BRUNSWICK – “Kiss Me, Kate” sparkles on the Maine State Music Theatre stage this week with the incomparable music of Cole Porter, some extraordinary dancing and a healthy dose of scene-stealing comedy.

This icon of musical comedy’s golden age brings the curtain down on this company’s 46th season with performances at Pickard Theater on Bowdoin College campus through Saturday, Aug. 28.

Tony Lawson’s powerful baritone lends authority to the bombastic role of Fred Graham, egotistical producer-actor whose theatrical company is trying out a musical version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” in Baltimore. His performance stands right up there with that of Howard Keel in the film version, or Alfred Drake in the original 1948 production.

Anne Kanengeiser strikes sparks aplenty with her portrayal of the tempestuous Kate (when she’s onstage in the Bard’s play) and the equally ill-tempered film diva Lilli Vanessi, divorced from Fred but now paired with him again.

Porter’s matchless lyrics and music find their fullest expression in this colossal battle of the sexes. “Kiss Me, Kate” has been called his greatest work and it includes song after song now among America’s standards. Kanengeiser’s plaintive “So in Love” and her duet with Lawson on “Wunderbar” set a high mark early in the show for what’s to follow. Both of the lead performers and the entire cast live up to expectations.

Debuting as a lead

This is Lawson’s debut with this company after his national tour in “Les Miserables.” Kanengeiser was onstage recently here in “Victor/Victoria” and “The Sound of Music” as well as numerous musicals elsewhere.

Samantha Fitschen, also new in this company this summer, is excellent as the saucy Bianca and the impudent Lois Lane. Bret Shuford is Bill Calhoun, who is wooing former cabaret partner Lois, as well as her character Bianca in the play-within-a-play.

Fitschen’s bawdy “Tom, Dick or Harry” by Bianca is a delight, with spectacular balletic counterpoint from Shuford, George Nieves (as Gremio) and Clyde Alves (Hortensio).

Back in the backstage set of the Baltimore theater, Fitschen also shines with the modern-day double-entendre of Porter’s “Always True to You in My Fashion.”

Other highlights are Lawson’s post-nuptial lament (as Petruchio), “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?” and Kate’s “I Hate Men.”

The hilarious antics of two Runyonesque gangsters almost run away with the show. Ed Romanoff and Larry Raiken, dressed in pinstripes on steroids and spouting malapropisms and mock-dignified manners, are out to collect a dubious gambling debt from Graham. They complicate the situation to the point of winding up as trigger-happy extras in Shakespearean costume. This leads to their showstopping rendition of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.”

An outstanding extended presentation of “Too Darn Hot” launches Act 2. It’s a multi-genre dance showcase for all the secondary roles of this production, choreographed by Connie Shafer.

Anti-feminist, but …

“Another Op’nin’, Another Show” is usually the signature curtain-raising showstopper for this show. This time, it starts things off with a low-key staging that never quite builds the necessary excitement.

Nevertheless, Charles Abbott’s direction soon has the show in high gear. Abbott, the company’s artistic director for the past 14 years, directed “Kiss Me, Kate” at Brunswick in 1980. There also were productions of the show at Pickard Theater in the early 1960s and 1970s.

This updated production puts a fresh spin on some of “Kiss Me, Kate’s” original gags and plot lines. Some roles are more well-rounded, and there’s a slick twist on Lilli’s latest suitor, now a Gen. Douglas MacArthur clone played with cartoonish perfection by the popular John-Charles Kelly.

The plot line of “Kiss Me, Kate” remains unabashedly anti-feminist, and today’s audiences have to take that in stride. It should be enjoyed for the pure inventiveness of Cole Porter at his best, and for this production’s excellent ensemble work, its colorful and elaborate sets and costumes, and for the new musical arrangements of the recent New York revival that are played beautifully by this orchestra under direction of Edward Reichert.

“Kiss Me, Kate” runs through Aug. 28 at Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus in Brunswick. Tickets range from $26 to $44. For tickets and information, call (207) 725-8769 or go online to www.msmt.org.