Review - A Prelude To A Kiss (3.06.07)

A Prelude To A Kiss (Tuesday, 3.06.07)
American Airlines Theatre, New York City

By: Craig Lucas, Daniel Sullivan (direction)

Starring: John Mahoney (Old Man), Alan Tudyk (Peter), Annie Parisse (Rita), Matthew Rauch (Taylor), Francois Battiste (Tom, Jamaican Waiter), James Rebhorn (Dr. Boyle), Robin Bartlett (Mrs. Boyle), Macintyre Dixon (Minister), John Rothman (Uncle Fred), Marceline Hugot (Aunt Dorothy), Marceline Hugot (Leah)

"Prelude" is a story about a crossed connection – between the lovers, Peter and Rita, and between two souls who have a sense of yearning for something else – Old Man and Rita. What proceeds following the “Kiss” is a bizarre journey as Peter (Tudyk) struggles to find Rita before it is too late.

Everything about this production of Prelude is good and competent. As Peter, Alan Tudyk is likeable and believable. As Rita, Annie Parisse is sufficiently quirky without ever coming across as unreal. And as the Old Man, John Mahoney plays his material well. The production values are good, the direction seamless, the incidentals well thought out.

In the end, though, there is something missing in Prelude, and it’s not clear what it is. Sure, we come to care about Rita’s plight, but perhaps there just isn’t enough about her character to make us care. Indeed, I was most concerned with how she would manage to switch souls back, rather than whether she would be able to do so.

It could be the times have changed, and so the resonance of the piece too has changed. Prelude was written during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Although the piece doesn’t come across as one about AIDS, in fact it is a piece that explores the life cycle and death. Peter, when he learns that the Old Man is ill with cancer, is suddenly faced with the prospect of losing Rita at a time when he has been preparing to spend the rest of his life with her. It is a poignant thought which probably struck a greater chord at a time when many young people died before the their prime. It is still a sad thought today, but today young people aren’t being constantly stricken down.

In any event, this is a good play, and a potentially thought-provoking one. It is difficult to imagine that a better production could have been given. Unfortunately, the play suffers from its seeming lack of relevance.