Brush up Your Shakespeare: Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection captures the full wit and charm of Kiss Me, Kate, one of Broadway's smartest comedies, and the 120-page package offers far more than just sheet music. The inclusion of two unused songs, historical essays, original production materials, and Patricia Morison's personal recollections transforms this into a genuine piece of theater history that singers and pianists will want to explore for years. Porter's lyrics here are particularly sharp, and his harmonic language rewards both the player learning the material and audiences hearing it performed.

These songs swing between genuine romantic feeling and sharp comedic timing, often within the same phrase. There's an elegance and sophistication in the melodies that reflects the urbane world Porter created, yet the lyrics frequently undercut that polish with humor and everyday human contradiction. Performing this music means honoring both its musical craft and its theatrical mischief.

This book serves singers preparing audition material or performance selections from Kiss Me, Kate, as well as pianists accompanying vocalists or playing solo arrangements of Porter's work. It's equally valuable for music theater classes, choral directors building a show-tune repertoire, and students of American musical theater who want to study how a master craftsman balanced comedy with genuine emotional depth.

• Pay attention to Porter's specific articulation and phrasing markings, especially in the comedic numbers. His rhythmic precision directly shapes the humor and charm of songs like 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare.'
• Treat the accompaniment as a character in its own right, particularly in 'Too Darn Hot' and 'Always True to You in My Fashion.' The piano part carries comedic intent that enhances the vocal line rather than merely supporting it.
• Tempo flexibility serves these songs well. Porter's melodies can breathe differently depending on whether you're aiming for sophisticated elegance (in 'So in Love') or brisk comic timing (in 'Another Op'nin', Another Show'). Test different approaches in rehearsal.
• Use the chords provided to explore reharmonization and improvisation during rehearsals. Understanding Porter's harmonic choices deepens interpretation and opens possibilities for creative arrangement if you're preparing multiple songs from the collection.

Pair individual selections from this collection with other Porter standards for a focused concert segment, or draw from it when you're teaching music theater repertoire that prioritizes lyrical sophistication and harmonic interest. The songs work beautifully as audition material or in themed recitals exploring American musical comedy. The historical and personal context provided in the book makes it particularly valuable for program notes or pre-show discussions that deepen audience engagement with the material.

• Interpreting sophisticated, multi-syllabic lyrics with rhythmic precision
• Reading and performing Cole Porter's harmonic language, including chromatic alterations and jazz-influenced chord progressions
• Coordinating comedic timing with musical phrasing in a theatrical context
• Understanding the relationship between lyrical content and melodic shape in musical theater composition
• Sight-reading and performing from piano/vocal score format with chord symbols