Cartoon by Tebben Gill Lopez
Which way do you eat your corn? Do you eat it like a typewriter or around the world?
What seems like an average question was full of charm and innocence as it was discussed by Véronique Poutré ‘16 and Molly Gregory ‘16 in Theatre Fairfield’s production of “Stop Kiss.”
“Stop Kiss” is a 90-minute play directed by Cat Miller about two young women, Callie (Poutré) and Sara (Gregory). Sara is a proud schoolteacher who recently moved to New York City and Callie is a passive traffic news reporter who has lived in New York for a long time.
Slowly, the friendship between Callie and Sara becomes one full of mutual curiosity and longing; they slowly fall in love with each other.
Like any type of relationship, friendship or more, Callie and Sara have their ups and downs. They have fun, quick-witted back-and-forths; they also have discussions of a more intense conflicting nature. However, both types of conversation lend to the development of their relationship: the good broadens their fondness of each other, while the bad causes each to identify the faults in one another and in themselves, allowing for personal growth.
One late evening after a night out, Callie and Sara find themselves being verbally attacked by a strange man. Sara pugnaciously retorts, while Callie insists upon feigning ignorance about the man. The man becomes physical, resulting in a few bruises for Callie, but a comatose state for Sara.
Both Callie and Sara have ambiguously defined ex-boyfriends: George and Peter, played by Alec Bandzes ‘15 and Brendan McNamara ‘17, respectively. Each man plays significant roles as Callie and Sara’s slow rejection of them further solidify their feelings for one another.
While Sara is in her coma, Callie is forced to become stronger: She must admit to herself and to others her feelings for Sara as well as the reason they were abused – because the man had seen the two of them kissing. This detail did not go amiss on the local news, which reported it as an assault against homosexuals.
Yes, the story is very well written, but the performance itself was also outstanding. The amount of lines that both Poutré and Gregory delivered, and with such deliberation and confidence, was fantastic. Both put on an easily believable performance and showed their characters’ development as the play progressed.
Banzes, as well, showed great talent. Juxtaposing the more serious moments in the play, Banzes provided some perfectly timed humor. McNamara, too, did well. He tiptoed on the fine line between longing desperation of his comatose ex-girlfriend, and angry confusion towards Callie as to why she wasn’t the one in the coma.
Sophomore Tori Schuchmann played a nurse and a witness of the crime who was likeable and someone with whom the audience can identify: a good samaritan and an all-accepting person. And the detective played by Sebastian Salvo ‘17 started out softly and got progressively more aggressive as the show went on. Both parts were played well and allowed for the audience to stay engaged for the entire duration of the show.
Perhaps the aspect of the play that I liked the most was the fact that the events were not told in chronological order. The events leading up to the attack, and those directly succeeding it, cut back and forth. Successfully communicated by Theatre Fairfield, this storytelling device played a significant role as if it were a character itself.
This allowed the audience to see how each character changed as a result of the events that occurred. I don’t mean the events of getting beaten; I mean the events of falling in love.
Regardless of gender, two people who fall in love have their lives changed forever. This story was about two people who stride together with equal excitement and trepidation into the unknown battlefield of love as equal companions. Unfortunately, someone who observed the simple act of a kiss and does not approve, like the strange man, can successfully stymie the progress.
However, as “Stop Kiss” brilliantly shows that although the progress is temporarily delayed, it is not permanently stopped – and will push through any boundaries it needs to.
Two people can have dinner together, two people can party together, two people can talk about the correct way to eat corn together. And, regardless of who accepts it, two people can fall in love, and that love can continue even after a kiss has been prematurely stopped.
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