Review: BLUE KISS at Ruskin Group Theatre
Offers a riveting tale of how painful memories shape who you are.
Those among us who have been teachers working with teenagers know how easy it can be to cross the line and get too emotionally involved with a student who touches the insecurities or sadness within our own soul. Such is the case in Stephen Fife’s new play, Blue Kiss, the inaugural production in the Ruskin Group Theatre’s second performance space, The Audre, an intimate 60-seat black box theater. Directed by Mike Reilly and set in the present day, this thriller-like drama signals a commitment to daring storytelling, blending intimacy with emotional intensity.
Casey Morris and Carolina Rodriguez
The play begins with an SAT tutoring session about to begin, with Todd (Casey Morris in his first LA-based play), a teacher who agreed to the tutoring sessions, getting ready to welcome Susan (Carolina Rodriguez, recently seen in Rogue Machine’s hit intimate show, Adolescent Salvation), a student wanting assistance to do well on her SAT essay writing to get into a great college. With riveting back and forth banter about personal subjects way off the topic at hand, the balance of power constantly shifts between the two as each shares deep-seated regrets and guilt over secrets from the past that changed each of their lives forever.
Casey Morris and Carolina Rodriguez
Brilliantly directed by Mike Reilly, the play takes a shocking turn as it moves from a calm tutoring session to the teacher realizing his new student has an agenda of her own, making this routine encounter spiral into something far more unsettling than anticipated. You see, it turns out the two share a hidden emotional history and secrets involving Todd’s brothers Lucas and Matthew. As their explosive and deeply personal confrontation unfolds, Fife’s gripping drama explores trauma, accountability, and how the far-reaching impact of painful memories shape who we are.
Casey Morris and Carolina Rodriguez
Morris and Rodriguez are both impeccable in their roles as teacher and student, with Rodriguez’s Susan as true master at emotional game playing. She jumps into the tutoring session to expose Todd for his part in breaking up her relationship with his “big man on campus jock” brother, Matthew. And as soon as he begins to question her reasoning, Susan takes Todd down into a soul-searching journey into shame, guilt, and overwhelming denial at his own culpability in actions taken.
In reality, Susan is out for blood and knows just how to get Todd to cross the line of propriety when it comes to getting too emotionally attached to her. And I guarantee as the action unfolds, you will be on the edge of your seat wondering when the inevitable, ever-increasing need for violence to settle their differences will explode.
Carolina Rodriguez and Casey Morris
I first encountered this psychological thriller during the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival, but this new version has taken the action into new heights of terror. Playwright Stephe Fife shares, “The play may run under 80 minutes, but its creation has been a journey of several years. Director Mike Reilly’s understanding of the characters has helped me through this process and to better understand the importance of exploring the difficult emotional terrain of the story. Every day we hear about terrible events - murders, suicides, car crashes - that will change people's lives forever. But change them into what? That is the question that both Susan and Todd have had to confront, and the painful answers for each will be tested when they come together here for the first time.”
Carolina Rodrigues and Casey Morris
When their conversations first get Todd suspicious of Susan’s true intent on wanting to meet with him, he offers to make them tea. But it’s a questionable move, given what has already gone on between them. And why he would leave Susan alone to snoop around and find new evidence to throw in his face. Or just what might she do with that full pot of hot tea when he comes back and another heated discussion takes place? And there is a lot more to wonder about as Todd’s surprising decisions on how to handle the emotionally-charged situation put him directly in harm’s way.
Casey Morris and Carolina Rodriguez
But to reveal the reasons in too much detail would spoil the effect (and fun) of seeing the play on your own. And the surprising revelations will no doubt raise a few gasps from the audience and why would I want to spoil that reaction? Just know that as the twists and turns take place as the two characters banter and move between two leather easy chairs, a desk and table, and a couch so close to the audience you can see them sweat as tensions mount, I guarantee you will be talking about this one on your ride home, discussing just how a flippant student managed to get an upright teacher to fall victim to her emotional blackmail. And which one of them was really in charge at its inevitable conclusion?
Produced for the Ruskin Group Theatre by Mike Myers, John Ruskin, and Nicole Millar, the creative team includes Scenic Designer Ryan Wilson, Lighting and Sound Designer Edward Salas, and Production Stage Manager Stephanie Sandler.
Blue Kiss performances continue Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm through May 17, 2026 at Ruskin Group Theatre, 2800 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Tickets are $25 - $40 and can be purchased in advance at www.ruskingrouptheatre.com or for more information, call (310) 397-3244. Free parking available on site and nearby lot. Run time is approximately 80 minutes (no intermission)
Production photo credit: Amelia Mulkey
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