Kim Powers

Based on recently discovered materials, BLACK APOLLO is the incredible true story of portrait painter John Singer Sargent (of Madame X fame) and Thomas McKeller, the unknown young Black man he discovered working as an elevator operator - who went on to become the model and muse for one of Sargent's greatest works, a series of mythological murals created for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. But until recently, McKeller's contribution had been entirely erased, essentially whitewashed as a major part of art history. Even more so - as Sargent's possible lover. An epic, theatrical play - with just four characters. RED meets AMADEUS meets MA RAINEY.

SIDEKICKED is a revelatory, one-woman play (or "one broad comedy") about one of the most beloved icons in American TV history: Vivian Vance, who of course played everyone’s favorite neighbor, Ethel Mertz, on “I Love Lucy.” But very few know the real story of Vivian’s life: her tumultuous Midwestern childhood with a religion-crazed mother, her three troubled marriages, and most significantly, the huge nervous breakdown she had, that would be directly responsible for her being “discovered” as Ethel.

On the night of the final taping of “The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour”, Viv addresses all of this to her long-time analyst, an unseen character – essentially the audience – who’s come to her dressing room for a sort of emergency house call. She’s facing what could be a life-altering decision: whether or not to stay on for a “Fred and Ethel” spin-off. Can she ever let go of Ethel – and will her fans even let her? What does she owe herself, and more importantly, what does she owe Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz? If she makes the wrong decision, will she set herself up for another nervous breakdown – the most defining event of her life, which almost derailed her career completely.

Along the way, with hilarity and heartbreak, we begin to see Vivian as an early television pioneer – standing up for her rights long before the word feminism, speaking out about mental health before any other celebrity, and surviving in the studio system, decades before #metoo. .

Deceptively simple on one hand – one set and one actor – the play provides a fantastic opportunity for an actress of a “certain age” – and a rich palette for an imaginative director. All guaranteed to join the pantheon of plays like ANN, BUYER AND CELLAR, and FULLY COMMITTED, that audiences – and actors – love.