PBS Airs Porter's Kiss Me, Kate—with Barrett & York—Feb. 26

By Andrew Gans
26 Dec 2002

PBS' "Great Performances" will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a broadcast of the hit revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate in February 2003.

WNET/Thirteen will air the classic musical on Feb. 26 at 8 PM ET. Check local listings. Recorded live during its London engagement at the Victoria Palace, the TV Kate stars Brent Barrett as Fred Graham, Rachel York as Lilli Vanessi, Nancy Anderson as Lois Lane and Michael Berresse as Bill Calhoun. Directed by Michael Blakemore, the London production was based on New York's 1999 Tony-winning revival, which cast Brian Stokes Mitchell, who won a Tony for his work, and Marin Mazzie in the lead roles.

Loosely based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me, Kate originally opened at Broadway's New Century Theatre on Dec. 30, 1948. Featuring a score by Cole Porter and a book by Samuel and Bella Spewack, Kate ran 1,077 performances. The original cast included Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. The classic Porter score includes such tunes as "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "Too Darn Hot," "Wunderbar," "So in Love," "Always True to You in My Fashion," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," "Why Can't You Behave?,""We Open in Venice," "Tom, Dick or Harry," "I Hate Men" and "Where Is the Life that Late I Led?"

Kiss Me, Kate — a co-production of Thirteen/WNET New York, The Performance Company, and NHK — was directed for television by Chris Hunt. The creative team comprised Martin Packledinaz (costume design), Don Sebesky (orchestrations), Robin Wagner (scenic design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), Gareth Valentine (musical direction) and Kathleen Marshall (choreography).