Kelli O’Hara and Will Chase to Star in “Kiss Me, Kate”

Roundabout to Produce Revival at Studio 54

On February 14, 2019, a revival of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate begins previews at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54, ahead of an opening night of March 14, 2019. Currently, closing is planned for June 2, 2019. Kiss Me, Kate may extend a little, but it is scheduled to close in early June to make way for the next show in the Roundabout season.

Kiss Me, Kate first premiered on Broadway in 1948, winning five Tony Awards in 1949 including Best Musical. The last revival took place in 1999, when the show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning 5 including Best Revival of a Musical. The show has a book by Sam and Bella Spewack, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter.

Kiss Me, Kate was the first of his shows to incorporate a score that was integrated directly with the book, and the songs from this piece include “Another Op’nin, Another Show,” “I Hate Men,” “Too Darn Hot,” and “Brush Up on Your Shakespeare.”

Scott Ellis Directs Kelli O’Hara and Will Chase

Kiss Me, Kate will be directed by the Roundabout Associate Artistic Director Scott Ellis, whose Broadway directorial credits include She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century, The Elephant Man, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Harvey and Curtains. The choreographer is Warren Carlyle, whose Broadway choreography credits include Hello, Dolly!, She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Chaplin.

The role of Kate and Lilli Vanessi will be played by six-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara. O’Hara’s Broadway credits include The Light in the Piazza, The Pajama Game, South Pacific and The King and I. She received Tony nominations for all of these performances, and then finally won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for The King and I.

Fred Graham/Petruchio will be played by Will Chase, whose Broadway credits include Something Rotten!, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (for which he earned a Tony Award nomination), Billy Elliot and Miss Saigon. O’Hara and Chase, first starred in Kiss Me, Kate in a 2016 benefit concert. This is a rare chance to extend a benefit concert into a full-scale production.

In addition, the creative team for this Roundabout production includes David Rockwell as the scenic designer, Jeff Mahshie as the costume designer, Donald Holder as the lighting designer, Brian Ronan as the sound designer, and David Brian Brown as the hair and wig designer. The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date.