Witty and thoroughly beguiling. Every number's a show-stopper. When two squabbling ex-marrieds are cast as squabbling Renaissance romantics in a musical The Taming of the Shrew, life imitates art, art imitates life - and it all proves no musical comedy imitates Kiss Me Kate, the backstage / onstage delight from the 1948 Broadway smash and featuring 14 peerless Cole Porter songs.
Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson are the tangled twosome So in Love despite her I Hate Men flashpoints. Ann Miller adds heat, razzle-tap-dazzling in Too Darn Hot and wowing Tom, Dick and Herry (Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van). Fosse and Hermes Pan provide zesty choreography under George Sidney's nimble direction. So Brush Up Your Shakespeare and enjoy. Kate won't just kiss you. She'll floor you.