By Day GreenbergPLAY Writer
Shanley Pavilion is a house of energy Monday night during a tech run of Prelude to a Kiss, the newest play directed by Communication senior Jennifer Hoguet, which opens Feb. 1.
The show’s costume designer, Communication senior Jocelyn Kelvin, bustles around with different fabric pieces. Kelvin debates with Hoguet about a deep purple skirt.
Meanwhile, huge, cream Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling as more are lifted up like ornaments. Onstage, a bubblegum-pink park bench sits opposite a bar lined with different colored glass bottles and holiday lights.
“Now guys, the ‘beer’ will be sweetened iced tea, and the champagne will be unsweetened,” a technical assistant announces. In the foreground, a jazz singer belts out the lyrics “polka dots and moonbeams.”
Prelude to a Kiss was written by Craig Lucas, writer of The Light in the Piazza. The show was nominated for a Tony Award in 1990.
Two years later Prelude to a Kiss was made into a movie starring Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin. Now it takes over Shanley after only four weeks of rehearsal.
Communication senior Alan Simpson, who plays the lead in what he calls a modern-day fairytale, says the story is about “two people who kind of get confused by the image of things, and (my character) almost lets that stop him from finding true happiness.”
Communication junior Kate Presutti, who plays a quirky and carefree mother, says she would describe the play as a chick flick except that “then the boys won’t come.”
Rehearsals were “actually really efficient and really fun,” Presutti says.
Tracy MacKenzie, the show’s producer, also says the process was successful.
“It’s been a very creative, collaborative process,” the Communication sophomore says.
This creativity can be heard in the original score written and played by Communication junior Tyler Beattie. Beattie took a clue from Hoguet, who says she was inspired by the Gershwin scores from Woody Allen movies.
“We wanted to do sort of a throwback to old romantic comedies,” Beattie says. “The show’s very New York and (has) sort of (a) classy, chic feel … we just tried to let that influence the music we’re playing. We tried to pick songs that really fit.”
Those songs are unexpectedly blasted to life by Music sophomore Catherine Brookman. With a smooth yet flashy middle register, Brookman electrifies the room and sets the tone for the fantastical love story to unfold onstage.
Brookman and Beattie will also be giving a jazz concert at 7:30 p.m. before the show. They will perform during intermission, and Beattie’s score will act as the backdrop for the play.
Hoguet says she has big plans for opening night.
“I think people will see something that’s different than anything they’ve seen before in Shanley,” she says.
Don’t let that deter you from the unique show.
“The world’s kind of topsy-turvy,” Simpson says. “Are we going to be afraid of the obstacles or are we going to jump out there?”
Prelude to a Kiss goes up Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and runs Feb. 2 and 3 at 8 and 11 p.m. at Shanley Pavilion. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for students.
Medill sophomore Day Greenberg is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
