I had an odd post-theater experience the other day. Returning to my New York hotel room, I switched on the television to see David Letterman trailing an appearance by the cast of the multi-Tony-nominated Kiss Me, Kate. It’s not often you see any theatrical excerpts on the small screen, though it used to be quite common: Ed Sullivan felt it was only natural that his show should include pocket-sized productions of Broad- way hits. But, although Letterman’s “Late Show” is broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theatre, CBS is not so insane as to let him keep up the old traditions. So I decided to stay up for Kiss Me, Kate. In the commercial break, there was a Gap ad: if you haven’t seen this latest campaign, it uses the score of West Side Story and posits a rivalry not between Sharks and Jets but between rival gangs of Jeans and Khakis, or wearers thereof—they being the retail giant’s two big sellers. So, for ...

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