Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...The questions posed by the play are profound. How can one culture ever know the circumstances of another? What is lost when a work of art is divorced from its communal context? How does the challenge of playing a character mirror the fumbling guesswork in all our relationships? Can the trauma of war be shared?"
LA Weekly - Recommended
"...If I could say more I would, but so much of the dramatic impact here depends on the element of surprise that to do so would be a spoiler. I will note that although it grows darker, Kiss (almost) never loses its comic edge. Dividable into three scenes, it is strongest in the middle; the last part goes on too long."
LA Splash - Somewhat Recommended
"...KISS is an intriguing and fascinating play reminiscent of Becket at his best – and a whole flock of existentialist playwrights at their most abstract. Even though the story hops from incident to incident, Calderon manages to inject considerable humor into the piece. It is both foolish and insightful – and certainly worth a trip to the theater to see the only play which Calderon wrote in English."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...You must remember this. A kiss is not always just a kiss, or at least not in Guillermo Calderon's compelling, confounding vision of life and love and death in today's Syria, the appropriately-or metaphorically-titled Kiss, now being given a never-less-than-daring Odyssey Theatre Ensemble West Coast Premiere."
ArtsInLA - Recommended
"...Art gets made. It's made despite misinterpretations. It's remade on the fly, by artists flexible and open to change, willing to step to the edge and reveal their souls. The superb actors here, without reference to characters they play, are Natali Anna, Kristin Couture, Max Lloyd-Jones, Kevin Matthew Reyes, Nagham Wehbe, and Cynthia Yelle."
Will Call - Not Recommended
"...Award winning Director Bart DeLorenzo, esteemed for his tenure at the Evidence Room Theatre, works with a young cast whose passion and emotions keep us at attention but I found this play too gimmicky. For example, we are not handed a program until AFTER the show, although there's really nothing in it that would spoil the effect. Kiss begins as a quasi love triangle and ends up as something else entirely, with spectacular sound effects (uncredited) and lighting by Katelan Braymer. A clever Skype projection, featuring an interview with a female playwright (Cynthis Yelle) who, via a hokey interpreter (Nagham Wehbe) enlightens us as to what "kiss" really stands for. Yes, theatre is an art form which, we hope, will triumph over repression, fear and even bloodshed. So, perhaps you will like this West Coast premiere better than I did."
Total Theater - Recommended
"...The offbeat and complex Kiss is not an easy play to mount, but thanks to the expert and inventive direction of Bart DeLorenzo and to the superb work of its young actors, many of whom are sure to go on to stardom, this comes off as one of the most compelling and provocative plays Los Angeles has seen in recent years."
The Los Angeles Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...The whole thing is all very earnest. But a little bit of earnestness goes a long way, and too much quickly devolves into pretentiousness. And while many plays start obliquely, then clear things up by the end, Kiss is a play which starts confusingly, then spirals down into aggressive incoherence. It's full of sound and fury, signifying… well, if you can figure it out, I wish you'd tell me."
Stage Raw - Somewhat Recommended
"...The piece sometimes seems too cryptic and allusive for its own good, and it's hard to respond wholeheartedly to the political implications when one is preoccupied with figuring out what the heck is going on. But director Bart DeLorenzo has cast the play well and given it a lively and stylish production. It's always interesting, and the young multinational cast performs with considerable verve."
Theatre Notes - Recommended
"...The play, however, takes some very serious turns that call up the grievous, dire political and humanitarian situation in Syria. Kiss is a theatrical response to the endless horror in the Middle East and intends to arouse the emotions of an audience. What can the theatre world do to affect the situation? Very little it seems, except to call attention by touching the audience in a visceral way. I believe this is what Calderon aims to do with this provocative theatre piece. Although Kiss is eminently watchable, entertainment is not the goal."
Haines His Way - Not Recommended
"...I am sure there are plays that will be written and should be seen about the current Syrian civil war and the resultant atrocities. Kiss is not that play. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and that just may be the destination some audience members will feel like they've been taken to. I'm sure director Bart DeLorenzo and his cast had good intentions, I just feel they were wrongly placed in this 80 minute fiasco. There was a note in my press kit asking that reviewers not give away plot details but if I did that, this review would only consist of a list of names of those involved. But in all fairness, the producers should just consider this a Consumer Advocacy Alert instead of a review and the writer Ralph Nader rather than yours truly."
On Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...It is probably difficult to tell what the story is actually about from this review, but I recommend going in knowing as little as possible and allowing the events to unfold as intended. Overall, Kiss is a surprising, compelling piece of theater, and, like much about it, the true meaning of the title will shock you."
Peoples World - Somewhat Recommended
"...If you're a meat and potatoes theatergoer who requires your tidy exposition, development and satisfying denouement, maybe Kiss is not for you. For those who appreciate an intellectual challenge in the dark interior of theatre where almost anything can happen, and if you're interested in the mind and work of Guillermo Calderon, this is an important milestone along the road to a bold, interrogative new theatre aesthetic."
Hollywood Revealed - Recommended
"...Regardless of it's credibility gaps, Kiss provokes and stimulates conversation. It reminds us how lucky we are to live in a relatively trouble free environment where plays such as this can be staged without fear of repercussion. Go see it with an open mind and enjoy the ride."
