‘Stage Kiss’ Review: Appropriately Steamy, If Not Smooth

Those familiar with theater have likely heard the term “showmance” before — and perhaps also its many, many accompanying warnings. “Stage Kiss,” presented at the Boston Center for the Arts’s Plaza Black Box Theatre by The Psych Drama Company, follows a showmance deserving of that threatening reputation. The play, written by Sarah Ruhl, explores the reunion of two ex-lovers cast as similarly reunited lovers in a play of questionable quality. As the rehearsal process progresses, the mix of broiling attraction and festering wounds further blurs the lines between character and actor.

This blur of reality and performance extends to The Psych Drama Company’s signature “immersive staging” elements, purportedly included in all their productions. For “Stage Kiss,” Director and scenic designer Rani O’Brien turned the lobby into a waiting room for auditionees, complete with a signup sheet and list of characters for the play-within-the-play. A cast member led audiences to their seats and proceeded to read short excerpts of the play with those who signed up, easing into the eventual audition of She (Wendy Lippe), the show’s protagonist. Beyond this, immersion was relatively limited but still tastefully done. In a “in-the-round” configuration, the in-universe Director (Zachary Ryan Murphy) moved around and sat amongst the audience. Murphy cleverly used this to his advantage to sneak sly looks at the crowd and elicit more giggles.

The set was relatively simple, consisting of a few large furniture pieces brought on and off — a chaise lounge, a bed. O’Brien and lighting designer Larry Segel used the black box setup to their advantage, embracing cold house lights to suggest an audition room versus the warm yellow glow of a dingy apartment without the need for excessive set dressing.

She, played by Lippe — also Artistic Director for The Psych Drama Company — conveyed the neurotic, complicated layers of a woman eager to escape the monotony of her life to a more passionate and dramatic world. Meanwhile, Kenny Kelleher’s He felt appropriately cynical and hammy. Lippe and Kelleher’s chemistry and dynamic as bitter exes locked in audiences immediately, and when they finally accepted their passion for one another at the end of Act 1, palpable tension evaporated from the theater. Aside from these two, standout performances came from David Kleinman as Kevin, the much-suffering director’s aide, and Melissa Myers playing three separate roles. Both leaned into the exaggerated nature of their characters, Kleinman affecting ridiculously deferential postures and Myers flipping between vocal deliveries to separate her characters.

Despite soundly good performances from much of the cast, many jokes and asides were played too slowly, neutering their impact. Lighting cues meant to indicate a sudden dream-like state, conveyed in colorful purples and pinks, faded in slowly, which paired with the strangely slow delivery to make these surreal melodramatic moments feel more plodding than magical. Kleinman suffered least from this problem, operating fast and high-octane from the moment he led audiences into the theater. As the show progressed, the pacing and delivery of jokes significantly improved. It felt as if the whole cast and the show itself found the appropriate rhythm, and there were several moments in Act 2 that deserved full-bodied guffaws.

Unfortunately, the cast settling into their performances could not save the increasing drag of the production. Aside from the awkward timing of some jokes, lengthy scene transitions killed any increasing momentum. Despite the relatively simple set, lugging a chaise lounge on and off still took a great deal of time. The inverse correlation of this ever-slowing pace and overall improved comic delivery felt particularly tragic.

That being said, there were still real gems later in the show. As the relationship between He and She unraveled further, Lippe and Kelleher showcased their dramatic muscles in deeply moving sequences that probed whether or not any revitalized relationship can ever escape the shadow of their history. Half-lit in an expressionistic wash of color, they came to realize that without the framework of script and role, their fundamentally incompatible natures would render love impossible. These moments were nothing short of captivating — and make the eventual tender and hilarious reunion between She and her husband (a subtly scene-stealing Eric Cheung) all the more worthwhile.

Whether or not they reached the heights of hilarity outlined in Sarah Ruhl’s clever script, The Psych Drama Company certainly excelled at the more introspective dramatic moments. “Stage Kiss” may have taken some time to warm up, but most kissers get better with practice anyways.

“Stage Kiss” ran at the Boston Center for the Arts's Plaza Black Box Theatre from Feb. 13 through Feb. 23.

—Staff Writer Ria S. Cuéllar-Koh can be reached at ria.cuellarkoh@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @riacuellarkoh.