Ring of Kerry, by Ryan Scott Oliver and Kirsten Guenther at 54 Below

Ring of Kerry: A “True” Crime Musical Mockumentary Book by Kirsten Guenther Five American tourists arrive in rural Ireland convinced this trip will change their lives. They are absolutely right. Four are found dead. One is still missing, but probably also dead. A wildly overconfident British detective arrives to solve the case — mostly by misunderstanding it — reconstructing the mystery through increasingly ridiculous reenactments and uncovering not murder, but something far more dangerous: young people with inner lives. A darkly funny new musical mockumentary about true crime, young adulthood, generational misunderstanding, and the danger of thinking you already know who people are. Commissioned by Penn State Musical Theatre and featuring the Class of 2027. Penn State is the proud home of one of the preeminent training programs in musical theatre. Led by Head of Musical Theatre John Simpkins, it is also home to a New Musicals Initiative where each year writers are commissioned. The writers visit Penn State to meet a group of third-year students – they share work and discuss timely issues. They return the following year and workshop/ develop the show with a Penn State creative team and the students who are now in their fourth year. Opportunities exist to continue into production at Penn State and professionally. Previous commissions include Love in Hate Nation (Joe Iconis), The Last Day (Mike Reid, Sarah Schlesinger, John Simpkins), The Lucky Boy (Kirsten Childs), Dust and Embers (Sam Salmond), Nostalgia Night (Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Matthew McCollum), Make It All Better (Gilbert Bailey), Me and My Friends Killing Nazis (Alexander Sage Oyen, Lauren Marcus, James Presson), In-Gauged (Christian Thompson, Maria Wirries), The Morris & Essex Line (Joshua Salzman, Ryan Cunningham), Trampoline (Deborah Abramson, David Kirshenbaum), and Centralia (Adam Chanler-Berat, Julian Hornik). Featuring: Olivia Allen Asim Baraka Kyler Beck Kaycee Lark Scott Mayers Daman Mills Emily Moreland Joelle Sellers Lance Toppin Katie Walsh Please note that all artists and acts are subject to change at any time.