Above, a photo of the final tableaux of Act One, from the original 1948 production of Kiss Me, Kate. Below, Albert Drake and Patricia Morrison.
Below, a cartoon by Jo Metzer from the Philadelphia Inquirer, showing Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne in the 1935 Theatre Guild production of The Taming of the Shrew, which came through Philadelphia on its way to Broadway in September of 1935.
A clipping from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin's review of Kiss Me, Kate. This is where I found the James Rouse cartoon that I'm using as the main image of the podcast episode. My thanks to the ever-helpful staff at the Periodicals Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia for helping me find R.E.P. Sensenderfer's original article.
Although I have seen it asserted in many sources that the Philadelphia production was essentially the same as the one that ended up on Broadway, my friend and former colleague at the University of the Arts, the composer Charles Gilbert, recently shared with me some Fun Facts:
I had a chance to dig into this history when the University of the Arts performed "Kiss Me Kate" on the stage of what was then called the Merriam Theater (formerly the Shubert, currently the Miller Theater) ten years ago in the spring of 2014. Two things of interest that turned up in my research: the opening number of Act II in Philly was titled "Too Damn Hot," according to the playbill. I guess a decision was made to soften that language before the NY opening, and the song is known to this day as "Too Darn Hot." Also, there was an additional scene (in the alley outside the theater) listed at the end of the second act that was not in the published edition of the script - assuming that got jettisoned as the show was readied for Broadway. You can find a few clips of that production on YouTube - here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_ByXoZG6uQ
Finally, a photo of Cole Porter himself, next to his piano and one of his favorite paintings. Also, an image of the Playbill program of the world premiere Philadelphia tryout run of Kiss Me, Kate at the Shubert Theatre.
Selected Bibliography:
Books
Block, Geoffrey, Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Weber. Oxford University Press, New York, 1997, pp. 217-218.
Eisen, Cliff and Dominic Broomfield-McHugh (editors), The Letters of Cole Porter. Yale University Press, New Haven, 2019, pp.
McBrien, Willam, Cole Porter: A Biography. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1998.
Stagg, Jerry, The Brothers Shubert, Random House, New York, 1968, p. 267.
Articles
"'Kiss Me Kate' Costing $180G," Variety, December 1, 1948, p. 49.
"Cole Porter's 'Kiss Me Kate' Opens at Shubert," by Edwin H. Schoss, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 3, 1948, p. 56.
"'Kiss Me, Kate' Seen Destined for Long Run," Camden Evening Courier, December 3, 1948, p. 22.
"Kiss Me, Kate," by R.E.P. Sensenderfer, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 3, 1948, p. 50B.
"Plays Out of Town: Kiss Me, Kate," Variety, December 8, 1948, p. 50.
