Heights Players to Present KISS ME, KATE

The Heights Players wraps up its "Season of Firsts" by presenting the glorious musical that won the first-ever Tony awarded for Best Musical, Kiss Me, Kate. Considered to be one of Broadway's treasures, this musical has wit, charm and true Broadway energy, with much of the credit going to the brilliant score by Cole Porter. Kiss Me, Kate opens Friday, May 15th at the Heights Players and will run through Sunday, May 31st.

Egotistical leading man, Fred Graham, is reunited with his ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi, when the two are forced to play opposite one another in a new musical production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The battle of the sexes is drawn both onstage and off-stage, as it becomes clear this couple - though professing to hate each other - is still in love. Add into the mix a few cases of mistaken identity, some gangsters and additional romantic entanglements, and you get a classic Broadway musical that is a joy from start to finish.

What makes it such a joy is the unforgettable score, filled with songs everyone knows, from "Another Op'nin' Another Show" to "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." The "effervescent wit of Cole Porter's songs, with their insolently ingenious double and triple rhymes and unforgettable melodies ... [are] the star attraction," said The London Daily Telegraph. Cole Porter had attempted many musicals before Kiss Me, Kate with little success. With this show, he attempted something different: composing songs that propel the story forward, instead of stopping the show every time someone sang. It worked and Kiss Me, Kate became Porter's biggest hit. With music that is at times witty, sensual, satiric or nostalgic, famed critic Walter Kerr said the score was "one of the loveliest and most lyrical yet composed for the contemporary stage."

Complimenting Porter's score is the book by Sam and Bella Spewack that is filled with comic energy and great one-liners, while moments of tenderness also shine through. Sprinkle in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and it is an evening of must-see theater! Join the Heights Players for Kiss Me, Kate on May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8 p.m. and May 17, 24 and 31 at 2 p.m. at The John Bourne Theatre at the Heights Players, 26 Willow Place between Joralemon and State Streets. Tickets are $25 and $23 for seniors and children under 18. Reservations can be made by calling (718) 237-2752 or online (www.heightsplayers.org).

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