Prelude to a Kiss and Other Plays: Form and Language in Drama

This collection brings back into print one of Craig Lucas’ best known and enduring works, Prelude to a Kiss, which was both a hit on Broadway and a popular motion picture. Missing Persons, an updated version of Lucas’ first play, is also included in the collection, along with Three Postcards, an offbeat and uniquely imaginative free form musical play.

Prelude to a Kiss
“It is rare to find a play so suffused with sorrow that sends one home so high.” –Frank Rich, New York Times
“Lucas zaps you into a fantasy land with thoughtfulness and buoyant grace. A sensitive meditation on immortality, commitment and the mysteries of the heart.” –Seattle Times
“Absolutely charming and immediately endearing…a fairy-tale adventure into the human heart.” –The News-Harold

Missing Persons
“An expressly theatrical, resonant metaphor for the way memory can cripple. What Lucas does so well is find a uniquely whimsical expression for the cataclysmic menace and hostility lurking in the prose of everyday life.” –New York Times
“A truly intelligent play, one that is literary and heartfelt and beautifully written, a dramatic rarity in these or any times.” –New York Post

Three Postcards
“Understated and minimalist in style, the play blends casual dialog, clever lyrics and warmly melodic music to explore the inner thoughts and tensions of its characters.” –New York Daily News
“Gertrude Stein would have enjoyed this one.” –New Yorker


Craig Lucas is a playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays include Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, Blue Window, God’s Heart, The Singing Forest and Small Tragedy. His screenplays include Longtime Companion, The Secret Lives of Dentists and The Dying Gaul, which he also directed. Mr. Lucas’ awards include the L.A. Drama Critics Award, an OBIE Award for Best Play and Best Director, and the Excellence in Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.