Kiss Me Kate tells the tale of two once-married, now-divorced musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who are performing opposite each other in a Broadway-bound musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, in the roles of Petruchio and Katharina. Already on poor terms, the pair begin an all-out emotional war midperformance when Lilli discovers Fred sent his latest fling, Lois Lane, Lilli's wedding bouquet. (Lois plays the role of Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew".) The only thing keeping the show together are threats from a pair of gangsters: Lois's steady boyfriend (and the ...Read More
Kiss Me Kate tells the tale of two once-married, now-divorced musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who are performing opposite each other in a Broadway-bound musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, in the roles of Petruchio and Katharina. Already on poor terms, the pair begin an all-out emotional war midperformance when Lilli discovers Fred sent his latest fling, Lois Lane, Lilli's wedding bouquet. (Lois plays the role of Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew".) The only thing keeping the show together are threats from a pair of gangsters: Lois's steady boyfriend (and the show's Lucentio), Bill Calhoun, loves to gamble, and to avoid the responsibility of paying his debts, has signed Fred's name to an I.O.U. Gangsters have come to collect on it, and this show will provide the money that Fred needs to avoid getting his fingers broken. Fred, in turn, uses the gangsters to prevent the furious Lilli from walking out on the show after she discovers that the wedding bouquet was really meant for Lois and throws a tantrum, prompting Fred to literally spank her onstage. In classic musical comedy fashion, madness ensues, and both pairs of lovers are ultimately reconciled. Fred and Lilli presumably re-marry.
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