‘Stop Kiss’ makes for long evening

Las Vegas Little Theatre Studio's "Stop Kiss" is the sort of show that had me wondering: Have the director and cast ever seen another production? Where did they get the idea that they were ready to mount a play for the paying public?

We begin by entering a tiny theater that plays host to an extremely wide acting area, with little depth. You don't expect fancy set designs in an atmosphere such as this, but a little creativity wouldn't hurt. The physical environment is made up of arbitrary pieces of furniture that tell us nothing about the world we're in. No surprise there's no set credit in the program notes. You get the feeling director Danielle Lombardo doesn't understand the importance of a set -- even one scrapped together on the cheap.

Sara Willick, as Callie, a New York traffic reporter, is soon seen bouncing about the apartment trying to tidy up. But her bounce is so exaggerated, I felt that instead of her being a woman tidying up, she was an actress playing to a fourth balcony. She meets new-in-town third-grade teacher Sara (Erika Bakse), and they talk and yell for much of the play about their feelings. The show's one-hour, 40-minute running time feels like a month of group therapy sessions.

The performers play perky by playing goofy. You never believe there's human blood in their veins. There's a major act of violence that disrupts their lives, but Willick gives no hint that she's been through something traumatic. Everything is played so big, so false, that you can't make sense of what the events really mean. (The script has a subtlety that is not yet within the director's grasp.)

None of the seven-member cast survives Lombardo's heavy-handed, indecisive direction, although the warm and likable Stephanie Roybal comes close to creating a genuine character who has more than one trait. The long evening is further hindered by deadly pacing, punctuated by ponderous blackouts.

I kept wishing the two major characters would get on with their lives, instead of constantly analyzing them. I would have given anything -- oh, jeez, anything -- to get the two ladies to initiate some quiet time.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat @aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.