Karen looks like a teenager
but is actually a brilliant, albeit dateless, 38-year-old
philosophy professor. Her wacky sister Joanna concocts a
plan to find Karen’s “perfect” match while navigating her
own tenuous relationship. This bizarrely comic love story,
hot from our In-Progress New Play Reading Series last
season, reinforces the notion that there is indeed someone
for everyone.
Special Events:
Talk back performances March 9, 14 and 16
Stay afterwards for a
discussion of the play with the Director and Actors.
Groups:
Bringing 10+people? Call
Group Sales. 816-531-7529 x21
LIA ROMEO
earned her B.A. from Princeton University and her
M.F.A. in playwriting from Rutgers University. She
was the playwright-in-residence at Playwrights
Theatre of New Jersey for the 2008-2009 Season. Her
play
Green Whales
has been developed at the Kennedy Center,
Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, and New Jersey
Repertory Theatre, among other. Her play
Right Place, Right Time
was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights’
Conference, the HotCity Theatre New Play Festival,
and the Centre Stage New Play Festival, and received
its world premiere from the Renegade Theatre
Experiment in 2010. Her short play “Yog Sothoth”
was a finalist for the Heideman Award. This and
other short plays have been produced in thirteen
different states and internationally. She and her
brother are co-authors of the humor book
11,002 Things to Be Miserable About
(Abrams Image).
GREEN
WHALES
was read and/or developed by The Kennedy Center MFA
Playwrights Showcase, Playwrights Theatre of New
Jersey, Unicorn Theatre, New Jersey Repertory
Theatre, Collaborative Arts Theatre Company, Last
Frontier Theatre Conference, HotCity Theatre and
Project Y Theatre Company.
CYNTHIA LEVIN (DIRECTOR) is in her 31st season with
Unicorn Theatre as Producing Artistic Director where she has
served as a director, actor, designer or producer for over
235 productions. In addition to managing the Unicorn, she
stays busy tending her 100-year-old Victorian home (and
gardens), one very laid back Golden Retriever, an insanely
mischievous Beagle pup and one very humorous cat. Most
recently, she directed Miss Witherspoon, My First
Time and the readings of Two Jews Walk into a War
at the Unicorn and White Devil Loving Mother, at the
Kennedy Center’s MFA Playwright’s Workshop. At the Unicorn,
she’s also directed The Clean House,Mauritius,
Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire, Nickel and Dimed,
The Great American Trailer Park Musical, tick, tick...BOOM!,
Frozen, I Am My Own Wife, Bug, The Exonerated, Convenience,
Take Me Out, Bat Boy: The Musical and the world
premieres of rightnextto me (both at the Unicorn and
Geva Theatre Center, Rochester, NY), How His Bride Came
to Abraham, Light:Damage, Mercy Killing, Innocent Thoughts
and Jack and Jill. At Coterie Theatre she has
also directed And Then They Came for Me,
Frankenstein, Gatherings in Graveyards (I and II),
Valley Song and To Kill A Mockingbird. Cynthia
is a graduate of Park University where she was additionally
awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2002. She is also a
founding board member of the National New Play Network, an
organization dedicated to the development and production of
new works. She is the 2006 recipient of the Pinnacle Award
for Excellence in the Arts from the Johnson County Library
Foundation and the 2007 recipient of the Human Rights
Campaign Equality Award. Thanks to her teammates Zia,
Sylvia, Dodger and Areli.
ANNA
SAFAR (KAREN WILSON) is thrilled to be making her debut
at Unicorn Theatre! She is a 3rd year M.F.A candidate at
UMKC where she was recently seen as Thomasina in Arcadia.
Other UMKC credits include Nerissa/Gobbo, Merchant of
Venice; Neely, The Secret Lives of Losers; Lady
Saltburn, Present Laughter; Dorine, Tartuffe;
Willy and Lena, Five By Ten (+one); Sarah Pocket,
Great Expectations; Koroviev, Master & Margarita;
Cindy, That Midnight Rodeo; and Anna, Ellis 101.
She was also seen in last summer's Kansas City production of
Hamlet. Anna holds a B.A. from the University of
Minnesota where among her many roles, favorites include Puck
in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cecily Cardew in the
Minnesota Centennial Showboat production of The
Importance of Being Earnest. Anna has trained at Circle
In the Square in NYC, received a Diploma for Shakespeare
Acting from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and
performed with Saint Paul City Ballet, Premere Theatre
Company and at The Guthrie Theater. Special thanks to the
production team, cast and crew!!
VANESSA SEVERO (JOANNA WILSON) is thrilled to be
returning to Unicorn Theater in Green
Whales!
She was last seen here in The Clean
House,
for which she was named “Kansas City’s Best Actress (2009)”
by The Pitch. Fresh from the world-premiere production of
A
Christmas Story: The Musical at the
Kansas City Repertory Theatre, her other local credits
include I'll Be
Back Before Midnight for the
American Heartland Theatre, serving as The Coterie Theatre’s
Artist in Residence (2005-2006), Much Ado
About Nothing at The
Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Absurd
Person Singular and
Desdemona with the
Actors Theatre of Kansas City, Rumors
at The
New Theatre Restaurant, and Eubank Productions’ Hedwig &
The Angry Inch. Vanessa
is also a member of Hybrid Productions, which created The
Coppelia Project and
staged her original one act Advice
From A Spider.
She would like to thank her family for their unwavering love
and support. Beijos!! Beijos!!!!
DARREN KENNEDY
(RAY PRATT)is thrilled to be performing again at
Unicorn Theatre. Darren was born and raised in
Colorado, spent time in Chicago doing theatre and commercial
work, and relocated from Los Angeles where he performed in
theatre, film and television. TV credits include CSI, Without a Trace,
Just Shoot Me, Gilmore Girls, Pretender and a
recurring role on General Hospital as
Dr.
O'Donnell. Film credits include Breakdown,Oranges
and Sam Steele and
the Junior Detective agency with M.
Emmit Walsh and Luke Perry.Theatre credits include
Once in a
Lifetime and
Welcome to the Moon with
Theatre Neo in LA, Busybody
at the New Theatre with Jamie Farr, The Lieutenant of
Inishmore and Mauritius at the Unicorn Theatre
and Perfect Wedding and I’ll Be Back before
Midnight at the American Heartland Theatre. Darren
would like to thank his wonderful family for all their
support and most of all, his wife Mary, whose strength and
inspiration are beyond measure.
DEAN
VIVIAN (IAN MILTON) is thrilled to return to the Unicorn
stage where he's appeared in Intimate Apparel, Take Me
Out, Permanent Collection, Iggy Scrooge, All In The Timing,
Sight Unseen, Hunting Cockroaches, Talk Radio, Reckless
and The Heidi Chronicles, for which he won a Best of
Theatre Award. Other favorite Kansas City roles include Bob
Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Jack in Desperate
Times, Rusty Charlie in Guys & Dolls, Tony in
Shear Madness, and Eric Gehringer in And Then They
Came For Me, directed by Cynthia Levin. Movies include
Ride With The Devil, Truman, Final Justice, Silence,
Monday After The Miracle and Matchmaker Mary.
He's also been heard on radio and TV as the voice of
Wal-Mart, Helzberg Diamonds, Toyota, Blue Bunny, NKC
Hospital, and many, many others. Dean recently received a
Life Award from AFTRA KC on their 50th Anniversary. He
lives in Armour Hills with his beautiful bride Sandy and
their girl Betty.