It’s time to “brush up your Shakespeare” with Central City Opera’s (CCO) 2023 Summer Festival.

The opera house will run three Shakespeare-themed shows in their summer repertoire, including Charles Gounod’s opera Romeo and Juliet, the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate, and Othello by Gioachino Rossini.

The Shakespearean-inspired musical Kiss Me, Kate opened this weekend on Saturday evening, July 1, in Central City. Kiss Me, Kate, the Tony Award-winning musical, is a tale that explores a show within a show and the conflict that ensues on stage and behind the curtain. The two main characters, Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham, are ex-lovers starring in a production of the classic Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew. While trying to come to terms with their feelings for each other, the pair find themselves involved with forged IOUs and Baltimore’s gangsters.

The Central City Opera’s cast of Kiss Me, Kate delivers a dazzling performance mixture of Golden Age show tunes and classic Shakespearean storytelling. The cast and creative team behind Central City Opera’s production is full of seasoned artists.

Before being cast as Lois Lane (Bianca), Lauren Gemelli spent four years on tour with New York City’s Broadway’s Chicago: the Musical. Emily Brockway plays the leading lady Lilli Vanessi (Katherine) in Kiss Me, Kate. She has a long résumé of theatrical experience, including appearing as Mary Poppins and Rapunzel for Disney Cruise Line.

For other cast members, this show marks a return to the stage at the Central City Opera House. Fred Graham (Petruchio) is played by Jonathan Hayes, whose talents have been heard in Central City’s past production of Billy Budd. Ken Cazan, the director of Kiss Me, Kate, is also a veteran of Central City Opera through directing past productions of The Light in the Piazza in 2022 and Carousel in 2021.

Future showings of Kiss Me, Kate and other 2023 festival shows will include extra experiences including free pre-performance talks and a free post-performance talkback, where audience members will have the opportunity to hear more about the show and have a chance to ask the cast questions.

Be sure to catch Kiss Me, Kate and other summer shows by Central City Opera before August 6.

For more information about Central City Opera’s 2023 Summer festival, please visit their website at https://centralcityopera.org/.