Teachout's reach-out

I'm not always a fan of Terry Teachout (at left) - especially not politically - but I do applaud his ongoing effort to get out of New York City and see more regional theatre. His latest trip brought him up here to the Hub, where he took in, and then raved over, the Lyric's Kiss Me, Kate.

Teachout welcomed "the Lyric Stage Company of Boston's engaging new production, directed by Spiro Veloudos, whose small scale does nothing to diminish the charms of Porter's play-within-a-play." He then cooed, "To cram a classic Broadway musical into a 200-seat house requires considerable ingenuity, and I was especially impressed by the choreography of Ilyse Robbins, whose production numbers, especially "Too Darn Hot" and "Always True to You in My Fashion" (the second of which shows off the excellent dancing of Michele A. DeLuca to sumptuous effect), are all the more exciting for being performed in the lap of the audience. I'm no less pleased to report that Jonathan Goldberg's seven-piece offstage orchestra plays Porter's score with infectious verve."

So congratulations to the Lyric! What's particularly exciting about Teachout's trip (if this is the first of many) is it could begin to demolish the prejudice against Boston theatre that so many out-of-it locals still harbor. To these types, the Hub simply can't compete with the Big Apple. Only what if the New York critics feel otherwise . . .?