[NEohioPAL] Christine Howey/Scene Magazine Review of Prelude to a Kiss

[Martin Friedman]

  Body Swap: A Young Woman and an Old Fart Exchange Skin Sacks in Prelude
to a Kiss at Ensemble Theatre by Christine
Howey<http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/ArticleArchives?author=1393258>
    Most of us, at one time or another, would like to inhabit a different
body. It's really kind of a bore having to navigate the world in the same
bundle of skin and bones you were born with.

Of course, countless playwrights have dipped into that well of human
dissatisfaction with the status quo. Shakespeare has so many people
switching identities and genders in his plays it seems like a dressing room
at a drag ball. And in plays such as *Goodbye, Charlie*, main characters
occupy other bodies with hilarious consequences.

So it is with *Prelude to a Kiss* by Craig Lucas, now at Ensemble Theatre.
This piece, which was also a flick starring Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan,
imagines a young woman and an old man exchanging bodies.

There are obvious jokes to be had while working this admittedly well-worn
conceit, but Lucas has some more subtle and serious thoughts in mind. And
this production, as directed by the savvy Martin Friedman, finds many of
those nuances.

Peter and Rita meet cute and find they are each just eccentric enough to be
attracted to the other. He is a nerd working with microfiche and she is a
socialist bartender who'd rather not engage with the world.

After a whirlwind courtship they find themselves at the wedding ceremony,
where an unknown old man shows up, asks for a kiss from the bride,
and...whamo! The old coot is inside her lithe young body and she is
rattling around inside his wrinkled and decrepit bod.

This change, of course, isn't readily apparent to anyone, especially Peter,
who is intent on enjoying his honeymoon. But he soon notices that Rita is
behaving differently, changes that don't comport with the typical
personality tweaks common to newlyweds.

As Rita, Kelly Strand is a wonderful bundle of twitches and feints at the
start, creating a character who is unique and adorable on her own terms.
But when she is called upon to play the old man inhabiting Rita's body,
Strand doesn't provide enough physical clues to show how the septuagenarian
is dealing with the freedom and weirdness of having this young (and female)
body to romp around inside.

This makes the scene at the honeymoon resort less effective than it might
be, as Rita confuses Peter with her sudden interest in talking to fellow
tourists and engaging in various sporting activities.

The old man (who is really Rita inside) is played by Michael Regnier with a
lovely sensitivity, and you can still see some of her quirks. Plus, he
almost gets the physicality exactly right, at one point folding clothes
with the off-handed precision women demonstrate when doing everyday
domestic chores.

The linchpin of the story is Peter, and in that role Aaron D. Elersich
conveys a baffled kindheartedness, until he starts pursuing the strange
personality shift of his bride. And when Pete discovers Rita behind the
beard of the old guy, Elersich shows how love and commitment work even when
other events go awry.

Other strong members of the cast include Laura Starnik as Rita's
clueless-yet-sometimes-hip mom, Marcia Mandell as ditzy Aunt Dorothy and
Benjamin Gregg who wrings more laughs than you might expect out of his
small role as Peter's pal Taylor.

Written by Lucas back during the emerging AIDS crisis, *Prelude* can be
read as an analog to that tragedy, as the disease turned vibrant young
people into wizened shells of their former selves. Still, love persisted in
many cases. And Lucas, who also wrote other AIDS-themed scripts such
as *Longtime
Companion,* has a gentle and knowing touch with a trope than is often
played just for chuckles.

*Through Dec. 15 at Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Blvd., Cleveland
Heights, 216-321-2930, ensemble-theatre.com <http://ensemble-theatre.com/>.*





 Ensemble Theatre presents

*A feel good show for the holidays, with just the right dash of the
supernatural...*

*Prelude to a Kiss*

 by *Craig Lucas*

  Directed by Martin Friedman

Set and Projections Design by Ian Hinz

Lighting Design by Andrew Eckert

Costumes Designed by Angelina Herin

Sound Designed by Ian Hinz

Production Stage Manager Rebecca Moseley

Assistant Stage Manager Sam Landgraf

      www.*ensemble*-*theatre*.org

 "Lucas at his lightest and brightest! A rare combination of laughter,
romance and throat-tightening substance." -Curtain Up



*The Play:*

 *THE STORY: Peter and Rita, young New Yorkers, meet at a party in
Manhattan. Their immediate attraction develops over the next several weeks
into love, which culminates in a wedding at Rita's parents' house. . . But
of course love is never that easy and simple. *

While "Prelude to a Kiss" could have been a silly sex farce or a
sentimental fable, playwright Craig Lucas instead imbues this play with
the bittersweetness that life always throws our way. “Prelude to a Kiss”
is a romantic comedy of an oddly brokenhearted kind. As Peter remarks to
his lady love, ".... never to be squandered. . . the miracle of another
human being."

*Featuring: Aaron A. Elersich, Michael Regnier, Kelly Strand, Benjamin
Gregg, Darrell Starnik, Marcia Mandell, David Hundertmark, Jeanne Madison
and Laura Starnik. *



*Where: Ensemble Theatre  2843 Washington Blvd. Cleveland Heights, Ohio
44118. Located in the old Coventry School. *

*Production Dates: *Prelude to a Kiss *will open on Friday, November 22 and
run through December 15, 2013:*

*Friday, November 22 @ 8:00 pm (Join the Opening Night Reception on Friday
the 22nd!) *

*Saturday, November 23 **@ 8:00 pm*

*Sunday, November 24 @ 2:00 pm*

*Friday, November 29 @ 8:00 pm*

*Saturday, November 30 @ 8:00 pm*

*Sunday, December 1 @ 2:00pm*

*Friday, December 6 @ 8:00 pm*

*Saturday, December 7@ 8:00 pm*

*Sunday, December 8 @ 2:00pm*

*Friday, December 13 @ 8:00 pm*

*Saturday, December 14 @ 8:00 pm*

*Sunday, December 15 @ 2:00pm*

*Tickets: **$22 for adults, $20 for seniors and $12 for all students. Group
rates for 10 or more ($15 each).  For ticket reservations and information
call 216/321-2930 or email: tickets at ensemble-theatre.org
<tickets at ensemble-theatre.org>*
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