You're quite right, about the title of the play. It is Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and not "Kiss Me Kate"... at least according to the photo caption.
But classic works of the past are frequently "updated" when performed for modern audiences. And I have seen on TV (on PBS, I think) a 20th century version of The "Taming of the Shrew" which does, indeed, include a spanking by Petruchio to Katharine. I'm guessing that somebody in the cast -- or perhaps someone in the business end -- decided that if the Bard were writing that play today, he would have included the spanking. So that's how it was performed.
In fact, there is a fanciful coincidence about this whole subject: The original show "Kiss Me Kate" does not contain the song "From This Moment On" and it was not played in KMK's premiere opening in 1948. That song was created for Cole Porter's 1951 play "Out of this World." But in 1953, when M-G-M was preparing the movie version of "Kiss Me Kate" and they needed a big closing number, they got Porter to transplant "From This Moment On" from his 1951 play to close their new "Kiss Me Kate" film. And it was a major hit, featuring Bob Fosse, Ann Miller, and several other great dancers.
Well.
It turns out that nowadays, ALL new versions of "Kiss Me Kate" on stage or on TV do include "From This Moment On" in their scores. The song was such a big hit on screen, the producers behind the various KMK renewals do include it in their productions, never mind that it was never part of the original show.
To me, that is confirmation that parts of several plays do change from performance to performance. It is not bizarre that "The Taming of the Shrew" sometimes -- but not always -- contains a spanking scene, a la "Kiss Me Kate."
It's just showmanship.
cheers,
Dan
But classic works of the past are frequently "updated" when performed for modern audiences. And I have seen on TV (on PBS, I think) a 20th century version of The "Taming of the Shrew" which does, indeed, include a spanking by Petruchio to Katharine. I'm guessing that somebody in the cast -- or perhaps someone in the business end -- decided that if the Bard were writing that play today, he would have included the spanking. So that's how it was performed.
In fact, there is a fanciful coincidence about this whole subject: The original show "Kiss Me Kate" does not contain the song "From This Moment On" and it was not played in KMK's premiere opening in 1948. That song was created for Cole Porter's 1951 play "Out of this World." But in 1953, when M-G-M was preparing the movie version of "Kiss Me Kate" and they needed a big closing number, they got Porter to transplant "From This Moment On" from his 1951 play to close their new "Kiss Me Kate" film. And it was a major hit, featuring Bob Fosse, Ann Miller, and several other great dancers.
Well.
It turns out that nowadays, ALL new versions of "Kiss Me Kate" on stage or on TV do include "From This Moment On" in their scores. The song was such a big hit on screen, the producers behind the various KMK renewals do include it in their productions, never mind that it was never part of the original show.
To me, that is confirmation that parts of several plays do change from performance to performance. It is not bizarre that "The Taming of the Shrew" sometimes -- but not always -- contains a spanking scene, a la "Kiss Me Kate."
It's just showmanship.
cheers,
Dan