Be prepared to smile, laugh and tap your toes when you attend the Natchez debut of &uot;Kiss Me, Kate&uot; at the Natchez Little Theatre during the next two weeks.

The rollicksome musical with some of Cole Porter’s most famous tunes and lyrics is sure to delight theater-goers who enjoy lively, comic scenes and a story line inspired by real life.

&uot;Kiss Me, Kate&uot; will open June 9 at 8 p.m. at the theater on Linton Avenue and continue through June 11 with 8 p.m. performances. The June 12 performance is at 2 p.m. The show continues again June 16 through 18, 8 p.m.; and it closes with a final 2 p.m. matinee on June 19. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and those 60 and older. Tickets are available by calling 601-442-2233. Season ticket holders simply should call for reservations.

Director Lynn Mann said at the Thursday dress rehearsal the cast is coming together nicely &uot;and we’re going to be ready.&uot;

The pace of the musical has been challenging, she said. But everyone loves the show. &uot;There is a lot of scene changing and a lot of activity on stage. It’s going to be really good,&uot; she said. &uot;We love this show. It’s fun.&uot;

Indeed,

the clever sets by stage manager and designer Don Vesterse add fun to the show.

The famous 20th-century husband and wife actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne gave a producer the idea for &uot;Kiss Me, Kate,&uot; when in 1935 the talented duo fought as much backstage during their appearance together in a production of Shakespeare’s &uot;Taming of the Shrew&uot; as they did in the roles they portrayed.

Cole Porter wrote the music and lyrics for the show; Samuel and Bella Spewack, the book. Theater-goers will see a play within a play in &uot;Kiss Me, Kate,&uot; as Fred Graham, played by Layne Taylor, and his high-spirited wife, Lili Vanessi, played by Gina Buckley, appear together in a production of &uot;The Taming of the Shrew,&uot; in which Graham plays Petruchio and Vanessi, the shrewish Kate.

From their dressing rooms to the stage where they perform scenes from &uot;The Taming of the Shrew,&uot; Taylor and Buckley tease and taunt one another in their dual roles.

Taylor and Buckley work well together, both veterans of the stage and both with notable musical and acting experience and ability.

Buckley returns to a Natchez Little Theatre musical lead after an absence of almost seven years. &uot;It’s really good to be back on stage again,&uot; she said. &uot;The role is hard work, but I love it; it’s a huge cast, and we’ve all worked hard.&uot;

Another romantic plot brings in the gifted Maggie Brown as Lois Lane, who portrays Bianca in the &uot;Shrew&uot; scenes; and talented Jim Foster as Bill Calhoun, whose role in &uot;Shrew&uot; is Lucentio.

And to thicken the plot, scene-stealers Douglas McCallum as the first man and Michael Norell, the second man, merrily mix the mobster element into the story.

Others in the cast are Ted Dillon as Pops, Haberdasher and Padua; Rose Temple as Hattie; James Gavette as Paul and Nathaniel; Derek LeBlanc as Ralph; Don Vesterse as Harry Trevor and Baptista Minola; Marvin Weaver as Cab Driver, Gremio, Philip and Flynt; Will Harris as Hortensio, Gregory and Riley; Mike Gemmell as General Harrison Howell; and, in the ensemble, Abby Brown, Laura Brown, Kaslynn Hughes, Belinda Oertel and Sarah Waldrop.

Behind the scene, Becky Zerby is assistant to the director; and Casey Gilbert and Stacey Carden are sound and lighting technicians.