Tempe Little Theatre's Prelude to a Kiss at The Tempe Performing Arts Center
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 6/5/99
(out of )Tempe Little Theatre finishes their current season with a pregnant pause. After scoring impressively with their first two shows, Rumors and The Foreigner, and doing a so-so job with their spring musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, they have mounted Craig Lucas' wearily episodic movie-wannabe, Prelude to a Kiss. Already working against a script that appears to have been written for the express purpose of selling it to Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin for their mediocre star turns, Director Joy Bingham Strimple then finds herself struggling with inaudible actors, overwhelming sound design, underwhelming sets, and a lead male who seems to have been taught acting, speech and pacing...by...a...gimpy...tortoise. While the final result is not terrible, one has to wonder how Ms. Strimple's creation would have turned out if she had spent more time directing, and less time battling.
If you are one of the luckier people, like myself, who missed the movie, let me sum the plot up succinctly, something the author unfortunately never bothers to do during his creation. Seemingly mismatched couple. Whirlwind romance. Wedding. Strange old man kisses the bride and bizarre things happen. Yah-de-yah-de-yah-dah. Nothing is as it appears. If I don't sound impressed with the (at turns silly-then-soulful) script, then you get the idea.
In defense of the play, though, it does have some potentially interesting moments. The central conceit is never really explained until a cursory attempt near the end, and this surprisingly works. There are some bits of genuine humor, and a few of the arguments it makes are worthwhile. The lack of any true character development is a big problem though, and the twists are so loudly telegraphed in advance, leaving at intermission does not preclude an audience member from not being able to explain the play to a friend.
Ms. Strimple has unfortunately missed several bits of fine tuning that could have raised the production above it's mundane material. She sets a few scenes in beach chairs and benches on the stage floor, rather than platforms, making them unviewable to the audience members beyond the first row, a fault that can also be attributed to Doug Franz' precarious, badly laid-out set. Her casting of Stephen J. Craig as the narrator and husband, Peter, looks good, but his snail's-pacing and pause-filled line delivery slows the already slow developing script to a near dead stop in the first act. While Amanda Felt and Corey A. Normandin are much better in performing the roles of Rita and Old Man, there are certain mannerisms that each has that should have been wonderfully replicated by the other to enhance the effect of the play. For example, Ms. Felt's Rita tends to absently push her hair from her eyes when speaking, yet Mr. Normandin never made this involuntary move. And while Ms. Felt, and especially Mr. Normandin, are very solid actors, Ms. Felt never seems to connect with Mr. Craig in any discernible way; This is a romance without a spark.
The rest of the cast may have been pretty good, but were often drowned out by Ms. Strimple's filmic, though initially malfunctioning, sound design, or just not loud enough to project into the cavernous TPAC space. While this is understandable, albeit annoying, none of them should be blamed for barely making an impression, though, since the author offered skimpy skeletons on which to hang the meat and flesh of their characters. Pascal and Stan Brown's co-worker and waiter characters are paper thin, Michael J. Hummell and Debbie Soultaire's mom and dad are barely breathing stereotypes, and Jason Rishi's friend has comic relief stamped on his forehead in big red letters.
Perhaps this night after opening was an off night, and Mr. Craig is not usually as laborious with his presentation. Perhaps there is some chemistry between Mr. Craig and Ms. Felt that were hindered by the post-opening doldrums often occurring in non-contract theatre. Perhaps, the initial adrenaline rush of the opening night caused the ensemble to hold back their voices. If these problems were at work, and are subsequently corrected, then perhaps this could be a pleasant evening of theatre. If, in fact, these are consistent production problems, then perhaps it would be best to wait and see if TLT's improved production values return next season when they mount Relatively Speaking, Inspecting Carol, Brigadoon, and Crossing Delancey.
Production Details:
Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lucas
Tempe Little Theatre
The Tempe Performing Arts Center, Tempe
(480) 350-8388
June 4 - June 19, 1999