Clip Me, Kate

I was digging through my programs and clippings from various shows I’ve seen over the years, and I came across this advertisement I saved from the tour of Kiss Me, Kate, which starred (at the time I saw it) Rachel York, Rex Smith, Jim Newman, Jenny Hill, and Chuck Wagner.

I loved this advertisement, which made me do a double-take. Because I had seen the show in New York as well, the poster looked eerily familiar—familiar because it not only features mostly the Broadway cast, but eerily because it features ¾ of the original stars as well.

That’s Rachel York’s beautiful face on Marin Mazzie’s beautiful body and Rex Smith’s head on Brian Stokes Mitchell’s body (though those aren’t Mitchell’s hands), twice. Interestingly enough, York on tour, just like she did in the recorded London production, had red hair.

I actually have the Broadway show poster that looks like this with the original cast hanging in Shubert Alley, my hallway with Broadway posters (not to be confused with my living room with its Broadway posters). Probably no one on the tour route would even notice the short-cuts, so it’s not a big deal, but I thought it was funny.

If you live in New York and find the picture familiar, you may recognize it from Rick McKay’s documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, flashed up when Elaine Stritch is supporting revivals.

the Broadway Mouth
March 5, 2008