'Kiss me, Kate' yields some nice surprises

Press, 29 September 1979, Page 6

'Kiss me, Kate' yields some nice surprises

Bv

HOWARD McNAUGHTON

“Kiss Me. Kate,” by Cole Porter. Directed by Bryan Aitken for the Christchurch Gilbert and Sullivan and Light Opera Society : James Hay Theatre, September 28 to October 13. Running time: 8 pan. to 10.35 p.m. Cole Porters delightfully irreverent music and lyrics are the life of this show, a musical absurdity about a production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” in which the actors’ off-stage relationships invade theii stage roles The book by Sam and Bella Spewack is scarcely notable, and invites a good deal of extra business in the shrew-taming episodes; this aspect is plaved down in this production, with the result that Porter’s contribution is thrown into emphatic relief—a priority that all audiences will heartily applaud. Songs like "Brush Up Your Shakespeare” and "Too Dam

Hot seem to break every rule of the musical: they do not intensify the atmosphere, they are thematically irrelevant. and they do nothing to advance the action, faults which weighed heavy' for Broadway connoisseurs of the 19405. But in this production. supported by excellent choreography from Sandra Rasmussen, such numbers come across very powerfully indeed, delightfully frivolous interludes to the amorous tensions of the central dramas. In the title role. Yvonne Martin stands out among the cast for her vocal energy in the climactic scenes on the Shakespearean stage and off it; Ralph Scott has rhe' unglamorous task of coping with a relatively straight Petruchio (which he does competently), but he finds ampler scope for his acting versatility' in the role of Fred

Graham Heather-Leigh Mangin is a popular Bianca, at her best in singing “Tom Dick or Harry” upside down. However, many smaller parts yield very pleasant surprises. If it seems inequitable that John Jefferies is in the non-singing role of Harrison Howell, his every line is grated out as a hilarious parody of the courting politician. Steven Munden, as Paul, gets his songs across with just enough clarity, but. leads the male chorus in some impressively athletic routines. And. most popular of all. Grant Hitching* and Bryon Jones do the two gangsters, manipulating the whole show with their stratagems and putting in the best number in the second half This is an ambitious show, well costumed and designed; It will no doubt improve further over its season. ;