Photos: KING KIRBY at brooklynONE's Industry City
Bill Coulter directs an ensemble including Danielle Johnson, Edun Levy and Steven Fazzolari in the Brooklyn-set biographical play.
Following its opening weekend, brooklynONE productions (bkONE) is heading into the final four performances of KING KIRBY, the acclaimed play by Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente, running August 27-30 at the Tom Kane Theatre at Industry City. Check out all new photos below!
The production is part of the ongoing Year of Kirby, celebrating the life, work and extraordinary legacy of Brooklyn-born comic book legend Jack 'King' Kirby.
At its center is Michael Noto's portrayal of Jack Kirby: a working artist whose seemingly limitless imagination existed alongside the complicated realities of collaboration, business, ownership and the lifelong fight to receive recognition for his contributions.
Joining Noto is Danielle Johnson as Roz Kirby and others; Edun Levy as Stan Lee and others; Gil Ron as Fox, Goodman, Liebowitz, Patton and others; Steven Fazzolari as Joe Simon and others; and Clark Herring in multiple roles portraying figures throughout Kirby's remarkable life and career.
Together, the ensemble takes audiences through decades of American and comic book history, from Kirby's beginnings as a young Brooklyn artist through his legendary creative partnerships, wartime service, groundbreaking work and the personal and professional battles that followed.
Directed by Bill Coulter, bkONE's production embraces the explosive visual language of Kirby's work while keeping the human story at its core.
The intimate Tom Kane Theatre is transformed through lighting, animation, archival-inspired imagery and extensive projection mapping, with comic-book imagery surrounding the performers and allowing Kirby's memories and imagination to move across the stage.
The result is part theatrical biography, part living comic book and, ultimately, a story about artistic ownership, collaboration, friendship, family, ambition and what it means to spend a lifetime creating worlds that become bigger than their creator.
The production features stage management by Nicole Yagar and lighting design by Cat Cusick, with visual contributions from artists and animators including Miguel 'Miggy' and the late Tommy Lombardozzi.
Lombardozzi's connection to KING KIRBY and his lifelong passion for Jack Kirby have given the production an additional significance for the brooklynONE community. His artwork is also being celebrated at the theatre during the engagement.
The production is further surrounded by a special exhibition from the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center, giving audiences an opportunity to explore Kirby's history and legacy beyond the performance itself.
Playwrights Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente attended the production during its opening weekend, joining bkONE artists and audiences in celebrating Kirby and experiencing this new Brooklyn staging of their work.
Now, KING KIRBY enters its final weekend of performances, including performances surrounding Jack Kirby's birthday on August 28, making the closing weekend a centerpiece of bkONE's contribution to The Year of Kirby.
The celebration continues on Saturday, August 29, when bkONE welcomes the team behind the Jack'd Kirby Podcastand special guests for a post-show conversation celebrating Kirby's work, influence and continuing impact on generations of artists, writers and fans.
For brooklynONE, bringing KING KIRBY to the stage in Brooklyn during The Year of Kirby is more than a production of a play. It is an opportunity to reclaim the story of a Brooklyn artist whose imagination changed global popular culture - and to put the man behind those creations back at the center of his own story.
Photo Credit: Tiff Rex / brooklynONE productions

Michael Noto

Michael Noto

Michael Noto

Michael Noto


Michael Noto

Michael Noto

Michael Noto

Michael Noto, Steven Fazzolari

Danielle Johnson, Michael Noto

Danielle Johnson, Michael Noto

Michael Noto, Danielle Johnson

Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Danielle Johnson

Michael Noto, Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Clark Herring

Michael Noto, Clark Herring

Michael Noto, Clark Herring, Danielle Johnson

Danielle Johnson, Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Danielle Johnson, Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Danielle Johnson, Edun Levy

Michael Noto, Steven Fazzolari

Michael Noto, Edun Levy, Danielle Johnson

Michael Noto, Steven Fazzolari

Edun Levy, Gil Ron

Michael Noto, Edun Levy, Gil Ron

Michael Noto, Steven Fazzorlari
Photo Credit: Tiff Rex / brooklynONE productions
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