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Amazon.com Cole Porter's masterwork Kiss Me, Kate was revived in a splashy production that played on Broadway in 1999 then in London, where this version was filmed in front of a live audience in 2002.Broadway veterans Brent Barrett and Rachel York play pompous Fred Graham and feisty Lilli Vanessi, respectively, the couple whose roles in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew mirror their offstage feud. The play-within-a-play format is reflected in a score that has both contemporary '50s songs ("Too Darn Hot") and Bard-inspired stage songs ("I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua").Other songs such as "Wunderbar," "So in Love," "Why Can't You Behave?," "Always True to You (In My Fashion)," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" are among Porter's best-loved melodies and wittiest lyrics.Nancy Anderson and Michael Berresse (the lone principal still remaining from the original Broadway cast) sing and dance up a storm as the secondary couple Lois and Bill, and Teddy Kempner and Jack Chissick steal scenes as the gangsters.Recommended for fans of musicals, though it's not the most family-friendly choice due to gender conflicts and stereotyping. --David Horiuchi ... Read more Reviews (29) 
Sit down and listen up...
'Kiss Me Kate', Winner of 5 Tony Awards, 6 Drama Desk Awards and 4 Outer Critics Awards including Best Musical Revival, is a wonderful production with breathtaking performances from a stellar cast including Brent Barrett and Rachel York. What I want to clear up is the criticism of the DVD. I have to disagree with everything negative said - the sound is fine and a pleasant balance of orchestra and vocal with a crisp clarity.
Secondly, the DVD is widescreen and captures a lot of the onstage 'business'. Indeed the cameras do follow the main action, but never misses anything. It has been filmed by people who both appreciate the performance, the art and the intention of Michael Blakemore. Since he directed it and then adapted 'Kiss Me Kate' for television, surely he of all people knows what needs to be filmed? Always, the performance has an 'on stage' feel and I urge you to ignore the exaggerated views of others here. Sound is good, video is good, DVD menu is good and I guarantee that you'll be as enthusiastic about the DVD as I was today after watching it. Maybe the others need to appreciate that this is a stage 'adaptation' as stated on the DVD case.
Somewhat dissapointed
As a person who absolutely LOVES musical theater and saw the 1999 Revival of Kiss Me, Kate of Broadway with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Marin Mazzie I was dissapointed with this production. While the music and the dancing are spectacular I have a few qualms about the actual filming and some of the cast memebers.
1. Hattie: should have been someone else. The woman who plays her in the DVD was not as spectacular as Adriane Lenox who played Hattie in the 1999 Broadway Revival. There are moments when she just ISN'T on key, and it's grating on the nerves. 2. Lois Lane/Bianca: She's so much fun in the DVD, but now as fun as Amy Spanger was. I did enjoy that Bill Calhoun was played by the same person (Michael Berresse). Overall, the performance is superb, but the DVD needs help. No extras, no subtitles, none of the things that set DVD's apart from video.
Should have been so much better
I've seen a production of the original script (college), the movie version, the Broadway revival, and this version when it was first shown on PBS. While the performers were adequate, something about the pacing of this performance cast a pall over the show. The director opted to have characters draw out sequences that would have played better up to speed (Act I finale) and let other characters toss their lines away so quietly and so quickly that I wouldn't have known what was said had I not been so familiar with the show (Bill Calhoun). I tend to collect as many Broadway and movie musicals as I can, but this effort will not become part of it. If you have never seen a version of the show before, you should find it mildly entertaining, otherwise see the older movie version.
Great play, okay production, crummy recording
This is a Japanese TV (NHK Network) taping of an American musical performed in the UK. The British supporting players and chorus generally nail their American accents, but the characters' Americanness feels forced at spots. On the positive side, you still get Cole Porter's fantastic songs in a far more complete form than the 1950s film version provided, and the script holds up surprisingly well after all these years. In other words, this stage production has its good and bad points. However, the taping for television is mediocre. This is the second NHK Network recording of a musical I've seen (the other was the Broadway "Victor/Victoria"). In both cases there were very poor decisions as to choice of camera angles, when to switch from long shots to closeups, and editing in general. To be fair, NHK's target audience is not American, so it may just be a matter of differing tastes and aesthetics between East and West. Either way, I didn't much enjoy this telecast.
Too Darn Hot!
A worry I always have with filmed stage shows (as well as modern movie musicals in general) is that very few directors these days seem to be able to direct the filming of a choreographed dance routine. Worried about a static camera, they jump around and, worse still, give us close-ups of the dancers' faces. Looking back to the MGM and Warner musicals of the Golden Age, one can see that letting the dancers and choreographer do thier stuff and filming it with the minimum amount of technical flourish is the way it should be done. I am pleased to say that this filmed stage production of 'Kiss Me, Kate' mostly gets it right and shows off the staging both of the dances and the frantic dramatic action to it's best advantage.
Brent Barrett and Rachel York are absolutley fantastic in the leading roles, as are all of the principals (in particular Michael Berresse as Bill Calhoun, who fleshes out his character beyond the typically under written 'romantic lead'). Barrett plays one of Broadway's most complicated and demanding male roles with confidence and great emotion when required. York sings like an angel, screams like a banshee and pulls faces that could stop a clock as well as get the audience rolling in the aisles. Speaking of audiences, one way in which this production suffers is the seeming lack of an audience. Although there are laughs at the jokes there is no applause after the numbers. This seems a ridiculous omission, particularly considering the theatrical nature of the piece.
The re-written role of Harrison Howell, changing him from a boring cattle-baron to an agressive military man, jars as does the bizarre inclusion of a song for the character - 'From This Moment On'. The scene in the show involving Howell being mocked and eventually put to sleep, surely must rank as one of Broadway's most perfectly crafted and witty set-pieces. The re-written version on this DVD pales in comparison.
Cole Porter's best score is well served both vocally and visually (although I believe 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' is wasted) and the set and costumes are beautiful. I feel that the lighting is lacking in places, creating some gloomy scenes particulary in the 'Shrew' sequences which surely should be vibrant to the point of tackiness. The direction and performance during the 'Shrew' parts of the show are a real highlight - showing that Shakespeare can be fun - particularly when accompanied by a Cole Porter score!
Unless you're mad about gimmicky 3-D camera angles or a sanitized version of the show that avoids the B-word, avoid the Howard Keel, Katherine Grayson film and invest in this infinitely superior version of one of Broadway's gems.
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