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Jon Mark Beilue: A Kiss That Will Have to Wait

Students rehearse for "Kiss Me, Kate" before the pandemic hit.
Jon Mark Beilue Apr 13, 2020
  • Jon Mark Beilue
  • Arts

A Kiss That Will Have to Wait

Seniors mull options on COVID-19-delayed 'Kiss Me, Kate'

In an unprecedented and unpredictable time, even the most steadfast principles, the most assured truths, have to get tweaked a little bit.

Like in theater. Take an eraser to a 150-year old cliché and have it now read, “The Show Must Eventually Go On.” Hold on to that kiss, Kate: It’s being delayed by six months.

“Especially playing a principal role, this meant a ton not only to me, but the entire cast,” senior Hanna Green said. “I’m absolutely heartbroken just because we had so many seniors who are graduating in May and possibly not come back and take part in the show.”

“Kiss Me, Kate,” the Tony Award-winning musical was to be the fifth and final performance of the 2019-2020 theatre season at West Texas A&M. It was to be a raucous finale, a collaboration of music, dance, song and acting.

There would be 30 on stage, another 15 in the orchestra, perhaps an additional 50 with various crews. Auditions and casting were in January, individual rehearsals in February, full cast rehearsals in March and into April for performances scheduled from April 16-26 at the Branding Iron Theatre.

And, yes, of course, we all know what happened. The COVID-19 pandemic caused squalling brakes to be slapped on much of the American way of life for the last month. Events evaporated and plans postponed.

“This was going to be my last show at WT before graduating,” said senior Chloe Ridolfo. “I was so excited to be a part of it. I’d never been in a spring musical before. I was just really devastated when it got canceled.”

Royal Brantley, director of theatre, directed the production this time to Plan B. That will be the delayed performance of “Kiss Me, Kate” to open the 2020-21 season from Oct. 8-18. If a prolonged pandemic should necessitate another postponement, everyone may just jump off that bridge when they get to it.

“This is pretty much in line with what a lot of regional theaters are doing,” said Bradley Behrmann, assistant professor of musical theatre, “and that’s taking whatever season they have left and seeing if it will adapt to the new season.”

The Cole Porter musical won the 1949 Tony Award for best musical. “Kiss Me, Kate” has 17 musical numbers. The story involves the production of a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” and the conflict on and off stage between Fred Graham, director, producer and star, and ex-wife Lilli, who plays Katherine in the Shakespeare play. What’s required to pull off a production like that is daunting.

“It’s a very high-caliber show and all-hands-on-deck experience,” Behrmann said. “This is an enormous undertaking. We had the top talent not only from the theater department, but the dance department and the folks from the School of Music. We were bringing in everyone, and not only students, but a collaboration from the faculty as well. It was our capstone of the season.”

There are a handful of graduating seniors who have significant roles. They have the option to remain in those roles if that’s possible five months after graduation.

Ridolfo, who plays Hattie, is one of those graduating seniors who will likely stick around. She’s from Los Angeles. Toward the end of high school, she and her mother were looking for less expensive out-of-state college choices. The search ended at WTAMU, the combination of affordability and strong theater program they were looking for.

With commencement exercises also canceled, Ridolfo can’t walk the stage. She can’t perform on it either – unless it’s in October.

“I was planning on going home to see where I’m at, but there’s nowhere to go right now. I’m thinking about applying for grad school and possibly coming back so I can have some closure,” Ridolfo said.

 “But the seniors I’m friends with, most are not coming back just because it’s a lot of commitment and you’re not getting paid for it. But most of us don’t have jobs right now because no one is hiring.”

Green is from Canyon. While classified as a senior, she won’t graduate with a Musical Theater degree until December. She has the challenging dual role of Lilli and, in the show within the show, Kate.

“They’re opposite personas,” she said. “Lilli is struggling with submitting power, and Katherine is trying to gain power.”

For Green, picking up the role again this fall was a rather easy decision. She was scheduled to be in the chorus and was an understudy for Aunt Anna this summer in “Texas” – and that cancellation has no options.

“Honestly, in my mind, I thought the show would be canceled completely,” Green said. “We had a little bit of a meeting before our final rehearsal and Royal Brantley gave us some options. He basically said that no matter what, people need to see the work you’ve put in. They definitely showed the initiative they were going to push for us to be able to perform, which was heartwarming for sure.”

Events across the country were quickly thrown into flux the second week of March. On March 9, there was concern about spring break travel and how it might affect rehearsal that week. By March 11, Harvard was among the first notable universities to shut down.

“Then March 12, Broadway closed,” Behrmann said, “and I thought, ‘Well, yes, this is quite serious.’”

That evening, the official word that all knew was coming went forth. Life, in many ways, became a holding pattern. But also that evening, before any shelter-in-place measures went into effect here, a full cast rehearsal of Act I was scheduled – and, if the show couldn’t go on, the rehearsal would.

“We were at least able to show the work we had done and perform Act I for each other,” Behrmann said. “That gave us some sense of accomplishment. It’s tough to find much joy in the United States right now. That gave us some.”

Do you know of a student, faculty member, project, an alumnus or any other story idea for “WT: The Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle?” If so, email Jon Mark Beilue at jbeilue@wtamu.edu.

 

—WTAMU—