Tryon Festival Theatre April 21-24, 2016
Book by Bella and Samuel Spewak
Music by Cole Porter
Sarah Wigley, director
Michael Tilley, music director
Louis Bergonzi, conductor
Endalyn Taylor, choreographer

"What a thrill to be able to direct a piece concerning a subject each member of the cast (myself included) knows about... performers.

First inspired by the on- and off- stage battling of husband-and-wife actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne during a 1935 production of Taming of the Shrew, this musical comedy still questions how me handle the blurred lines between onstage and offstage, love and hate, and between drama for the sake of theatricality and what is at the core emotionally dramatic.

Reflecting current Hollywood glamour, we have revitalized the lives of these 'stage folk' by setting this production of Kiss Me, Kate in the Hamptons, present day. Juxtaposed between a chic, modern, breezy seashore feeling is Fred Graham's updated steampunk version of Taming of the Shrew. This play-within-a-play is currently opening in the Hamptons as our musical opens with the famous 'Another Op'nin', Another Show.'

Of course, no show opening in 2016 would be complete without a red carpet and paparazzi! I personally relish the fact that, in 2016, stage managers, technicians, and gangsters can be women... both onstage and off.

Innovation and interdisciplinary instruction are at the forefront of our Lyric Theatre @ Illinois initiative. With an onstage orchestra of over 65 students (University of Illinois Philharmonia), six incredible featured dancers from our University of Illinois Department of Dance, a cast of students majoring in everything from voice and acting to nutrition science, and an artistic team consisting 100% of University of Illinois faculty, this Kiss Me, Kate experience exemplifies true Illini collaboration. Now sit back and relax because-

'The overture is about to start,

You cross your fingers and hold your heart,

It's curtain time and away we go!'"

-Sarah Wigley, Stage Director

CAST
LILLI/KATE- Ruth Kenney*, Lara Semetko**
FRED/PETRUCHIO- Anson Woodin, Chris Anderson (Cover)
LOIS/BIANCA- Carli Liguori, Emilyann O'Brien (Cover)
BILL CALHOUN- Bennett Kosma
HARRY BAPTISTA- Jeff McGill
GANGSTER #1- Caitlin Richardson
GANGSTER #2- Ellen Magee
HATTIE- Delaney Sterling
HORTENSIO- Eric Mendoza
GREMIO- Thomas Welsh-Huggins
WARDROBE LADY- Lauren Deppe
POPS/PADUA PRIEST- Dick Schacht
GENERAL HOWELL- Chris Anderson, Richard Schacht (Cover)
RALPH- Alex Hutton
STAGEHAND 1/CAB DRIVER/NATHANIEL- Katherine Bokenkamp
STAGEHAND 2/PHILIP- Colleen Bruton
STAGEHAND 3/GENERAL'S- Annie Hamilton
DANCE CAPT/GREGORY- Alyssa Lenenfeld
PAUL- James Washington
PADUA INN WAITRESS- Emilyann O'Brien
FEATURED DANCERS- Isiah Asplund, Alyssa Gordon, Alex Hutton, Thomas Welsh-Huggins, Alyssa Lenenfeld, Cana Rhode

* 4/22, 4/24
** 4/21, 4/23

PRODUCTION STAFF
STAGE DIRECTOR- Sarah Wigley
CHOREOGRAPHER- Endalyn Taylor
MUSIC DIRECTOR- Michael Tilley
CONDUCTOR- Louis Bergonzi
SCENIC DESIGNER/PROJECTIONS CONTENT DESIGN- Jose Manuel Diaz-Soto
COSTUME DESIGNER- Olga Maslova
LIGHTING DESIGNER- Michael Shoaf
SOUND DESIGNER- Tyler Knowles, Alec LaBau
MEDIA ADVISOR- John Boesche
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER- Zev Steinberg
PROPERTIES MASTER- Binky Donley
HAIR AND MAKEUP COORDINATOR- Aimee Beach
MUSICAL PREPARATION- Filippo Ciabatti, Jeeson Eun, Michael Bagby
STAGE MANAGER- Matt Grevan
​TECHNICAL DIRECTOR- Beth Martell