[NEohioPAL] Review of "Prelude to a Kiss" at Ensemble Theatre

Bob Abelman r.abelman at adelphia.net
Mon Nov 25 13:05:49 PST 2013


Ensemble Theatre's "Prelude to a Kiss" chooses playful over poignant 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Morning Journal, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times,

Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 11/29/13

 

 

"You must remember this; a kiss is still a kiss."

 

This innocent sentiment from the classic song "As Time Goes By" rang true in 1931.  But in Craig Luca's modern day "Prelude to a Kiss" and Ensemble Theatre's production of it, life is no longer so simple and a kiss is most certainly not still a kiss. 

 

Peter and Rita (a charming Aaron Elersich and Kelly Strand) are opposites so attracted to one another that they meet, mate and marry in rapid succession.  She is a socialist bartender with adoring parents (Laura Starnik and Darrell Starnik) who sees the world as a terrifyingly precarious place.  He is an apolitical low-level manager with wanderlust and a bright outlook on life despite having come from a home so broken it is beyond repair.  Both are flawed and floundering but complete each other's sentences and fill each other's empty spaces.  

 

When their souls are joined in holy matrimony and their union is sealed with a kiss, an elderly man (Michael Regnier) who is crashing the wedding kisses the bride. In an inexplicable instant, their two souls are switched.

 

The whole body swapping gambit that is central to this play is nothing new in storytelling.  It typically results from magic, misguided technology, heartfelt wishes, or an inexplicable quirk in the universe. Depending on the story, the swap eventually reverses itself when its victims have gained a new-found appreciation for life and one another (romantic comedy), learned a valuable lesson the hard way (drama), or brought humankind to the brink of extinction before the universe comes to the rescue (sci-fi). 

 

While "Prelude to a Kiss" is most certainly a comedy, and a romantic one at that, a kiss was most assuredly not just a kiss during its original New York staging in 1990.  Written in the aftermath of the AIDS epidemic that ravaged the gay population, the play's life-affirming lesson was more poignant then and, when the old man shares a soul mate's passionate kiss with Peter, the image was more political and significantly more powerful.

 

Martin Friedman acknowledges the play's historical context in the playbill's director's notes, but he has wisely chosen to emphasize the playwright's evergreen message about human frailty and its sweet, timeless lesson about the preciousness of life.    

 

As such, this "Prelude to a Kiss" is a delightful evening's entertainment - a fairytale adventure into the human heart.    

 

Friedman's vision for this production is facilitated by Lucas' weightless writing at the start of the play, where these characters are absolutely charming and immediately endearing.  Their banter - experienced in the round within Ensemble Theatre's intimate theater space - is effervescent, clever and right from the heart.  When one short, enchanting scene ends in the first half of this 90-minute play, you find yourself leaning forward in your seat in joyful anticipation of the next scene.

 

Then the souls switch and the rhythms of Luca's words become less pleasing to the ear.  Peter shares his concern over the disturbing differences in Rita with his best friend (Benjamin Gregg).  We overhear the old man's daughter (Jeanne Madison) express her anxiety over his mysterious disappearance.  Still, this wonderful core of actors maintain Friedman's romanticism and succeed in keeping the production's fairytale qualities afloat.  Ian Hinz's minimalist set design and incidental music does the same.

 

Yes Regnier, as the dying old man who stole Rita's soul, could have taken on more of Strand's  defining physical indicators to be a more convincing female.  And yes, Strand, as the young woman with an old man's soul, could have taken greater delight in the acquisition of this gorgeous, cancer-free, body.   But neither gravitate toward broader, more comedic acting choices, which is fortunate, and both are interesting to watch and listen to all the time, which is a pleasure.  

 

This play leaves the audience with the same amiable disorientation shared by its characters as they recover from their fantastic adventure - unsure about what was real and what was not, but changed for the better from the experience.  

 

"Prelude to a Kiss" continues through December 15 at the Ensemble Theatre in Cleveland Hts.  For tickets, which range from $12 to $22, call 216-321-2930 or visit www.ensemble-theatre.org.
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