We all remember different moments in our lives, and some have the powerful associative memory of a song, a movie, or perhaps a play. Kelly’s connections to Dangerous Liaisons are too powerful not to share. Here’s a bit about her story and connection with Dangerous Liaisons:
My Obsession with Dangerous Liaisons began with my first viewing of the 1988 movie. I was a high school sophomore when my mother finally deemed me old enough to see it. As a hormonal teenage girl I was naturally very susceptible to the lush romantic overtones, but it was the kinky, almost dirty sexual undertones that ultimately captivated my imagination (go figure). I was fascinated and aroused by the tangle of sex and love. Which was more important? Were they equal? Were there people who used both to their advantage? Could I use both to my advantage? Dangerous Liaisons became the first movie in my personal collection.
Fast-forward four years to my sophomore year in College. I had been asked to participate in my school’s summer stock program, which teamed students with Equity actors. I was cast in Dangerous Liaisons as Cecile, the young naive virgin caught in the middle of the main character’s revenge plot, who loses her virginity and her moral compass in the course of the first act. I was thrilled. My boyfriend at the time was not. Fights ensued. I won, and I played the part. The production did not run smoothly. Our original Valmont declared that he didn’t have enough time to memorize his lines (he’d had the script for months) and demanded a postponement, our director refused, and Valmont quit with two weeks left before the opening. In the mad scramble that followed we managed to find a delightful replacement (who was in his mid-50’s as compared to my 20 year old self) that agreed to fly in from his home in upstate New York to take part.
A week passed smoothly, and then one afternoon I returned to my room during lunch break to find messages on my answering machine. My best friend’s mother left a message asking me to call her, followed by my parents asking me to call them. I called my best friend’s mother first and received the shocking, soul-crushing news that my best friend had been killed in a severe car accident on a highway in Texas. I was 20 years old, in crippling emotional pain, and thousands of miles away from my family (I grew up in Texas and went to school in Ohio) with the opening of the show days away. Needless to say I don’t remember much about that production. I remember how my cast rallied around me and gave me much needed love and support. I remember not being able to cry onstage, although I was a mess off stage. I remember no one saying a word when I sat backstage and ate neon green colored mint chocolate chip ice cream while wearing my beautiful, hand made, cream-colored, corseted costume gown. I remember being somehow sure that my best friend Kelli would have wanted me to be onstage celebrating life instead of staring at her stuck in a box. I don’t regret not attending my best friend’s funeral 13 years ago. I now think of her every time I come in contact with this script.
Two years ago for my birthday my husband bought tickets to see the Broadway revival starring Laura Linney and Ben Daniels. While watching that production, my itch to return to this script re-asserted itself. I was now 11 years older and knew so much more about life, death, love and what can tear a person apart emotionally. I had fallen in love and gotten married; in the process I broke someone else’s heart, and felt pieces torn from my own. While watching the show that night, it occurred to me that the character I was most in sympathy with was Madame de Tourvel, and it became a goal to play her someday. I feel that she is the forgotten victim; the one who gave over whole-heartedly to love and passion only to have it kill her. She is the honest emotional center in a whirling vortex of lies and deceit and foolishness. She is pure emotion. I am honored to have a chance to play this woman. I only hope I can do her justice, and in the process, once again pay homage to my long standing love for Dangerous Liaisons, and hear Kelli cheering me on in the back of my head… and in my heart.
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