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Cole Porter's wickedly witty "Kiss Me, Kate" from 1948 is showing its age a bit because the music — from operetta to jazzy swing — sounds so 1940s-'50s that it can't be updated or given a "relevant" contemporary spin.
Cole Porter's classic and sophisticated "Kiss Me, Kate," known for its show-within-a-show musical version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," was tweaked during its Broadway revival in 1999, ostensibly to tone down sexism and politically incorrect attitudes.
It's hard not to be impressed as you stand in the middle of the Wichita Center for the Arts gallery during its annual Student and Faculty Exhibition.
Even the Cabaret Oldtown cast jokes that "the set is the same, the costumes are the same, even the band is the same. The only thing different is the music."
It's easy to cruise right by the building in northeast Wichita where an art school is housed inside a former church building.
Mike Marshall is one of the greatest acoustic musicians in the world, a master of mandolin, guitar and fiddle. He's a legend in bluegrass and jazz; he's been known to play a little classical music, too.
It's been 22 years since Music Theatre paraded "Camelot" across the stage at Century II, but director Wayne Bryan and a brilliant trio of lead stars guaranteed Lerner and Loewe's admonition in the title song: "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."
By popular audience demand, the Cabaret Oldtown folks have compiled another original "Jukebox" anthology of nostalgic musical moments, but this time the show will celebrate "The One-Hit Wonders."
Dennis and Ann Ross and Dora Timmerman have worked for many years to support and provide leadership to Wichita-area arts programs.
The show may not go on for a student production at Friends University if cast and crew members are unable to raise $18,000 by Friday.
The Wichita Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday named Daniel Hege its new conductor. Hege, who has close ties to Kansas and led the Wichita Symphony in its season-ending performances in April, will become the orchestra's music director and conductor beginning in the 2010-11 season.
If Crown Uptown could bottle the energy and enthusiasm from the eager young cast of its newest show, "Disney's High School Musical," the dinner theater could probably cover its utility bills for the next decade.
