Frankie Little Hardin

In 1948, two rural communities south of Atlanta were rocked by one sensational murder. The man who was eventually put on trial for the crime was known locally as ‘The King of the Kingdom’ – he was John Wallace, a notorious landowner in Meriwether county; a legendary moonshiner, a larger than life figure regaled for his prime cows, his beautiful wife and his explosive temper. The murder victim, William Turner, had worked for Wallace before he allegedly stole two cows from his boss for back pay. Wallace made sure that Turner was released from the Meriwether county jail with just enough gas to get away from the courthouse so his good friend the Sheriff wouldn’t be implicated in what happened next. The plan was, Wallace and some other good ole, good-for-nothing boys would follow Turner out of town, chase him down and when he ran out of gas, teach him what happens to those who dared to challenge the king. Their plan went south when Turner went north and made it just over the county line - into Coweta County, where Sheriff Lamar Potts was not one of Wallace’s cronies.
It’s a fascinating true story, filled with singular and unforgettable characters – Wallace, Turner and their long suffering wives. Mayhayley Lancaster, a true eccentric and self-proclaimed Oracle of the Ages. Budding journalist Celestine Sibley, who covered the trial for the Atlanta Constitution. In the end, Wallace’s conviction and life hung on the testimony from two of his other farmhands – two black men, Albert Brooks and Robert Lee Gates - the men who burned the body and whose courage in stepping up to tell the truth, despite the consequences for themselves and their families, sent Wallace to the electric chair.
We tell this old story in a new musical that features 14 original songs in the musical vernacular of the period and place. Liberties have been taken but the characters are all based on real people and the plot follows the actual trial transcript.

A woman finds herself in an active shooting at a suburban mall. After she is shot, her shooter takes refuge nearby. Eventually, they talk.

In the 1880's WAR raged in America - in the Chesapeake Bay, between two groups of Watermen: The old style Tongers vs. those who had adapted the newer technology of Dredging. And Pirates too - Violence and murder was common. Inspired by historical record, this new musical also has an environmental theme, as in the song "Get 'er Today, The Hell with Tomorrow", where the frenzy over a precious resource made everyone put aside personal morality for the sake of the haul.

In twelve scenes, the unique history of Birding in America...begins in 1931, when the last Heath Hen in existence meets a Model T, veers back to the early 1800's - and John James Audubon - and forward to an imagined future in the year 2039. It's an epic love story, in heartbreaking detail.

Brad's got a secret. He's leveraging his two bedroom apartment to accommodate three men...one of whom is his 13 year old son. And it's working - until the state of Georgia decides to get involved. It's a Boys Only Bedroom farce.

Based on historical fact, this work of fiction concerns itself with Frederick Douglass and three of the most important women in his life: His first wife of 44 years, Anna Murray, a freedwoman who helped him escape to freedom and gave him his five children; his oldest daughter Rosetta; and his longtime German mistress, the journalist and writer Ottilie Assing.
The play encapsulates 30 years in Douglass’s lifetime – from his first meeting with Assing to the time of her death, when she committed suicide in a Paris park following his second marriage to another, younger woman.
Within the framework of first and last scenes that take place in the afterlife, the play combines history and scandal with women’s issues, all taken with a moderate dose of good sense and humor.
The Greater Love has had a workshop staging (40th Street Stage) and was featured as one of Utah Shakespeare Festival's New American Playwrights Reading Series in 2012.

A high profile case comes to the law offices where David Simmons and Jeremiah Knowles are junior partners; a coalition of gay rights groups has decided to take the issue of gay marriage to the Supreme Court. David, who lost his chance to argue before the High Court the year before when his wife was very sick and eventually died, is given the case.
The plaintiffs in the case are a married lesbian/bisexual couple, Jen and Sarah. Jen, now in a wheelchair, is determined to fight for the rights denied to them when she was in the hospital fighting for her life. The accident that devastated the couple has also strained the marriage, though they are not aware of it yet –they’re not letting themselves be. Unwittingly, David and Sarah find themselves falling in love, even as the legal case proceeds. In ‘moot’, the two lawyers argue the points of the argument. In the end, everyone must choose between love and their duty to themselves, the truth, and the cause they fight for.

In a small town south of the city, a group of women – and one man – come together every month for a potluck supper. They are a diverse and engaging group, with ages ranging from mid-20s’ to early 70’s; They are straight and gay; black, white and Asian; they work as bartenders, CPA’s and booksellers but they all have one thing in common: their former profession, as Working ‘Girls’. Now, they enjoy each other’s company; they share their lives, their hopes and dreams and the search for everlasting love as they break bread each month. But….a new arrival in the group is about to call into question everything about whom they believe themselves to be, and what they hold most dear.

In the waning days of the Roman Empire, one woman’s death at the hands of a Christian mob came to be seen as the symbolic end of a golden age of Reason and civil order, and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Her name was Hypatia, and she was a scientist, teacher and philosopher, living and working in the great city of Alexandria.
The Play’s narrator of sorts is Dolora, Hypatia’s maid of all work and considered mad by all who know her. She is able to reach out to us with the story of her mistress – beloved daughter, teacher, friend and above all, a voice of intellect in a time when the Empire’s civil authority is fast losing ground to growing power of the Church.
Two men have come to Alexandria, and both intend to rule it: Orestes is the new Roman Governor, and Cyril is the new Bishop. Their struggle for power will plunge the city into chaos, and cost Hypatia her life – and her entire life’s work.

In the Spring of 2002, Nikki Johnson, a theatre student at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, was found shot to death, murdered in her home. Lying beside her was Tyrone Haines, her ex-boyfriend. Apparently Tyrone had waited outside that morning until Nikki’s mother left for work. He kicked the door in, followed Nikki upstairs as she tried to flee to her bedroom. Nikki was able to call 9-11 before Tyrone broke in her door. He shot her five times. Then he turned the gun on himself.
The Theatre Department, both faculty and students, were stunned by Nikki’s death, and we began to talk about a way to both remember Nikki’s light and to address the much larger issue of violence against women in a way that would honor her memory with action and substance. Willow Song/Memoriam is the result. The director of the ODU Theatre Department, Christopher Hanna (now the Artistic Director of Virginia Stage Company) conceived the format: Take Shakespeare’s Othello and weave this timeless story of jealousy and violence into Nikki’s story, as told by our students and others.
Five students spent many summer hours talking to and interviewing other students. As example of their dedication to the project, they were able to track down and interview the CSI technician who did Nikki’s crime scene, as well as a young man who was in an anger management program after his arrest for hitting his wife; a woman who works with battered women, and a man who counsels students. We also made the chilling discovery that our very own costume shop manager was herself a survivor of domestic violence. Taking these interviews and my own battered copy of Othello I crafted the text; a literary docu-drama; think, a lyrical and timeless Laramie Project that shines a very bright light on domestic violence.

The play that resulted has been called “hard hitting”… “thought provoking” … “heart-felt” … “haunting”. The show, with our student actors, went up and down the East Coast touring college campuses; the company also went to the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where one critic wrote: “It could have easily been sentimental slush instead of the fascinating production that it is”. Whenever possible we always had a counselor standing by to answer questions, offer solutions. Many women came forward after curtain to tell us their own stories; many sought and received help. We cried, a lot. This play changed lives.

This original work is an adaptation of the book "Thunder Dog", with the permission of its co-authors, Susy Flory and Michael Hingson. Michael was born blind, and has lived a life of accomplishment and courage. On 9-11, Michael and his guide dog Roselle were working on the 78th floor of the North Tower. The play tells Michael’s story of growing up with parents who treated him no differently than his older brother - challenges faced and overcome - it also tells the story of that day, 9- 11.

Synopsis: A young woman writer, Susy, arrives at the home of Michael Hingson and his wife Susy; her purpose is to talk with, interview Michael about his life and accomplishments, including those on 9-11, when he and his guide dog Roselle came down 78 floors in the World Trade Center to escape only moments before the South Tower collapsed. But Michael’s achievement that day is only the latest in the life filled with purpose and lived with courage; a life that is told through flashback scenes on stage. The story of 9-11 is also told, but completely in the dark; we’ll experience that day just as Michael did – in the dark.

The play requires extensive sound effects. The cast, seen, onstage, consists of 5 M, 2W + one dog. It is to be played without intermission; running time should come in at around 80 minutes.