Kasey Mahaffy News

If American Horror Story decided to do a season set in the time of ancient mythical English kings, you would get Julia Rodriguez-Elliott's King Lear. I highly recommend this eerie interpretation of one of Shakespeare's most produced works.

Two years ago I saw Philip Dawkins' one-act play FAILURE: A LOVE STORY at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and it was one of my favorite things I've ever seen at the Fringe. In fact I called it 'everything I want in theater,' a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy, with tons of heart. At the time I didn't know who Philip Dawkins was, but now I know he's a Chicago-based playwright who is a core writer with the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. His name has come up again recently when his new play CHARM (also a mix of comedy and tragedy with heart) was produced at Mixed Blood earlier this year. And now comes LE SWITCH, developed at the Playwrights' Center and having a rolling world premiere this year, including at the Jungle Theater. I'm happy to report that like FAILURE, it gave me all of the feels. Like FAILURE, LE SWITCH is a funny and beautiful love story, but not just a romantic love story. It's also a love story between a brother and a sister who are each other's only family; a love story between childhood best friends who, despite their differences, still love and support each other unconditionally; a love story between the main character and a man who was more of a father to him than his biological father ever was or could be. It's a fantastic new play and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

? This summer, the Jungle Theater presents a witty, affectionate and timely comedy about what it means to be committed, alive and in love in the era of marriage equality. LE SWITCH, by "the richly talented Chicago writer" Philip Dawkins (Chicago Tribune), is on stage June 17-July 31 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. The Playwrights' Center Artistic Director Jeremy Cohen makes his directorial debut at the Jungle with this production.

Let's first get this very necessary accolade out of the way: South Coast Repertory's brand new production of Rick Elice's PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is, hands down, one of the most enjoyable, most thrilling, and most engagingly imaginative plays I have seen all season---a fitting capper to the Tony Award-winning Orange County theater's 51st year. This delightfully revised production---which continues performances in Costa Mesa through June 7---re-calibrates the play's hyperactive mixture of mirth and mayhem by further emphasizing its seemingly 'bare-bones' storytelling devices, resulting in one entertaining night of theater that both kids and adults will find endearingly beguiling. Motivated by imagination, I seriously cannot recall the last time I laughed this boisterously and had this much unabashed joy from sitting through a play in quite some time.

This is the story of what happened before Peter Pan met Wendy. Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is next up on the Segerstrom Stage at South Coast Repertory. Directed by Art Manke and with musical direction by David O, Peter and the Starcatcher runs May 8-June 7. The show is geared toward adults and children ages 10 years and older. Tickets are now available at www.scr.org.

This is the story of what happened before Peter Pan met Wendy. Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is next up on the Segerstrom Stage at South Coast Repertory. Directed by Art Manke and with musical direction by David O, Peter and the Starcatcher runs today, May 8-June 7. The show is geared toward adults and children ages 10 years and older.

This is the story of what happened before Peter Pan met Wendy. Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is next up on the Segerstrom Stage at South Coast Repertory. Directed by Art Manke and with musical direction by David O, Peter and the Starcatcher runs May 8-June 7. The show is geared toward adults and children ages 10 years and older. Tickets are now available at www.scr.org.

Ensemble's production of The Best Brothers is entertaining and thought provoking, and maintains a sense of playfulness even in its most moving moments.

The dueling forces of light and dark are constantly at play in A Noise Within's fantasy-meets-reality world of Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, the first production of its 2014-15 season. Deborah Strang takes on the role of Prospero in a gender-switch that now finds mother and daughter (rather than father and daughter) stranded on an island some twelve years after Prospero's brother Antonio (Time Winters) has usurped her power in Milan and set them both adrift in a boat to die at sea.

Dorothy Fortenberry's 'Partners' is a strikingly vivid snapshot of a generation that doesn't know what to do with itself.

'I have lots of black friends', 'What types of foods do you prefer?', 'How many white people does it take to screw in a light bulb?', 'Do you know how to ski?', 'What's the difference between a white woman and a tampon', 'A white man and a black man are sharing a prison cell...', and many others great one liners, jokes, and socially inappropriate commentary can all be found in CLYBOURNE PARK.

A play that certainly deserves the title: much ado about nothing!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company of You, Nero by American Voices New Play Institute resident playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has just announced the full company of You, Nero by American Voices New Play Institute resident playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed. This is the second project of a resident playwright to be produced at Arena Stage as part of the three-year residencies through the Institute. Making his Arena Stage debut is director Nicholas Martin (Broadway's Present Laughter, Butley). You, Nero runs November 25, 2011-January 1, 2012 in the Fichandler Stage.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company of You, Nero by American Voices New Play Institute resident playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed.

Arena Stage announces casting for You, Nero by American Voices New Play Institute resident playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Freed. Making his Arena Stage debut is director Nicholas Martin (Broadway's Present Laughter, Butley). You, Nero runs November 25, 2011-January 1, 2012 in the Fichandler Stage.

Greg Germann joins previously announced Gregory Itzin, Amy Pietz and Steven Weber when L.A. Theatre Works records Enron, Lucy Prebble's rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels the audience through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history. Using a clever mix of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay. Jeffrey Skilling, and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment, casting a shocking new light on the state of today's economy and how we got here. All performances will be recorded to air on L.A. Theatre Works' syndicated radio theater series, which broadcasts weekly on public radio stations nationwide and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

Greg Germann joins previously announced Gregory Itzin, Amy Pietz and Steven Weber when L.A. Theatre Works records Enron, Lucy Prebble's rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels the audience through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history. Using a clever mix of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay. Jeffrey Skilling, and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment, casting a shocking new light on the state of today's economy and how we got here. All performances will be recorded to air on L.A. Theatre Works' syndicated radio theater series, which broadcasts weekly on public radio stations nationwide and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

Greg Germann joins previously announced Gregory Itzin, Amy Pietz and Steven Weber when L.A. Theatre Works records Enron, Lucy Prebble's rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels the audience through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history. Using a clever mix of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay. Jeffrey Skilling, and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment, casting a shocking new light on the state of today's economy and how we got here. All performances will be recorded to air on L.A. Theatre Works' syndicated radio theater series, which broadcasts weekly on public radio stations nationwide and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

They're funny, they're Southern, they're dysfunctional-and they're bound for the South Coast Repertory stage this spring.