The Map Theater to Present IF WE KISS World Premiere at A.R.T./NY Theatres

The MAP Theater will present the world premiere of If We Kiss by award-winning author and playwright Rachel Vail, adapted from her best-selling novel. Directed by Zachary Elkind, former Associate Artistic Director of Bedlam, If We Kiss will play a strictly limited engagement at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T/New York Theatres from December 4 – 20, 2025, with an opening set for Sunday, December 7. 

What’s the story of your first kiss? Charlie’s hasn’t happened yet. She’s a high school junior in 2003 and has no interest in kissing. But when this boy Kevin stops her as they get off the bus to school, she suddenly realizes that kissing might be the best thing ever invented (with the possible exception of gummy bears). But things get more complicated when Charlie’s Best Friend Tess falls in love with Kevin… and even worse when Charlie’s mom and Kevin’s dad start getting involved. A 90-minute romantic comedy about first kisses and new families, If We Kiss is full of the joy, heartbreak, humiliation, and exhilaration of falling in love.

The cast for If We Kiss includes Jordan Bellow (TFANA’s Henry IV), Caroline Grogan (Bedlam), Katie Hartke (Bedlam), Jeffrey Omura (Public Theater, Ma-Yi), and Frankie Placidi (The Matriarchs).