'Kiss Me Kate' opens at IU Auditorium tonight

Katie Kuhlenschmidt and Derek Roland live out of their suitcases for eight months of the year. But the two cast members from the national touring production of "Kiss Me Kate," playing tonight and tomorrow at the IU Auditorium, don't mind the constantly changing hotels and the multi-hour bus treks. \nBoth actors said their profession is not easy to pursue and lacks job security, but they love it even if they can't say exactly why. Touring isn't all hard work, though. There are also fun times, and professional opportunities for an actor or actress lucky enough to make it.\n"Most people will never experience this," Roland said, who plays "Bill" in the musical. "It teaches professionalism and it makes you more mature … It's very challenging artistically to keep it fresh and interesting and fun for the audience and for yourself for eight months." \nFor Kuhlenschmidt, being an actress comes down to one moment -- the curtain opening to reveal a house full of eager spectators. Last year, Kuhlenschmidt was in the touring production of "Cinderella." She said she remembers when she and Roland came to IU last year with "Cinderella," and the curtains opened to a house full of little girls in "princess" dresses beaming up at them. \n"Then you remember -- that's why we're doing this," she said. "It's so much fun every night. (We're able to bring) live theater to parts of the country that maybe wouldn't get it (otherwise)."\nIn "Kiss Me Kate," Cole Porter wrote the lyrics, "Another op'ning, another show, in Philly, Boston, or Baltimore. Another pain when the ulcers blow, another op'ning of another show." \nAlthough Porter's words were written in 1948 to describe the life of the musical's fictitious touring company, they also serve double duty as a description of the lives of the real-life group which makes up the play's cast. \nThe "show within a show" tells the story of a pair of two formerly married actors starring in a Shakespearean production, whose off-stage relationship carries through to their on-stage performances with hilarious results. Both in front of and behind the curtain, the two must decide how they feel about one another. The addition of gangsters, some starry-eyed lovers, and an entire cast just trying to survive to their curtain calls, serves to complicate matters further. \nIn order to make "Kiss Me Kate" run smoothly, numerous cast and crew members must work every day to pull the costumes, choreography, music and sets together. \nWhen asked about their lives on the road, Kuhlenschmidt and Roland said their experiences were similar to those of the characters they played. They, too, spend a lot of time on the road.\n"There's lots of traveling," Kuhlenschmidt said. "If we're in one place for three weeks, we feel like we're being spoiled." \n"I kinda look forward to it," Roland said. "When we're on the bus and we're somewhere for a little while and then get back on the bus. We have our rituals. It goes by quickly."\nDespite all the traveling, there is a sense of security that comes with being in a touring cast. Both cast members felt that to be an actor or actress with eight months of steady work is a major benefit of touring with a show. \nBoth are excited to be returning to the IU Auditorium. \n"It's a gorgeous campus and a great auditorium," Kuhlenschmidt said, who has a brother attending IU.\n"The locals are a lot of fun and hopefully a lot of people will come out and see the show," Roland said. "There's a lot of comedy and I think it'll go over well."\nThough Porter was originally reluctant to compose and write lyrics for a musical based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," the play's emphasis on jazzy numbers eventually won him over. Porter went on to create such songs for the show as "Why Can't You Behave," "So In Love," as well as Roland and Kuhlenschmidt's favorite, "Too Darn Hot." \nMany of the show's songs, as well as Porter's other well-known works such as "Night and Day" and "I Get a Kick Out Of You" are still popular among performers and fans today.\nThough the show has only been touring a few weeks, a lot of work has gone in to polishing the performance so that the words and music come out in the best possible way. \n"Everyone who sees 'Kiss Me Kate' will enjoy it," director Joe Leonardo said. "The materials have remained current. It's about the battle of the sexes … careers … relationships and egos." \nLeonardo's credits include "Cirque Ingenieux," "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," "Cinderella," and "Miss Saigon." \nTickets for "Kiss Me Kate" are on sale at the IU Auditorium box office and Ticketmaster. Prices range from $17-$57 for the general public, and $17-$37 for students.\n-- Contact staff writer Meredith Hahn at mshahn@indiana.edu.