Kelsey Angel Baehrens and Emjoy Gavino Photo by Rich Ryan

Theater Mu has mounted an achingly vivid production of Stop Kiss, playing through the month at the Gremlin Theatre, directed with staggering precision by Katie Bradley. Though the play does not identify the perpetrator of heinous violence, let alone zero in on a motive, the description of the incident absolutely sounds like the last of those cases–violence without rhyme or reason other than anger and intolerance. The play does not depict violence, though it is described in sufficiently graphic detail. Stop Kiss, however, is not only about the randomness and pointlessness of violence. It is also about love in its various permutations. It is, in a way, a contest between the two to see which of those irrational forces will prevail, at least as far in time as the playwright takes us.

Son's play, which premiered in 1998, fractures its story with scenes played out of chronological order, challenging us to put the pieces together. It shows us Sara (Kelsey Angel Baehrens) and Callie (Emjoy Gavino) meeting cute, their connection being forged over the care of Sara's cat. Callie is a veteran New Yorker who loves New York even as she nears the brink of becoming a bit jaded. Sara just arrived from St. Louis where the Midwest pace, her overbearing parents, and her clueless boyfriend Peter have left her yearning for a larger life, one that feels more authentically her own. This is evidenced by the fact that she gave up teaching at a Society of Friends School in St. Louis to teach at an inner-city school in the Bronx. From their first meeting, there is a spark between Sara and Callie, beautifully realized by the two actors.

The trajectory of Callie and Sara's relationship is one through-line. It has a rom-com spirit that retains its intelligence, and shows great affection for the two characters. Those pieces of the puzzle are a lark, fractured but without any sharp edges. Jagged edges appear soon enough when we learn about a violent attack on Callie and Sara while they are kissing in the wee hours of the morning, out in the open, having just left a bar in Greenwich Village. It is during this expression of love, a rush of passion and discovery, that violence lets loose by a man who sexually harasses them. When Sara returns his crass remarks with her own blunt retort, he explodes and mercilessly pummels her, his size and strength overpowering Callie's efforts to stop him.

Son has been much more prolific in her career as a writer and producer of television shows than as a playwright, which may attest to her proficiency in dealing with quick cuts between storylines. Because we toggle back and forth between the grim aftermath of this attack and the almost frothy formation of a friendship that is clearly meant to be something more, Stop Kiss requires us to shift gears throughout. This might have become problematic, but Son's lucid writing and the incisive points at which she cuts away from one vein and directs us to the other, keep us on level ground throughout. Bradley's direction keeps our frames of mind from bleeding into one another, preserving the stark difference between one way of feeling and another way of feeling, which only embellishes the shocking change this random incident brings to both women's lives.

Gavino and Baehrens give wholly natural performances in the lead roles. We palpably feel the thrust of friendship and desire as it knits Callie and Sara together, and the extreme change in each of them after the attack. James Rodríguez is completely believable as a detective investigating the incident. He conveys genuine caring about catching the miscreant who did such violence to these women, but uses tough tactics, like diminishing the dignity of the women by asking pointed questions like "why would she (Sara) say that?," insinuating that Sara had some blame for egging on their assailant.

Clay Man Soo, wrapping up a busy season that shows his range, plays George, Callie's longtime friend with benefits. Soo persuasively displays George's unearned jealousy as the friendship between Callie and Sara deepens. Moses Ekel is affecting as Peter, who is still in love with Sara and aims to steer her back into a future with him, while in denial of the obvious truth. Lily Tung Crystal does fine work as the good Samaritan who scares the attacker away when she hears screams from her window, and as an empathetic hospital nurse. This is the first time Crystal has acted in a Mu production after several years at the helm as their artistic director–she stepped down from that post last year to assume the same role with East West Players in Los Angeles.

Erik Paulson's set provides a spot-on rendition of an apartment occupied by a young single adverse to housekeeping so that items are only picked up on an as-needed basis, while providing the flexibility to become the other settings called for in the play. Katherine Horowitz's sound design provides the disruptive stomping by upstairs neighbors that occurs like clockwork at an appointed hour, as well as the sounds of city traffic and musical bridges between scenes that feel like a ticking clock. Khamphian Vang's costume designs capture the milieu of New York in the 1990s, and Karin Olson's lighting design bathes the production in a range of temperaments.

Playwright Son is of Korean heritage (though she grew up in the United States), and the original production of Stop Kiss featured actor Sandra Oh, who was born in Korea and grew up in Canada, as Sara. None of the other cast members in that production were Asian or Asian American. For this production, all of the roles except for Detective Cole are played by Asian-American actors. In a program note, Mu's new artistic director, Fran De Leon, comments on this and asks the audience to consider how this casting might change our expectations or understandings of the characters and narrative, in particular regarding the relationship between Callie and Sara.

My personal response to this is that I perceived no difference–though, full disclosure, this was my first time seeing Stop Kiss, and so I have no basis for comparison. That said, there are no lines in the play that reference the characters having Asian backgrounds (if there were any added to this production, they are so subtle that I missed them, even having been alerted by the program note). As written, I cannot in all honesty conceive of how the play would have felt any different were the actors of different nationalities. I also realize that if I were a person of Asian descent, I might perceive things that have eluded me. If so, it is certainly of value for those audience members, and takes nothing away from the quality of the play and production.

Stop Kiss could be viewed as a tragic story, as the spontaneity and joy in Callie and Sara's burgeoning relationship, bolstered by the way in which they help to build one another's strengths, is cut short at the moment it reaches fruition by a hate-crazed act of violence. On the other hand, we are left without knowing with clarity what the future will hold. It will be extremely difficult, for sure, but not without hope. Callie has a choice to make about whether to let Sara be coerced into returning to the life her parents and Peter had prescribed for her in the suburbs of St. Louis. In making that choice, Callie releases the prospect of hope that love can prevail over violence.

Stop Kiss, a Theater Mu production, runs through June 29, 2025, at Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia Street, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please visit TheaterMu.org or call 651-768-1012

Playwright: Diana Son; Director and Producer: Katie Bradley; Scenic Design: Erik Paulson; Costume Design: Khamphian Vang; Lighting Design: Karin Olson; Sound Design: Katherine Horowitz; Properties Design: Abbee Warmboe; Intimacy Director: Suzie Messerole; Technical Directors: Erin Carroll Gustason & Austin Stiers; Associate Director: Emma Y. Lai; Stage Manager: Jessica Goldade Swanson; Assistant Stage Manager: Elijah Virgil Hughes.

Cast: Kelsey Angel Baehrens (Sara), Lily Tung Crystal (Mrs. Winsley/Nurse), Moses Ekel (Peter), Emjoy Gavino (Callie), James Rodríguez (Detective Cole), Clay Man Soo (George).