The King of Harlem
2025 Festival
For More Information Contact
John-Michael Lyles, jmlyles1@me.com, (469) 644-5324
Number of Acts: 1
Number of Principals (Male): 6
Number of Principals (Female): 2
Total Cast Size: 8
Orchestra Breakdown:
Keyboard/piano, Percussion/drums, Guitar/keyboard, Bass Guitar, and Woodwind and/or horn
Casting Notes:
8 principals, optional ensemble. Can be done with cast of 8.
Genre & Style:
Americana folk-rock
Synopsis
The King of Harlem follows the story of Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prize fighter who is engaged to marry Sarah, but after a chance encounter with Federico García Lorca, all of the plans Mercy made begin to collapse in the name of desire.
Development History
In 2020, The King of Harlem was accepted into both the second Musical Theatre Factory (MTF) Makers Cohort and the Dramatists Guild Fellows Class of 2021. The following year, it was supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and a Dramatists Guild Foundation-funded research trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, deepening the team’s historical and thematic exploration. In 2022, MTF produced a cold reading at Playwrights Horizons, and with a grant from NYSCA, the team mounted a 29-hour Equity reading directed by Raja Feather Kelly. That same year, the piece was named a finalist for the American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award. In 2024, it had a 29-hour reading at Montclair State University with support from NAMT (Writers Residency Grant), and MTF jointly funded an additional 29-hour reading at the same institution. In 2025, with support from The Bridge, the team will produce a new 29-hour reading and finalize the fifth draft of the piece.