Casting Announced for Concert Staging of Kiss Me, Kate; James Brennan Will Direct | Playbill

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News Casting Announced for Concert Staging of Kiss Me, Kate; James Brennan Will Direct Michele Ragusa, who has been seen on Broadway in Young Frankenstein, Titanic and Ragtime, will play Lilli/Kate in a staged concert version of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate April 27 with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Michele Ragusa

The 8 PM performance will be conducted by Matthew Kraemer and directed by James Brennan.

The cast will also feature Mike McGowan as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Jenn Stafford as Lois Lane/Bianca, Patrick O'Herron as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio, Patrick Riviere as Gangster #1, David Bondrow as Gangster #2, Devon Borowski as Gremio/first suitor, Robert Sherman as Hortensio/second suitor, Maggie Zindle as Hattie, Tom Owen as Harrison Howell/Baptista and Chris Wietig as Paul/Ralph.

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?"

For ticket information for the evening at Kleinhans Music Hall, visit www.bpo.org.

 
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