Kiss Me, Kate!

I have been blessed enough to have seen several musicals on Broadway in New York City and even small stage productions at my high school. Over the years, my expectations have amounted to expect the unexpected; no play or musical for that matter can be the same and therefore anticipating something in particular is useless. I will say however, that every musical I have seen has always left me with an appreciation for its genre in the world of playwrights. After seeing Penn State’s production of Kiss Me, Kate! I was very impressed to say the least. Going into the performance I was pretty exciting because I had always heard great things about the play itself but had never had the chance to see it. I wasn’t aware though that the play was based on Shakespeare’s comedy Taming of the Shrew, always having an appreciation for his work and I was even more excited.

I wouldn’t say that I had low expectations, but I was surprised that a college production could compare to the experiences that I’ve seen on Broadway. While the stage itself was smaller, they set design and precision of moving from one scene to another was executed professionally. Comparable to plays I’ve seen such as The Lion King and In the Heights, where this play lacked in outlandish costumes and props, they made up for in overall performance. Every actor completely committed to his or her role and even role within a role, which I believe impressed me the most. The complex structure of Kiss Me, Kate! left me confused on all of the intermingled relationships; who was in love with whom. I believe however, that it was performed so well, I didn’t focus on the questions I had but rather appreciated the performance as a whole. I do although think it would’ve been helpful to have read Shakespeare’s play; now I’m determined to take it off my bookshelf and finally read it.

Some of the most memorable components of the play were the characters Lilli and Fred’s complex relationship evolving throughout, along with the incredible voices and dancing of all those performing, and comedic roles of the “two men.” The witty banter and bickering between Lilli and Fred was new relationship that I had never witnessed on the stage before, all of the other plays I’ve seen have been more of a serious nature and it was a nice change. Another memorable moment was the opening scene of Act II, “It’s Too Darn Hot.” I grew up a dancer and I had a great appreciation for this scene and every single one of the actors’ ability to convey emotion without dialogue. Like other students that I spoke with, I was a fan of the “two men” and their goofy, uninhibited performance of loan sharks thrown into a play. Their characters served as perfect comedic relief within Taming of the Shrew, which I enjoyed the most.

While there were a few things I would change about the play, for example, including a little background of Shakespeare’s comedy in the playbill and making the play a little shorter, I truly did enjoy the experience and I would recommend it to anyone.