Sharp-tongued woman

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is the inspiration and the target of Kiss Me Kate, an old favorite in a delightful new production by Runaway Stage. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Sam and Bella Spewak, the story involves the on- and off-stage trials of a theater company’s presentation of Shrew: The Musical. The conflict involves Fred Graham (Tevye Ditter), the show’s director, producer and star, and his leading lady—and ex-wife—Lilli Vanessi (Andrea St. Claire). Their backstage bickering alternates with and mirrors the onstage relationship of Petruchio and Kate in their struggling Shrew.

Ditter is one of the finest performers in community theater and he is commanding here; solid in both his singing and acting. His half of the duet “Wunderbar” is just that. St. Claire reaches her height in the humorous “I Hate Men.” A secondary romance involves ingénue Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her gambler boyfriend, Bill Calhoun, who plays Lucentio. Lauren Ettensohn and Mark Ettensohn play the pair; and she shines in the delightful “Always True to You in My Fashion.”

The show is long—very close to three hours—but director Bob Baxter keeps it moving apace. Lillian Baxter’s costumes add color and context. There was some raggedness in the horns of the Runaway Stage orchestra, but musical director Gary Suits coached smooth work from the string section and percussionist Ken Horton. A curtain as obstinate as Kate herself caused some hitches in opening-weekend performances.