|  | Kiss Me Kate
Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Tue 19th Oct - Sat 30th Oct 2004
7.30pm & Sat matinee 2.30pm
Tickets: £6 - £27
Box Office: 01752 267222
"Another op’nin’, Another Show"
The overture and opening number gets you in the mood for this "show within a show".
While the cast are rehearsing, their characters are revealed. The backstage bitching and the illicit love affairs....if memory serves, the same in every theatre from Baltimore to Brixham!
Julie-Alanah Brighten and Craig Urbani who take the dual lead roles of and Lilli/Kate and Fred/Petruchio really seemed to sparkle.
She has a great voice either for screaming the vitriolic lyrics of "I hate Men" (where she smashes most of the props and furniture on stage), or singing the deeply tender "So in Love".
 | | Petruchio and his Kate |
Kate and Petruchio ham it up brilliantly like panto villains getting the most out of their comedy routines, then suddenly they burst into romantic song.
Urbani, despite acting the arrogant cad, has a twinkle and a strut that would charm your grandmother into his arms!!!.....and the thigh high leather boots certainly added to his panto look.
Stunning Debut Performance
I would never have guessed Michelle Francis was making her professional debut. Vocally she was very strong and had great confidence playing the dim but pretty Lois/Bianca.
She really does get the best Porter lyrics to sing and has great fun with the raunchy "Tom Dick or Harry" then gets to asks the question "Why Can’t You Behave".
 | | Strike a pose: Bianca and Lucietio |
Definitely a name to watch out for! Ms Francis can’t easily be upstaged, but David Sellings as her lover Bill just about does it with his astonishingly athletic dance routine in Act 2.
Making use of the structure of the set he leaps, climbs and swings by his feet while singing. Really impressive - as were the other dancers in the chorus.
Highs and LowsAct Two opens with the steamy "Two Darn Hot", with the whole chorus led by brilliant Rambert trained dancer (but vocally slightly disappointing) Leroy Ricardo Jones.
Lots of stockings and suspenders guaranteed that this jazzy classic would be a crowd pleaser - well, with half the audience at least. The only thing I really didnt like about this show was the questionable and banal comedy of the gangster double act.
The wobbly sets and the panto-like delivery and lighting of the touring Shrew production (complete with panto horse) I could appreciate, but apart from their "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" number, the goofy duo just detracted rather than enhanced this production.
Fortunately they are not on stage that much!  | | The cast giving it their all |
This show has lots of pretend mistakes written into it, but sadly there was a major hiccup when the show came to a complete halt, apparently due to the sudden illness of one of the stage crew. The complex set involves many major changes but the curtain came down and stayed down while we all sat in the dark, nervously giggling, and wondering if it was all just part of the production or was it time for the interval and we hadnt realised!
A quick announcement from stage management and it was show time again ....till it happened a second time. The professional cast carried on but surely its the kind of thing that they pray only happens once in a run, if not a lifetime. Although the theatre was packed, the audience was not a young one, which is a shame as Cole Porter was a genius whose music and lyrics are as timeless as the themes of the Bard himself.
The musical arrangements were great and the band were still blowing their horns as the auditorium emptied.
I left feeling I had been entertained by a great cast who were not over-amplified (my usual gripe with musicals) and despite preferring the Ella Fitzgerald version I keep humming "Why Cant You Behave." 
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