Prelude to a Kiss (musical)

Prelude to a Kiss is a stage musical with a book by Craig Lucas, based on his play of the same name that was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1991. The show has music by Daniel Messé with lyrics by Messé and Sean Hartley. Lucas and Messé had previously worked together on the musical Amélie.

Southcoast Rep (2024)
In 2020, the musical was announced as part of South Coast Repertory's 2020–2021 season, with a premiere date of May 15, 2021. The original play had also premiered at South Coast Repertory in 1988. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was postponed. On April 11, 2024, the show had its world premiere. The show had been commissioned in 2016 by South Coast Rep Artistic Director David Ivers who also serves as director, and was developed in partnership with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the John D. Lewis Play Development Program. Choreography was done by Julia Rhoades with musical direction and orchestrations by Wiley DeWeese.

The show will run at Milwaukee Rep from September 10 through October 20, 2024 following the South Coast premiere that is set to close May 4, 2024.

Musical numbers

 * Act I
 * "A Little Light" - Rita, Peter, Taylor, Company
 * "The Room Where She Doesn't Sleep" - Peter
 * "I Haven't Slept in Years" - Rita
 * "Love in the Age of Anxiety" - Rita, Peter, Company
 * "Whatever My Little Girl Wants" - Rita, Peter, Rita's Mom, Rita's Dad
 * "Cold Feet" - Rita, Peter
 * "Drink Up / The Wedding" - Rita, Peter, Company
 * "Beautiful" - Rita
 * "Living With a Stranger" - Rita, Peter
 * "Never Really There* - Rita, Peter, Company


 * Act II
 * "Happy Wife, Happy Life/Entropy" - Peter, Rita's Dad, Rita's Mom
 * "In The Movies" - Peter, Taylor, Company
 * "A New Life" - Rita, Peter
 * "A Map of Us" - Peter, Angie, Company
 * "The Man He Used to Be" - Leah
 * "This Body" - Peter, Julius
 * "Not Me" - Rita, Julius
 * "Finale" - Rita, Peter, Julius, Company