Lips Together, Teeth Apart (2009)
theatre Q presents:
Lips Together, Teeth Apart
By Terrence McNally
Starring Four Actors and a Pool
Previewing June 4!
(Palo Alto, CA) Two straight couples are confronted with their own homophobia and personal regrets in this classic play from legendary playwright Terrence McNally. Always considered a challenging play with its difficult subject matter, this will arguably be one of theatre Q’s most ambitious productions to date, as the set includes a pool onstage. Water on stage is always tricky, but to incorporate a pool into Dragon’s 42-seat venue will undoubtedly result in one of theatre Q’s most elaborate sets. After two previews (beginning June 4, 2009), the show opens Saturday, June 6 and runs through June 28, Thursdays – Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.
After a inheriting a summer house on Fire Island from her recently deceased brother, a woman invites her husband, along with his sister and her husband, to spend the 4th of July weekend in the midst of gay holiday revelry. Secrets are revealed and everything they think they know is challenged in this surprisingly funny and enormously moving work.
Starring in the show are Meredith Hagedorn (Mountain View resident, members of Actors’ Equity Association), Jeffrey Hoffman (Berkeley resident and theatre Q co-founder), Mary Lou Torre (San Jose) and theatre Q managing artistic director, Dale Albright (Castro Valley).
Terrence McNally won Tony Awards for best play for Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class. His other plays include Corpus Christi, which was named one of the best plays of 1998 by Time magazine; A Perfect Ganesh, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Lisbon Traviata; and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. He has written a number of television scripts, including ANDRE’S MOTHER, for which he won an Emmy Award. Mr. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller grant, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A member of the Dramatists Guild since 1970, Mr. McNally was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, and makes his home in New York City.
Lips Together, Teeth Apart will be the only full production in theatre Q’s fifth season, its second season as artists-in-residence at Dragon Theatre. theatre Q’s mission is to present the evolving images of gays and lesbians on stage. This is the company’s 14th production since 2004. Past shows have included the award-winning And Baby Makes Seven, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight and Keep the Yuletide Gay.
Lips Together, Teeth Apart is supported in part by a generous grant from The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting equitable access to a baseline of literacy, enabling inspiration through the magic of the arts and providing opportunity for a healthy lifestyle for those with chronic disease. The Foundation focuses its efforts on the San Francisco Bay Area and specific medical issues and utilizes its networks, resources and commitment to socially responsible business practices to support innovation, collaboration and connection.
WHO: theatre Q
WHAT: Lips Together, Teeth Apart by Terrence McNally, directed by Rebecca Longworth
WHERE: Dragon Theatre, 535 Alma Street, Palo Alto
WHEN: Previews: 6/4 – 5 at 8pm, Opens: Sat, 6/6 at 8pm, Runs through: 6/28: Thurs – Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm (June 18th show is SOLD OUT!)
COST: Previews: $10, Opening Night: $25 , All other performances: $20-Regular, $15-Senior/ Youth /Theatre Bay Area and Groups 10+ (Parents take note: the play contains adult language and situations)
MORE INFO: infotheatreq@aol.com
TICKETS: Call 415-433-1235 or
Cast of theatre Q's Lips Together, Teeth Apart
admin | 
July 23, 2009 3:20 pm
