GREENFIELD — Director Becky Schlomann did her homework. As rehearsals were starting for “Prelude to a Kiss,” she looked up the word prelude. It’s a form of music, she said, a composition that comes before the main piece that introduces the theme and the melody.
The title of the script comes from an old Duke Ellington jazz song. The lyrics reflect love and longing with a touch of sentimentality and sadness, all of which come into play during the action of the play.
First performed off-Broadway in 1990, “Prelude to a Kiss” follows the whirlwind romance between Peter (Tanner Hord) and Rita (Katelyn Robinson). The couple meets at a party, and two months later, are married. Immediately following the exchange of vows at the ceremony, an unknown elderly man (Gary Roberts) wanders in off the street and asks to kiss the bride. As he does so, something magical happens. Unbeknownst to Peter and the wedding guests, the souls of Rita and the Old Man exchange bodies. Peter and the woman he believes to be Rita leave on their honeymoon, where Peter gradually realizes the problem.
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“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” Schlomann said. “Funny, sad, tender, sweet and it’s a lot of fun for the cast and crew to tell a story like that.”
Schlomann, 40, starred as the Foreman in last season’s production of “Twelve Angry Jurors” and enjoyed working with the Ricks-Weil Theatre Company so much, she pitched them the idea of directing a show with the company.
As a former kindergarten through 12th-grade theater teacher in the Warren Township school system, Schlomann is no stranger to acting and directing. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Knox College in Illinois and a Master of Fine Arts in drama and theater for youth from the University of Texas at Austin. She now works as a program administrator at IUPUI and does community theater for fun, she said.
When it came to script selection, Schlomann has been looking at an entirely different play when she stumbled across “Prelude to a Kiss” in the same anthology. She said she knew she had found a good script because she could envision the action of the play in her head as she read.
What looks like a basic romantic comedy on the outside becomes a theatrical challenge for the actors playing Rita and the Old Man.
Robinson and Roberts, whose characters trade bodies during the course of the action, essentially play two distinctly different characters.
After the enchanted kiss, Robinson — outwardly looking like the part of Rita — must now must act the part of an old man; likewise, Roberts must visualize himself as the character of Rita.
“Playing a girl is hard,” Roberts said. “It would be easier to dress me up and play a girl rather than the old man with the soul of a girl inside.”
Roberts drew inspiration from his more than 30 years as a girls’ soccer coach.
“So I kind of know how they act and what they think,” he said.
At first, he modeled his character after his soccer team girls, but as rehearsal progressed, Roberts began to focus his character development on how his co-star Robinson might talk and act.
Robinson faced challenges of her own.
“I’ve had to bring out my inner dad,” she joked.
Under Schlomann’s direction, the two set aside time to work together to help each other become their characters.
Roberts credits Schlomann as the brainchild behind the character study.
“She seems to understand that you don’t just say the words, “Roberts said, “If I didn’t have good coaching, I wouldn’t know how to do it.”
Robinson explained: “Gary would read my line so that I could literally copy him — his verbal inflection, his body language.”
Robinson, in turn, did the same for Roberts — reading his lines so that he could mimic how the character of Rita would say them.
In spite of the challenges, Robinson is enjoying her experience. The themes in “Prelude to a Kiss” — a death in the family, grieving and dealing with illness — hit home for her.
“It’s a rom-com with funny moments,” Robinson said, “but we learn that love is an action and not just a feeling.”
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"Prelude to a Kiss" by Craig Lucas
Performing September 21, 22 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and September 30 at 2:30 p.m.
At the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Performing Arts
122 W. North St., Greenfield
Rated: PG-13 for some mature content
Tickets available for $10 at ricksweiltheatrecompany.seatyourself.biz or at the box office before showtime
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