Kelly Wallace-Barnhill and Lindsey Gentile have kissed their fair share of frogs in search of that elusive Prince Charming. Few stand out more than a guy they dubbed “Belly Button Ring.”
On a first date with Gentile, he proudly announced his naval piercing, one of the first signs that the relationship likely wouldn’t progress beyond that night.
But Belly Button Ring would not be deterred.
Persistent (and maybe a bit crazy?), he Google chat-stalked Gentile for three years after the date, despite the fact that the two never met in person again.
Although he and Gentile eventually lost touch, he remains a big part of her life — as a character in the two-woman show “Kelly and Lindsey Do New York: A Non-Lesbian Love Story.”
“We act out and read the Gchat conversations,” Gentile says. “We read these exact conversations between me and Belly Button Ring during the show. He has no idea what a sensation he’s become.”
Belly Button Ring is just one of a host of exes and would-be suitors who appear in the show, which humorously chronicles the misadventures of two single women looking for love in New York.
“Our shows are exaggerated versions of our real life,” Wallace-Barnhill says. “It’s based off experiences we’ve actually had, men we’ve dated, people we’ve found on Craigslist and dating websites — it’s the experience of two women trying to date in New York.”
The show is set in the Big Apple, but the experiences — failed dates, freaky guys, work pressures and the struggle to maintain a balance between romantic and friend relationships — are something most women can relate to.
“I think in a lot of ways, our show is a coming-of-age story, and it’s more about our relationship as friends,” Gentile says. “I think any woman could relate to it, no matter where they live.”
The two conceived the show after meeting during an Upright Citizens Brigade improv class several years ago. Upon realizing that they had both grown up in the same area in Florida and even shared a few mutual friends, they “fell in love in a nonlesbian way,” as they put it.
Growing tired of acting audition cattle calls, the duo decided to do their own thing, writing the two-woman show and filming humorous webisodes (they air on their website, kellyandlindsey.com), in addition to being the hosts of a bimonthly comedy show at a New York bar. Hitting the road for the first time, they’ll bring their two-woman show to the Greensboro Fringe Festival on Feb. 3.
Although Gentile and Wallace-Barnhill get a lot of laughs at the expense of the guys they’ve encountered, the jokes aren’t only on the men in their lives.
“We really poke fun at ourselves a lot in the show, and when we say that someone’s crazy, we make sure that people know they’re crazy in our exaggerated way, but we also let them know we are just as crazy,” Gentile says. “The whole thing is very playful, and we make ourselves look just as stupid as the guys.”
Wacky dating stories and naughty jokes aside, the core of the show is the power of female friendship, and that’s the message that Gentile and Wallace-Barnhill hope audiences take away from the performance.
“I think the key to 'Kelly and Lindsey’ is not about the men we’re dating. The basis is our friendship and our chemistry — we always find a way to make it about us.” Wallace-Barnhill says.
Gentile agrees. “For a lot of women, you meet a man and your friends are gone, and I think it’s important to keep your own life and keep your friendships alive.”
Contact Jennifer Bringle at jenniferbringle@gmail.com
