Kevin Bowen
Eagan, MN
Playwright, Songwriter, Graphic Designer. Recently plays: Foshay!, The Writer, The Forger’s Apprentice, The Red Tureen, Flushing New York & The Non-Producers.
Biography

 

Kevin Bowen is a playwright and songwriter living in Eagan, Minnesota. He also works as a professional graphic designer at Bowen Design (www.kevinbowendesign.com), which he started and has operated since 1995. He is a member of the Playwright’s Center and the Minnesota Association of Songwriters where he formerly served as their Treasurer. His plays and musicals have been produced and staged throughout Minnesota. 

For more information about any of these completed plays or the new works, please email Kevin at: tctheater@gmail.com

 

Plays

by Kevin R Bowen & Allyn P. Bowen

During the Roaring Twenties, Wilbur Burton Foshay was an ambitious and successful businessman. He opened the Foshay Tower in Minneapolis and was on his way to becoming one of the richest people in the world. Fate, however, and the Great Depression had other plans for him. This world premiere new musical is the true story of a man who, by losing everything, finds himself.

Featuring 31 original songs, Foshay! A New Musical was Mr. Bowen's third full-length musical production. It ran (10 shows) July 21, 2023 through July 30, 2023 at Open Window Theatre, 5300 South Robert Trail, Grove Heights, Minnesota MN and featured the following production team:

Book: Kevin & Lynn Bowen, based on an original concept by Tim Colby

Music and Lyrics: Kevin Bowen

Director: Amanda Weis

Arrangements: William W. Brueggemann, David Neville, Travis Anderson

Music Director and Pianist: Anna Murphy

Music Assistant: Jean Orbison Van Heel

Scenic and Props Design: Nate Farley

Assistant Scenic and Props: Tim Colby

Costume Design: Marybeth Schmid

Lighting Design: Alex Clark

Sound Design: Jeremy Stanbary

Stage Manager: Kathryn Humnick

Assistant Stage Manager: Lauren Volkart.

 

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Cast:
THE ORIGINAL FOSHAY! CAST: Michael Conroy (Wilbur Burton Foshay) Yvonne Freese (Leota Hutchinson Foshay) Joshua Meltzer (Henry Howe Henley) Sammi Penick (Genevieve Clark/Bernice Henley/others) Kyle Camay (Reporter 3/Prosecutor/others) Aly O’Keefe (Reporter 2/others) Nick Manthe (Reporter 2, Léon Arnal, others)
by Mark Forgy, Kevin Bowen & C.S. McNerlin. Music by Kevin Bowen & C.S. McNerlin with orchestration and additional music by Martha Davis.

In this true story, a young Midwestern man (Mark Forgy) chronicles his life on the Mediterranean Island of Ibiza where he befriends, and then ends up working for a man who's life holds many secrets; Elmyr de Hory, the artist known as "The World's Greatest Art Forger."

For information about producing a remount of the 60-Minute One Act or the Full-Length Musical, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

 

This video clip is from when "The Forger's Apprentice" was first produced as part of the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival. It was remounted in 2015 at the Sabes Theater in St. Louis Park as a two-hour production with orchestra, and featured the following production team:

Cast:
Elmyr de Hory (Robert Krueger), Young Mark (Zakary Morton), Francois Corbeau (Rhett Romsaas), Mark Forgy (Todd Bruse), Agent Martine (Yvonne Freese), Carmen (Sarah Shervey), Bo Jennigns (Joseph Kastner), Sargento Primero (Ricardo Riley), The Judge (Meri Golden). Directed by Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha. Music Direction, Piano by Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell. Stage Manager, Set Design, Props by Tim Colby. Costumes by Robert Yarwood. Set Construction/Design by John W. Olive. Script by Mark Forgy, Kevin Bowen & C.S. McNerlin. Music and Lyrics by Kevin Bowen & C.S. McNerlin. Arrangements, Additional Music, Synthesizer by Martha Davis. Percussion by Kian Dziak. Guitar by Kyle Simons & Joe Filipovich. Produced by Jim McDonough Jr., Ph.D. © 2013, 2015 By Mark Forgy, Kevin Bowen & C. S. McNerlin. All Rights Reserved.
by Kevin Bowen & James Lundy. Music by Kevin Bowen & Martha Davis

Kilkieran Valley is hungry—but so is Father Padraig Bones. Returning from Galway to his small boyhood farm in Ireland, Padraig reunites with his brother William, but then skirmishes with conniving British soldiers, rebellious Irish farmers, and a fickle crop. Why did his father commit the crime that shattered his family forever? 

A play that addresses the question of what happens to a society that uses food as a political weapon. 

For information about producing a remount of the 60-Minute One Act Musical or the Full-Length Musical, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fIJGmxtdQ8&feature=youtu.be

Featuring 21 original songs, The Red Tureen was first produced in the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival, where it was a Pioneer Press “Must See” and finished 6th in total tickets sold out of 162 plays that year. It was remounted in 2011 at the Howard Conn Theater in Minneapolis as a two-hour production with a fifteen piece orchestra, and featured the following production team:

Cast:
Father Padraig Bones (Bill Marshall), Maeb McCullen (Aly Westberg), William Bones (Chris Deutsch), Cinnie McMonigal (Katia Cardenas), "Old Robert" McCullen (Rich Soule), Fiona Duffy (Francesca Caviglia), Major Trevor Hawkins (Steven Pundt), Sinead McKenzie (Abbey Ortiz), Land Agent Roland Starkey (Clark Donnelly), Rosheen Duffy (Keara Hannan), Publican Lonan McMonigal (Steve McKillen), Lieutenant Browne-Brown & Seamus McBrennen (David Gottfried), Lieutenant Maurice Dobbs & Seth McPhee (Ben Stasny), Lieutenant Cecil Wiggins & Sean Duffy (Morgan Jellison), David Shannon (Carson Brooks), Aidan Duffy (John Lace). Produced and Directed by Michael Sheeks. Music Direction by Andrew Kust. Dramaturgy by Jo Holcomb. Costumes by Rose Lundy. Stage Management by Hannah Soule.© 2009, 2011 By Kevin Bowen, James Lundy & Martha Davis. All Rights Reserved.
by Kevin Bowen and Lynn Bowen

For Liam Dwelling, an Irish writer-in-residence at THE DWELLING PLACE B & B, life is messy. A complex marriage, failing business, and unpredictable friends make it difficult to work through his writer’s block.

For information about producing a remount of the 60-Minute (7 actor), please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Directed by: M. Scott Taulman   Stage Manager: Abi Carlson   Props: Tim Colby   Featuring music by: Kevin Bowen & Martha Davis   © 2019 By Kevin Bowen & Lynn Bowen. All Rights Reserved.  

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at  tctheater@gmail.com

For updates on The Dwelling Place LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE.

 

 

https://youtu.be/21DNRfTvP1Y

Cast:
TJ Charlson Shelley Wolf Scott Horvik  Roberta Gibbons  Sam Bates-Norum Jessica Thompson Passaro KT Thompson
by Kevin Bowen & Lynn Bowen

 

New York plumber Hank Tinkler's emotions are clogged, but hope flushes eternal. Will his beloved 1955 Brooklyn underdogs finally win this year? A nostalgic and tender look at America's favorite pastimes: baseball, family and plumbing.

For information about producing a remount of the 60-Minute (5 actor) One Act or the 90-Minute (8 actor) One Act, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Flushing New York is currently being revised and expanded, but was first produced in 2014 featuring the following production team:

Cast:
Redi Tinkler (Susan Dempsey), Henry Thomas Tinkler (Paul Schoenack), Charlie Tinkler (M. Scott Taulman), Carol Harrington (Anna Olson), Mrs. Gladys Plotka, The Hostess, Mrs. Ruth Fuller & Carmela Sanchez (Meri Golden). Directed by Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha. Props, Set Pieces, Television/Radio Announcer & Stage Manager (Tim Colby). Featuring music by Kevin Bowen & Brian Warzeha.© 2015, 2016 By Kevin Bowen and Lynn Bowen. All Rights Reserved.
by Kevin Bowen

The play's the thingy! The Queen is visiting Stratford-beyond-Avon for some royal business and wants to take in a show. The local Shakespearean community theater company — The All’s Well That Ends Well Players — are the only game in town. They have one more hour to prepare for the show. They are not ready.

Part of the 2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival, August 4 - 14h - at the Rarig Thrust Stage.

 

For more information about this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

 

Cast:
There were five performances during the Minnesota Fringe Festival, which ran from August 4 – August 14, 2016. WHERE: U of M Rarig Center Thrust, 330 21st Av S, Main Floor Photo illustration by Kevin Bowen. Photos © iStockphotos.com
by Kevin Bowen & James Lundy

A chance meeting between playwrights Hyman Gaines and Antonia Brunowski spells murder, mystery and mayhem in this psychological thriller. Presented on the Rarig Thrust stage as part of the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival. One act, approximately 60 minutes.

Cast:

"Playwrights on a Train", directed by Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha, with Bill Marshall as "Hyman Gaines", Caroline Vodacek as "Antonia Brunowski", M.Scott Taulman as "Jack Phillips"/"Officer Frankie Benedetta"/"Barry", Anna Olson as "Meredith Gaines"/"Lina"/"Catherine Brenner"/"Waitress Marilyn", and Jack Squier as "Pullman Conductor"/"Officer Eddie Donovan".

 

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Cast:
© 2017 by Kevin Bowen & James Lundy. Photo: © istockphoto.com
by Kevin Bowen & Lynn Bowen

A Russian chess master with a long-held secret squares off against a young New York playwright for the match of his life.

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Cast:
This is a new work. © 2016 - 2023 By Kevin Bowen. All Rights Reserved. Photo © iStockphotos.com

by Kevin Bowen & M. Scott Taulman

SHORT DESCRIPTION

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Five actors perform five shows for five times the fun! An evening of short plays presented by TROMPE L'OEIL featuring a potpourri of comedy, drama and a dollop of surrealism.

Audition Addition, written by Kevin Bowen & M. Scott Taulman

Love at First Sight, written by Kevin Bowen

How to Catch A Squirrel in Your Fireplace, written by Kevin Bowen

Safe Space, written by Kevin Bowen

Butterheads, written by Kevin Bowen

Part of the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival, August 2 - 12th - at Theatre in the Round.

A preview clip from Butterheads:

https://youtu.be/9X-MVA1CkA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X-MVA1CkA0&feature=youtu.be

For more information about this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Cast:
Tinne Rosenmeier, Rob Ward, Emily Garst, Phil Hoelscher, Andrew Rosdail, plus a cameo role by Sage Backer. Photo illustration by Kevin Bowen. Photos © iStockphotos.com
by Kevin Bowen

A play in ten-minues. A powerful new two-person absurdist play about the complicated relationships that exist between men and women.

 

Originally produced as part of the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival, August 2 - 12th - at Theatre in the Round.

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

 

Cast:
Emily Garst and Phil Hoelscher. © 2017 By Kevin Bowen. All Rights Reserved. Photo: © creativecommonsstockphotos | Dreamstime Stock Photos

by Kevin Bowen

SHORT DESCRIPTION

A play in ten-minues. Ever wonder what the butterhead sculptures at the county fair talk about when everyone else has gone home? This play has the scoop. This is a six-person absurdist comedy featuring a flexible casting blend of male and female actors.

Originally produced as part of the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival, August 2 - 12th - at Theatre in the Round.

https://youtu.be/9X-MVA1CkA0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X-MVA1CkA0&feature=youtu.be

 

 

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

Cast:
Tinne Rosenmeier, Rob Ward, Emily Garst, Phil Hoelscher, Andrew Rosdail and Sage Backer. © 2018 By Kevin Bowen. All Rights Reserved. Photo: © iStockphotos.com
by Kevin Bowen

A play in ten minutes. In this provocative two-person show, a writer is compelled to consider a Faustian bargain proffered by an old friend.

For information about producing this show, please contact Kevin Bowen at tctheater@gmail.com

 

 

Cast:
This is a new work that has not yet been published or produced. © 2019 By Kevin Bowen. All Rights Reserved.
by Kevin Bowen, Lynn Bowen & Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha. With original music by Natalie Davis-Goshey.

A play that explores what happens when the technology of today collides with a preliterate, non-industrial agrarian society of the future. A post-apocalyptic-comedic-love-story. 

The Oracle was first produced in 2015 featuring the following production team:

Cast:
Stanley (M. Scott Taulman), Prudence (Yvonne Freese), Francis (Jesse Carlson). Directed by Deon Haider. Props, Stage Manager, Set Design by Tim Colby. Music by Natalie Davis-Goshey. © 2015 By Kevin Bowen, Lynn Bowen & Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha. All Rights Reserved.

Successes

READ THE REVIEWS FROM FOSHAY! A NEW MUSICAL:

TALKIN’ BROADWAY By Arthur Dorman: https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/minn/minn1168.html?fbclid=I...

BROADWAY WORLD By Jared Fessler Jul. 30, 2023: https://www.broadwayworld.com/minneapolis/article/Review-FOSHAY-THE-MUSI...

BROADWAY WORLD by Jared Fessler Jul. 28, 2023: https://www.broadwayworld.com/minneapolis/article/Interview-Michael-Conr...

MINNEAPOLIS LABOR REVIEW by Steve Share, Editor, July 26, 2023: https://minneapolisunions.org/mlr2023-07-26_foshay_the_musical_reviewed....