of how he welched on a gambling debt by signing Fred's name to an I.O.U. That little note ironically becomes responsible for the show going on despite Lilli wanting to walk out, because two gangsters come to assure there'll be no box office returns of money they hope to collect. They -- in the person of short, hi-faluting' talker Charley Schwartz and tall, Mr. Malapropish Tom Bengston -- steal their every scene. They certainly show up their charge, Lilli, when they appear on stage uncomfortably as extras costumed in Elizabethan garb, except for modern garters and stockings. With their work done and lessons learned, they pass on hilarious advice in the show-stopper "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." And its encores!
As if spurred on by Cole Porter's great score, John Visser and his musicians produce the sounds of a much larger group, but with just the right amount of amplification. (By the way, neither Engle nor Bond seem to need the amps they got.) All in all, I fell in love with the Apple's Kiss Me, Kate.
