Forsooth, the PAC at First United Methodist was packed with people on Friday night, as was the stage packed with players. The show was "Kiss me, Kate," Cole Porter's riff on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew."
It was a night on which John Bogan and Anna Maria Sparke were in excellent form, carrying the show upon their expressive and dashing forms. Whether in melody, diction or projection, these stars of community theater hit their marks.
Also hitting her note in dance and song was Centenary College student Amanda Kate Geneux. She brought a sense of humor to her sultry role as Bianca. Also dazzling the crowd with a tap dance number that hit its crescendo atop a piano was Ae'Jay Mitchell.
Travis Orr and Cory Olson were adept at bringing laughs to the stage as the gangsters and were winning in the duet, "Brush up your Shakespeare."
Katie Dupont's choreography was important in keeping the two and a half-hour production lively.
The Performing Arts Center deserves commendations for using live music in their shows. The excellent 15-piece orchestra for this show is directed by Carrie Stephens. The brass section - Mike Scarlato, Adrian Mitchell, Terry Hopkins and Susan Rogers - provided notable fun.
There are 2 performances remaining for this highly-recommendable show: tonight at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:30. The box office is (318) 429-6885; tickets are $9 and $17.
2 comments:
Thanks to Robert Trudeau for his review of "Kiss Me Kate". I particularly appreciate his praise for the PAC for its use of a live orchestra for its musicals. Bravo to producer Will Andress who, year after year, finds the money to pay for a quality live orchestra.
And last year River City Rep employed 23 musicians in their pit for their production of "A Little Night Music" conducted by concertmaster and Symphony conductor Kermit Poling. Local theatres have always done well in employing local musicians for musicals.
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