To liven up a musical romance, how about a couple of hit men sent to collect a gambling IOU? Simply referred to as Man 1 and Man 2, these characters are played by Stan Peal and Lou Buttino. Later, in Act Two, these same two men give an interpretation of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” “Kiss Me, Kate” opens at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Tryon Fine Arts Center and runs through Sunday with the closing matinee at 3 p.m. Ticket can be purchased on line at www.tltinfo.org, or by calling TLT’s box office at 828-859-2466. Pictured is Stan Peal (left) and Lou Buttino (right) presenting  the IOU to an astonished Chris Tinkler (center, playing Fred Graham). (Photo submitted by Ford Smith)