KING KIRBY Will Come to brooklynONE's Tom Kane Theatre in August

As museums, artists, comic book creators, and fans across the country celebrate what has been dubbed “The Year of Jack Kirby,” brooklynONE productions will add a live theatrical chapter to the celebration with KING KIRBY, written by Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente and directed by Bill Coulter.

The production will play eight performances, August 20–30, at the Tom Kane Theatre, brooklynONE's home at Industry City in Brooklyn.

From the creation of Jack Kirby Way on New York City's Lower East Side to major exhibitions and special programming at San Diego Comic-Con, 2026 has brought renewed attention to the extraordinary life, art, and influence of the man known throughout the comic book world as “The King.”

Now, just a few miles from the neighborhood where Kirby was born and raised, brooklynONE will bring his remarkable story to the stage.

“Jack Kirby was a Brooklyn-sized dreamer whose imagination changed the entire landscape of popular culture,” said Anthony Marino, Co-founder and Artistic Director of brooklynONE productions. “With New York finally placing his name on the streets that helped shape him, and the comics community coming together to call this the Year of Jack Kirby, there could not be a more meaningful moment to tell his story. We are proud to add our production to this long-overdue celebration of his life, his art, and his fight to be recognized.”

In May, New York City officially co-named Essex Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets Jack Kirby Way, honoring the legendary artist near the site of his Lower East Side birthplace. The dedication was accompanied by the opening of The Jack Kirby Way: How a Boy From the Lower East Side Became the King of Comics, an exhibition featuring original artwork, rare comics, and artifacts exploring Kirby's New York upbringing, Jewish heritage, and enduring influence.

San Diego Comic-Con continued the celebration in July with programming including The Year of Jack Kirby: A Star-Studded Celebration, the annual Jack Kirby tribute panel, Jack Kirby's Greatest Villains, appearances by members of the Kirby family, and discussions with leading comic book creators, historians, and former Kirby collaborators.

Against this backdrop of national recognition, KING KIRBY examines the deeply human story behind the legendary artwork.

The fast-paced, inspiring, hilarious, and heartbreaking play follows Kirby from his humble beginnings as Jacob Kurtzberg on New York's Lower East Side through the battlefields of World War II and into the explosive rise of the American comic book industry.

Along the way, audiences witness Kirby's creative triumphs, his partnership with Joe Simon, his complicated relationship with Stan Lee, his devotion to his wife Roz, and his decades-long struggle for recognition, ownership, and control of the characters and stories he helped create.

Kirby's imagination contributed to some of the most recognizable figures in entertainment history, including Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, the Hulk, the Avengers, Black Panther, Darkseid, the New Gods, and countless others.

Yet the man behind those creations spent much of his career fighting to receive proper credit and regain ownership of his original artwork.

Part biography, part comic book adventure, and part love story between an artist, his family, and his work, KING KIRBY asks a question that remains urgent throughout the creative industries:

What happens when an artist does not own the stories he created?

The cast features Mike Noto as Jack Kirby, Danielle Johnson as Roz Kirby and others, Edun Levy as Stan Lee and others, Gil Ron as Martin Goodman, Jack Liebowitz, General Patton, and others, Steven Fazzolari as Joe Simon and others, and Clark Herring as Dr. Fredric Wertham, Federico Fellini, Steve Ditko, and others.

The production is directed by Bill Coulter and produced by brooklynONE productions.

The production artwork and poster were created by the late artist and Jacked Kirby co-host Tommy Lombardozzi, whose work is honored and dedicated in loving memory. His explosive compositions, dynamic figures, and deep appreciation for Kirby's visual language helped shape the spirit of this production, and his contribution remains an enduring part of the show's identity.

Presented as part of brooklynONE productions' 20th anniversary season, KING KIRBY continues the company's commitment to bold, intimate, artist-driven storytelling at the Tom Kane Theatre.

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