Author: Tom Williams

Prelude to a Kiss is a 1988 play by Craig Lucas that was first performed in 1990. It tells the story of a couple that falls in love despite the girl’s pessimistic outlook on life. Shortly after their wedding, a supernatural event tests the strength of their love and commitment to each other. This fantasy is a dated attempt to be an indirect commentary about the AIDS epidemic.

I had mixed response to this work. At nearly three hours, the work is a test for audiences as well as the disjointed action and the strange dialogue. Despite movingly dedicated performances by the cast of 13 and a dark atmosphere of raw sex and violence, What of the Night? will captive some, bore others while impressing others. This show is not for those who demand clarity or coherence. Poverty, man’s cruelty and sexual deviations together with avant garde motifs render this epic an ode to human survival. The craft and dedication of the actors and the “what will happen next” structure will keep audiences involved.

Fueled by playwright Brett Neveu’s brilliant writing and Kate Buddeke’s riveting performance, this solo show tells a horrible story about an unremarkable woman forced to deal with the powerful forces that have shaped her destiny. Her secret from the time she placed something in the steamer trunk she finds in the basement. This heart-braking story speaks to the events that changed her identify and controlled her choices.

City Lit Theatre has mounted another world premiere of another Shirley Jackson novel, The Sundial adapted for the stage and directed by Paul Edwards. Billed as a mystery thriller and a darkly Gothic gem, The Sundial is a disaster of a play! According to the press notes, this work is suppose to be a “philosophical and frightening ghost story set in a haunted mansion.” However, the play I saw was a mixture of Gothic eerie family conflict with stupid silliness disguised as humor with hints of a mystery which was never solved and evolves into an doomsday eventually. Nothing works here,