Tonight "Great Performances" presents the revival of "Kiss Me Kate" on most PBS stations (check local listings). The production which won five Tony awards in 2000 was taped in London (the original Broadway staging in 1949 also won five Tony awards). If you miss it tonight, a DVD will be released on May 13th.

While the recent ABC production of the "Music Man" wasn't better than the movie version, this one is (though the earlier ABC version of "Annie" was better than the movie and it was directed by Rob Marshall who directed the movie version of "Chicago").

The 1953 movie version was most notable for being filmed in 3D (characters throwing flowers at the audience and other gimmicks look strange when you see it on TV) and one of those long fantastic MGM dance sequences with a young Bob Fosse (The "Great Performances" production of "Fosse" is now out on DVD). It ran an hour and fifty minutes (tonight's version is two hours and thirty-five minutes). The best thing about it was Cole Porter's songs, but the lyrics were toned down and some songs weren't included. It will be released on DVD on April 22nd.

The songs including "Too Darn Hot," "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "So in Love," "I Hate Men," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" are still wonderful in the revival and all the songs appear in their original form.