Theater review: Woodside's 'Kiss Me, Kate' is lively and fun Theater review: Woodside's 'Kiss Me, Kate' is lively and fun (November 10, 2004)

By Jennifer Brown
Special to the Almanac

The Woodside Community Theatre is presenting a lively rendition of the musical "Kiss Me Kate," a play about a theater group performing Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" at Ford's Theatre in Baltimore in 1948.

The classic musical by Cole Porter contains such familiar songs such as "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "Too Darn Hot" and "From This Moment On."

Lead cast members play two roles -- actors in the 1948 performance, and characters in "Shrew."

Michael Amaral as Fred Graham/Petruchio and Heather Losey as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine capture your full attention in a battle of great vocals and physical tantrums -- both on and off stage. Their love-hate relationship is the centerpiece for this musical.

Alicia Molin as Lois Lane/Bianca plays the nightclub singer trying for her first shot at legitimate theater with her fella Bill Calhoun/Lucentio, played by David Carr-Berry. Getting to Broadway seems like a stretch for this street-life lady, but when she starts to sing you know she's got the goods. Bill, on the other hand, plays the hopeless gambler losing out on money but never his love for Lois.

David Wenrick and Jack Riewerts play two gangsters collecting for a loan shark and wind up playing jesters in the "Shrew" to protect their interest. They take on a good comedic turn and later bring it home with "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."

Choreographer Patti Michelsen skillfully uses the limited stage space to present full-cast dances as if they were in a spacious plaza in Verona. Her mixing of dancers and bystanders is well executed. Her "It's Too Darn Hot" scene stole the show.

Deborah Rosas' costume design is spectacular. More than 100 volunteers are involved in the cast, orchestra and production crew.

INFORMATION

"Kiss Me, Kate" show time is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, November 11, 12, and 13, at Woodside School's Sellman Auditorium, 3195 Woodside Road, Woodside. A pre-show by Woodside Elementary School children starts at 7:15 p.m. Tickets at $15 for adults and $10 for children under 18 are available at the school office from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., or can be reserved by calling co-producer Donna Losey at 365-6404. For more information, go to www.woodsidetheatre.org.

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