Case Study #1

THE COUPLE: Paula Scrofano and John Reeger have appeared on Chicago-area stages since 1974 and have acted together in some 40 productions. They celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this year. Reeger is currently appearing in Heartbreak House at Writers’ Theatre, and Scrofano will be in Broadway Bound at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oak Brook.

SETTING THE SCENE The couple met in 1969 as Northwestern University freshmen in a Drama as Literature class. For their first date, they saw the only movie that was playing in Evanston—The Boston Strangler. “It had to be uphill after that,” says Reeger.

THE KISS The first private kiss led to countless onstage ones. While Reeger and Scrofano don’t recall if they kissed in their first show together, a self-produced student effort directed by Frank Galati, they did kiss in a later college performance of I Do! I Do! “We’ve done that show four times,” says Reeger—first at Northwestern, then in summer stock; they reprised their roles 16 years later at Pheasant Run and another 16 years after that at Drury Lane. “We had to run to make our entrances and exits, so we decided we’re getting way too old for this,” he says, as both laugh.

ONSTAGE They shared a duet in Baby in 1997 as a middle-aged couple who find themselves expecting a baby late in life. “It was great, and I remember it fueling our love,” says Scrofano. “We were married for a long time, and we weren’t newly lustful, and I loved having that kiss and [the feeling of] giving yourself over to someone you really love. I remember feeling you have to make time for those kisses that don’t come as spontaneously as they used to.”

AND ABOUT THAT STAGE KISS (THE MORNING AFTER) “Showmances happen all the time,” says Scrofano. “So many people in our business fall in love with their leading lady or their leading man, and people say, ‘Why did it happen?’ And I say, ‘Why wouldn’t it happen when you go to work every day and practice falling in love with someone?’” The couple agree that showmances are more likely on the road, so they made “a conscious choice” to stay close to home and rear their children. “We were able to keep working in Chicago and to see each other every day, often 24-7,” says Reeger. “That’s the way we like it.”

Photograph: Brian Kuhlmann; Assistants: Colin Beckett, Sean Costin; Styling: Joslyn Beta Lawrence; Hair and Makeup: Lia Rivette

Case Study #2

THE COUPLE: Matt Hawkins and Stacy Stoltz, actors and company members of The House Theatre of Chicago. He was a founding member.

SETTING THE SCENE Hawkins says Stoltz asked him out after a December 2002 party for small theatre companies. She says he did the asking, but they don’t differ on that first date. “All I remember about that date is Matt talked about himself a lot,” says Stoltz. “You don’t have to write that down,” says Hawkins with a laugh. “It turned out to be my favorite part [about him],” she continues, “that he’s self-assured and confident.” “OK, so this is the one thing I remember,” he admits. “I was nervous as hell.”

THE KISS The third date, a holiday party given by Stoltz’s employers, offered “the turning point” and the first kiss. Stoltz, who worked as a personal assistant, remembers

ONSTAGE Married since 2007, Hawkins and Stoltz have been in only two plays together, most recently Writers’ Theatre’s revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, which earned them and director David Cromer raves. They got the news that Stoltz would be Stella to Hawkins’s Stanley while driving back from spending the Christmas holidays with Stoltz’s parents. Onstage they kissed—and much more. The set’s intimacy nearly put the audience in their bedroom. Working together was “awesome,” recalls Stoltz. “We were obviously so physically relaxed together.” Adds Hawkins, “We really didn’t have any boundaries with each other. There was never an issue with trust.” Stoltz says the experience brought them closer. Hawkins says, “With our schedules, we never got to spend time together. We loved this because we got to be together.”

AND ABOUT THAT STAGE KISS (THE MORNING AFTER) Show crushes are real, Stoltz and Hawkins agree. For couples “it becomes a fun thing,” adds Stoltz, “but itdoesn’t go anywhere. It’s just the imaginative playground that you have.” Hawkins adds, “If you are not attached in the real world, it’s obviously much easier to give over to that imaginative playground.”

Photograph: Brian Kuhlmann; Assistants: Colin Beckett, Sean Costin; Styling: Joslyn Beta Lawrence; Hair and Makeup: Lia Rivette