Cole Porter was considered a has-been when he came to write "Kiss Me, Kate." He hadn't had a major hit in more than a decade, and the general wisdom was that he was washed up. Lucky, then, that Bella and Samuel Spewack tapped him to work on their adaptation of "Taming of the Shrew," because he produced the strongest score of his career.

The Spewacks' sophisticated book is crafted as a play-within-a-play, where a pair of divorced stars reteam during an out-of-town tryout of a new musical version of Shakespeare.

In this production by Bloomington Civic Theatre, Robin McIntye's magical sets and Ed Gleeman's stylish costumes create a fanciful world both backstage and on.

This kind of show calls on director John Command's roots as choreographer and his work is a textbook of dance styles, from ballet to tap to jazz. He inspires his youthful cast into one of the best dance choruses in town.

As the bickering Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham, Lara Trujillo and Kevin Leines make their scenes together sizzle with chemistry, both romantic and comic. And they sing the heart out of their songs, as in her ballad "So In Love" and his "Were Thine That Special Face."

As hoofer Bill Calhoun, Rico Heisler has real charisma. He knows what to do with a star turn like the dance number "Too Darn Hot."

As his love interest, the brassy ditz Lois Lane, Justine Bergevin turns the risqué "Always True to You in My Fashion" into the comic highlight of the evening.

Aaron Rolloff and Michael Fischetti, as two gangsters, challenge her for that honor, with their performance of one of Porter's wittiest numbers, "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."

The song "From This Moment On," imported from the movie version, is fun to hear and a chance to see Carl Shoenborn (singing with Trujillo) do a killer impersonation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The production uses the new orchestrations of the 1999 Broadway revival, which leave plenty of room for improvisation. Music director Anita Ruth really lets the score swing, instrumentally and vocally.

"Taming of the Shrew," and by extension "Kiss Me, Kate," can come off as hopelessly misogynistic. But Command comes up with a clever surprise at the end that solves that problem and brings this enjoyable production to a satisfying conclusion.