Photo Coverage: First Day of Rehearsal for Sarah Ruhl's STAGE KISS at Playwrights Horizons
By: Walter McBride Jan. 11, 2014
Rehearsals began yesterday, January 10 for Playwrights Horizons' New York premiere production of STAGE KISS, a new play marking the eagerly-anticipated return of two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl (Dead Man's Cell Phone at PH; The Clean House, In the Next Room..., Eurydice) to the theater company. Directed by Rebecca Taichman (Milk Like Sugar at PH; Marie Antoinette, Orlando, The Scene, Luck of the Irish), the production will begin previews Friday evening, February 7 at 8PM with an Opening Night set for Sunday, March 2 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, March 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the cast at the first rehearsal below!
STAGE KISS marks the return of both Ms. Ruhl and Ms. Taichman to Playwrights Horizons and reunites the pair following their collaboration on the New York premiere of Orlando at CSC in 2010.
The cast features Todd Almond (Public Works' The Tempest, People Are Wrong!, composer/lyricist of On the Levee), Clea Alsip (L(y)RE), Michael Cyril Creighton (The Vietnamization of NJ, Blood Play, WGA winner for "Jack in a Box"), SAG Award nominee Dominic Fumusa (Ms. Ruhl's Passion Play, Tape, Take Me Out, [sic], Kevin Peyton on "Nurse Jackie"), Emma Galvin (Lidless, Our Town, Blood Play), Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (Lobster Alice and Plunge at PH, The Assembled Parties, A View from the Bridge, Harvey, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Tony Award nominee Daniel Jenkins (Big River, Golden Boy, Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, Angels in America) and Patrick Kerr (The Ritz, Endgame, The Warrior Ant, Jeffrey, The Devils).
Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors (Ms. Hecht and Mr. Fumusa) with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage. Sarah Ruhl's singular voice returns to Playwrights Horizons with STAGE KISS, a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss - or when actors share a real one.
The production features scenic design by Obie Award winner Neil Patel, costume design by Tony Award winnerSusan Hilferty, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski and sound design by Matt Hubbs. Original music is by Todd Almond and choreography is by Sam Pinkleton. Production Stage Manager is Cole P. Bonenberger.
STAGE KISS had its World Premiere at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago in May 2011. Writing on that premiere, Steven Oxman of Variety called it, "Wickedly clever, with breezily elegant dialogue and Ruhl's pleasingly loopy logic."John Lahr in The New Yorker called it among the Best Theater of that year.
For tickets and more information, visit www.PlaywrightsHorizons.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
'STAGE KISS'
Playwright Sarah Ruhl and Director Rebecca Taichman
Playwright Sarah Ruhl
Director Rebecca Taichman
Dominic Fumusa and Jessica Hecht
Dominic Fumusa and Jessica Hecht
Dominic Fumusa and Jessica Hecht
Daniel Jenkins and Jessica Hecht
Daniel Jenkins and Jessica Hecht
Michael Cyril Creighton and Patrick Kerr
Michael Cyril Creighton and Patrick Kerr
Playwright Sarah Ruhl
Director Rebecca Taichman
Playwright Sarah Ruhl and Director Rebecca Taichman
Sarah Ruhl , Rebecca Taichman & Dominic Fumusa
First Row: Daniel Jenkins, Emma Galvin, Clea Alsip, Patrick Kerr Second Row: Tim Sanford, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jessica Hecht, Sarah Ruhl, Rebecca Taichman & Dominic Fumusa
First Row: Daniel Jenkins, Emma Galvin, Clea Alsip, Patrick Kerr Second Row: Tim Sanford, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jessica Hecht, Sarah Ruhl, Rebecca Taichman & Dominic Fumusa
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