‘Lips Together, Teeth Apart’ at Saratoga Arts Center
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” is set in 1991, but it is relevant for today, said Rosanne Cane, the director of the play being offered by The Local Actors Guild of Saratoga at the Arts Center in Saratoga Springs.
She points out that for the gay community of the era, the 90’s were a time of confusion, disorientation, and isolation. “The AIDS epidemic was rampant and no one – gays or straights – knew what was really happening,” she says.
While some gay writers wrote strident dramas trying the capture the mood of the era, Terrence McNally wrote “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” a relationship-play in which all four characters are straight.
She feels McNally’s choice not to write an overtly political play is one that permits people in 2018 to enjoy ‘Lips Together…” as a play about the relationships rather than as a strictly a political drama about the era.
But, she says the political undercurrent of the period is there. “Through the two straight couples, we sense and better understand what it’s like to be an outsider. It’s a play about four people who are disconnected. They represent how the entire gay community was feeling in the 90s,” she says.
“Lips Together …” is set on Fire Island. One woman’s brother has just died from AIDS and the two couples spend the Fourth of July weekend at what was once his summer home. They are surrounded by houses with groups of gays partying. “It’s a way for them to ignore the mysterious epidemic that was killing their friends,” she suggests.
Cane describes the straight couples as: “They are kind of homophobic and like everyone else are ignorant about AIDS. No one knew what caused it or how it was transmitted. They won’t even swim in the pool for fear of catching the disease.”
Cane says the relationship between the two married couples is deceptive. “It’s a very funny play, but underneath it’s dark. “We know the characters as individuals, but we have to discover them as couples. Actually, they have to learn to know themselves. They each have a desire to make a connection, but they cannot reveal their deepest feelings even to their spouses or siblings.”
Speaking as the director, she feels this lack of ability to communicate with others is the reason McNally uses so many monologues in the play. “They have no one with whom they can share their feelings, but they have this great need to express themselves.”
“Lips Together, Teeth Apart” is a play that Cane’s wanted to direct for years. “I shopped it around to several area theater companies, but there was no interest.” She explains the rejection saying, “They thought it was dated.” She disagrees. “The play has a lot to say about relationships between individuals and groups of individuals.” Sounding wistful, she continues, “And AIDS is still with us.”
After years of having her submissions ignored by several larger theater groups, she attended LAG’s production of “Angels in America”. Impressed, she decided to show the script to LAG artistic director JJ Buechner who was unfamiliar with the play. He fell in love with the script and agreed to produce the play. She said he was so enthusiastic he volunteered to play the role of Sam.
Says Cane, ‘The best gift JJ could have given me was the right to pick my own cast.
She took advantage of the gift by choosing a quartet of the area’s best actors. Playing Sally, the woman married to Sam and who inherited the house on Fire Island from her brother is Colleen Lovett. Sam’s sister Chloe is played by Mary Darcy and her husband John (who once had an affair with Sally) is played by Chris Foster.
Cane explains the importance of having a gifted cast. “This is a play that reveals itself over time and it needs actors who understand ensemble story-telling.” She explains that every character has a moment to shine, but the heart of the presentation is revealing the emptiness of personal relationships. “It shows the pain of living isolated lives both as an individual or as a group.”
And, as if to rebuff those who have rejected the play in the past, she says, “There’s nothing dated about that.”