"Kiss Me, Kate," the 1948 backstage musical comedy with the matchless Cole Porter score, seems made for blissed-out summer nights — a classic to be savored with gelato and Prosecco for those wanting to play along with the cockamamie Italian theatrical setting.
Darko Tresnjak's revival at the Old Globe, a co-production with Hartford Stage, wrings enormous delight from the cavalcade of giddy numbers, beginning with "Another Op'nin', Another Show," which administers a prophylactic shot of adrenaline to the audience.
Porter pursues the same pulse-raising strategy after intermission with "Too Darn Hot," a number that doesn't have much dramatic relevance but does a terrific job of reenergizing theatergoers, who may have gotten drowsy from their stop at the bar.