"The Show Might Go On," New Comedy at DILLON'S

The Michael Chekhov Theatre Company (Michael Horn, Producing Director) is pleased to announce the World Premiere of "The Show Might Go On," a new comedy by David Kosh based on the novel of the same name by Roger Bowen (Henry Blake in the film version of "M*A*S*H") about a young writer whose world is turned upside down when he joins an improvisational theatre troupe. Featured in the cast: Frederic J. Bender, Ross Bechsler, Michael Bullrich, Ali Costine, Katherine Dillingham, Aramand Gabriel, Asta Hansen, Raymond Hill, Carl Maguire, Audrey Moore, Cameron Stevens and Dan Stowell. Directed by Ann Bowen, the production runs on Mondays & Tuesdays, from November 3rd through November 18th at The Backroom at DILLON'S (245 West 54th Street, NYC - 212-307-9797). The performance schedule is November 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15.

Chicago. 1955. Young writer Eddie Fitzgerald has just quit the University of Chicago in disgust. Things look hopeless until Eddie sees a notice announcing the start of a revolutionary theatre - a theatre of improvisation. He meets the director, Alan Beckman, and writes a scenario for an improvised play that greatly excites Alan and the other members of the theatre, who begin to work on it in earnest. Meanwhile, romantic sparks begin to fly between Eddie and Alan's ex-wife Karen. When the two of them decide to move in together, chaos ensues. Will the show ever go on?

Playwright David Kosh graduated from NYU's film school. His evening of short plays, I Love New York ® What's Your Excuse?, was produced Off-Off-Broadway at the Raw Space, and Temptation, a play from that evening, has been published by Playscripts. Grand Cru, a screenplay commissioned by Opal Films in Los Angeles, is his most recent work.

Roger Bowen, who penned the novel that inpired the play, was a founding member of the seminal Chicago-based troupes Compass and Second City, but was probably best known as Col. Henry Blake in Robert Altman's 1970 film version of "M*A*S*H." It was through improvisation that he and Gary Burghoff (Radar O' Reilly) came up with the idea of Radar repeating Blake's orders in counterpoint to the supposedly senior officer. Of course, this turned into a running gag that Burghoff went on to use with McLean Stevenson, TV's Henry Blake. Mr. Bowen passed away in 1996.

Director Ann Bowen is also the artistic director of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Company. She received the Dramalogue Best Director Award for her production of Athol Fugard's The Island with Danny Glover and Carl Lumbly at the Matrix in Los Angeles. She directed at Chicago's original Second City, and later formed the Pitschel Players, a group of political and social satirists, guiding them through their ten-year run in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She has directed on both coasts at theatres such as the Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory, L.A.T.C., the Raw Space, and the Theatre Gym. Recent credits include Philip Kan Gotanda's Yohen with Danny Glover at East West Players in Los Angeles.

Michael Horn, producing director of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Company, was a creator and founding member, along with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rachel Ward, of the West Coast Theatre Ensemble. He is also the producing director and creator of Endangered Improv, a Manhattan-based improvisational comedy troupe. Other directing credits include It's Called a Sugar Plum by Israel Horvitz, which received critical acclaim in Los Angeles.

 

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