On Friday night, the DU Department of Theatre presented a staged reading of the hilarious and heartfelt play “Stop Kiss” written by Diana Son. Set in New York City, the play follows two young women, Callie and Sara, as they gradually realize their attraction for one another and must deal with the hazards and cruelties of the public eye.
Callie, played by Ray Reidenbaugh, is a snarky traffic reporter who finds little satisfaction in the way her life has panned out. Her listless days take a turn when she agrees to take in a cat who belongs to Sara (Isabella Churn), a sweet tempered third-grade teacher who has moved to New York from St. Louis for a public school position in the Bronx.
The scenes switch sharply from amiable to tragic as they move back and forth between Callie’s wrecked apartment and a hospital room. It eventually becomes clear that Sara is in a coma after being assaulted by a man who saw the two girls kissing on a park bench.
Compared to the earnest moments in intensive care, the apartment scenes move at a disproportionately sluggish pace for most of the first half of the play. It takes quite a while for Callie and Sara to become comfortable around each other and come to terms with their mutual affection. However, the dull scenes are often lightened by Callie’s cynicism or by the presence of her naive ex-boyfriend George (Mikah Conway).
Reidenbaugh stole the show, displaying a dizzying range of emotions that kept the drama on its feet. Even when the script felt a bit flat, it was saved by her sharp and animated delivery. The talent of student-director Tamarra Nelson was also apparent in the smart usage of space and the subtlety of gestures.
After watching their relationship culminate so slowly, the final scene was nothing short of anticlimactic. As the two girls approach the park bench where the tragedy will soon occur, Callie asks Sara whether she eats corn-on-the-cob typewriter-style or around-the-world. Sara answers “typewriter-style.” They laugh. They kiss. While it had the sweet innocence of the first-time, the moment was too light-hearted for such an emotional story.
