Photos: Broken Nose Theatre Presents KINGDOM Audio Adaptation

Broken Nose Theatre, one of Chicago's premier Pay-What-You-Can theatre companies, is pleased to launch its tenth season with an audio adaptation of its hit 2018 play Kingdom, written by Resident Playwright Michael Allen Harris and directed by Manny Buckley. This spellbindingly lyrical family drama will stream on-demand from October 4 - 24, 2021 at brokennosetheatre.com, so audience members may listen at their leisure. Tickets are currently available at brokennosetheatre.com. Tickets for all Broken Nose Theatre performances are "Pay-What-You-Can," allowing patrons to set their own price. Press early access will be available beginning Wednesday, September 29.

Kingdom features ensemble members RjW Mays* (Phaedra) and Watson Swift* (Henry) reprising the roles they performed in 2018, joined by ensemble members Ben F. Locke* (Alexander) and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II* (Malik), and guest artist Darren Jones (Arthur).

After the state of Florida legalizes same sex marriage, Arthur and Henry, partners of fifty years, come to terms with their differing opinions on the necessity of becoming husbands, even as their son Alexander finds himself wading through some rough new waters of his own. Kingdom is the story of an entirely-LGBTQ African American family that lives in the near-literal shadow of Orlando's magical kingdom, as they struggle to create a life together that captures a little bit of that same magic. Critically acclaimed when it was originally staged by Broken Nose in 2018, Kingdom received the 2018 BTAA Lorraine Hansberry Award.

BNT Artistic Director E.M. Davis and Managing Director Rose Hamill comment, "Kingdom holds such a special place in our hearts. It was the very first play developed through our Paper Trail new-work series, and from its earliest draft, we knew that Resident Playwright Michael Allen Harris had created something special. Audiences really embraced this show during its world premiere in 2018, and when we decided we'd be producing audio dramas this all, the decision to adapt this play was an easy one. From its lyrical language, to huge but obtainable ideas, and characters who are flawed but given an opportunity to express their truth, it showcases so much of what we want BNT stories to be. We're so excited for it to reach audiences both brand-new and familiar in this thrillingly fresh format."

The production team includes Arielle Leverett* (assistant director), Eric Backus (sound designer), Jacqui Jaurena (editor), Jen Poulin* (audio transcription/accessibility) and David Weiss* (dramaturg).

*Denotes Broken Nose Theatre company members