Photo Flash: First Look at MONSOON SEASON at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Fresh off a month-long world premiere run at the esteemed Edinburgh Festival Fringe, All For One Theater presents the U.S. premiere of Lizzie Vieh's brutally demented romantic comedy, MONSOON SEASON. Directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker (Puffs), this twisted love story opens Sunday, October 27th at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place) for a limited engagement through November 17th Tickets, priced at $25, are available at www.afo.nyc.

It's MONSOON SEASON in Phoenix, and recently separated couple Danny and Julia are spiraling into chaos. Pills and paranoia, hallucinations and twisted humor fuel their unhinged relationship. This deranged comedy comes alive with biting humor and blinding insight in this romantic thriller.

Celebrating nine seasons of extraordinary solo theater, All For One Theater brings their Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit MONSOON SEASON home to New York for its U.S. premiere. Since their breakup, a strip club's flashing neon sign is keeping Danny awake at night, and Julia's Adderall addiction has only gotten worse since her dealer moved in. Danny is suffering from micro-blackouts and Julia keeps seeing a giant bird in her backyard. Is anyone watching their kid? Lizzie Vieh's comedic thriller MONSOON SEASON is a depraved romantic comedy for a toxic world.

MONSOON SEASON began as a one-act solo play, qualifying as a finalist at the 2016 Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival. Playwright Lizzie Vieh subsequently developed the work in 2018 as part of All For One Theater's Solo Collective series. Vieh is currently All For One's Artist in Residence, with MONSOON SEASON marking the culmination of her two-year development of the now full-length play.

The cast of MONSOON SEASON is led by Richard Thieriot (Broadway: Clybourne Park; Second Stage's Mary Page Marlowe) as Danny and Therese Plaehn (Broadway/National Tour: The Humans, The Heidi Chronicles) as Julia.

MONSOON SEASON is directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker. Scenic design is by You-Shin Chen; costume design is by Haydee Zelideth; lighting design is by Sarah Johnston; and sound design is by Emma Wilk, with Mae Frankeberger as production manager and Kara Kaufman as production stage manager,

Lizzie Vieh (Playwright) is from Phoenix, Arizona. Her full-length plays include Monsoon Season, The Loneliest Number, Backwater Rising, Barrier Islands, and Wisconsin Death Trip. Her play Backwater Rising received Honorable Mention for the 2018 Relentless Award. The one-act version of Monsoon Season was a winner in the 2016 Samuel French OOB Festival. Her full-length play The Loneliest Number was part of Amios' 2016 First Draughts series, and received a full production in 2018 directed by Maria Dizzia. The Loneliest Number was nominated for a 2018 NYIT Award for Best Full-Length Script. She was a member of the Amoralists' 'Wright Club for 2016-2017. She is currently the 2018 Artist In Residence with All For One Theater. MFA: Brown/Trinity. BA: Brown University. lizzievieh.com

Kristin McCarthy Parker (Director) is the director of Matt Cox's Puffs (Off Broadway at New World Stages) and its live capture, streaming on Amazon and iTunes. Other projects with Cox include Kapow-i Gogo, and the upcoming The Magnificent Revengers. She is also the director and co-founder of Recent Cutbacks, whose work includes the critically-acclaimed comedies Hold On To Your Butts (Time Out NY Top 10 Comedy of the Year), Fly You Fools, and KEVIN!!!!!. Recent Cutbacks has developed and performed work at The Second City Training Center and Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has directed and developed work at Primary Stages, Pittsburgh CLO Spark Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, All For One Theater, Ma-Yi, The Amoralists, 59E59, The Flea, Samuel French OOB Festival, HERE Arts, Columbia University, Rutgers University, and the University of Florida, among others. Assistantships include Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, Michael Greif, Wendy Goldberg, and Trip Cullman. kristinmccarthyparker.com

All For One Theater believes in seeking the universal in the individual. Now in its ninth year, AFO remains dedicated to developing and producing extraordinary solo theater and supporting careers for solo artists. AFO productions have played Off-Broadway at numerous theaters, including The Cherry Lane Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Theatre Row, Wild Project, 59E59, The Brick, The Bushwick Starr, and internationally at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Recent productions include My Name is Gideon: I'm Probably Going to Die, Eventually, the Edinburgh Fringe sold-out hit with two acclaimed Off-Broadway runs at Rattlestick and The Brick; 2017 Artist in Residence Darian Dauchan's The Brobot Johnson Experience; and the world premiere of Crystal Skillman's Open at The Tank. In 2016 AFO created the Solo Collective (SoCo) to nurture and develop some of the brightest writing, performing, and directing talent in the solo world, providing opportunities to workshop projects in all stages of development. AFO's two-year Artist In Residence (AIR) program supports a single artist with one big idea, developing their work with invited audiences and culminating in the staging of a new full-length play. Past Artists In Residence include Bill Bowers, Darian Dauchan, and current Artist in Residence, Lizzie Vieh.

For schedule of performances and to purchase tickets to MONSOON SEASON visit www.afo.nyc.

Photo Credit: Maria Baranova

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