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 boxing his way to glory at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, 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.
Fest Fast Facts
- In the summer of 1929, still reeling from a recent heartbreak in Spain, Federico Garcia Lorca enrolled in a summer session at Columbia. A student magazine wrote this about his first weeks: “The students at Columbia University, the Negro elevator attendants of Furnald Hall, the telephone operator downstairs, are all familiar with the deep bows, the peculiar walk, the pirouettes, the exaggerations, and the charm of Federico Lorca.”
- David and John-Michael began collaborating while getting their BFA’s at Pace University! Their first musical was a gay love story titled: “You Wish!”
- David and John-Michael have a shared Spotify playlist called: Livin’ La Vida Lorca-with musical inspirations that include luminaries from the last century like Cab Callaway, Billy Strayhorn, and Duke Ellington. We also are very inspired by musical storytellers of this century like Rosalia, Anais Mitchell, and Beyoncé. The score is a blend of Americana Blues, Harlem Jazz and Spanish Folk.
- On a writing retreat, John-Michael and David were so enthralled by research that we gifted the librarians of Columbia University with a “thank you” Starbucks gift card because they answered so many of our over-caffeinated-incredibly-specific questions via email! Questions like: how many black students, janitors and elevator operators were a part of the John Jay dorms? Ya know… the essentials!
- The King of Harlem is currently fostering grant support from Musical Theater Factory, the Lucille Lortel 121 Project and The Bridge (a new program that seeks to bridge the gap between new musicals and production). With this consistent and generous support, the musical will have a choreography lab in the fall and an industry reading in the coming year helmed by Raja Feather Kelly.