7 Famous Actresses Who Played Lilli Vanessi in Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate

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THIRTEEN, your local PBS station, continues its special Broadway and Beyond celebration this spring as Great Performances raises the curtain on its annual “ Broadway’s Best ” line-up. The line-up, which coincides with Great Performances receiving a 2025 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, concludes with Cole Porter’s classic musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate, now streaming for free at pbs.org/gperf , and the PBS app .

Tony winner Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show), in her West End debut, stars as tempestuous actress Lilli Vanessi in the production, directed by Bartlett Sher and filmed from the Barbican during summer 2024.

Before you enjoy Kiss Me, Kate, Check out this starry list of actresses who have played Lilli Vanessi.

1) Marin Mazzie
Marin Mazzie scored her third Tony nomination for her fiery portrayal of Lilli Vanessi in the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate, which reunited her with her Ragtime co-star Brian Stokes Mitchell as Fred Graham. The production, directed by Michael Blakemore and featuring choreography by Kathleen Marshall, won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

2) Chita Rivera
A year before razzle-dazzling audiences as Velma Kelly in the original Broadway production of Chicago, Chita Rivera played Lilli Vanessi in a 1974 production of Kiss Me, Kate at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts. Hal Linden, who would soar to TV fame in Barney Miller the following year, portrayed Fred Graham. The cast also included Bonnie Franklin (One Day at a Time) and Eddie Mekka (Laverne & Shirley).

3) Merle Dandridge
Merle Dandridge (Broadway’s Spamalot and Tarzan, HBO Max’s The Last of Us) portrayed Lilli in Pasadena Playhouse’s 2014 production of Kiss Me, Kate, starring Wayne Brady as Fred Graham. Featuring a primarily Black cast, this reimagined Kate viewed the story through a Black lens, following the characters as they tour the American South in Swinging the Shrew, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

4) Kelli O’Hara
Kelli O’Hara garnered her seventh Tony nomination for her portrayal of Lilli Vanessi in  Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2019 revival of Kiss Me, Kate. Like many actresses who have played the role, O’Hara considered Marin Mazzie’s titanic portrayal of Lilli in the 1999 Broadway revival to be the blueprint for the character. She paid homage to Mazzie — who died in September 2018 at age 57 of ovarian cancer — at every performance. When she made her entrance at the top of the show, she wore the hat worn by Mazzie in the 1999 revival.

5) Stephanie J. Block
Throughout her illustrious career, Stephanie J. Block has played her fair share of divas: gloriously tragic silent film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, sassy Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, and über-superstar Cher in The Cher Show, to name just a few. So naturally, the role of imperious stage star Lilli Vanessi fit her like a glove. She found inspiration in two iconic leading ladies. “Barbara Stanwyck was one of my inspirations. A lot of my physical choices and facial expression I pulled from Lucille Ball, because I found so much comedy and humor in this script,” Block said in a TheaterMania interview.

6) Rachel York
Rachel York played Lilli in the U.S. national tour of Kiss Me, Kate from 2001-2002, opposite Rex Smith as Fred Graham. Following the tour, York joined the show’s West End engagement, which starred Brent Barrett as Fred Graham, for its final months at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre. Great Performances filmed the production, which aired in 2003 during the series’ 30th
anniversary season.

7) Hannah Waddingham
Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso, Game of Thrones, Tom Jones on Masterpiece ) portrayed Lilli Vanessi in a 2012 Chichester Festival Theater production of Kiss Me, Kate. Directed by Trevor Nunn, the acclaimed revival transferred to London’s Old Vic in November 2012. Waddingham, who began her career on the stage, earned an Olivier Award nomination for her performance.

Great Performances “Broadway’s Best” line-up is part of Broadway and Beyond, a special collection of theater and arts programming from The WNET Group premiering on-air, online, and YouTube. If you live in the tri-state area, visit thirteen.org/broadway for more information.