- Featured: Business Week Article "Getting A Red Carpet Treatment"
- (October 2009) Produced the World Premiere of Paul Benjamin's "Memoirs".
- (September 2008) Rejuvenated the Legendary "Cambridge Players": Esther Rolle, Royce Wallace, Juanita Moore, Helen Martin, Lynn Hamilton and Supporting Players: Isabel Sandford, Beah Richards, Maya Angelou and founder Edmund J. Cambridge, with "Cambridge Players-Next Generation". Kirk Kelleykahn (CEO-President), Jeff Nutting (CFO), Juanita Moore & Lynn Hamilton (Advisers). Kelleykahn and Doug Fager Produced Celeste Bedford Walker's "Reunion in Bartersville" at the Hollywood Egyptian Theater. The Production made Headlines as KABC 7 Hollywood Guru Reporter "George Pennacchio" Covered the Lavish Event. Kelleykahn and Fager took home the Prestigious NAACP Image Award for Best Producers and Best Ensemble 2009. The Cast included :Amentha Dymally (The District), Roger E. Mosley (Magnum P.I.), Susan Fallender (The Last Dance), Aloma Wright (Scrubs), Mitch Ward (Murder in Mind), Jeris Lee Poindexter (Everybody Hates Chris), Thomas Anthony Jones(JAG), Hawthrone James (Five HeartBeats) and Charlene Tilton (Dallas).
- (February 4, 2014) Los Angeles Times Matthew Lopez's "The Whipping Man," presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre at the Pico Playhouse, is an unusual yet well-crafted drama written with the no-holds-barred emotionalism of vintage Willian Inge or Arthur Miller. The play begins at the close of the Civil War, as the badly wounded Caleb (Shawn Savage) returns to his wealthy family's burned-out home in Richmond. Caleb's family has decamped for safer climes, and only two of their recently freed slaves - Simon (Ricco Ross) and John (Kirk Kelleykahn) -- remain behind. All are Jews, and although Caleb's faith has been shaken by the horrors of war, both Simon and John are still observant - Simon devoutly so. Left bedridden after the amputation of a gangrenous leg, Caleb must come to a new accommodation with his past "property," and they, in turn, must find their place in this new order. But when Simon orchestrates a Passover Seder - particularly resonant in this context - bitter secrets are revealed that will split the trio apart. Lopez's central conceit may seem far-fetched to some. Granted, there was an antebellum Jewish community in Richmond, and Lopez exploits that historical precedent to fervid effect. And if some of the play's many revelatory twists seem a bit unlikely, there's no question that the result is gripping. Buoyed by an excellent production design, particularly Bill Froggatt's haunting sound, director Howard Teichman and a crackling cast render a near-optimum staging. Although his character is somewhat simply rendered, Ross is especially effective as a saintly figure unsullied by bondage and war. Savage and Kelleykahn are also excellent as men coping with bitter pasts and uncertain futures. With material this innately melodramatic, Teichman would have been well-advised to tamp down the histrionics just a tad. Sometimes an anguished whimper can be more effective than a full-throated scream
- (February 25, 2014) The Hollywood Reporter In the backwash of 12 Years a Slave, a film most notable for how it reflects on the present day rather than solely as a window into the past, Matthew Lopez's play The Whipping Man stands out as a different sort of inquiry into the meaning of freedom, which it accurately depicts as much as a matter of the soul and spirit as the body. Kelleykahn makes an indelible individual out of a character who risks validating racial stereotypes by projecting specific motivations, even while hiding them from the others. All perform in a heroic mode that is not so common any longer in the modern drama. The Whipping Man can be old-fashioned to a fault, sometimes slipping into awkward exposition, posturing declamation and clunky interactions. It requires a forgiving, generous attitude to appreciate its genuine originality and substance, but met on its own terms, it is a novel and thought-provoking insight into an astonishing historic fact, making a true contribution to a more nuanced understanding of how things were, but also the way we remain now. Venue: The Pico Playhouse, Rancho Park (runs through April 13) Cast: Ricco Ross, Shawn Savage, Kirk Kelleykahn
- (February 10, 2014) Kabookit CRITIC'S PICK - "The Whipping Man" Kirk Kelleykahn in the role of John, The Whipping Man, West Coast Jewish Theatre at Pico Playhouse Not even the horrors of slavery could douse the fire in Kirk Kelleykahn's young John, now freed but still residing in his owners' former home. John is smart, self-protective, literate, and a dreamer. Having lived in this Jewish home, he's also a member of the faith. John is possibly the most unusual role Kelleykahn will ever have played, but the actor makes the role most noticeable for the careful balancing act he does, making John the much-needed, adorably comic relief in this play about supposedly better times to come. -Dany Margolies
- (Monday, February 17, 2014) - Joe Straw #9 - Kirk Kelleykahn has a very good look as John. John is pathetically mendacious and is in a lot of trouble. The reason he has injured his hand is revealed later in the play, but it's also the reason he is on edge, because trouble and in particular, Freddy Cole (not seen), an "ole cracker", is just outside the door. But now John has embraced indolence, probably because of the outcome of the war. Although he is a liberator, he has to be very careful about being seen outside of the DeLeon house and he needs his counterparts to help him in that regard. Kelleykahn brings a lot of humor to the role. There are many secrets to hide until the moments are right, and Kelleykahn does a tremendous job letting those secrets slip, one moment at a time.
- (Variety Issue April 1, 2014) "Variety" Magazine - Critic's Pick / "Top Five Actors To Watch in 2014" "Kirk Kelleykahn as "John" A Black Jew in The West Coast Jewish Theater Premiere of "The Whipping Man"
- (2016) Best Lead Actor Nomination N.A.A.C.P.
- (2009) "Best Producer" N.A.A.C.P. Image Theater Award
- (2009) "Best Ensemble Cast" N.A.A.C.P. Theater Award
- (March 12, 2021) 1:47pm PT "Variety" "Rain Beau's End" The week's other theatrical and streaming releases are fairly modest, though there are a few titles - including lesbian drama "Rain Beau's End," thriller "The Winter Lake," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-like indie thriller "Honeydew" and the weekly Frank Grillo offering, "Cosmic Sin" - that escaped review, but might be worth investigating on your own.
- (17-April 2021) Trevor Wells (Editor) Geek Magazine - Film Review - Rain Beau's End "Sean Young" is the best of the bunch as the snarky Nat Flickerman, with her quips (particularly her subtly calling Hannah out for how she treats Beau) being consistently entertaining. "Halena Kays" and " Kirk E. Kelleykahn" are similarly fun as Jules and Hannah's respective best friends Kris and Tim.
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