On the surface, Craig Lucas’ play “Prelude to a Kiss” is one more entertainment about people inhabiting bodies that don’t belong to them. However, lurking below are some serious undertones about the commitments we make, and what we endure to honor them. The dramatic comedy opens on Friday, November 30, at 7:30 p.m. Performances take place in the Tower Fine Arts Center Mainstage Theatre, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Tickets are $17 general, $12 for seniors, alumni, faculty and staff, and $9 for students. They are available online at fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 585-395-2787, or at the Tower Fine Arts Center box office.
After Peter and Rita meet cute, and enjoy a whirlwind courtship, a strange, uninvited old man asks to kiss the bride at the wedding reception. Their souls switch bodies, giving “for better or worse” quite a workout. It is at this point – and continuing through the rest of the play – that director Ruth Childs feels “a little bit of magic, a little bit of laughter and a little bit of misty-eyed poignancy” are captured.
Written at the height of the AIDS crisis, playwright Lucas saw beautiful, young, vibrant couples form amongst his social circle. Ultimately, unfortunately, he would also frequently observe one of the partners turn into an old man overnight, with aches, pains, illnesses, and the pills and medical “cocktails” – along with the accompanying side effects – that would bewilder and confound everyone involved. People in their 20s and 30s were facing realities, including death, which usually only concerned those in their 80s or 90s. Childs’ impression is that “the play is relevant to audience members of any age. It’s about the fragility of love; the importance of kindness, and the enduring nature of human connection.” For better or worse, indeed.
Performances of “Prelude to a Kiss” will take place on November 30, December 1, 6, 7 and 8, at 7:30 p.m. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, December 2, which will be ASL interpreted. Tickets may be purchased online at fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 395-2787, or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office, 180 Holley Street, Brockport.
More information about the Fine Arts Series at The College at Brockport can be found at www.brockport.edu/academics/fine_arts or on Facebook.
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