The K of D

Written by Laura Schellhardt

Directed by Braden Abraham

Soho Playhouse

15 Vandam Street

 

Review by Christina Ku

 

Kiss Me Deadly: Renata Friedman gets some brotherly love in The K of D.

 

Laura Schellhardt’s The K of D is a brilliant, multi-faceted gem that shines with its sharp wit and even sharper dialogue and delivery, all compressed into the talented Renata Friedman, a one-woman ensemble.

 

The K of D, or Kiss of Death, refers to an urban legend from Saint Mary’s, Ohio. An unnamed girl tells the tale, which took place during one summer from her childhood — the summer of death, to be exact. According to the legend, skinny Charlotte McGraw received an unusual gift that summer as she kissed her twin brother right before he died.

 

Friedman plays at once 12 different characters, embodying not only their voices and personas, but also their physicality. Friedman’s energy is almost schizophrenic as she physically jumps from one spot to another to switch characters and propel the dialogue forward. The actress transforms from a svelte, able-bodied woman into an awkward, gangly adolescent girl with long legs, bony wrists and sharp knees in cutoff jeans. With only a skateboard and a wooden pier as props, The K of D could take place in any rural town in the middle of nowhere — the hallmark feature of a typical urban legend.

 

The tale is simple, so long as one understands the dynamics of how a small town works, and the inexplicably close bond between twins: these are key facets in the tale’s origin. With dialogue in the form of snide, barefaced quips and remarks only teenagers could make, the story is the embodiment of growing pains and the desire to escape the confines of a nowhere town. The real story, though, isn’t so much about Charlotte McGraw’s kiss of death and how she got it, but rather what happened before, during and after that fateful summer.