Ms. McCarty writes with a unique comic voice,  exploring the pitfalls and triumphs of human nature through laughter and wisdom.   Her characters illustrate the eccentricities of every day life.

Bay Area Critics Circle member Charles Jarrett said:   "…(McCarty)  creates characters so believable and familiar  that the audience becomes involved and wants to  see the heartfelt solutions work…'   In addition,  Jarrett called  Straight Laced a ".... spellbinding play, one that everyone should see."

Kathryn G. McCarty

"Someday I'll be that little old lady in the corner,  beating my cane on the table --  screaming 'Shit!  Shit!  Shit!"                  WHEN WE DANCED

"Since he was cremated, Uncle Henry and I have never spent so much time together" 

HENRY EVER AFTER

"That man is not a transvestite!  He's a nun!"              HENRY EVER AFTER

"Are you sure your pregnant and not just bi-polar?"                                 WHEN WE DANCED

"We'll make you straight!    Call 1-800-UR-Healed!" 

         STRAIGHT LACED

"Drive myself crazy?  I'malready there!"    

         WHEN WE DANCED

"Good Christians cry for your mother.  Good Christians don't hate anybody" 

STRAIGHT LACED

“I got no time for bullshit.

There’s drinking to be done”

BESSIE SMITH: A LIFE

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DEFINING FORM (1997)

Middle-aged siblings struggle over the care of their aging mother, in the early stages of Alzheimer's.  Humor & Pathos combine in this exploration of changing family roles.    (3 F/3 M).

THE FITTING ROOM (1998) 

A peek inside a ladies dressing room in a voyeuristic perspective on the search for meaning,  truth and the perfect  pair of jeans.                                                                                                  (4M/8F)   54 roles             

"Top 10 of Bay Area Theatre, 1998,"  Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times

CRICKET ON THE HEARTH (1998)

Musical adaptation by 5 Bay Area Playwrights of Charles Dickens'  Holiday Novella   (4F/4M)

BREAD BAKING TIME*  (1998)    

One Act Verse and autobiographical play which combines independent monologues written over a period of 4 decades, dealing with the loss of a parent and time which divides us. (3W)

HENRY EVER AFTER (1999)    

A comic examination of California Suburbia, when long-time neighbors of the late Henry Singer gather to honor a man  they  never really knew.           (6M/5F)

MODERN WOOLY MAMMOTHS* (2002) 

A young girl and her Grandpa's battle of

strength and courage as the child is

returned to her  Father after her lengthy

absence. A Film Short adaptation 

"Paps and Teeny" was produced in 2005

and shown in several film festivals. (2M/1F)

THE GARDEN CLUB*  (2000)    

The last surviving member of the  Never-Blue Garden Club enters her Winter season while conducting the groups Annual Meeting. (1F)

FAULTY ANGELS* (2000)          

A grieving widower meets his younger self at a turning point in both of their lives.  (2M)

WHEN WE DANCED  (2002) 

Surprise 40th Birthday party brings together a group of collegiate friends facing the challenges of the 21s Century,   including:   AIDS, Child-rearing,  Marriage and Work. (7 F/1M)   Contra Costa Review

STAR POLISHER* (2002)

An elderly woman  polishes Joanne Woodward's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,  celebrating a life spent watching  the films that shaped a Nation.  (1F)

BESSIE!  (2003)  

BESSIE! celebrates a year in the life of the World's Greatest Blues Singer, Bessie Smith -- who took no prisoners as she graced stages across the country forever changing the face of music as we know it.

                                      (5 F/6 M/Ensemble)

NOEL (2003)  

While clearing out her older sister's  belongings, family secrets are unearthed in an attic filled with decades of heirlooms connecting the past  to the future. (1 F)

THE LAST HOORAH (2003)

The bets are on -- and the stakes are high -- when Ike Craddock

proves to his punk rock-wanna be nephew that he can gather his

3 adult children under one roof for July 4th weekend.  Dysfunctional Family Comedy at it's best. (5M/2F)  

STRAIGHT LACED:  A CANTATA   (2004)              Review

An exploration of repartative therapy in an attempt to heal a young man of his homosexuality.     Rossmoor News Critic Charles Jarrett writes:   "Straight-Laced" is how perilously religious dogma and society's pre-conceived and prejudiced belief systems can affect the lives of those in our social structure. A must see play." (8 M/6 W/Ensemble)                  

the LADIES QUINTET   More Info 

(August 2005/2006)  A series of five one act monologues for mature women.  Contra Costa Times Critic Pat Craig writes:       "Playwright Kathryn G. McCarty has taken a remarkable change in direction with her latest work, "The Ladies Quartet," a quintet of short, solo works that are as achingly introspective as they are engaging......"Quartet" is ...  a gentle, heartfelt show that examines the unguarded and quite revealing thoughts of five different women at different stages of their lives..... They range from touchingly funny ....to the bittersweet poignancy.....There is considerable laughter in all of the pieces, but it comes in bursts, between bouts of sadness and bitterness and the other emotional condiments that season a well-lived life....."

Actors in Photographs and Posters:

Dorothea Rastegar, Don Tamblyn,  Catherine Roloff, Dave Kelleher,  Nicki Passeggi, Chris Chapman,  Rachel Pergamit, Alison Owens,  Will Southard, Sonja Christopher, Laura Morgan, Shawn Creighton, Julie Holland, Sean Keehan, Ryan Makris, Bobby Jennings,

Helen Means, Adam Harrison,

Renae Klein, Mark Hinds, John

Andrew Stillions, Mary Ann Hayes,  Katrina Krasser, Alice Kwong,  Bridget Frederick, Sandy Patel,  Carolyn Kraetsch, Sheilah Morrison,  Janice Anderson & Patricia Quinn.

"There are no homosexuals -- just heterosexuals who deviate from the norm.."

Straight Laced

"Too bad they don’t make Republicans like Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt anymore.  The ones that even the Democrats vote for."                                                                       NOEL

"The most beautiful flowers grow in the most foul smelling soil on earth."

THE GARDEN CLUB

"Mama was a hippie before the word was invented."             

NOEL

"Editors Pick"  TBA Magazine, August 2005...

Ms. McCarty's plays have been produced throughout the San Francisco Bay Area at Galatean Players Ensemble Theatre, Onstage Theatre, New  Conservatory Theatre, Contra Costa College and The Dean Lesher Regional         Center for the Arts, in Los Angeles at the Hudson Backstage Theatre and in Chicago at Cafe Voltaire and the Raven Theatre Complex.

Contra Costa Times theatre critic, and Bay Area Critic's Circle Member Pat Craig named her comedy The Fitting Room "One Of The 10 Best Of  the Year In The Bay Area."

"It's in my living will.  Do not rescusitate - but damnit, keep my chin hair plucked!"                                                          Quintet

LADIES QUINTET

STRAIGHT

LACED

BESSIE!

THE LAST HOORAH

STAR POLISHER

WHEN WE DANCED

HENRY EVER AFTER

GARDEN CLUB

NOEL

THE FITTING

ROOM

MODERN WOOLY MAMMOTHS

CRICKET

ON THE HEARTH

DEFINING

FORM

FAULTY

ANGELS

BREAD BAKING TIME

VIRGIN SACRIFICES

RIVETS!

MAIDS

&

MATRONS

RIVETS

LIBRETTO/LYRICS BY KATHRYN G. MCCARTY, MUSIC BY MITCHELL COVINGTON (2008/2009)   A Musical celebration of Rosie the Riveter and the Homefront Soldiers of WW2.    Set in the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, RIVETS explores the lives of the families left behind in WW2.  Reviews include:   “A Sweeping Story, beautifully staged”  Pat Craig Contra Costa Times.  “Wow! What a Show!” Charles Jarrett, Rossmoor News      “Fascinating piece of history!” Sally Hogarty, Walnut Creek Journal     (9 F/9M  Expandable Chorus)

Full  RIVETS REVIEWS

MAIDS & MATRONS

The groom is hours late, the bride allergic to the flowers, the Wedding Planner has designed wedding dresses from hell, a severe storm causes power outages and the deceased town matriarch has taken up residence in the bride's dressing room.   A screwball comedy, written in response to California's Prop 8, examining the effects that gay marriage has on a family.                  (11F/6 m)

T H E    P L A Y S

VIRGIN SACRIFICES*   (2002)

The lovely Bachelorette at table #1 is Shadow and she's lucky enought to have been dating for 25 years!   These  men that taunt her are just.... her imagination playing tricks on her ....as she awaits her blind date.(1F/3M)

All across America,

the lights have dimmed

It's not defeat, we're building strength

That we need to win.

When you think you can't get through it,

You're ready to throw in the towel,

Wait a damn minute and say to yourself

Yes We Can Yes We Can Yes We Can!

RIVETS

"Since I graduated I've been part time at Wilson's Funeral Parlor.  It's a real quiet place.  Nobody talks much."                      MAIDS & MATRONS

Proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

So, ephiphany must be somewhere between orgasm and stroke.          Henry Ever After