#bella and samuel spewack

[adaptationsdaily]

'Tom, Dick or Harry' musical number in Kiss Me Kate (1953) dir. George Sidney

[doyouknowthismusical]

[audiemurphy1945]

We’re No Angels(1955)

[nine-frames]

The Cat and the Fiddle, 1934.

Dir. William K. Howard | Writ. Bella & Samuel Spewack | DOP Harold Rosson & Charles Clarke with Technicolor Photography by Ray Rennahan

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Paramount Pictures may have removed most of the larceny from Michael Curtiz’ WE’RE NO ANGELS (1955, TCM) and turned two murders into accidents, but they couldn’t avoid charges of plagiarism off-screen. The film cites as its sole source Albert Husson’s French play “La Cuisine Des Anges,” but it’s also an almost scene-for-scene copy of Samuel and Bella Spewack’s stage adaptation, “My Three Angels.” It even keeps many of the Spewacks’ lines. They sued, but there’s no record of the results, though one would think the case a no-brainer.

Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov are a trio of Devil’s Island escapees (in the original, they were prisoners on work assignment) who land in Cayenne where they plan to rob and kill shopkeepers Leo G. Carroll and Joan Bennett. Not wanting to ruin their Christmas, they respond to the couple’s generosity by deciding instead to solve their problems. That’s a tall order, considering that the store’s French owner (Basil Rathbone) is planning to kick them out.

Critics complained that the film felt stage-bound, but oddly, its biggest problems occur when Curtiz tries to make it more cinematic. The opening on the waterfront drags, and Bogart lacks energy at the start. Later, closeups kill some comic bits that rely on repetition and fast timing, the kind of thing that works better in a stage picture. The one place a cinematic choice works is early on, when Curtiz cuts between the convicts, who are supposed to be fixing the shop’s room, and the family they’re spying on through a set of skylights. It not only sets up Bogie et al’s change of heart, but also increases our identification with the escapees who, like us, are spying on the domestic comedy. When the film plays out in longer shots in the shop interior, it’s often quite funny and even charming. Bogart is at his best conning the shop’s customers and in a few scenes where he connects with Bennett. Ustinov has some great line readings, Ray’s gravelly voice makes his more whimsical moments hilarious, and Rathbone brings a touch of vinegar just when the whole thing is about to drown in sentimentality. Future scream queen Gloria Talbott is Carroll and Bennett’s daughter, and TV Western hunk John Smith (a Henry Wilson discovery), a ship’s doctor.

[picolin]

Kiss Me, Kate

Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter

Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack

dir. Bartlett Sher

2024年6月22日 Barbican Theatre

USからバートレット・シャーを演出に、ステファニー・J・ブロックをリリー/カタリーナ役に招いての 『キス・ミー・ケイト』 の新プロダクション。フレッド/ペトルーチオに 『ライン・オブ・デューティ』 のエイドリアン・ダンバー、ビル/ルーセンシオにチャーリー・ステンプ、ロイス/ビアンカにジョージーナ・オヌオラ、二人のギャングにナイジェル・リンジーとハメド・アニマショーンという豪華なキャスト。

同じくシャー演出のリンカーン・センター版 『 マイ・フェア・レディ』 でも回転舞台をうまく使った美術だったが、今回も同様、しかもぐるっと全回転させて時間の経過と舞台裏を見せるのが面白い。フレッドとリリーの楽屋の上の衣装ラックにアシスタントがいたり、劇場の外の螺旋階段（ちょっと 『フォリーズ』 を思わせる）の上で 「No Smoking」 の表示があるにも関わらずキャストが喫煙していたりする遊びもいい。アンソニー・ヴァン・ラーストの振付は派手というわけではないのだが、ステンプを筆頭に踊れるアンサンブルを十分に魅せる。美術と振付はバービカンの大きすぎない舞台にも合っている。

BWとWEのミュージカルスタアに挟まれたダンバーがどこまでミュージカルをできるのか、という点が最大の関心になるプロだが、映像での堅物イメージとは打って変わったユーモラスな演技と堅実な歌唱で客席を沸かせる。二人のギャングたちに芸達者なふたりを据えることで 『Brush up your Shakespeare』 が最高のショウストッパーになっている。そしてとにかくアンサンブルが強力。 『Too Darn Hot』 のセクシーさとかっこよさは最近見た舞台では出色もの。

[onehandtypingb1]

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: "Brush Up Your Shakespeare"

This song has been on my mind for the last several days, and I’m taking that as a sign… “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” is from the 1948 musical Kiss Me Kate, written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with lyrics and music by Cole Porter. It took home five Tony Awards in 1949, for Best Musical, Best Author (Musical), Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Producer of a Musical. It was adapted…

[musicalsorwhatever]

“Too Darn Hot” is the twelfth song and the act two opener in the 1948 Broadway musical: Kiss Me, Kate. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter (Anything Goes), the book by Bella and Samuel Spewack was based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The show was nominated for and won five Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. This song is lead by Lorenzo Fuller as Paul.

[shakespearenews]

“...early drafts of the Kiss Me, Kate book, located in the Samuel and Bella Spewack papers at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library in New York City, show that Bella attempted to change the narrative of Shakespeare���s The Taming of the Shrew, the basis and frame for Kiss Me, Kate, to create a more progressive Katharine. Unfortunately her attempts were edited out, apparently by her male collaborators, with the more active Katharine from her early drafts erased in favor of a more traditional take on the role.”

[thestageyshelf]

Kiss Me Kate @ Chichester Festival Theatre 2012 (#87)

Title: Kiss Me Kate

Venue: Chichester Festival Theatre

Year: 2012

Condition: Wear to edges

Author: Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Sam Spewack and Bella Spewack

Director: Trevor Nunn

Choreographer: Stephen Mear

Cast: Hannah Waddingham, Alex Bourne, Holly Dale Spencer, Adam Garcia, David Burt, Clive Rowe, Mark Heenehan, Wendy Mae Brown, Jason Pennycooke, Paul Grunert, Kevin Brewis, Samuel Holmes, Harry Morrison, Warren Sollars, Richard Jones, Holly James, Tanya Robb, Carolyn Maitland, Jo Morris, Shaun Henson, Christopher Dickins, Michelle Bishop, Kate Tydman

FIND ON EBAY HERE

[outoftowninac]

BOY MEETS GIRL

1937

Boy Meets Girl is a comedy by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The original production was produced and directed by George Abbott. 

The play concerns two screenwriters in a rut who come up with a story idea starring a bankable cowboy and the baby of the studio's waitress. 

After a week of out-of-town previews in Philadelphia at the Broad Theatre, the play opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre (now the James Earl Jones) on November 27, 1935 and ran for 669 performances. The cast included Jerome Cowan and Allyn Joslyn as Benson and Law, and 'Everett Sloane' as Rosetti. 

The characters of the screenwriters were based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. The character of the producer was based on Darryl F. Zanuck.

While the Broadway production was still playing, one of the road companies arrived in Atlantic City on March 26, 1937 to play the Earle Theatre on Atlantic Avenue. Boy Meets Earle? 

Four months later, after the Broadway production finally closed, the show was back in Atlantic City at the Garden Pier Theatre in a season of Broadway hits. 

The film adaptation of Boy Meets Girl premiered in Atlantic City on August 13, 1938 at the Warner Theatre on the Boardwalk. The film was later seen at the Virginia, the Colonial (later called the Center), and the Royal (later called the Hollywood). 

Boy Meets Girl had two short-lived Broadway revivals, in 1943 at the Windsor Theatre for 15 performances. and in 1976 at the Playhouse (later known as the Jack Lawrence) for 15 performances.

[ticketsmycom-blog]

KISS: End of the Road World Tour

Love Rock? Get in touch with Kiss in STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, don't miss the day 2019/09/20, sharp at 19:30:00. A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely.Kiss (often stylized as KISS) is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley.Kiss Me, Kate is a musical written by Samuel and Bella Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi.Kissimmee ( ki-SIM-ee) is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County."Kissed by Fire" is the fifth episode of the third season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 25th episode of the series.Kiss Me Once is the twelfth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 14 March 2014 by Parlophone.Kiss is the second studio album by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on September 14, 2012, by 604, Schoolboy and Interscope Records.Kiss is the debut studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on February 8, 1974. Much of the material on the album was written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, as members of their pre-Kiss band Wicked Lester.Kiss Him, Not Me, known in Japan as Watashi ga Motete Dōsunda (Japanese: 私がモテてどうすんだ, Hepburn: lit. What's the Point of Me Getting Popular?), is a Japanese romantic comedy shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Junko.The following is the discography of the American rock band Kiss. The group, formed in 1973, first consisted of bassist Gene Simmons, rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. Read the full article

[frontmezzjunkies]

So in Love am I with Roundabout's Kiss Me Kate

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #KissMeKate @RoundaboutNYC starring @Kelliohara #WillChase @CorbinBleu @StefunnyStyles directed by #ScottEllis choreography by #WarrenCarlyle

The Review: Roundabout’s Kiss Me Kate

By Ross

It’s a glorious return, this Roundabout Theatre revival of Kiss Me Kate. “So in Love” is all I can say about this “Too Darn Hot” musical, written by Samuel and Bella Spewack (1938’s Leave It to Me!) with music and lyrics by Cole Porter (Anything Goes). It swings its backstage door wide open right off the bat, flying the festivities forward on a whole…

[lopehernanchacon]

Lope Hernan Chacón: Brilliant ensemble: Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate from Opera North

Cole Porter: Kiss me Kate – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Cole Porter: Kiss me Kate; Quirijn de Lang, Stephanie Corley, Zoë Rainey, Alan Burkitt, John Savournin, Joseph Shovelton; dir: Jo Davies/Edward Goggin, cond: James Holmes; Opera North at the London Coliseum Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 20 June 2018 Star rating: 4.5 (★★★★½) A brilliant ensemble performance in this revival of Jo Davies’ 2015 production

Quirijn de Lang, Stephanie Corley – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Not every musical is suitable for an opera company to produce, but Cole Porter’s 1948 musical Kiss me Kate (with book by Bella and Samuel Spewack)  seems tailor made. The re-working of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew combines the play with back-stage fighting by the cast, with the result that Porter’s score alternates between standard musical numbers and something approaching operetta, in fact the original two principals were drawn from the operatic world. The original orchestrations were done by that great Broadway musician Robert Russell Bennett (in collaboration with Don Walker), and one of the advantages of an opera company revival is the chance to hear the original orchestrations in their full orchestral splendour.

Opera North has revived Jo Davies‘ 2015 production of Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate and is touring it. Having opened in Leeds and travelled to Ravenna, Italy, the show opened at the London Coliseum on 20 June 2018 (and is there until 30 June 2018). The production was revived by Edward Goggin and conducted by James Holmes with a cast which spanned both opera and musical theatre, including Quirijn de Lang as Fred/Petruchio, Stephanie Corley as Lilli/Kate, Zoë Rainey as Lois/Bianca and Alan Burkitt as Bill/Lucentio, plus Joseph Shovelton and John Savournin as the Shakespeare-loving gangsters. The cast was completed by the inestimable Opera North Chorus (which provided three of the smaller roles), plus a group of dancers, whilst James Holmes conducted the Opera North orchestra in the pit.

Zoe Rainey, Alan Burkitt – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Davies’ inventive production, based around mobile flats (designs by Colin Richmond), moved easily and fluidly from the backstage scenes to on-stage presentation of the play. The whole production was very crisp and tight, with superb participation from the Opera North chorus which moved alongside the dancers in an admirable manner with none of the separation between singing chorus and dancers which can happen.

I have to confess that I have always found the cod Shakespeare bits of the musical have their longeurs, but Davies and Goggins brought a lively imagination to the bad Shakespeare staging and of course, Bella and Samuel Spewack’s book makes the backstage fighting between Fred and Lilli spill over into the scenes between Petruchio and Kate, giving a superb sense of uncertainty as to whether we were experiencing Kate in the play or Lilli in real life, something which gave the climactic scene at the end of Act One real zest in this performance. The operatic and musical theatre performers fitted admirably together, and you never really thought about the background of one or the other. Quirijn de Lang and Stephanie Corley (both from an operatic background) made a wonderfully sparring Fred and Lilli, combining anger with an underlying sense of hurt and feeling. Both brought a lovely feeling of long line to ‘So in love’, whilst Corley really spat out ‘I hate met’ and de Lang clearly relished all the suggestiveness moments in ‘Where is the live that late I led?’.

Cole Porter: Kiss me Kate – Quirijn de Lang & ensemble – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

The secondary couple Zoe Rainey and Alan Burkitt (both from a musical theatre background) were equally strong, in their different ways. Zoe Rainey was a bundle of energy, simply brilliant in ‘Always true to you in my fashion’ in a performance which was visually entertaining yet always brought out Cole Porter’s words. She and Alan Burkitt’s Bill sparred, albeit less viciously than the lead couple, duetting in ‘Why can’t you behave’ and Burkitt showed some superb tap skills in his solo number.

Joseph Shovelton, John Savournin – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

The ensembles were led by Aiesha Pease and Stephane Anelli as Hattie and Paul, both contributing vivid performances and some slick dancing, whilst Jack Wilcox and Piers Bate provided strong support as Hortensio and Gremio. Joseph Shovelton and John Savournin were the two gunmen, hilariously out of their depth in the play, but delivering a finely pointed account of ‘Brush up your Shakespeare’ with a neat sense of the text and all the trappings of a polished double act.

Will Tuckett’s choreography was simply brilliant, (revival choreographer David James Hulston) spilling over into the whole show and making the dance numbers a vivid theatrical experience which filled the whole stage. There were plenty of standard Broadway show tropes, but also much else which was inventive and vivid.

As I have said, the chorus was on superb form and there was a seamless blend between music, movement and dance so that we saw a tight whole rather than a series of component parts. They also seemed to be having terrific fun.

The soudn design from Autograph Sound was excellent, providing a very natural sounding balance without a sense of over-amplified voices, and filling the Coliseum (no mean feat) whilst ensuring we could hear all the words.

In the pit were heard a band far bigger than we would have got on Broadway originally with 30 strings, as well as the extra players used by Russell Bennett, notably five saxophone players (doubling on woodind), five brass players and a large percussion section. Conductor James Holmes ensured that the opulence did not lead to the sort of over-blown operatic performance which can be fatal for a musical and we were able to enjoy orchestrations which combined a lush sense of colour and timbre with vitality and impulse.

 Having heard the Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations for Lerne and Loewe’s My Fair Lady at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris [see my review] not to mention John Wilson’s performances of musicals at the BBC Proms [see my review of Rogers and Hamerstein’s Okalhoma], I feel that we should be making more of an effort to perform these shows in the the theatre with the original orchestrations.

Cole Porter: Kiss me Kate – Opera North (Photo: Tristram Kenton)

Director Jo Davies Revival Director Edward Goggin Set and Costume Designer Colin Richmond Choreographer Will Tuckett Associate Choreographer David Hulston Lighting Designer Ben Cracknall

Fred Graham / Petruchio: Quirijn de Lang Lilli Vanessi / Katharine: Stephanie Corley Lois Lane / Bianca: Zoë Rainey Bill Calhoun / Lucentio: Alan Burkitt Hortensio: Jack Wilcox Gremio: Piers Bate Hattie: Aiesha Pease Paul: Stephane Anelli Gunman: Joseph Shovelton Gunman: John Savournin Harry Trevor / Baptista: James Hayes Harrison Howell: Malcolm Ridley Nathaniel: Adam Tench Gregory: Tatenda Madamombe Phillip: Deangelo Jones Ralph (Stage Manager): Claire Pascoe Stage Doorman: Jeremy Peaker Cab Driver: Ivan Sharpe Dancers: Michelle Andrews, Rachael Crocker, Freya Field, Kate Ivory Jordan, Harrison Clark, Jordan Livesey, Ben Oliver, Ross Russell, Stephanie Elstob

//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=planhugi-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B000026Z7G&asins=B000026Z7G&linkId=ef653299f3b663794b3334f12e6bae97&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true Elsewhere on this blog:

‘A well-regulated church music’ – John Eliot Gardiner at the Bach Weekend at the Barbican  (★★★★) – concert review

Humanity & warmth – Solomon’s Knot at the Bach Weekend at the Barbican  (★★★★½) – concert review

Handel Sonatas for violin and basso continuo (★★★★★) – CD review

Engaging rarity: Verdi’s Un giorno di regno from Heidenheim (★★★★) – CD review

Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at The Grange Festival (★★★★) – Opera review

Seriously unusual: Stephen Barlow introduces Buxton Festival’s production of Verdi’s Alzira – interview

Second View: Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at Opera Holland Park conducted by George Jackson (★★★★) – opera review

Sei solo: Bach’s partitas and sonatas for violin alone from Thomas Bowles (★★★½) – CD review

Io la Musica son: Francesca Aspromonte in Prologue  (★★★★★) – CD review

Aldeburgh Festival: Britten and Bernstein side by side in Suffolk (★★★★★) – concert review

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[thestageyshelf]

SOLD 🎭 Kiss Me Kate @ London Coliseum 2018 (#86)

Title: Kiss Me Kate

Venue: London Coliseum

Year: 2018

Condition: Creasing

Author: Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack

Director: Jo Davies

Choreographer: Will Tuckett

Cast: Quirijn de Lang, Stephanie Corley, Zoe Rainey, Alan Burkitt, Aiesha Pease, Stephane Anelli, Jack Wilcoz, Piers Bate, Joseph Shovelton, John Savournin, James Hayes, Malcolm Ridley, Adam Tench, Tatenda Madamombe, DeAngelo Jones, Claire Pascoe, Jeremy Peaker, Ivan Sharpe, Michelle Andrews, Harrison Clark, Rachael Crocker, Stephanie Elstob, Freya Field, Kate Ivory Jordan, Jordan Livesey, Ben Oliver, Ross Russell, Adam Tench, Chorus of Opera North

FIND ON EBAY HERE

[musicalsorwhatever]

“Always True to You (In My Fashion)” is the fourteenth song in the 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter (Anything Goes), the book by Bella and Samuel Spewack was based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The show was nominated for and won five Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. This song is performed by Lisa Kirk as Lois Lane.