April 18, 2014

Westphal College’s music, theatre and dance programs are collaborating on a production of the Cole Porter musical, Kiss Me, Kate on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 pm in the Mandell Theater (33^rd & Chestnut Streets), in celebration of the life of Dr. Mike Moss. Dr. Moss, our late Music Program Director and Drexel Concert Band Director, had championed collaborative productions to showcase the diverse talents of the Performing Arts Department’s faculty and students, and was a close collaborator with Theatre Program director Nick Anselmo and Dance Program director Dr. Miriam Giguere. Coming to fruition after his untimely passing in 2012, Kiss Me, Kate will benefit the Myron “Mike” Moss Memorial Fund.

A “show-within-a-show,” the classic musical follows both the onstage antics and backstage drama of a troupe of actors during their touring production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In the tradition of New York’s much-honored City Center Encore series, Kiss Me, Kate will be presented as a concert rendition, with dance elements choreographed by Dr. Miriam Giguere and orchestral accompaniment from a 20-piece ensemble conducted by Dr. Wesley Broadnax, our Director of Bands. Kiss Me, Kate features romance, infidelity and, of course, gangsters.

The show is being directed by Peter Reynolds, Temple University’s musical theater program director. Mr. Reynolds has previously directed Urinetown, The Musical and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Drexel. The performance is free-to-the-public, but we encourage donations in honor of Dr. Moss to the Myron “Mike” Moss Memorial Fund either at the door or online. As Dr. Moss’s career was defined by deeply engaging students with intellectual curiosity, the fund supports Drexel students pursuing projects in music, or collaborative projects in the performing arts, that include extended study and performances.