About the Play:

Prelude to a Kiss has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues, Female/Male scenes, and Three-Person Scenes.

Prelude to a Kiss is a full-length romantic comedy by Craig Lucas. In this modern day fairy tale, an uninvited guest turns a perfect wedding into a white-knuckled rollercoaster ride of doubt and regret. A whirlwind courtship. A storybook wedding. A kiss for the bride. And suddenly everything changes. When an elderly "wedding crasher" kisses the bride, their souls exchange, leaving the brave but bewildered groom to reverse the curse armed only with the power of true love.

Prelude to a Kiss is a classic romantic comedy about a young bride whose marriage is strained by a magical twist of fate on her wedding day. Despite her pessimistic outlook on life, Rita Boyle, a liberal, free-spirited aspiring graphic designer who earns a living as a bartender, falls in love with and marries Peter Hoskins. At their wedding, the couple is approached by an elderly man who requests permission to kiss the bride. When he does, their spirits switch places, leaving Peter with an aged man's soul inside his newly wed bride. Neither Peter nor the wedding guests grasp what has happened. Peter leaves the wedding with a woman he believes is Rita. During their honeymoon, he comes to realize that Rita's body is no longer inhabited by Rita's true personality. He must find the old man and keep his love for Rita alive despite the fact that she is now in a very different body. This leads to a breathtaking series of events that explores the enduring power of love and the nature of commitment, and asks how well can we ever know the ones we love.

Prelude to a Kiss was commissioned and originally staged in an earlier form by South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California in January 1988. The first performance of the published version was in 1990 off-Broadway at Circle Repertory Company. After receiving rave reviews, the production transferred to Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre, ran for over 400 performances, received a Tony Award nomination as Best Play, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is regularly performed in regional repertory, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 9 female, 5 male (doubling, flexible casting)

What people say:

"…a play that propels the audience through hairpin emotional turns, some soaring heavenward and others plummeting toward earth, until one is deposited at the final curtain in a winded and teary yet exhilarating state of disorientation… Prelude to a Kiss takes a most familiar genre, romantic comedy, in directions that are idiosyncratic and challenging." — New York Times

"Like many a fairy tale, this isn't a 'what you see is what you get' happy-ending story. Like the brothers Grimm, Lucas knows that what you see in such stories embodies the unseen darker fears that haunt us from childhood on—in this case the fear of aging and its accompanying losses and the ultimate fear of death…Lucas' smartly written and solidly structured script holds up very well indeed… Prelude to a Kiss is Lucas at his lightest and brightest. A rare combination of laughter, romance and throat-tightening substance." — CurtainUp

About the Playwright:

Craig Lucas is an American screenwriter, performer, stage and film director, and award-winning playwright. A Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony nominee, his other honours include the L.A. Drama Critics Award, two OBIE Awards, and the Excellence in Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.