Kirk Wood Bromley is a playwright with a mission -- to equal the output of Shakespeare's 40 verse plays. So far, Bromley has seen published and produced six verse plays of his targeted 40, one of which (written in iambic pentameter) will have its West Coast premiere at the Sacred Fools Theatre on Feb. 25.

Want's Unfinished Work is a romantic comedy set in a Women's Studies Institute on a university campus where men have been forbidden access. The scarcity of males results in much sexual frustration and anxiety all around. The target of all this satire is political correctness. Want's Unfinished Work, though only lightly reminiscent of Shakespeare, features cross-dressing, mistaken identities, and a chorus. Bromley's other works include Icarus and Aria and The Death of Griffin Hunter.

Work had a long run in its initial outing in at Nada in New York in 1996. Alexander Yannis Stephano, who was in the original Off-Broadway cast, directs for Sacred Fools Company. The troupe, which considers Bromley's plays ideally suited to its company of classically trained actors, plans multiple productions of his works.

In the cast are Kurt Carley, Nicole Gallie, Caroline Gray Andres, Amy Bryson, Shirley Rocca, Lauren Daniels, Michael Houston King, Scott McShane, Christoper Paul Hart, Dallas Dickinson, Rob Brink, Bryan Bellomo, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Graham McCann, Charles Michael Edmonds, Don Etheridge and Sacha Vaughn.

Set and costumes are by M.F. Dunn, whose work on such previous Sacred Fools productions as Timon of Athens and Preying on Puritans won both Ovation and Garland Awards. The Sacred Fools Theatre is located at 660 N. Heliotrope Drive in Hollywood. The run is through March 27. Call (310) 281-8337.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent