About the Play:

M*A*S*H is a full-length comedy adapted for the stage by Tim Kelly from the book by Richard Hooker. Inspired by the classic TV series, the 1970 Robert Altman film and the Richard Hooker novel about U.S. doctors during the Korean War, Tim Kelly's stage version of M*A*S*H incorporates many of the characters but omits more of the dark comedy aspects. It is a wild, free-flowing comedy that's easy to stage. Particularly suitable for schools and play contests.

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and joining it are two unpredictable madcaps, Hawkeye and Duke (known as Trapper John in the TV series). They can't be dealt with casually, however, because they are also two of the best chest surgeons in South Korea. They decide to wage a campaign to get a young Korean boy named Ho-Jon to the United States and entered in a good school. The thread of this effort helps tie together the pileup of comic adventures that pyramid right before the eyes of your astonished and hysterical audience! Hawkeye has a scene with a woman psychiatrist who believes he's been trying to lobster-trap mermaids in a rice paddy! There's a jolly encounter with the baby-talking Bonwit sisters, the worst tap-dancing act the U.S.O. ever sent overseas. A sergeant is selling dumb GIs fishing rights in the Bay of Phum. Radar O'Reilly, a soldier with incredible hearing, anticipates things before they happen. The proprietor of a painless dental clinic is cured of dark moods by the recreation of an old monster movie – and a monster! The thread of this effort helps tie together the pileup of comic adventures involving other beloved characters. It's all here, including a little romance mixed in with dramatic moments and a genuine love of life. Oh, yes, the Korean boy does get his education in the United States!

M*A*S*H has a long history beginning with a 1968 novel by Richard Hooker, based on his own experiences as a military surgeon. The Oscar-nominated film followed in 1970, and in 1972 the super-popular TV series starring Alan Alda debuted. This stage version by Tim Kelly finds humour among despair as it follows the famous characters Hawkeye, "Hotlips", Radar and the rest of the familiar gang.

Cast: 15 female, 15 male, less with doubling

About the Playwright:

Tim Kelly (1931-1998) is often regarded as the most-published playwright in America, with over 300 titles to his credit under both his real name and at least four pseudonyms (Vera Morris, J. Moriarty, Robert Swift, Keith Jackson). Many of his plays, like Les Miserables, M*A*S*H and The Uninvited, are adaptations of novels, films. or television series, although he also wrote a host of parodies a well as original scripts and musical libretti. While his plays have been performed off-Broadway and by such companies as the Royal Court Rep, the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Seattle Rep, he is best known for writing for university, community and school theatre.