STAGE TO SCREENS: "Kiss Me, Kate" Producer Jac Venza & Star Brent Barrett
By Michael Buckley
19 Jan 2003
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Rachel York and Brent Barrett star in "Kiss Me, Kate" on PBS.
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| photo by Alistair Muir/Joan Marcus |
This month, we look at television's longest-running performing arts program,
"Great Performances," which is celebrating its 30th anniversary on PBS, and
chat with the series' creator, Jac Venza, and Brent Barrett, star of next
month's (Feb. 26) presentation of "Kiss Me, Kate."
***
"Great Performances," notes executive producer Jac Venza, "is the only
network primetime series that focuses on the fine arts. When public
television started, there were three commercial networks. It was only on
'The Ed Sullivan Show' that you'd see short bits of plays or musicals, or a
dance, and they were treated as one of the vaudeville acts — between the
juggler and the comedian."
Since its 1973 debut — with a production of Lanford Wilson's "The Rimers of
Eldritch," starring Rue McClanahan, Susan Sarandon, and Frances
Sternhagen — "Great Performances" has presented numerous plays, including "A Touch of the Poet," "Our Town," "The Norman Conquests," "Master Harold...and the Boys," "Once in a Lifetime," "All Over," "You Can't Take It with You," and "Ah, Wilderness!" Among the musicals were "Show Boat," "She Loves Me," "The Most Happy Fella," "Sweeney Todd," "Crazy for You," "Lena Horne: A Lady and Her Music," "Follies in Concert," "Les Misérables in Concert," "Cats" and "Fosse."
His series, says Venza, "has approached musical theatre in many different
ways. We've done evenings of Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Stephen
Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Ira Gershwin, as well as shows based on the music
of stars, such as 'Julie Andrews in Concert.'" Venza considers it "a
tragedy" that the series was unable to present/preserve Jerome Robbins'
Broadway. "'Fosse' was important because Gwen Verdon and Ann Reinking worked very hard to re-create [Fosse's choreography]. It would be very hard to assemble that again. Right now, we're talking to Jo [Sullivan] Loesser [about a tribute to Frank Loesser], and we're working on a show about Comden and Green. We'll also show the tape of Oklahoma! that was made in England [after the Broadway production ends]."
The Chicago-born Venza spells his first name with three letters, he
explains, "because I was named for my grandfather, Giacchino [JAC-keeno],
but I've never used the name. If it were spelled J-A-C-K, people would
assume that that stood for John, which in Italian is Giovanni. That was the
name of my other grandfather." As a child during the Depression, Venza
"started getting involved with little theatrical things that were done in
the parks. I knew then that I was interested in the other part [of theatre],
not performing." That other part was theatrical design, which eventually led
Venza to a career, starting at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. He came to New
York in 1950, "and went to work for CBS."
As much as he enjoys musical theatre, Venza doesn't have a favorite show.
However, he fondly remembers the first Broadway musical he saw: Kiss Me, Kate. "I had just arrived in New York. It was a wonderfully designed
show. It inspired me." Naturally, he jumped at the opportunity to film the
latest incarnation of Kate during its last week in London: "It was
Michael Blakemore's production, with a terrific American cast in the four
leads."
***
The original Broadway production of Kiss Me, Kate premiered Dec. 30,
1948, and turned out to be Cole Porter's masterwork. It cost $180,000 to
produce and required 72 inventors. The composer purchased 97 tickets for a
coterie of friends to attend opening night — at a cost of over $1,000. The
musical ran 1,077 performances (the longest of any Porter show). Porter
would write only three more scores for Broadway: Out of This World
(1951), Can-Can (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955).
Inspired by the backstage bickering of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne during
a production of The Taming of the Shrew, Kate has a book by
Bella and Samuel Spewack. Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison originated the
leading roles of Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi; Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang
played the secondary leads, Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun. While Drake seems to
have been first choice, the female lead was initially offered to Mary
Martin. Others considered for Lilli were Jeanette MacDonald, Ruth Warrick
and opera stars Lily Pons and Jarmila Novotna. Drake and Morison re-created
their roles for a 1958 TV production. (A 1968 TV presentation starred Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence.)
Morison became very much associated with her role. She starred, opposite
Bill Johnson, in the original London company, co-starred with Howard Keel in
a 1964 British-TV presentation and appeared with Bob Wright in a 1965 New
York City Center production. Morison was singing "So in Love" as recently as
this past October, during Town Hall's Cabaret Convention.
The original cast recording of Kiss Me, Kate was the first Broadway
musical score to be released as an LP, and the principals re-recorded their
performances in stereo ten years later. At the 1949 Tony Awards, Kate was named Best Musical, the first Tony ever awarded in that category. Other Tonys went to Porter's score, the Spewacks book, producers Saint Subber and Lemuel Ayers, and Ayers' costume designs.
MGM's 1953 movie version starred Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, with Ann
Miller and Tommy Rall. While it has some wonderful moments, including James
Whitmore and Keenan Wynn as the comic henchman singing "Brush Up Your
Shakespeare," the film begins poorly. It opens at what's supposed to be
Porter's apartment, and has Ann Miller rushing in from a nightclub to sing
"Too Darn Hot." During her number, she aims objects towards the camera,
because the musical was filmed in 3-D. By the time of its release, the 3-D
craze had ended. (During 2002, the 3-D version was briefly shown at
Manhattan's Film Forum.)
Censors insisted that certain lyrics be changed from the stage version. In
"I Hate Men," the line "mother had to marry father" became "mother
deigned to marry father." In "Where Is the Life that Late I Led?" the lines
"A married life may all be well/But raising an heir/Could never compare/With
raising a bit of hell" were rewritten as "A married life is just a pain/And
raising an heir/Could never compare/To raising a bit of Cain."
When another number was needed for the film, "From This Moment On" (dropped from Out of This World) was interpolated. A highlight of the movie, it was danced by three couples: Miller and Rall, Jeanne Coyne and Bobby Van, Carol Haney and Bob Fosse. Fosse received permission from choreographer Hermes Pan to stage his portion with Haney. Lasting just over a minute, it's executed in what would become known as the Fosse style. The song "From This Moment On" was added to the Blakemore production, sung by Lilli and suitor Halliwell Howell, whose occupation was changed from politician to a MacArthur-like General.
*** Continued...
