"A significant change in the tone of the piece by tweaking and cutting dialogue in the cause of eliminating what some perceive as inherent sexism within the show's backstage story...Kelli O'Hara's glisteningly mature soprano and impeccable lyric phrasing...That's worth the price of admission alone...The rest of the show pretty much breezes along with terrific performances of classic material."
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"Roundabout has whipped up a fizzy champagne cocktail in its revival of 'Kiss Me, Kate,' an adult entertainment firmly focused on the finer things in life...There are at least two reasons why Scott Ellis' revival breezes across the Studio 54 stage like a fire engine on a five-alarm call: One is the effervescent pairing of Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase...Production numbers, staged by Carlyle, that feature some of the most sensational dancing since I don't know when."
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"A snappy, scintillating, and decidedly woke new production at Studio 54 and featuring an altogether smashing cast headed up by Kelli O'Hara (never better!) and Will Chase...Even if you are a Porter or Shakespeare purist, if you leave your high horse in the stable and join the crowd, you will have a wonderful time. Where to begin heaping praise? Well, how about with Kelli O'Hara, whose performances have graced musical revivals for more than a decade."
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"More spirited than exciting, this brisk revival of great American songwriter Cole Porter’s best-known musical comedy looks nice, sounds pretty, moves fleetly, and rarely ceases to beguile the eye and ear...Looking lovely and lending luscious voice to 'So in Love,' Kelli O’Hara satisfies...One of the best-looking attractions that Roundabout has produced in some time...Ellis’ staging moves everything along swiftly even as Warren Carlyle’s lively choreography aptly kicks it up."
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"Writer Amanda Green, credited with additional material, didn’t rip up any of Cole Porter’s delicious ditties or take a hacksaw to Sam and Bella Spewack’s quip-filled book...What’s on stage at Studio 54 works—because how could it not, when you have a company headlined by O’Hara and Chase...It’s a thrill to see Chase, after years of replacing in hit shows and starring in a string of flops, finally get a meaty role he can make his own."
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"For all the pleasures this revival offers, Ellis’ production comes with several serious caveats. Purists will find Green’s tweaking of the book more sore-thumby than the similar but smoother surgery Guare performed...Ellis, a superb director of these revivals, opts for a purposely dated style here, most evident in having his stars front and center, delivering the delicious soliloquies – directly to us. Wrong...A very good presentation of a very great musical."
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"An effervescent throwback to the years when the musical theater was a reliable non-chemical antidepressant...O’Hara’s soprano ranks among the most beautiful I’ve ever heard on Broadway, and it finds a sterling vehicle...The standout among the supporting cast is unquestionably Styles, delivering a confident — no, make that smashing — Broadway debut...Although 'Kate' moves at a frolicsome pace under Ellis’s direction, there’s no avoiding that the book loses steam in the second act."
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"While many of the greats have tackled 'Kate' over the years ever since it premiered in 1948, O'Hara brings a subdued charm to the usually more boisterous part of Lilli, even if she is positively beaming when she first arrives on stage. The first was Patricia Morison, and the most recent on Broadway--before O'Hara--was the late Marin Mazzie, who received a Tony Award for the 1999 revival, as did the revival itself. And then there was Kathryn Grayson in the 1953 film version."
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