People under 50, particularly musical comedy lovers caught up in the flood of new musicals, probably don’t know much about Cole Porter.
They should. The super-clever, dryly hilarious lyrics, the lush melodies, and the sheer sophistication of his songs (many rife with sexual innuendo) have put him in a class by himself as one of the most brilliant composers of the 20th century. Kiss Me, Kate, currently in performance at the Clackamas Repertory Theatre through August 25, is certainly his best-known and most successful musical: In 1949, it won the first Tony award for best musical, and had the longest Broadway run of any of his other shows.
The Clackamas Rep show, under the smart, detailed direction of David Smith-English, pays attention to every nuance, pulls out every stop and delivers to the audience a great blast of fun. The songs integrate with the story quite naturally, but they also stand on their own. “Another Op’nin, Another Show,” “Too Darn Hot, “Brush up Your Shakespeare,” “From this Moment On” (Borrowed from another Porter show) and “Wunderbar” are some of the numbers here. The clever book by Sam and Bella Spewack employs a play within the play, actually make that a musical within a musical.
A touring company is presenting a musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, and the leading man Fred (Leif Norby) is playing Petruchio to his ex-wife’s Kate (Merideth Kaye Clark). The couple spars every bit as much offstage as on, but we learn through the song “So in Love” that Fred still has the hots for his ex. We see bits of the Shakespeare musical, then almost cinematically the scenes move back to what’s happening backstage. The second plot involves other “Shrew” cast members Bill (James Sharinghousen) and Lois (Amelia Morgan-Rothschild), who are an item, yet she likes to play around, and he likes to gamble. Events heat up–and become hilarious–when two gangsters (the wonderfully deadpan Doren Elias and babyfaced Michael Mitchell) arrive at Fred’s door. It seems Bill gambled–and lost. He used Fred’s name for the I.O.U., and he’s in big trouble.
The brilliant bit in this musical is putting the two thugs into “Shrew,” and when they’re not getting in the way, they’re delivering such show-stopping numbers as “Brush up your Shakespeare,” a wonky little waltz advising men to memorize the Bard to wow the ladies. It’s got the best lyrics ever (“If she says your behavior is heinous, kick her right in the “Coriolanus”). Norby is at his finest singing “Where is the Life of Late I Led?: those lyrics are also dynamite. a Fred/Petruchio laments his new married state, he delivers lyrics about the women in his life (“And in Firenze, where are you, Alice? Still there in your pretty itty-bitty pity palace”). Choreography by Wes Hanson is a joy to behold. So is Chris Whitten‘s multi-colored set and lighting design. For times and tickets, check out the website.
By Holly Johnson August 19, 2013, Oregon Music News