'A Kiss' To Build a Dream On

Prelude to a Kiss

Written by Craig Lucas, Directed by Peter DuBois; Scenic Design, Scott Bradley; Costume Design, Elizabeth Hope Clancy; Lighting Design, Japhy Weideman; Original Music/Sound Design, David Remedios; Projection Design, Maya Ciarrocchi; Casting, Alaine Alldaffer; Production Stage Manager, Leslie Sears; Stage Manager, Carola Morrone

CAST(in order of appearance): Brian Sgambati, Peter; Timothy John Smith, Taylor; Cassie Beck, Rita; Jason Bowen, Tom/Jamaican Waiter; Nancy E. Carroll, Mrs. Boyle; Michael Hammond, Dr. Boyle; Ted Hewlett, Minister; Cheryl McMahon, Aunt Dorothy/Leah; Ken Cheeseman, Uncle Fred; MacIntyre Dixon, Old Man; Georgette Lockwood and Alex Schneps, Ensemble

Performances through June 13 at Huntington Theatre Company, Main Stage                         Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org

Prelude to a Kiss is many things, depending on your perspective. It is a sweet, humorous love story, a treatise on how marriage inevitably changes relationships, or, viewed in the context of the late 1980s when it was written, a metaphor for the devastating effects of the AIDS virus on a mostly youthful demographic. The play questions how well you can ever really know someone and tests the limits of romantic love. In that light, what is perhaps most amazing is the absence of cynicism in both playwright Craig Lucas' fairy tale script and the thoughtful, nuanced direction by Peter DuBois in the Huntington Theatre Company's season-ending production.

We live in a throwaway society, where the national divorce rate hovers around forty percent, and the word commitment seems terribly old-fashioned. Instead of long periods of courtship (even that term sounds quaint today), many people engage in serial marriages, plying and untying their troths as if they were merely lines spoken in a play eight times a week. One of the beautiful things about the spellbinding story Lucas weaves is the strong commitment between the ill-fated bride and groom, their bond of love enduring through the most bizarre and unimaginable chain of events as they begin their life together.

Peter (Brian Sgambati) and Rita (Cassie Beck) meet at a Manhattan party, have a whirlwind romance, and get married. On their wedding day, an unfamiliar Old Man (MacIntyre Dixon) asks to kiss the bride and, in that moment, everything changes. During the kiss, Rita and the Old Man exchange souls and, on their honeymoon in Jamaica, Peter finds his new wife to be completely different from the woman he thought he married. By carefully observing her and questioning her actions, he begins to piece together the puzzle of her altered personality. In his confusion, he speaks to her parents, his friends, and even to the audience as he seeks to unlock the mystery of Rita's transformation. Throughout the challenge, Peter never waivers in his quest to find the soul of the woman he loves, to reunite it with the corporeal Rita who shares his bed, but tells him, "I'm sorry I can't be whatever you want me to be."    

Therein lays another bread crumb on the trail laid out by Lucas in his examination of marital relationships. Peter finds an ally in Rita's mother Mrs. Boyle (Nancy E. Carroll) and explains to her that Rita is not the same person, but she gives him a dose of reality, replying, "They never are, Peter. They're never Rita. They're never Dr. Marshall Boyle, not the way that you think they should be. They're always someone else. They're always changing." Well, if that doesn't hit you right between the eyes, you're not paying attention. But Peter is undaunted and continues to follow the trail, plumbing his own depth along the way.

Sgambati and Beck naturalistically portray the couple in the awkward getting to know you phase, gradually opening up to each other physically and emotionally, until the pain of their separation and joy in reuniting become entirely believable. He is an amiable and engaging storyteller and guide, drawing us into Peter's journey and making it effortless to care about him. She handles Rita's transformation from unfocused young woman into the old man's persona and back to a wiser Rita with distinction, using facial expressions, posture, tone of voice, attitude, and whatever other acting tools are at her disposal to effect the changes. Dixon's morphing skills are equally sharp as he instantly rounds his body and softens his voice following the fateful kiss. He is most convincing in the scenes where Peter and Old Man are working together to figure out a solution to their situation.

Michael Hammond is both jovial and commanding as Dr. Boyle, responding to his daughter's needs in good times and bad. Carroll gives a capable performance as the wise, loving, and fiercely protective mother. The rest of the solid company includes Timothy John Smith as Peter's friend and confidante; Jason Bowen doubles as Rita's co-worker at the bar and a Jamaican waiter; Cheryl McMahon is Rita's bossy aunt and the Old Man's daughter concerned for his well-being; Ken Cheeseman plays goofy Uncle Fred. Ted Hewlett, Georgette Lockwood, and Alex Schneps complete the ensemble.

The flow of the play is enhanced by Scott Bradley's set designs, which include a nice apartment that Cassie probably couldn't afford on her bartender's salary, and minimalist furniture groupings to suggest the Boyles' home, the bar at the Tin Market, and the Jamaican pool deck. Maya Ciarrocchi adds some cinematic backdrops for Peter and Rita's drive to visit her parents in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, as well as blue skies and swaying trees to emulate Jamaica. I'm not one for the insertion of projections into stage plays, but these are at least subtle. Music and sound by David Remedios and Japhy Weideman's lighting creatively underscore and highlight shifting moods and scenes respectively. Elizabeth Hope Clancy helps to define Rita as something of a free spirit by dressing her in light and airy garments, but achieves her pinnacle with the strapless floor-length bridal gown, decorated with a multitude of little white flowers and vines.

Prelude to a Kiss marks Lucas' debut at the Huntington, and DuBois and company have welcomed him home to Boston with a very attractive and solid production of his award-winning play. Let's hope that this is a prelude to seeing more of his work performed on local stages.

 

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson (Ken Cheeseman, Cheryl McMahon, Cassie Beck, Brian Sgambati, Michael Hammond, Nancy E. Carroll, Timothy John Smith)

 

 

 

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