M A S H

by Tim Kelly

Cast size 11m, 11w. This is a wild, free-flowing comedy that's easy to stage. Joining M*A*S*H are two unpredictable madcaps, Hawkeye and Duke. 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 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!

Genres: Plays

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Mr. Kelly, who was born in 1931, wrote more than 300 comedies, dramas, one-acts, mysteries, melodramas, children's shows and musicals, making his living writing for the stock, amateur and educational markets.

He wrote under his own name, and also at least four pseudonyms (Vera Morris, J. Moriarty, Robert Swift, Keith Jackson), for publishers such as Samuel French, Pioneer Drama Service and Contemporary Drama Service, among others.

Pioneer alone has 130 scripts by Kelly, according to Pioneer publisher Steven Fendrich. "It covers the gamut," Fendrich told Playbill On-Line Dec. 10. Mr. Kelly was the first playwright to sign up with the Colorado-based Pioneer when it was founded in 1967 by Fendrich's father.

Reviews

[Hailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a fun read...occasionally.

From the marketing on the play you expect it to be more like the TV show than the book, which it’s not, and that’s okay, just don’t market it like it is.

The play is pretty poorly written as well, with too many storylines and plots jumbled together. Most of the doctors are unlikable as well, the nurses and female characters are where the play truly shines.

It’s interesting to see what MASH could have been (but thankfully wasn’t) and I can see why this play isn’t more well known today.

[librarian4Him02 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I needed a short read to boost my book total for the year. It was on our bookshelf and I liked the t.v. show, so I thought, "Why not?"

It's got the moments of humor and tension just like the t.v. series, so made for a good read. Though it was a bit hard to distance myself from the plot of the series and take this as a stand alone work. In the end I'm glad I decided to pick it up.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adapted from the Movie, (No Klinger) this is a great play that follows the story of the surgeons and nurses of MASH. We did this at my high school and Mike Farrell, B.J. Hunnycutt, came to the show to surprise the students. I do recommend this adaptation. It's clean and has many of the characters that are from the TV show.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading the script of this by Tim Kelly.