OFFAL ENDINGS World Premiere to be Presented at Theatre Row in January

Side of the Road Theater Company will present the world premiere of Offal Endings, a new dystopian comedy envisioning an immediate future of privatized assisted suicide with government and media complicity, written by John H. Klemeyer. Beth Kelley directs a cast of five to be announced shortly. Twelve performances will be staged at The Studio Theater at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street in New York City, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. from January 12-29, 2023.

Ripped from headlines, Offal Endings imagines a near future where the commercialization of medicine has vastly expanded, organ replacement is advertised during baseball games, and even the suicide hotline has become a toothy, for-profit venture. Absurdly ensnared in this web of "health care," life-weary Joshua and Mary must find a way to envision a brighter future while evading the fine print of a contract to which they have signed away their lives. In this dystopia-meets-Mel-Brooks comedy, Joshua looks at the menu to only find liver...his. And, after Mary and he fight back, the corporation is not about to roll over. Are they destined for the butcher block, or can this young man and woman survive the surgeon's blade?

"Assisted suicide is increasingly permitted by countries across the globe at a time when people are more secluded and lonelier than ever," states playwright John Klemeyer. "Told with humor verging on the necessary ridiculousness for such a topic, Offal Endings shines a serious light on changes to our healthcare system, government regulation of our own bodies, and corporate success at any cost."

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by visiting: https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/offal-endings/

The runtime is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.

Offal Endings is produced by Side of the Road, LLC. Lighting, Set and Sound Designer: Abott Finkel; Production Stage Manager: Lisa R. Stafford.

John H. Klemeyer

(playwright) has been writing and performing comedy for many years. He wrote his first play about 20 years ago and has since written eight more. They include The Vandals Took the Handles about teachers bringing guns to school; Mating Rituals of the Old and Infirm, which details the pitfalls of dating in your 60s; and Profits for Prophets, a tale of the world's first literary agent.

Beth Kelley

(director) is the Producing Director of Side of the Road Theater Company, currently in its 14th season in residence at the historic Milford Theater & Performing Arts Center,, a 250-seat turn-of-the-century playhouse in Milford, PA. Its past productions include: Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, Lyle Kiessler's Orphans, and this current season: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Sam Shepard's Ages of the Moon, and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. In addition to classics, Side of the Road also produces new American plays. Offal Endings is the fourth play Beth has directed by playwright John Klemeyer.

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