The Cinema Museum, London

Musical Sunday: Kiss Me Kate (1953) event cancelled

Sun 26 Apr 2020 @ 14:00 · Events

Musical Sunday continues its 2020 season with a screening of Kiss Me Kate (1953), starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel and Ann Miller.

Kiss me KateThe director and actor Fred Graham and the composer Cole Porter invite the talented but spoiled actress Lilli Vanessi to perform Katherine in his musical version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, where Fred has the lead role of Petruchio. Fred and Lili are divorced and he has also invited his current affair, the promiscuous Lois Lane, to perform as Bianca. While they are preparing for the opening night, Lois’ real boyfriend Bill Calhoun, who performs as Lucentio in the play, tells Lois that he lost a large amount of money in gambling, and that he has signed an IOU  using Fred’s name. Out of the blue, two gangsters then arrive backstage to collect the same debt from Fred. Meanwhile Fred and Lilli’s real life mimics that of Katherine and Petruchio in the famous playm and in the intermission, Lilli says that she will quit the production but Fred pacifies the gangsters in order to keep Lilli in the show.

The original Broadway production of Kiss Me Kate opened at the New Century Theater in New York on Thursday, December 30th, 1948. It ran for 1077 performances. The show was the among the first recipients of the Antoinette Perry (Tony) Awards in 1949 for Best Musical, Best Book & Best Musical Score. For the film version, several of the lyrics were considered too spicy by the Production Code Administration. For instance, the line “according to the Kinsey Report” was changed to “according to the latest report” in the song, “Too Darn Hot”, and a verse containing the Bard’s vintage bawdy puns was omitted from “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” !

Cole Porter’s wonderful songs in the film include Too Darn Hot; Wunderbar; We Open in Venice; I Hate Men; Always True To You In My Fashion and From This Moment On.

Trivial Fact: Kiss Me Kate was originally filmed for 3D, which explains why characters are constantly throwing things directly at the camera.

Doors open at 13.00, and the film starts at 14.00.

Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Tickets £8. Screening in our downstairs cinema. Early booking advised.

Advance tickets may be purchased from Ticketlab, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.