"Set in a crumbling future, the play begins with a fatal encounter between two lovers, a monk and a boy," according to Elixir Productions Theatre Company, which is producing the non-Equity world premiere. "The boy commits suicide when the monk threatens to end their affair, and the action picks up eight years later when the monk, now defrocked, is convinced he sees the boy's soul reincarnated in a woman's body."

DeFazio is a recent MFA graduate of Columbia University and author of more than 12 plays, including Radium, Mountainlight and Can I Touch You.

DeFazio was a finalist for the prestigious Princess Grace Playwriting Award.

Directed by Elixir co-founder and longtime DeFazio collaborator Jody P. Person and produced by Faye Rosenbaum, the play showcases Bobby Abid (Dis), Albert Aeed (Seigen), Kelly Markus (Dorian), Jesse Soursourian (Paul), Elizabeth Sugarman (Anon), Brian Sufalko (Nino) and Brady Niederer (The Smiling Man).

The comic-tragic play is a reworking of the classic Kabuki tale The Scarlet Princess of Edo (1813) by Tsuruya Namboku. To Be Loved premieres Nov. 30 at chashama, 217 East 42nd Street, between Second and Third Avenues and plays 8 PM every night except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It ends Dec. 23. Saturday matinees will be performed at 2 PM Dec. 9, 16 and 23.

Admission is $25 or $15 for students. Tickets are available at smarttix.com or cash only at the door the night of the performance.

For more information, including cast video blogs and photos, visit www.elixirproductions.org.

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Elixir Productions is a not-for-profit company "committed to theatre of immediacy and daring that represents the marginalized voice."