STAGE REVIEW : Starlight’s ‘Kate’ Falls on Its Face : Theater: Production of Cole Porter’s popular musical comedy appears under-rehearsed and lacks definition.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Cole Porter’s birth, and Starlight Musical Theatre is paying tribute to the late songwriter by staging one of his most popular musical comedies, “Kiss Me, Kate.”

The company should have let sleeping composers lie. This production, running at the Starlight Bowl through July 21, is a mess.

“Kiss Me, Kate” is a clever musical, but it is a difficult one to mount because there are two plots to follow. The story, written by Bella and Samuel Spewack, revolves around a Baltimore theatrical company as it presents Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” The two lead actors in “Kate” carry on a tumultuous love affair, which colors their portrayals of Katherine and Petruchio in “Shrew.”

As Lilli (Jane Seaman) and Fred (Stephen West) fall in and out of love during their opening night performance, it dramatically alters the flow of Shakespeare’s comedy.

The device is silly--even corny--but the 1948 musical is a proven success and a repertory favorite. Unfortunately, Starlight’s opaque production only magnifies the musical’s inherent confusion.

Director Jack Tygett’s staging seems grossly under-rehearsed. The performers move around the stage with uncertainty, the dialogue exchanges are stiff and the character relationships come across as surface and cliche. The production’s lack of definition makes this already complicated production even more difficult to follow.

The performances range from suspect to excellent. As Lilli/Katherine, Seaman struggles visibly throughout the show. Seaman trips over her lines on several occasions, and she seems lost during several solo numbers. Alone on stage to sing “I Hate Men,” Seaman resorts to slamming a table repeatedly to indicate her anger. The behavior comes across as desperate and unfunny.

Stephen West’s depiction of Fred Graham/Petruchio is better textured but lacks passion. Fred’s pursuit of Lilli should propel the play, but neither West nor Seaman develop the relationship--they fail to portray a convincing romance. The two characters eventually come together, but, by the end of the 2 1/2-hour musical, why should anybody care?

West possesses an impressive baritone, but his cannon of a voice is too excessive for Porter’s simple, direct show tunes. When West belts out a few bars from “So in Love,” he pummels the song with his too-precise phrasing and operatic sustain.

Christina Saffran steals the show with her endearing portrayal of the blond bimbo Lois Lane. Saffran maintains a consistent character throughout the show and has tons of fun singing Porter’s tribute to avarice, “Always True to You (In My Fashion).”

The Starlight orchestra, conducted by Lloyd Cooper, is up to its usual high standards, and Porter’s music is vintage fare. “Kiss Me, Kate” features two of his best compositions--”So in Love” and “Too Darn Hot.” Unfortunately, neither song comes across well in this staging. At Thursday’s opening, Seaman delivered a somewhat bland “So In Love,” and was twice interrupted by planes flying overhead. Skip Cunningham, a great dancer but a poor singer, brutalized “Too Darn Hot” at the beginning of Act II.

Thanks to some great comic timing, the duet “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” proves to be a surprise musical highlight. Bookend thugs Fred Bailey and Michael McCarty revel in Porter’s witty ditty, a song that suggests that women will make passes at guys who read classics. The lyrics read:

“Just declaim a few lines from Othella,

And they’ll think you’re one helluva fella,

Brush up your Shakespeare, start quoting him now.”

Local veteran Javier Velasco choreographed a handful of elaborate dance numbers for this show, most of which are elegant and emotional. Velasco crafted a smooth, smoldering routine to accompany the passionate “Where Thine That Special Face.” He also designed an appropriately whimsical dance to augment Porter’s tongue-in-cheek “Tom, Dick or Harry.”

The designers demonstrated far less skill. Scenic designer Michael Anania’s attempt at creating a Baltimore theater fell short. His sets look tawdry and thrown together and seem to be constructed of cheap, flimsy material.

The costumes, coordinated by Juli Bohn and Robyn Conter, are alternately adequate and garish. For the non-Shakespeare scenes, the 1940s outfits are fine and sufficiently indicate the appropriate era. For the play-within-a-play scenes, the costumes consist of loud, clashing colors. Perhaps the outfits were intended to be humorous, but they are so ugly that it hurts to even look at them.

For Porter fans and Shakespeare lovers, it also hurts to look at look at this production of “Kiss Me, Kate.”

“KISS ME, KATE”

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. Director, Jack Tygett. Musical director, Lloyd Cooper. Choreographer, Javier Velasco. Sets, Michael Anania. Costumes, Juli Bohn and Robyn Conter. Lights, Gregory Allen Hirsch. Production stage manager, David R. Schrage. With Jane Seaman, Stephen West, Christina Saffran, William Akey, Michael McCarty, Fred Bailey, Gary Seger, Charles Jackam, Leatrice Andry and Skip Cunningham. At 8 p.m. through July 21. At the Starlight Bowl, Balboa Park. Tickets $16-$25. Call 278-8497. For the Tuesday performance only selected seats will be sold at the reduced price of $3.50 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Cole Porter’s birth.