Kiss Me, Kate opened on Broadway in 1947, and after a highly successful run transferred to London with many of the same performers in 1951. The following year it went on an extensive provincial tour. with two weeks at Glasgow King's from Monday, 9 June 1952, followed by a week at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh from 23 June.
Elizabeth Larner made her professional debut in the chorus at the Coliseum, being quickly promoted to cover the lead role of Lilli/Kate. She went on several times during that London run when the role's creator, Patricia Morison, was ill, and was the obvious choice to lead the cast of the provincial tour. Lionel Blair was a hugely popular entertainer on TV and in the theatre through the sixties and seventies, and he and his sister Joyce made their reputations as Bill and Lois. Christopher Hewlett is perhaps a less familiar name nowadays.
Newspaper reports of the tour also mention actors Sydney Arnold, Peter Bentley and Ellis Jackson, without identifying their parts. With luck we may eventually track down more information from a programme or reviews.
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