Produced Works

Turn

M'Balia Singley

Using themes from Shakespeare’s Othello, M’Balia Singley confronts her experience as a Black woman in America with equal parts humor and honesty in this brand-new theatrical work. Turn weaves original songs, comedy, and engrossing stories into a performance that is both sweeping and intimate. From societal expectations to relatable family dysfunction, Singley turns to the unlikely 16th century play and finds connections to our 21st century lives.

The Kimmel Center is proud to present the world premiere of Turn, which was conceived during the artist's time as a Kimmel Center Theater Residency artist in June 2018. The Kimmel Center’s Theater Residency Program is created to help support theater artists create new work in partnership with Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. The Theater Residency program is generously supported by the Lida Foundation.

Date: February 26 – 29, 2020

Written, Composed, and Performed by M’Balia Singley
Directed by Starfire (Christina May)
Lighting Design by Peter Whinnery
Set Design by Angela Faranda
Costume Design by Rosemarie McKelvey
Music Direction by Jimmy Coleman
Arrangements by Keith Giosa
Band: Stan Davis and Mateo Gloistein
Stage Managed by Melody Wong

The Conversationalists

James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis

The Conversationalists is a movie James and Jerome have written together, but which the audience never sees. Rather, the film is passionately described for the audience, shot by shot, by the performers, while a chamber ensemble on stage plays the acoustic and electronic score live. In this way, the spectacle of the movie occurs in the minds of the audience members. That "movie" itself is an international melodrama about the triangular friendship (and sometimes enemyship) between a Colombian-born Mexican-raised pop-ranchera star, her teenage son, and a Palestinian-born Jordanian-raised owner of a chess shop in Greenwich Village. The Conversationalists is experienced at once as a theater piece, a concert, a sort of radio play, a night of storytelling, and a movie dreamed together.

World Premiere Run Date: November 7 – 9, 2019

Performed by James Harrison Monaco, Jerome Ellis, Michelle J. Rodriguez, Delaney Stockli, and John Murchison
Written and Composed by James & Jerome (James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis)
Directed by Annie Tippe
Additional music by Michelle J. Rodriguez, Delaney Stockli, and John Murchison
Lighting Design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Stage Management by Kelly Kirby

Polly Mope

Molly Pope

How Do You Get Through the Night? Molly Pope tackles this question by inviting an audience to her 6th floor walkup for a sharp, witty, comedically candid musical. As dim dusk gives way to manic night, the one woman show breaks the fourth wall to tell an intimate and poignant story about coping with humanity, mental health, and keeping yourself company.

World Premiere: May 9 – 11, 2019

Written & Performed by Molly Pope
Music by Molly Pope & Matt Aument
Directed by Julian Fleisher
Lighting Design by Masha Tsmiring
Costume Design by DW
Matt Aument, Piano
Nanci Belmont, Bassoon
Aaron Drescher, Drums
Jeremy Yaddow, Drum Charts
Stage Manager, Melody Wong

Due to the Sensitive Nature

Artist: Martha Stuckey

In Due To The Sensitive Nature, Martha Stuckey recounts moments of pleasurable pain and painful pleasure with hilarity, vulnerability, and secret sharing. Haunting and hostile, Martha's voice soars as she sings folk melodies cut with 80's pop synth alongside the unearthly sounds of steel guitar. It's clear Stuckey is trapped. The mystery lies in how she got there or if she even wants to escape.

World Premiere: April 12 – 14, 2018

Co-produced and created by Martha Stuckey in collaboration with the cast and creative team
Directed by Sam Tower
Lighting Design by Alyssandra Docherty
Set, Prop, & Projection Design by Scotty Gunderson
Costume Design by Hanna Hamilton
Martha Stuckey, Vocals
Ben Diamond, Drums & Percussion
Isaac Stanford, Steel Guitar
Dan Finn, Keyboard
Matteo Scammell, Guitar
Stage Manager, Nicole Labadie-Bartz

The Johnny Shortcake Show

David Sweeny

The Johnny Shortcake Show is a charming children’s musical that is fun for the whole family. Themed around celebrating silliness, the show features soul music for children, teaches important life lessons, and feels like one big disco party. With fun, engaging, and relatable songs such as “Cupcake Tuesday,” “Brushing your Teeth,” and “Grandma’s Whiskers,” the show truly celebrates childhood in a way that will have parents grooving and laughing along.

World Premiere: January 27-28, 2018 

David Sweeny as Johnny Shortcake
Created by David Sweeny, Bradley K. Wrenn, James Michael Baker and the Shortcake Ensemble
Directed by Bradley K. Wrenn
Costume Design by Natalia de la Torre
Prop Design by Natalia de la Torre
Lighting Design by Lindsay Stevens
Actors: Justin Jain & Sarah Knittel
Band: James Michael Baker, Ross Bellenoit, & Matthew Keppler
Stage Manager, Krista Thorp

The Culture

Artist: Courtnee Roze

She will take audiences on a musical journey through her life, highlighting various influences that have inspired her sound-- hitting on issues such as racism and love. A symbol of female empowerment playing a powerful instrument, Roze’s music is a fusion of afro beats, funk, and spoken word. The Culture will not only feature a diverse musical soundtrack, but will include non-traditional vocal patterns, dance and tactical staging.

World Premiere: October 26 – 28, 2017

Written and Performed by Courtnee Roze
Lighting Design by Terry Smith
Band: Joy Morales, Melanie JB Charles, Soleye Parker, Ahmed Abdurrahman, & Kenji Tokunaga
Stage Manager, Annie Halliday

Black Light

Artist: Daniel Alexander Jones

Channeling greats such as Diana Ross, Lena Horn, and Josephine Baker, Jomama presents fans old and new with an entirely original score, and storytelling art that confronts the fears and frights of today with a radiating gorgeous light.

Called brilliant and versatile, Daniel Alexander Jones brings the diva alter ego Jomama Jones to glorious life – complete with a unique voice, energetic musical numbers, soulful singing, and a stellar band. This 90-minute cabaret-style evening creates a safe and engaging atmosphere, as Jomama invites the audience to imagine a loving and bright future together.

Philadelphia Premiere: May 4 – 6, 2017 

Daniel Alexander Jones as Jomama Jones
Samora Pinderhuges, Piano
Joshua Quat, Guitar
Sean Dixon, Percussion
Bobby Halvorson, Guitar
Benjamin James Kelly, Bass
Helga Davis, Vocals
Stage Manager, Melody Wong

Lashed But Not Leashed

Dito Van Reigersberg

Martha Graham Cracker lives inside the frenzied mind, body and spirit of Pig Iron Theatre Company co-founder Dito van Reigersberg. Backed by a live band, Martha croons a music-driven fever dream of a show about a life of hard living and even harder loving. The dazzling drag-cabaret darling excavates her distorted past, belting out original tunes and dishing up ridiculous stories and side-splitting asides. Roughed up and worked over, Martha comes up with an unusual plan to barricade herself from loves lost, but not forgotten.

She's been disappointed by love and that fickle mistress called show biz one too many times, and now she is determined to protect her delicate heart by barricading herself in the most unlikely of places: the library. Trading glitter and glamour for pensive quiet and study, Martha decides to pursue a graduate degree in library science, but even amongst the stacks there is no escape from love.

World Premiere: March 16 – 18, 2017 

Dito van Reigersberg as Martha Graham Cracker
Collaborating Songcrafters and Performers: Vince Federici, Eliza Hardy Jones, and David Sweeny
Directed by Joanna Settle
Costume Design by Max Brown
Lighting Design by Oona Curley
Andrew Nelson, Bass
Kanako Omae Neale, Percussion
Stage Manager, Melody Wong

The Outer Space

Ethan Lipton

Ethan Lipton (No Place to Go, Red-Handed Otter) brings a new adventure in bittersweet and hilariously off-kilter storytelling. With music composed and performed by Lipton, Vito Dieterle, Eben Levy, and Ian Riggs, The Outer Space tells the story of a couple who buys an old spaceship, leaving the noise, pollution, and overpriced rents of Earth for the vast beauty and treacherous terrain of the final frontier. But can they survive the mission?

Leigh Silverman (No Place to Go, Well, Violet) directs this out-of-this-world musical about the sacrifices we make for sustainable living and love. The New York Times calls Obie-winning playwright and songwriter Ethan Lipton an “expert at keeping music, jokes and personal narrative tightly knitted together into one consistent human package.”

Concert Premiere: December 1 – 3, 2016 

Book and Lyrics by Ethan Lipton
Music composed and performed by Ethan Lipton, Vito Dieterle, Eben Levy and Ian Riggs
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Lighting Design by Thom Weaver
Stage Manager, Melody Wong

Mi Voca Su Voca

Artist: Edwin Torres

Celebrated poet Edwin Torres integrates autobiographical poems alongside experimental pieces in a unique theatrical performance that crosses borders between poetry, identity, language and sound. With themes ranging from growing up Puerto Rican in New York City to fatherhood to his Nuyo-Futurist evolution, this one-man performance captures the transformative power of poetry to move us in fascinating ways.

World Premiere: April 20 – 22, 2016 

Written and Performed by Edwin Torres
Text & Sound Design by Edwin Torres
Co-Directed by Jay Wahl
Co-Directed by Lane Savadove
Set Design by Dara Wishingrad
Lighting Design by Mike Inwood
David Brown, Percussion (recorded)
Brandon Kalber, Bass (recorded)
Stage Manager, Lauren Ackerman
Technical Director, James Jackson

Estuary: An Artist/Mother Story

Artist: Jamie Leonhart

Jamie Leonhart’s Estuary: an artist/mother story is a musical exploration of the challenges and unanticipated realities of being an artist and a new parent. The nascence of this piece began soon after the birth of Leonhart’s son, with the realization that the lens through which she had previously seen her life as an artist had changed. Leonhart navigates the changes in her artistic work, her relationship with her husband, and this new insane world of everything “baby” with equal parts humor and heartache.

World Premiere: February 4 – 6, 2016

Written and Performed by Jamie Leonhart
Directed by Joanna Settle
Lighting Design by Masha Tsmiring
Assistant Director, Shira Berger
Michael Leonhart, Music Director & Piano
Eleonore Oppenheim, Bass
Laura Lutzke, Violin
Sara Phillips, Bass Clarinet & Bflat Clarinet
Emma Andriatch, Vocals
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Vocals
Stage Manager, Matthew Bantock

Hello! Sadness!

Artist: Mary Tuomanen

This one-woman dark comedy traverses the themes of feminism and madness, featuring Joan of Arc, Emily Dickinson, The FBI, The Black Panther Party, New Wave star Jean Seberg, saints, sex workers—and a dog named Blanco.

World Premiere: June 11 – 13, 2015

Written and Performed by Mary Tuomanen
Made in Collaboration with Aaron Cromie & Rebecca Wright
Directed by Annie Wilson
Sound Design by Adriano Shaplin
Lighting & Video Design by Maria Shaplin
Stage Manager, Bayla Rubin
Technical Director, Rajiv Shah

8 Stops

Artist: Deb Margolin

A Comedy Concerning the Grief of Endless Compassion. Compassion makes such sacred, sacred fools of us! It is about apologizing to things for throwing them in the garbage! It is about hearing the voices of creatures that do not speak! It is about having only 8 stops, wanting to raise, in 8 subway stops, a little boy thrust here from another country with people who could not love him! I meet this boy once, and never again! I have only 8 stops to fill him with a sense of safety and love! 8 stops and no more! I try; I try and try to do it! It is about the mortal body! Shall I say more? Whoever knows what s/he's really talking about?

World Premiere: April 24 – 26, 2014

Written and Performed by Deb Margolin
Directed by Jay Wahl
Set Design by Dara Wishingrad
Lighting Design by Thom Weaver
Sound Design by Christopher Colucci
Costume Design by Rosemarie McKelvey
Prop Supervisor, Kathy Fabian
Dramaturgy by Jay Wahl and Merri Ann Milwe
Stage Manager, Lauren Tracey
Technical Director, Rajiv Shah