Annie Parisse: The Life-Affirming Power of a Kiss
About the author:
Who says that actors who make their name in TV and film can't also be passionate about theater? Annie Parisse has happily jumped from the small screen Assistant D.A. Alexandra Borgia on Law & Order to the big screen Prime, National Treasure and Adam Rapp's forthcoming Blackbird, but theater has remained a top priority. "It's the reason I became an actor," she told Broadway.com during previews for her starring role in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of Prelude to a Kiss. "I expected to do regional and classical theater; I just love the whole creative process." Born in Alaska, Parisse grew up in Seattle and won a scholarship to study theater in New York at Fordham University. Her stage credits range from Anne Washburn's recent comedy thriller The Internationalist at the Vineyard Theatre to Keith Bunim's The Credeaux Canvas at Playwrights Horizons, Tina Howe's Coastal Disturbances at Berkshire Theatre Festival and now Craig Lucas' bittersweet romantic comedy about the life-changing effects of a single kiss between an old man played by John Mahoney and a newlywed named Rita (Parisse). The effervescent actress recently shared her feelings about the play and her character with Broadway.com.
Prelude to a Kissis one of those plays I read in college. I knew that it was about a girl and an old man who switch bodies, but I had never seen a production of it and never seen the movie, so I had no preconceptions about what it would look like or sound like. One thing I didn't realize when I read it was how funny the play is—the story is so moving and Craig Lucas' dialogue is so true to the way people speak, it was a wonderful surprise to hear the audience laughing at the first preview.
Rita, the character I play, is a woman who's afraid to live. "The world's a really terrible place," she tells Peter, the man she's fallen in love with. "It's too precarious." That sentiment really struck a chord with me. When I read it, I thought of September 11. If you're alive now, it's hard not to be afraid a lot of the time.
Rita sees the world with eyes wide open, and I love that about her. I also love her sense of humor and her openness; she's wildly honest.
Of course, the big challenge and fun of the role is switching identities with John Mahoney as Julius, the old man who wanders into Rita and Peter's wedding reception. Our director, Dan Sullivan, said the most liberating thing to me on the first day of rehearsal: "Let's not get too worried about mimicking the way a man walks and sits and breathes. Let's think more about the change of perspective you will experience." That was so freeing. I didn't have to concentrate on my body as much as on the character's altered approach to the world. As Julius, I'm playing a person who has had a full life and relishes the opportunity to revisit it.
It helps that the first scene after our big switch is a honeymoon trip to Jamaica. When you go on vacation, your body changes: You relax and open yourself up to the world. It's like after you've been sick for three of four days and go outside for the first time; everything feels better.
On the other hand, I certainly did watch John in rehearsal. It's not like I'm doing an impression of him, I just got a feeling from him… something about his directness. That's where I started. He's such a generous, wonderful person, which is true of everyone in the show. This has been kind of a charmed experience on every level.
People who know my work from Law & Order say that they're surprised to see me in a comedy. I don't think of myself as a comic actress, but I've done a lot of supporting roles in romantic comedies like Monster-in-Law, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Prime. I'm usually cast as the sassy, brassy best friend. This is really different, and I'm enjoying every minute of falling in love onstage and showing how Rita's experience of confronting death frees her. Some plays are hard journeys to go on every night, but this journey is fantastic and life-affirming.