Playwrights Horizons: Stage Kiss, Dead Man’s Cell Phone. Other plays: How to Transcend a Happy Marriage; The Oldest Boy; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; The Clean House; Orlando; Late: a cowboy song; Dear Elizabeth. She is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award nominee. Her plays have been produced on and Off- Broadway, regionally and internationally, translated into over 12 languages. MFA: Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel. Awards: Steinberg Distinguished Playwright, Susan Smith Blackburn, Whiting, Lilly, PEN, MacArthur “genius” Award. In print: 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write (Faber and Faber). She teaches at the Yale School of Drama and lives in Brooklyn with her family.
(as of 8/09/17)
Broadway: Indecent by Paula Vogel. Select Off Broadway: How To Transcend A Happy Marriage and The Oldest Boy by Sarah Ruhl (LCT); Luck of the Irish by Kirsten Greenidge (LCT3); Familiar by Danai Gurira, Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl, Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge (Playwrights Horizons); Orlando by Sarah Ruhl (CSC); Orpheus (NYCO); Dark Sisters (MTG/Gotham); Menopausal Gentleman (The Ohio). Regional includes productions at Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Old Globe, ART, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter, Woolly Mammoth. Rebecca is a Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute, and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. www.rebeccataichman.com
(as of 2/17/17)
NEW YORK PREMIERE
Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage. Sarah Ruhl’s singular voice returns to Playwrights Horizons with Stage Kiss, a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss—or when actors share a real one.
Featuring
Todd Almond
Clea Alsip
Michael Cyril Creighton
Dominic Fumusa
Emma Galvin
Jessica Hecht
Daniel Jenkins
Husband (through March 23)
Patrick Kerr
Ken Marks
Husband (March 25-April 6)
Playwrights: Iowa (music and lyrics), Stage Kiss (performer). Todd wrote and starred in The Tempest, The Odyssey, and The Winter's Tale all for The Public. As a composer and orchestrator, Almond has written and arranged music for Noises Off! on Broadway, Fucking A at Signature, and How to Transcend a Happy Marriage at Lincoln Center Theater, Kelli O’Hara Live at Carnegie Hall, and the recent film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again. As a playwright, Almond’s musical Girlfriend, based on Matthew Sweet’s album of the same name, continues to have productions around the country, as does his musical Melancholy Play, written with Sarah Ruhl. Other New York acting credits include Girl from the North Country on Broadway and at The Public, People are Wrong at the Vineyard, Piece of Meat opposite Sherie Rene Scott, and "Law and Order: SVU." As a musical director, Almond tours with Laura Benanti and Judy Kuhn, and recently made his PBS debut with Andrew Rannells, Live From Lincoln Center.
Playwrights Horizons debut. New York Stage: L(y)RE (Ars Nova). Regional: Clybourne Park (Dorset, Barrington Stage), The Show Off (Westport), The Killing of Sister George (Long Wharf), One Slight Hitch (George Street Playhouse), Brace Yourself (Berkshire Theatre Group), Motherf#cker with the Hat (TheaterWorks Hartford), Six Degrees of Separation, Map of Virtues (Williamstown). TV: “Boardwalk Empire.” MFA: NYU/Tisch.
Playwrights Horizons Debut. NY THEATRE: Blood Play, Buddy Cop 2, You’re Welcome, Cape Disappointment (all with The Debate Society), MilkMilkLemonade, The Vietnamization of NJ. REGIONAL: Blood Play (Williamstown), Lend Me A Tenor (George St.). [TV] “Orange is the New Black,” "Nurse Jackie," "Person of Interest," “Louie,” “30 Rock,” “Jeffery & Cole Casserole.” NEW MEDIA: He's the WGA Award-winning writer/creator/star of the hit web series “Jack in a Box” and has been seen on “High Maintenance,” “Very Mary-Kate,” “VH1’s Best Night Ever” and more.
Playwrights Horizons debut. Broadway: Wait Until Dark. Other New York Theater: Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play (Epic Theatre Ensemble), The Power of Duff (NYS&F), Ninth and Joanie (LABrynth Theater), Fault Lines (Naked Angels), Tape (Naked Angels, also London, L.A.), Take Me Out (Public Theater, also London), [sic] (Soho Rep), A Flea in Her Ear (Roundabout). National Tour: starred as Mitch in Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie. TV: Kevin Peyton on “Nurse Jackie” (2013 SAG Award nomination, Best Ensemble), “Elementary,” “Damages,” “Bones.”
Off-Broadway: Lidless, Our Town, Blood Play (also at Williamstown). Other New York Theater: In Loving Memory of Julie Simmons, The Maids, Restoration Comedy, Hello Out There, These Seven Sickness, The Power of Birds. She is a 2011 Earphone Award voiceover artist and her credits include the audiobook version of Winters Bone.
Playwrights Horizons: Lobster Alice, Plunge. Broadway: The Assembled Parties (Drama League nomination), Harvey (Drama League nomination), A View from the Bridge (Tony, Drama League nominations), Brighton Beach Memoirs/Broadway Bound, Julius Caeser, After The Fall, The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Other Off-Broadway: Three Sisters, Howard Katz, The House in Town, Flesh & Blood, Stop Kiss. Film/TV: J. Edgar, Whatever Works, Dan in Real Life, Sideways, “The Single Guy,” “Breaking Bad,” “Elementary,” “Nurse Jackie, “The Good Wife.”
Playwrights Horizons: Stage Kiss. Broadway: Oslo, Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, Wrong Mountain, Big (Drama Desk nom.), Angels in America, Big River (2003/1985 Tony, Drama Desk noms.). Other Off-Broadway: Kid Victory, Oslo, Travels with My Aunt, Paris Commune, Benefactors, Love Child (co-written with Robert Stanton). Film: For Robert Altman: O.C. and Stiggs, Tanner ’88, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Also Joshua, Cradle Will Rock, Glory, In Country, Five Corners. TV: “Bull,” “Elementary,” “Veep,” “Orange Is the New Black.”
Broadway: The Ritz. Off-Broadway: Jeffrey, The Devils. BAM: Endgame, The Warrior Ant. Other New York Theater: Romeo and Juliet. Film/TV: Jeffrey, Michael (“the blind guy”) on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Noel Shemsky on “Frasier,” “CSI,” “Will & Grace,” “Friends,” “Seinfeld.” Vegas: The Lion King. Regional: Mother Courage (La Jolla); The Underpants, Jeffrey (Geffen Playhouse); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Habeas Corpus, The Triumph of Love (South Coast Rep); Dealer’s Choice (Mark Taper Forum).
Broadway: Dancing at Lughnasa, Present Laughter, Mamma Mia! (Original Broadway Cast), After the Fall, Spring Awakening, Tom Stoppard’s Rock n’Roll, Hairspray, and originated the role of Uncle Ben in Spider-man: Turn off the Dark. Favorite Off Broadway: Bethany (written by his wife, the playwright Laura Marks), Editor Webb in the historic Our Town at Barrow Street, Stuff Happens (NYSF)Larry Olivier in Orson’s Shadow (Barrow Street), The Internationalist (Vineyard), and the original production of A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner(NYSF). Also work at The Guthrie, Yale Rep, Seattle Rep, Longwharf, ACT, Mark Taper Forum. TV: Recurring on “Elementary,” “The Knick,” various “Law & Order”s, Life on Mars,” “New Amsterdam.” Film: Kelly & Cal, Side Effects, Henry’s Crime, Step Up 3D,The Wackness, Bad Bride.
Creative Team
Neil Patel
Scenic DesignSusan Hilferty
Costume DesignPeter Kaczorowski
Lighting DesignMatt Hubbs
Sound DesignTodd Almond
Original MusicTom Watson
Hair & Wig DesignSam Pinkleton
ChoreographyCole P. Bonenberger
Production Stage ManagerBorn in Wales, raised in Wisconsin and living in New York City, Neil’s design work has been seen in feature films, television series, commercials, Broadway and West End plays and musicals, international operas as well as exhibitions for the Venice Biennale.
Recent projects include Laurence Fishburne’s LIKE THEY DO IN THE MOVIES at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, CIVILIZATION TO NATION: THE GREAT INDIAN MUSICAL which opened the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai, Antoine Fuqua’s KING SHAKA (CBS/Showtime) and David Byrne’s THEATER OF THE MIND (Denver Center for Performing Arts/Arbutus).
Notable film and television projects include DICKINSON for AppleTV+ (Peabody Award), PRETTY LITTLE LIARS:ORIGINAL SIN for HBOMAX, SOME VELVET MORNING (TriBeCa Film Festival) for TriBeca Films, IN TREATMENT for HBO (Peabody Award), DIL DHADAKNE DO and LITTLE BOXES (TriBeCa Film Festival) for Netflix.
Susan Hilferty has designed set and costumes for over 400 productions across the globe. Recent designs include Parade (Broadway), Funny Girl (Broadway), Swept Away (Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep), Hamlet (St. Anne’s Warehouse and Gate Theatre, Dublin), Little Comedies (Alley Theatre), and A Bright Room Called Day, (Public Theatre). Her many Broadway designs include Wicked (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk awards and Olivier nomination), August Wilson’s Radio Golf, Present Laughter (Tony nomination), Hands on a Hardbody, Spring Awakening (Tony nomination), Lestat (Tony nomination), Annie (2013 Revival), Into the Woods (Tony and Drama Desk nominations; Hewes Award), and Frank Wildhorn’s Wonderland. Her designs for opera include Rigoletto, La Traviata, and the upcoming Aida for the Metropolitan Opera and Manon at LA Opera and Berlin Staatsoper. Hilferty has designed over a hundred off-Broadway productions including Richard Nelson’s Apple Family Plays, August Wilson’s Jitney and Athol Fugard’s Boesman and Lena.
Sam Pinkleton is a Tony Award-winning director, choreographer, and gay person. His work as a director includes Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! (Broadway/Lucille Lortel Theatre), Josh Sharp's Ta-Da! (Greenwich House Theater), Morgan Bassichis’ Can I Be Frank? (Soho Playhouse/La MaMa), Noah Diaz’ You Will Get Sick (Roundabout), The Wizard of Oz (ACT), Elizabeth Swados’ Runaways (Encores/Shakespeare in the Park), Head Over Heels (with Jenny Koons) and La Cage Aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse, and Untitled DanceShowPartyThing (with Ani Taj - Virgin Voyages). Highlights of his work as a choreographer include Stephen Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are (The Shed/The National Theater), Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s Soft Power (The Public/CTG), and eight shows on Broadway including Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tony Nomination), Macbeth, and Machinal. Film/TV includes Dying For Sex and the musical The End, starring Tilda Swinton. His upcoming work includes the participatory Scottish dance musical Ceilidh and a revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway at Studio 54.
Playwrights: Aubergine, Familiar, The Qualms, Stage Kiss, The Great God Pan. Broadway: Dividing the Estate. Other Off-Broadway: Napoli, Brooklyn (Roundabout); Linda (MTC); The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, The Comedy of Errors (The Public/Delacorte); February House, Yellowface, Wrecks (The Public); He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, Tamburlaine Parts I & II, The Killer (TFANA); Night Is a Room, The Liquid Plain, The Old Friends, The Dance and the Railroad, The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Landscape of the Body, The Trip to Bountiful (Signature). Regional: Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Acting Company, Trinity Rep, Westport Country Playhouse.
Photos by Joan Marcus
CRITIC'S PICK. Suffused with warmth and humor. Sarah Ruhl frothily whips together romantic comedy and backstage farce in this lively comedy about a pair of actors — delightfully portrayed by Jessica Hecht and Dominic Fumusa — who find life and art mixing together when they rekindle an old romance during rehearsals for a play. It is nimbly directed by Rebecca Taichman.
FOUR STARS. Sarah Ruhl delivers a brilliant comedy that aims for big laughs and hits its target. Jessica Hecht’s riotous performance will easily rank among the year’s best. Funny: There’s nothing like it.
A GIFT AND A RARITY: a superb new romantic comedy that’s moving, smart, and flat-out hilarious. Jessica Hecht gives a career-redefining performance of such neurotic realism as to derange your internal gyroscope completely. A brilliant master class in bad acting. Dominic Fumusa’s performance is a perfectly calibrated poor-man’s Cary Grant. Rebecca Taichman’s superbly breakneck direction never lets up. You will have difficulty breathing. Stage Kiss is that funny.
NON-STOP ENTERTAINMENT. A crazy adorable script by Sarah Ruhl. Director Rebecca Taichman seamlessly directs a wonderful cast. Stage Kiss is a gem. Don't miss it.
"Stage Kiss" is that rare play that begins as a laugh-out-loud comedy and ends on a note of touching poignance. And what's in between is a hefty mix of farce, slapstick and heavy drama.
An excellent backstage farce. It's very smartly written—each character is unique, quirky and very funny—and it’s splendidly acted. Always charmingly hilarious, Jessica Hecht plays with obvious glee.
