By LOU HARRY
Craig Lucas’ play Prelude to a Kiss reached Broadway in 1988, the same year that “Big,” “Vice Versa,” and “18 Again” were hitting movie theaters.
Yes, all were body-switching stories, but Prelude was something different.
Yes, it involved people’s personas suddenly inhabiting the bodies of others, but much of its focus was on the outsider – the non-switched who wrestled with whether something supernatural happened or if people jusT…change?
Also differentiating it: The play took its time getting to the switcheroo.
It didn’t happen until about a third of the way through. Before that Prelude is borderline romcom kicking off with a first meeting between Peter and Rita; she’S a politically frustrated insomniac bartender, he’s an indexer and the product of a convoluted family background. They discuss Freud and “The White Hotel.” They meet her conventional parents. They disagree on whether it’s a good idea to bring a child into the world. They get married.
On the wedding day, though, an elderly man, Julius, shows up and asks to kiss the bride. Afterwards, Peter feels like he’s living with a stranger. “Living with a Stranger” is one of the songs added to the musical version of “Prelude to a Kiss,” which completed its run at Milwaukee Rep, on Oct. 19.
The musical, with a book by the playwright, musical by Daniel Messé and lyrics by Messé and Sean Hartley, doesn’t stray far from its source material, which was previously adapted into a 1992 film featuring Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin.
But the musical is far from being yet another cash-grab movie adaptation like Saturday Night Fever or Pretty Woman. The movie version, after all, barely blipped at the box office while earning wildly mixed reviews (from “a Twilight Zone for yuppie softheads” to “a magnetic and intelligent adaptation”).
More importantly, the music feels well integrated into the work. Characters sing for reasons.
Thoughtfully composed with character-driven, plot-progressing and atmosphere-setting lyrics, Prelude offers a score I’d happily listen to again. Expected song titles such as “I Haven’t Slept in Years” and “The Man He Used to Be” fit comfortably into the story. The endearing “Whatever My Little Girl Wants” is more than a novelty comedy song, it’s a chance for us to feel the warmth of Rita’s family in contrast to Peter’s challenged childhood. “Love in the Age of Anxiety” may be a bit on the nose, but it helps give context to this couple’s world view. And the delightful “Drink Up” segues nicely into “The Wedding.”
That being said, “In the Movies”– with its references to “The Stepford Wives” and “The Three Faces of Eve” – feels forced and out of place. And the generic final song, rather than wrap up what we saw, feels like it’s backing away from what makes this story unique.
Prelude posits the question of how much falling in love and staying in love depends on our outer surface. Here, even when Rita is in the fragile, aged body of Julius, even when it seems like there’s no switching back, even when they learn that his time left is limited, Peter acknowledges his love for her and his commitment to their relationship. Some saw an AIDS analogy in the original play. Here, care for those with Alzheimer’s disease is likely also to come to mind. What Peter learns – and what he ultimately demonstrates – is something pretty deep, especially for a musical.
In the play, Julius is given a breathtaking monologue where he caps a long list of the world’s horrors with a twist, pointing out that “We get to have this.” Love isn’t presented as a cure all, but as something worth having even in an often ugly world. In the musical, the equivalent is a tender scene and song that leads to a sweet kiss.
All good.
But then, rather than embrace that beyond-the-surface love story, it seems to back away rather than accentuate that theme, quickly turning to “solving” the problem. The wrapping-it-up dialogue and concluding song seems to be celebrating the return to their beautiful bodies rather than the rather profound discovery made just moments earlier.
Still, a strong cast and solid direction (by Kenneth Ferrone) help make a case for the show, both in its current state and for its potential further development. I would have liked to see more consistency between the before-and-after Rita as well as between the before-and-after Julius (an exceptionally voiced Caitlin Houlahan and a sprier-than-the-character-should be Jonathan Gillard Daly). Chris McCarrell makes Peter more than the stereotype he could fall into. Tony-winner Karen Ziemba gamely not only brings joy to Rita’s mom but also proves a team player in ensemble numbers. And James Moye gets both the goofiness and the seriousness of Rita’s Dad. Alas, the writing doesn’t allow for the supporting friend characters to pop. Some script freshening could be used for both.
I’ve said before that I’m a sucker for second-act numbers by characters we haven’t or have barely seen previously. Julie Garny has that moment as Julius’ daughter with “The Man He Used to Be,” a strong song likely to hit home with anyone who has had experience with dementia patients – or anyone with any empathy whatsoever…
Here’s hoping work continues on this worthy project. The creative team seems to all be working on the same play – something that sometimes doesn’t seem to be happening with many such endeavors. Broadway isn’t always conducive to small musicals (although it has made exceptions for The Band’s Visit, Once, and a few others), but with continued nips and tucks, Prelude to a Kiss is well positioned to bring future pleasures to audiences at regional theaters willing to take a chance on it.
I’d happily switch my schedule around to see it again.
Based on the play by Craig Lucas, Prelude to a Kiss (2 hours and 25 minutes with a 15-minute intermission), directed by Craig Lucas, with a book by Craig Lucas and music by Daniel Messé with lyrics by Messé and Sean Hartley played at the Harris Theater from September 10 – 19, 2024 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, a joint production with Milwaukee Rep and South Coast Repertory.
