In late 1948, Kiss Me, Kate re-established
Cole Porter as a major Broadway songwriter. In late 1950 (with a cast album released in early 1951),
Out of This World failed to consolidate that resurgence. The musical bears many similarities to its predecessor. Loosely based on Plautus' Greek comedy Amphitryon, about Jupiter descending from Olympus to woo a mortal woman, just as Kiss Me, Kate boasted a classic source in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, it mixes mythological and modern settings to comic effect. But the cast, led by 60-year-old film star Charlotte Greenwood, returning to her stage roots after 23 years, is only adequate, and the songs are not from
Porter's top drawer. The witty ones -- "They Couldn't Compare to You," "I Sleep Easier Now," "Cherry Pies Ought to Be You," and "Nobody's Chasing Me" -- are often reminiscent of earlier
Porter songs in the same vein, but are simply not as witty. The romantic ballads, given sub-operatic treatment by Priscilla Gillette and Barbara Ashley, are not particularly memorable. The result is an only OK
Cole Porter musical, following one of his best. ~ William Ruhlmann