There’s a long history between two of the main characters in Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts’ production of “Kiss Me, Kate,” Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi.
There’s also been a long friendship between the two actors playing those roles in the musical that features a show within a show, David Schlumpf and Kira Lace Hawkins, respectively.
“Lilli and Fred were married, and she mentions that the day that the show happens happens to be the first anniversary of their divorce. So they’re currently divorced when we meet the characters,” Hawkins said in an interview Tuesday.
“They’ve had a long history of being together, and I think clearly meeting in the theater and building this relationship on stage and then developing it on stage as well, this ‘showmance’ that turns into a marriage that then dissolves is definitely a big part of what the show is bringing up after that. So, yes, one year after the divorce we find Fred very clearly trying to rekindle something with Lilli, but Lilli has some obstacles in her way, such as other suitors,” Schlumpf said.
Lilli left theater to become a movie star, Hawkins explained, so Fred is calling in a favor to try to get her back on the stage to get her name on the show’s poster to get people to buy tickets to the theater.
“Kiss Me, Kate” is at the Wagon Wheel Thursday, June 20 through June 29. Tickets can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org; at the box office at 2515 E. Center St.; or by phone at 574-267-8041.
A Show Within
A Show
The show within the show is a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of The Shrew.”
“They infused new music into the scenes, so it’s funny how it’s an adaptation of ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ and then within the show is an adaptation or addition of ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’ It’s kind of like this three-level chess, but it works quite well,” Schlumpf said.
Since she’s playing Lilli, Hawkins also gets to play shrewish Kate in the show within the show. Petruchio (Schlumpf playing Fred playing Petruchio) comes from out of town to tame Kate so that her younger sister can get married because she’s the one that has all the guys interested in her.
“But their father will not allow the younger sister to be married until the older sister has been married, but no one in town is interested in Kate, and so Petruchio comes in from out of town hearing of this woman and they have this instant connection that’s sort of through this confrontational scene that sort of mirrors the relationship that Fred and Lilli have - where this idea that the fighting and the headbutting is very much a part of the attraction as well,” he said.
There’s also some gangsters in the show.
“One of the other characters has a gambling problem and signs Fred’s name on an IOU,” said Schlumpf. “So the gangsters show up to call in the IOU, and he’s like, ‘I don’t understand what’s going on.’ And so the gangsters are staying around in the theater and eventually on stage to ensure that the show finishes out so that they can get the money for the IOU.”
Twenty years ago, Andy Robinson and Ben Dicke played the gangsters in “Kiss Me, Kate” on the Wagon Wheel stage. They’re directing this production of the show together.
“It’s a nice full-circle Wagon Wheel moment,” Schlumpf stated.
Unforgettable Music
“Kiss Me, Kate,” which premiered in 1948, has music and lyrics by Cole Porter, a Peru, Ind., native, with a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack.
The musical originally was to hit the Warsaw stage in 2023, but due to some illnesses at the time it was rescheduled to this summer. Hawkins was set to perform in the show last year, too.
“It’s lovely,” she said about finally getting to do it. “I’m not always an ‘everything happens for a reason’ kind of gal, but the fact that this pushed it to be Ben and Andy’s 20th anniversary, and the fact that we pushed it off so much we were able to bring David in - which, David and I haven’t shared the stage since ‘Next to Normal’ in 2017- it’s just so nice to be able to work together again.”
Caleb McArthur, who just played Lumiere in “Disney’s Beauty & The Beast,” was meant to play Bill last year in “Kiss Me, Kate,” and he’s back this summer to fulfill that role. “So I know he’s been eager for a whole year to do it as well,” Hawkins said.
She also mentioned that McArthur and Amara Berhan play Bill Calhoun and Lois Lane, the secondary couple, in “Kiss Me, Kate.” As Lumiere and Babette, respectively, Hawkins stated, “They were huge hits with the audience, so I think they’ll be really excited to see them back as a pair because they’re so talented and so funny together.”
“Kiss Me, Kate” is considered by many to be a timeless show, especially the music with songs like “Too Darn Hot” and “Another Opening, Another Show.”
“They’re just songs that have permeated the culture beyond just musical theater, and it’s really thrilling to see them in action and on stage,” Hawkins said. “And it’s kind of fun when you have a show within a show. To see the show go on and then see it go wrong in front of your eyes, and, of course, we kind of get to interact with the audience because we are putting on a show, so it’s fun.”
Schlumpf said “Kiss Me, Kate” is one of those shows that doesn’t seem to get done all the time these days, but if you mention a title of one of the songs from the show, people know it.
Hawkins pointed out that the show is credited to a female playwright, Bella Spewack. “She had a similar situation, both with her husband and then they also were observing the (Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne) relationship happening. So those were famous actors in the ’30s and famously they were doing a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ and they ended up kind of devolving into a fight on stage. So this classic ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ fight that happens comes from a real-life show-gone-wrong experience with these famous, famous actors who brought their fight onto stage,” she said.
There’s quite a bit of stage combat between the characters, Schlumpf said, and that’s been fun for the two friends to do.
A Special Place
And then there’s the costumes.
“From what we’ve seen of the costumes so far, which we actually don’t get to rehearse in costume until tomorrow (Wednesday, June 19), they’re just gorgeous,” Hawkins said. “And, of course, Jen Dow’s wigs, I’ve just saw them delivered in the dressing rooms, and they’re absolutely stunning. So, it’s really going to be amazing.”
Schlumpf agreed Dow’s work is “really phenomenal. She’s been a staple here for decades now and her work somehow continues to get better every year.”
Hawkins said Dow continues to up her game every show and get better and better.
“It’s just another testament to how special this theater is, and the quality of theater that they do here, that is done here, it’s just really quite superlative,” Schlumpf said.
“And the fact that we can get people like Ben and Andy and David back. And even our music director, Cole Abod, he was here as an assistant music director years ago, but has gone off and cultivated his professional career. But he came back because it’s like a desirable place to come back and work. And we’re so thankful,” Hawkins stated.
So why does everyone keep returning to the Wagon Wheel?
“The phrase I always come back to is that this theater is better known nationally and has a better rapport nationally than we have locally. Actors from throughout the nation view Wagon Wheel as a place that they want to come and work,” Hawkins said.
Artistic Director Scott Michaels takes advantage of that and gets to cast the cream of the crop, she said.
“So the caliber of talent that we’re able to work with, and they’re hard workers. So they’re starting from such a high place of talent, and Scott is just so amazing at bringing them higher and higher,” Hawkins stated.
Schlumpf said, “Wagon Wheel has done an incredible job of owning itself as both a heart of Midwestern phenomenal theater, but also as a training ground for young actors.”
“For Broadway’s future stars,” Hawkins interjected, noting there were many Wagon Wheel alums performing on the recent Tony Awards.
“There’s so many that are breaking in and taking over Hollywood as well. Noah Ricketts (‘Tarzan,’ 2016) and Erika Henningsen (‘Carousel,’ ‘Chicago,’ 2012) are the two,” Schlumpf said. Ricketts is in “Gatsby” now and was in the show “Fellow Travelers” with Matt Bomer, while Henningsen is in Girls5eva and was the lead in “Mean Girls” on Broadway. “Those are just two examples of a countless number of people, all these other people who continue to start here and go take over. It speaks to the training, it speaks to Scott’s ability to make a rehearsal room that is both incredibly safe and nurturing for the artist to develop and become themselves fully and creatively, but also do so in a way that makes them incredibly marketable toward taking their next steps. It’s a special place, not everybody can do that, and it’s a testament to Scott Michaels. It’s a testament to Jen and Kira and everybody that keeps this place running. It’s really special.”