‘Kiss Me’ Under the Stars

Summer’s end must be nigh, as here comes Bay Street Theater’s annual Under the Stars open-air concert in Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor. This year’s alfresco theatrical offering tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m. is a reading of “Kiss Me, Kate,” one of the most beloved musicals of all time, featuring a Cole Porter score full of lush, romantic, and singable tunes. Entry to the concert is free with no tickets required.

“It’s more a concert staging than a reading,” said Scott Schwartz, Bay Street’s artistic director. “The actors will sing and there will be dialogue, though they’ll be reading from scripts.” The event is modeled after the New York City Center’s Tony-honored Encores series, devoted to celebrating great American musicals in concert revivals and featuring high-wattage Broadway stars with only a few days of rehearsals. 

“Kiss Me, Kate” was inspired by the onstage and backstage battling of the husband-and-wife actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne during their 1935 production of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” The marital fireworks were witnessed by future Broadway producer Arnold Saint-Subber, who asked the playwrights Samuel and Bella Spewack to pen the script; Spewack in turn enlisted Cole Porter to write the music and lyrics, and a timeless classic was created, featuring songs such as “So in Love” and “Too Darn Hot.” The show premiered on Broadway in 1948, with Patricia Morison and Alfred Drake in the lead roles.

Sag Harbor’s weekend concert staging will feature its own powerhouse cast of 14, led by an ex-Encores series couple, Melissa Errico, a Broadway star and Tony Award nominee, and Richard Troxell, a Metropolitan Opera star. Ms. Errico has starred in the Broadway musicals “Anna Karenina,” “My Fair Lady,” “High Society,” and “Dracula,” as well as the first national tour of “Les Miserables.” She collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on the revival of “Sunday in the Park With George” at the Kennedy Center, and performed in John Doyle’s production of “Passion,” for which she was nominated for a sixth Drama Desk Award.

Richard Troxell, a tenor with the Metropolitan Opera, has spanned the gamut of performances from a naval officer named Pinkerton in Martin Scorcese’s film “Madame Butterfly,” to a recurring guest on Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night,” to singing the national anthem at Major League Baseball games. His lyrical tenor voice has been heard in leading roles at opera houses and concert halls around the world including in Los Angeles, Sydney, Beijing, New York City, Monte Carlo, Seville, Philadelphia, Boston, and this weekend at Mashashimuet Park.

Will Pomerantz, Bay Street’s assistant artistic director, will direct the performances, which will feature a live ensemble of musicians on piano, drums, and bass.

“This is a lovely event,” said Mr. Schwartz, “and we’re really excited to be doing it again. It’s our way of saying thank you to the community for all their generous support. We are so grateful.”

While in the past, the theater has staged readings of Shakespeare for its Under the Stars series, it chose a musical this year since Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” is currently onstage at the Sag Harbor theater.

Mr. Schwartz suggested that attendees take chairs, blankets, beach chairs, and picnics to “enjoy a night of music and comedy on a balmy summer evening.”