Kiss Me, Kate
Here’s something I think would be tough: Suppose you’re an arts critic for a local newspaper. And suppose your kid is starring as the leading man in his high school’s Spring musical. You must be bursting with pride, right? But writing about it in the newspaper is iffy, because first of all, it’s a high school musical, and second of all, if you say the performance is awesome cynics won’t believe it. And nobody else is getting the word out that it is truly splendid, so there are still empty seats every night. There was coverage in the SW Connection, outlining the cost of the production and the extraordinary fundraising parents have achieved to keep the drama program at the school despite budget cuts. But so far, I haven’t seen any reviews of
which still has four more shows to run, this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb 22-24.
I’m no drama critic, and I’m partially conflicted because my daughter is in the chorus and has a speaking part. One line, one word, one syllable: “Sir!” I will state flat out that I do not believe it is possible for anyone to say “Sir!” with greater dramatic effect than the magnificent renditions delivered at the three performances so far. But leaving that aside ….
If you can make the time to see this musical, Thursday/Friday/Saturday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.: Do. It’s delightful. It’s a high school musical, sure. The rented audio equipment sometimes fades in and out, and there are the occasional not-supposed-to-be-funny moments like when a member of the set crew took away a prop in a scene change, then scurried on stage with a worried face to bring it back just in time. But it exhibits the essence of the good things that can still be found in our public schools: bright young people and excellent teachers working hard to do their very best, for your benefit as well as their own. The on-stage band, the only high school orchestra on the west side, plays like they appreciate the opportunity. The entire cast pulls together, and you smile along with them. They even do a good job of dealing with the mature and troubling sub-plot, Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, featuring physical domestic violence and mental abuse of independent Katherine. Doesn’t sound like fun, but they render it both understandable and meaningful.
And the leading lady…. oh, the leading lady. When she sings, your troubles fly out of your mind and your spirit soars, with a lump in your throat and tears springing to your eyes as she hits every note with lovely clarity. It’s worth many times the $10 admission price ($8 seniors/students), just to hear her sing. Her duets with her leading man make you believe young love can last for ever. She intends to become a pediatrician after graduating this June, so don’t think you can wait and see her on Broadway.
If you want to find out the identities of the leading man, leading lady, best supporting actors, and the rest of the cast, and witness the world’s most moving rendition of the word “Sir!”, come visit one of Portland’s high schools later this week. It’s less than 25 minutes from pretty much anywhere in Portland – take I-5, Terwilliger north, left on Capitol Highway, left at Sunset. It’s a remarkably entertaining production, and I think you’ll enjoy “Kiss Me, Kate” at Wilson High School.