Interview: Stephanie J. Block on Finding Her Kiss Me, Kate and Playing Cher — Again

Tony winner Stephanie J. Block spent the summer in London, playing the glamorous diva Lilli Vanessi in Bartlett Sher’s West End revival of Kiss Me, Kate. Not an easy show to do anymore, Block had a couple of stipulations — namely, she wanted to be comfortable showing the Cole Porter/Sam and Bella Spewack musical to her nine-year-old daughter.

Looking backwards, Block is immensely proud of the results: with certain book revisions by Bob Martin and a game leading man opposite her in Adrian Dunbar, this Kiss Me, Kate was better than ever. And now it’s captured on film, playing in international cinemas beginning on November 17.

Block hadn’t seen it when we talked, and she hadn’t quite heard the audio book she recorded of Cher’s memoir either. But both mark significant moments in her life, which she doesn’t take for granted.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Did you ever envision yourself in a production of Kiss Me, Kate?

I was surprised as all get out when I got the call. This role normally goes to a lyric soprano. I said to Bart, “Look, vocally, I’m going to be able to hit all the notes, but it’s going to have a different weight behind it.” And I also said, “I’m not trying to talk myself out of a job, but at a certain age, nobody would expect Adrian Dunbar to play Fred and for me to play Lilli.” And Bart said, “What I want you to do is watch the Zeffirelli production of Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and then call me back.” I watched it and I went “Is this the direction we’re going? Ok, I’m in.”\

However, I can’t change the source material. Shakespeare and Taming of the Shrew are what they are. Cole Porter has written a score that’s brilliant, the lyrics are super smart, but they’re not necessarily, you know, independent woman-type. We had some discussions to allow me, without changing the source material, to tell this story comfortably as a certain-aged woman who has a young daughter. I wanted her to sit in the audience and not feel less than or see somebody beat mama’s buns on stage.

Tell me about that.
My hope is that the foundation is laid right away that I’m not just this sort of diva that looks a certain way. That I am formidable. That you’re not going to easily push me over, whether I am Lilli or Kate. Either way, I want you to think “Oh, my God, she could actually take him at any moment.”

We establish that this cast and crew have worked with Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham multiple times, they know what our history is, and that the anger coming from Lilli is not just temperamental. He’s a philanderer. He does not respect women. She comes here to help him, and the production, and he treats her like crap. I also think our “Wunderbar” is very telling. We don’t just jump into musical-theater romanticism. We’re trying to figure it out and we think back, and we start to slowly have these little crackles and sparks of romance. All the building blocks are there, which then allow the story to go where it needs to go.

Did you turn to people like Kelli O’Hara for advice on the playing of Lilli/Katherine?
I didn’t. I spoke to Kelli about going to London, because she had gone to do The King and I there with Trafalgar, so that was my big thing. I spoke to her as woman-to-woman, mom-to-mom, to ask what it looks like over there. How are you cared for? How did you feel bringing the family over? We spoke more as artists and woman than looking for counsel on character breakdown.

I don’t know if I can pull from Marin Mazzie’s performance or Kelli’s performance. It might feel inauthentic or like I’m wearing a strange suit that doesn’t fit my sort of bold, brassy, big voice, and body type. I had to come at it with a very clear head. Barbara Stanwyck was one of my inspirations. A lot of my physical choices and facial expression I pulled from Lucille Ball, because I found so much comedy and humor in this script.

How does working in London compare to what you’re used to in New York?
Going to London was scary for me because there were a whole lot of unknowns. I look at Broadway and I go “I know how this works. I know what the rehearsal space looks like, I know what the theater looks like, I know how our audiences respond and how supportive they are.” But they were very welcoming. The audiences, I will say, are a bit more reserved than I’m used to. They will give it up at the end if they feel you’ve earned it, but you have to earn it. It’s not an obligatory standing ovation.

On the other side of it, Sebastian and Vivi were able to join me for two-and-a-half months to have this European summer that I was able to experience with them and gift to them because of working there, which was a huge plus.

Creating there is really special. It’s civil. They have their 15-minute tea breaks and that lets you settle in. They do a company call where you’re on stage with everybody and you do a 20-minute body warmup and a 20-minute vocal warmup, and then the company manager and associates will give you notes. This happened before every show. We don’t have that in New York. At first, I kind of rolled my eyes and went “Can’t I just show up at 7:30 and put on my lipstick?” But that sense of community, of gathering together before you have to tell the story puts you in a great head and heart space. I liked it a lot

It was recently revealed that you recorded the audiobook of Cher’s memoir. Did she just call you to be like “Hey, babe, come record my memoir?
She did. Yes, she did.

Had you kept in touch with her since The Cher Show closed?
Every now and then I will get a text message that’s all emojis, and I know it’s her because she doesn’t go by Cher; she always has these different names. Even when I was doing The Cher Show, I was receiving emails which I thought were just spam, and finally she was like “Hey babe, this is me.” How am I supposed to know? So, my agent said “Hey, have you heard from Cher today?” and I was like, “No, I don’t think so,” and then I looked at my phone and it said, “Please call me back immediately.”

Her plan totally was to go into the studio and narrate it herself, but she’s not shy in saying she’s got some pretty bad dyslexia, so after certain hours in the studio, the words would jumble. She said, “It’s got to be done in the next couple of weeks, can you get on a plane and be at my house tomorrow?” And I said, “let me see what I can do” and I switched my schedule around.

You’re like, “Yes, Cher. Yes, I can.”
You do say “Yes, Cher.” I wasn’t able to have a beautiful slumber party with her in Malibu, but we got it done in plenty of time. I was surprised, I was honored, I was thrilled, I was terrified. I think how it’s going to be formatted is she will read the beginning of each chapter and I come in sounding pretty Cher-like, and that dovetails into a more me voice. The idea that she feels safe with me and trusts me, that’s a huge badge of honor.

Obviously, The Cher Show didn’t run as long as many people probably hoped, but you never know what the shelf life is going to be down the line.
That’s right, and that’s kind of what our industry is. You plant 10 seeds and two may grow in the next year, and then the rest of the seeds, you never know when they’re going to pop up. And this is one of them.