Unhappily, the version now on the boards at Cain Park in lacking in several of the most fundamental areas. It’s billed as ‘professional’ but really, there’s only one ‘real’ pro on the stage—Paul Floriano as one of the gangsters. He is so at ease up there, and talented with it, he inadvertently makes everyone else look like just what they are—a bunch of high school and college age kids, doing a ‘hey, kids! let’s put on a show’ project.
Amplification in a theatre like Cain Park’s outdoor Evans Theatre makes for uneven performances: the singers come to rely too much on their microphones, and don’t dig in to find the depth they need to put over the song. When the decibel level is uncomfortably high—especially in the singer’s power range—and they stand front and center singing to the audience, how do you know what they’re singing, or to whom, or even why? Sometimes it makes you wonder, do they know?
It’s unfortunately laughable when Fred/Petruccio claims he’s 32, and really, he looks as though he might have started shaving just last week—in spite of his black hair, which never moved a strand during the performance. (Oh. Wonder if those locks were painted on, as was his mustache?) A few times Steel Burkhardt seemed to loosen up a bit and forget that he was acting, and actually became the person he was supposed to be.
Emily Krieger was some better as Lilli/Kate but mostly she was throwing tantrums, so it’s hard to say for sure. Her voice had the range necessary, but the amplification didn’t do her any justice at all. She did, however, look the part.
Martin Céspedes’ choreography was generally clever and fit the songs well. Perhaps it might have worked better with more of the stage available for the dancers. The most successful song was Too Darn Hot, a joyous ensemble effort spiced up by Jason Samuel.
Katie Greiner as Lois/Bianca was pleasing to the eyes, and vivacious overall, but lacked emotion in her big number Always True to You in My Fashion. Her beau, Bill/Lucentio was adequately played by Cornelius Bethea. They fared better on the high-energy Tom, Dick, or Harry. Actually, they exhibited more charisma than did the leads.
Before the final number, the shallow performances began to sound much the same; no depth, no emotion, no real believability. The set by Russ Borski was appropriate and generally worked well, although it did take up rather a lot of the available floor space. He was also responsible for the lighting. Costumes by Terry Pieritz were bright and colorful and apt for the two eras represented in the story. Music Director Larry Hartzell kept a brisk pace with his excellent sounding orchestra, but on occasion, the singing was not so together.
Certainly Director Carol Dunne has done other—better—productions locally. One wonders what caused this one to go so astray. A wider approach to casting might have helped, or maybe there are other reasons about which we’ll never know. Unfortunate. I’d truly looked forward to this event as Kiss Me Kate is one of my favorite shows. It still is. Past experiences at Cain Park had prompted me to hope for more, however.
Kiss Me Kate runs through July 9. For tickets or other information, call (216) 371-3000.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net (:divend:)