What more could an audience ask – “Kiss Me, Kate” with its resplendent lyrics and score by Cole Porter, and delightful book by Samuel and Bella Spewack!  Throw in a large helping of William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” and you have the makings of a glorious evening in the theatre!  The show is a dynamic reminder of what made the Golden Age of musicals golden.

Director Dan Harvey has announced auditions Nov. 12 and 14 for the Tryon Little Theater’s revival of this beloved musical comedy celebrated for its wit, style, humor, and exuberance.  TLT first produced “Kate” in 1992, and it’s high time it appeared on the Tryon Fine Arts Center stage again. Production dates are Feb. 15-18, 2018.

As one critic put it when “Kiss Me, Kate” opened on Broadway in December 1948, the show was “a smash hit of epic proportions,” and it went on to win five Tony Awards, including the first ever given for Best Musical.  As another critic added gleefully, “’Kiss Me, Kate’ like ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is politically incorrect – thank goodness!”

This is a play within a play, which takes place on opening night of a musical version of Shakespeare’s “Shrew.”  The stars of the show are Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham, a divorced couple, still deeply in love, whose offstage battles mirror the behavior of the characters they’re portraying, Katherine and Petruchio.  Throw in a nightclub singer, Lois, her gambler boyfriend, Bill, the two gangsters who come to shake him down for money he owes, with a bevy of dancers and singers rounding out the cast.

You remember: “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” “Wunderbar,” “Where is the Life that Late I Led?”, “It’s too Darned Hot,” “So in Love,” “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” on and on.

For a breakdown of the roles in “Kate,” go to TLTinfo.org.  Auditions will be held at Sunnydale, the log cabin at 334 S. Trade Street, Tryon, at 7 p.m. on both Sunday, Nov. 12 and Tuesday, Nov. 14. Auditions will consist of singing a solo either from the show or in the Broadway style to show range and strength of voice, reading from the script, and a short dance audition — so wear comfortable shoes.  Those auditioning are asked to arrive 15 minutes early to complete audition forms.

– submitted by Connie Clark