Using music, masks, microphones, and a mannequin, Stolen Chair transformed John Lyly's gender-bending Renaissance classic, Gallathea, into Stage Kiss, a two-woman celebration of sexuality and desire.
The production debuted in New York City and was then revised for a run at the 2003 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, where it played to sold-out houses and earned this review:
"A sweet, earnest mash-up of Greek god-fooling, gender-swapping and Boogie Nights. Katherine Walley and Keetje Kuipers nimbly flit through a zillion costume changes, characters and pages of classical-sounding dialogue (with a Judy Blume reference tucked in) to find themselves completely changed by play's end. The lesson is, don't try to fool the gods, because love already makes fools of us all."
-Alex Richmond
City Paper, Philadelphia
In 2006, Stolen Chair collectively created a new version of Stage Kiss, an original gender face in blank verse.