Theater News

Richard Kind Joins Kiss Me, Kate Cast for Final Week of Broadway Run

Kind will replace Tom McGowan in the company.

Richard Kind has joined the cast of Kiss Me, Kate.
Richard Kind has joined the cast of Kiss Me, Kate.
(© Allison Stock)

Richard Kind has joined the cast of Broadway's Kiss Me, Kate for the final week-and-a-half of its run at Studio 54. Kind replaces Tom McGowan in the role of "Gangster (Second Man)," which Kind played in Roundabout's 2016 benefit concert of the musical.

Directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with music direction by Paul Gemignani, Kiss Me, Kate features a book by Sam and Bella Spewack, and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Winner of the first-ever Tony Award for Best Musical, Kiss Me, Kate is a backstage comedy that follows onstage and offstage romances that unfold through a production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

The production stars Kelli O'Hara as Kate/Lilli Vanessi, Will Chase as Petruchio/Fred Graham, Corbin Bleu as Lucentio/Bill Calhoun, and Stephanie Styles as Bianca/Lois Lane, with Terence Archie as Harrison Howell, Mel Johnson Jr. as Baptista/Harry Trevor, James T. Lane as Paul, Adrienne Walker as Hattie, and John Pankow as Gangster (First Man).