November10, 1997 New York, NY — The Accidental Theatre Company presents TOBY BADGER’S SOUTHPAW SWING, an original work by playwright Kipp Erante Cheng at the Fourth Street Theater from Thursday, December 4 through Sunday, December 14. Directed by John Giampetro, Artistic Director of The Accidental Theatre Company, TOBY BADGER’S SOUTHPAW SWING follows the Taylor family on a cross-country pilgrimage as they attempt to find the lives they lost on the open road. Along the way, they meet a mysterious stranger who may be the missing piece in their search for each other.

Philosopher Jean Baudrillard wrote in his book America, "Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia. Everything is to be discovered , everything to be obliterated." This potential of the open road is captured in TOBY BADGER’S SOUTHPAW SWING as the Taylor’s embark on their journey to remember their son Toby Badger and to reinvent,. with their teenage twins, the American Family. Mr. Cheng explains, "Every summer, my parents would pack the kids in the Chevrolet Impala and drive across the country searching for something called ‘America.’ I have taken these experiences to create a work that both celebrates and challenges this notion."

Kipp Erante Cheng was born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised Chicago and Hawaii. His plays have been seen at theater venues regionally and around New York City, including East West Players, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Ontological Theater and Lincoln Center Theatre Lab. Mr. Cheng was awarded the 1996-1997 Princess Grace Foundation Playwriting Fellowship; the 1997-98 Van Lier Playwriting Fellowship; and the 1997-98 Jerome Foundation/Theatre Communication Group Fellowship. As a journalist, Mr. Cheng writes about technology for Entertainment Weekly, about theater for American Theatre and is a contributing writer to OUT Magazine.

Created in 1992, The Accidental Theatre Company is a New York City-based company that presents a repertory of classical, modern and original plays. The Accidental Theatre Company has received critical acclaim both in New York City and Philadelphia for many of its productions including the original play Wagner’s in the Tub and William Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Tickets for TOBY BADGER’S SOUTHPAW SWING are $12 and can be reserved by phone by calling 212-469-3029 or purchased at the Fourth Street Theatre located at 83 East 4^th Street. The dates and times for TOBY BADGER’S SOUTHPAW SWING are: