The Seeing Place Theater, known for its intensely
intimate ensemble work, embarks on a World Premiere of rare proportions
- an elderly love story of immigrants finding the true meaning of
the American Dream.
Married life hasn't been the best for the Turners
since they left Scotland in 1951. On the eve
of their 60th
anniversary, Addie deserts their Brooklyn home while William is
running errands. After their wayward son moves her into the living
room of
their alcoholic daughter's apartment, she drains the joint bank
account, hires the best lawyer she can find, and pays him to
be her shrink.
She even serves divorce papers on Thanksgiving...for effect. The
kids do their best to negotiate hunger strikes, restraining orders,
and the rapidly diminishing family fortune - while William does
everything he can to sabotage the court proceedings and save
his marriage. Scotch
Kiss is a black-comedic romance about a family learning,
for the first time, how to appreciate one another.
Scotch Kiss was inspired by true
events and developed through improvisation by The Seeing Place
Ensemble.
Click
here to download our press kit. (.zip)
(photos
by Tasha
Straley. Click image for production photos)
REVIEWS
FOR "SCOTCH KISS"
"The emotional conflict grabs the
heart. The show's poignancy has almost everything to do with Michael
Stephen Clay's performance as William Turner, the Brooklyn-based
Scottish
patriarch whose wife of 60 years, Addie, deserts him while he's out
running errands... the play is
notably well-structured for a work developed through improvisation...The
story is touching and has theatrical potential." Suzy Evans - Backstage
"There is a lot
of truth in this play. At the very least, we see how an unhealthy
marriage leads to similar
problems in the children and grandchildren, and may even scare away
a fiancée. We see what it means to be an American: that even
after coming over from Europe and spending 60 years with someone,
you get a chance to question the way you’ve always been living
your life. I found myself making comparisons with the play The Retreat
From Moscow, which tackles a similar story with none of the comedy.
Scotch Kiss has a lot of humor in the decidedly Brooklyn speech patterns
and aggression of Dan and Cora. Co-directors Reesa Graham and Brandon
Walker have brought out the best and the worst of characters who,
like many New Yorkers, know
each other too well yet don’t know each other at all..." Ed
Malin - NYTheatre.com
"Scotch Kiss
packs a heavy load of emotional intensity as the members of the
Turner family wrestle each
other's morals and worry about money. Stubbornness prevails and the
process of Addie and William’s divorce, the main thread of
the plot, is messy and disheartening; we realize that the divorce
will likely leave everyone involved rather dissatisfied, rather than
bring about a sense of freedom or freshness...Scotch Kiss may very
well get better throughout the run and, as is, it has enough emotional
leverage to tug away at many people’s heart strings. If nothing
else, you’ll be supporting a theater company with “for-the-people” principals.
You’ll be supporting a theater company that deserves it." Weston
Clay - Theater is Easy |
