Kiss Me Kate 2018
Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Directed by William Myatt
Director's Note
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When I was in high school we did not do musicals, my experience in musicals began in college at The University of Northern Iowa. When I was a sophomore or a junior, Theatre UNI produced Kiss Me, Kate. I was fortunate enough to play Harry Trevor/Baptista. (We were all fortunate enough to have me singing from a crate and not dancing during "Too Darn Hot!" As a matter of fact, a recent edition of The Shield had a picture of me from the UNI production. Thanks to the Rod Library Research Staff at UNI for finding that photo.) In my time at UNI I was involved with two Cole Porter musicals, Kiss Me, Kate and Anything Goes. I came to appreciate Porter's jazzy musical style and storytelling. Kiss Me, Kate takes the story of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and spins a new layer about a theatrical troupe putting on a "modern" (well, 1940's) musical rendition of Shakespeare's classic. Of course, Porter added details to the retelling and connected to his audience; Dewey, Truman and a "gangster sister from Chicago" are among my favorites. However, in approaching this show for our modern audience, we were faced with a dilemma. The Taming of the Shrew, and indeed Kiss Me, Kate, can be taken as a misogynistic story of a man "taming" a shrewish woman. However, there is much more to the story and our production than that. Our production centers on the equality of men and women. Kate/Lilli and Petruchio/Fred are evenly matched. They both have faults, foibles and tenderness. In the original production Lilli's, new fiance is a southern senator, in this revival production her fiance is a general with political aspirations. It is through the General's behavior that Fred comes to understand the error of his ways and his mistreatment of Lilli. By the end of the production, both Fred and Lilli have grown as people and matured in their relationship with each other. The over-arching lesson of Kiss Me, Kate is to learn from and respect each other - certainly a lesson we can apply to our society today.
Cast
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Hattie - Sophia Dahm
Paul - John Mendelin
Lois Lane (Bianca) - Anna Marie Myatt
Bill Calhoun (Lucentio) - Spencer Clark
Lilli Vanessi (Katharine) - Madison Wells
Fred Graham (Petruchio) - Jimmy Guest
First Man - Quique Riojas-Berazaluce
Second Man - Ethan Kilcoin
Flynt (Gremio) - Odin McDonald
Riley (Hortensio) - Brady Sexson
General Harrison Howell - Joe Dilley
Pops (Stage Doorman) - Alex Jungers
Ralph (Stage Manager) - Logan Croll
Harry Trevor (Baptista) - Roger Pavey Jr.
Stagehand #1/Cab Driver/Nathaniel/Ensemble -Matt Bolin
Stagehand #2/Haberdasher/Ensemble - Taze Wilson
Stagehand #3/Gen. Howell's Driver/Ensemble -Caden Bennion
Phillip/Ensemble - Cody Connors
Dance Captain/Gregory/Ensemble - Jared Jones
Wardrobe Dresser - Ebby Barber
Too Darn Hot Trio - Logan Croll, John Mendelin and Taze Wilson
Ensemble - Grace Almgren, Ebby Barber, Caden Bennion, Matt Bolin, Katie Bullock, Harper Clark, Cody Connors, Lydia Cox, Logan Croll, Joe Dilley, Grace Engstrom, Addie Hegland, Erica Heiselman, Erika Holmberg, Isabelle Hotard, Jared Jones, Alex Jungers, Uma Kasichainula, Rachel Lyon, Odin McDonald, Maegan Neil, Amy Oberhart, Roger Pavey Jr., Delaney Riley, Leah Sanders, Brady Sexson, Abigal Shamrell, Caroline Sierk, Michaela Whitten and Taze Wilson
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Crew
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Vocal Director - David Baxter
Orchestra Conductor - Brian Gartner
Choreographer - Christina Myatt
Scenic Designer/Technical Director - Francis Dunbar
Lighting and Sound Designer - Zachary Chaplin
Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer - Mary Gode
Accompanist - Becky Seward
Assistant Director - Brooklyn Carlson
Stage Manager - Brenner Stickney
Assistant Stage Manager - Rachel Schwartz
Dance Captain - Harper Clark
Costume Head - Jei Valle-Riestra
Costume Crew - Hannah Anderson, Laylon Baucom, Nikki Chang and Raven Johanson
Makeup Head - Lola Johannsen
Makeup Crew - Alexis Belme, Lauen Gull, Abbey Jones, Ella Litchfield, Rachel Lyon, Emilee Stock and Jaden Waterhouse
Hair Head - Katie Bullock
Hair Crew - Harper Clark, Lydia Cox, Sophia Dahm, Erica Heiselman, Emily Johnson, Jenya Loughney, Amy Oberhart, Roger Pavey Jr., Laci Roberts and Abigal Shamrell
Head of Electrics - Jared Jones
Assistant Lighting Designers - Jared Jones and Uma Kasichanula
Light Board Operator - Sujay Marisetty
Lighting Crew - Jake Almgren, Sujary Marisetty, William Mercer, Meredith Onions and Ana Silva
Spot Operators - Molly Bimm and Austin Sievers
Head of Sound/Sound Boared Operator - William Mercer
Head of Set Construction - Hayley Damitz
Set Crew - Jake Almgren, Mason Barnes, Nihar Behere, Molly Bimm, Madeline Budan, Madison Carlson, Ethan Croll, Logan Croll, Emma Engler, Paulina Garza, Leah Hamby, Addie Hegland, Mya Hemphill-Molyneux, Erika Holmberg, Lola Johannsen, Raven Johanson, Odin McDonald, Noah Meyer, Miranda Miller, Alexis Murdock, Anna Marie Myatt, Amy Oberhart, Quique Riojas-Berazaluce, Hannah Rodenburg, Austin Sievers, Ana Silva and Benner Stickney
Shift Crew - Hayley Damitz
Props Head - Michaela Whitten
Props Crew - Ana Silva
Poster Designer - Siobhan Morley
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Orchestra
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Violin - Jeanelle Cho and Annie Warner
Flute - Margaret Huang and Abby Roth
Clarinet - Rachel Heine and Kaitlyn Ryan
Bass Clarinet - Lindsay Davison
Oboe - Allison Suen
Trumpet - Jacob Brees and Rece Vining
Bassoon - Jaden Logan
Euphonium - Nico Moralez
French Horn - Regan Breen and Miranda Miller
Alto Sax - Joel Kachappilly and Tre Reyes-Sutton
Tenor Sax - Elise Johnson
Bari Sax - Cyrus Barati
Trombone - Gina Prosser
Bass - Grace Welveart
Percussion - James Breen and Nick Hammes
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