As the title suggests... who would you cast in a remake of the Kiss Me, Kate film?
If I were casting director --
Lilli/Katherine - Anne Hathaway (she reminds me so much of Rachel York, who played Kate in the London revival)
Fred/Petruchio - Hugh Jackman
Lois/Bianca - Amanda Seyfried
Bill/Lucentio - James Marsden
Paul - Elijah Kelly
Why remake something that is near perfect?
But you have some god ones up there.
I definitely agree with your choice of Hugh Jackman. Many people may not know
about his singing talent. He also has the physical presence and acting skills. In 2003, I saw him on PBS in a London production of Oklahoma! as the leading man, Curly. On that program, the daughter of either Richard Rodgers or Oscar Hammerstein II called him the sexiest Curly she had ever seen. Having seen that show, I am still hoping he will do Billy Bigelow in Carousel.
Kiss Me Kate should also be done as a television special, with Hugh Jackman.
No remake could measure up to the Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson film. Also, movie musicals are seldom made these days. Film profits depend largely on young audiences. The songs and dances in Kiss Me Kate belong to a different world than theirs.
Does Anne Hathaway have singing experience?
What acting backgrounds these singers may have, I don't know. But either Audra McDonald or Maureen McGovern could be considered for Lili. The only movie actress who comes to mind who has sung on Broadway is Bernadette Peters.
Anne Hathaway is a classicaly trained soprano. she played Lili in Carnival on Broadway and she's about to play Judy Garland in a biopic.
Be as thou wast wont to be, See as thou wast wont to see
Apart from one I'm not really sure of the quality of the voices of the following so let's just call it dreamcast:
Lilli/Katherine - Scarlett Johansson
Fred/Petruchio - Robert Downey Jr
Lois/Bianca - Rosario Dawson
Bill/Lucentio - Hugh Jackman
"Do you really think *I* could play the shrew?"
"You'd make a perfect shrew!"
"Kiss Me Kate" WAS done as a TV special--at least three times. In the late 50's, it reunited Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison and I think Jack Klugman and Harvey Lembeck played the hoods. There was a 60's version I vaguely recall seeing starring the then-married Carol Lawrence and Robert Goulet, with Mickey Callan and Jessica Walter. Finally, there was a version on PBS (I think) in 2003 that starred the British cast of a late 90's revival.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
Can Tom Hiddleston sing well enough to be Fred/Petruchio?
Boo Hoo! Let me wipe away the tears with my PLASTIC hand!--Lindsey McDonald (Angel)
It would have to be cast with people from the stage, because there are few or no contemporary movie stars who can sing and dance well enough. I realize the actors in "La La Land" worked very hard to do the musical numbers adequately, but if you have seen the great musicals of the 1930s through 1950s, they make the "LLL" people look like amateurs.
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