BY PATRICIA MORISON
When it came time for opening night in Philadelphia, we had no idea how the show would do. We hadn’t even heard Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestrations yet. That day, we heard the orchestrations for the first time and all of a sudden, we thought, “Oh, my God!” On opening night, the audience went crazy. That first night was something amazing. From that night on, there were lines all around the block. We were thrilled and astonished. I remember Cole came with his wife Linda and his mother. Afterward, he came backstage an said, “My mother thought you were wonderful.” And I said to him, “Do you mean she wouldn’t come backstage to see me?” The next night, this darling little replica of Cole Porter came to my dressing room and said, “Cole said I should come backstage.” And do you know her name was Kate, too?
I really enjoyed playing Lilli, on Broadway, in summer stock, and for a year in London. If you sing the song from the show, bring your own personality to the part. You don’t have to do anything the way I did; you can find your own character. As Polonius says in “Hamlet,” “To thine own self be true.”
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Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production of “Kiss Me, Kate” concludes this weekend with five performances. For show dates and times, see the VC On Stage Calendar of Events.
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