YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Youngstown State University’s theater program will conclude its season this weekend with the classic musical “Kiss Me, Kate.”
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m.
Sunday in Ford Theater, on the lower level of Bliss Hall, 524 Wick Ave.
Tickets can be purchased in advance HERE or at the box office before each performance.
The beloved Broadway show features music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Samuel and Bella Spewack.
“Kiss Me, Kate” is a backstage comedy inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”
The story follows a feuding pair of ex-spouses – both actors – who must navigate romantic rivalry, mob entanglements and Shakespearean mischief over the course of one wild opening night.
Originally produced on Broadway in 1948, the show features songs that have become standards, including “Too Darn Hot,” “Wunderbar” and “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.”
Directed by Adam Day Howard, the cast includes Ben Podnar, Maria Anastasiades, Robert Channel, Natalie Horvath, Alex Shina, Nate Perry, Vixen Atwood, Liam Burk, Owen Mills, Jessica Sprague, Romerio Dawkins, Cadence Watson, Grace Burk, Noah Dudai and Eric Ballard.
Katherine Garlick, assistant professor, is the costume designer; Todd Dicken is scenic designer; Ellen Dayan is costume shop coordinator; Gunnar Carwile is technical director; Jon Zelezniak is lighting adviser; Helena Snyder is stage manager; Adriana Rosario is assistant stage manager; Gianna D’Alesandro is lighting board operator; and Kurt Boggs is sound board operator.
In his director’s note, Howard describes the show as “a lively collision” of love and art, where backstage chaos meets Shakespearean wit – all wrapped in a Cole Porter score.
Rather than shying away from the show’s classic theatrical conventions, this production will embrace them, celebrating theater’s egos, romances and “stubborn magic.”