Fortune's Fool to Present STOP KISS, Begin. 1/25

Twin Cities theatre audiences will have a rare opportunity to see a professional production of Diana Son's acclaimed play STOP KISS when Fortune's Fool Theatre presents it at Nimbus Theatre, 1517 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis. It will open on January 25, 2014, and run through February 8. Performances will be at 7:30 on January 25, 27, 30, and 31; February 1, 6, 7, & 8. Performances will be at 3:00 on January 26 and February 2. Ticket prices will be $15 general admission, $12 students/seniors/MN Fringe button holders. Monday, January 27 will be a Pay What You Can performance.

STOP KISS is the story of two women, Callie and Sara, who meet when Sara moves to New York to be an inner city schoolteacher. They begin a friendship that, despite their current relationships with men, develops into an unexpected attraction. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack, but in showing the prelude to and aftermath of the attack, Diana Son's imaginative, moving, and often comic play brings audiences-and her principal characters-to surprising places.

We will feature a panel of experts on issues connected to the play: coming out, violence against women and minorities, and self-defense for women on one night. We will have a pay as able performance on the first Monday. We will also have an audio-described performance.

Ben Layne will direct. Ariel Leaf will appear as Callie and Katie Starks will appear as Sara. Ariel Leaf and Katie Starks are veterans of the Twin Cities small theatre scene. Ariel is a member of several theatres in town and is co-artistic director of Fortune's Fool. She was featured in our last production, YARRRH! THE LUSTY, BUSTY PIRATE MUSICAL. Katie is a member of 20% Theatre and Freshwater Theatre; she was seen last season in BOHEMIAN FLATS at Nimbus.

Ben Layne is co-artistic director of Freshwater Theatre, and a very busy actor and director. He most recently directed THE GIFTED PROGRAM for Freshwater and Ariel's one-woman Fringe show, DIED IN A TRAILER PARK/WOKE UP A MERMAID.

The rest of the cast is composed of some of the region's busiest and most versatile actors. Linda Sue Anderson, one of the area's finest character actresses, who has appeared with Theatre in the Round, Torch Theatre, and

many other local theatres, will play Mrs. Winsley and the Nurse. Joel Raney, who has acted in theatres around the region, including Park Square, Paul Bunyan, and Nimbus, will play Detective Cole. Michael Ooms, recently lauded for his performance in RAIN FOLLOWS THE PLOW at Savage Umbella, will play Peter. Andy Chambers, a member of Theatre Pro Rata who has acted at the Guthrie, Gremlin, Nimbus, and other theatres, will play George.

This production is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

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