Pure Disbelief

This post contains major spoilers for the musical Kiss Me, Kate.

A while ago, I checked out two musical DVDs from the library: Kiss Me, Kate and Guys & Dolls. I'd been wanting to see both of them for a while and happened to remember when I was at the library and both were checked in. Which is a minor miracle, as I normally forget everything I've been wanting to see or read when I have a chance to do something about it.

So I checked them out.

I enjoyed Guys & Dolls a lot, and promised myself I would watch more films with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. But Kiss Me, Kate really bothered me. It took me a while to figure out why. But I think I understand now.

When you enter a world- a novel, a movie, or a TV show- you expect to have some reasonable consistency in the rules of the world. If you develop some odd scientific principle, do not do anything to violate it. And the values should make sense. If the hero's main concern is saving people from death, you don't expect him to be careless with human life anywhere. It's vital in order to achieve the willing suspension of disbelief you require of your audience.

But in Kiss Me, Kate, the values of the leads did not make sense. These are two professional actors. Having reached the heights they did, you would expect them to exhibit some pride in their performance. But instead, they take their personal life into their play, rewriting the entire show with no concern about the terrible extra actors they bring in, the confusion they cause the rest of the cast, or the terrible experience they are likely giving the audience. They are the most unprofessional stage actors I have ever seen, and I've never even seen professionals.

At least in Guys & Dolls, when the characters are built up to care about something, and are put in a position where you would expect them to care about it, they act accordingly. So the story is something I can actually believe. But with Kiss Me, Kate, I can't.