Stage Kiss at Onstage Theater

Lovers onstage, ex-lovers offstage. Stage Kiss, labelled as the Critic’s Pick in 2014 by The New York Times, begins with the protagonist – an out-of-work stage actress, rusty from a ten- year hiatus – nervously auditioning for a role in a bad 1930s melodrama. She arrives on the first day of rehearsals to find that the actor playing her onstage lover is her real-life ex-lover! From there, they attempt to maneuver around their shared history, foregoing their awkward romantic past to bring to life the love between the characters they portray. Stage Kiss is a play that explores the blurred lines between illusion and reality. When these overlap, which becomes true: art imitating life, or life imitating art? What happens when lovers share a stage kiss? Or when actors share a real one?

Authors

• Sarah Ruhl