Never Be King
Henry of Navarre never dreamed of being the King of France–until everything around him started mysteriously falling into place. Never Be King is a baroque meets pop-punk musical that asks how far we would go to be a footnote in someone else’s story. After all, history’s just a he-said she-said.
The Writers
Charlie H. Ray (Music, Book & Lyrics) is a writer, composer and performer splitting time between NYC and Miami. WRITER: Freedom Summer (Baldwin Wallace University, New York Musical Festival, BW/Playhouse Square), Never Be King (the Never Be King E.P., developmental). ACTOR/MUSIC DIRECTOR: Casa Mañana, Playhouse Square, Beck Center for the Arts, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, among others. In addition to creating theatre, he is an avid marketer and Partner at Innoruptiv. Proud BWMT 2020. @charliehray
Sam Columbus (Music) is a New York City-based composer, orchestrator and music director. WRITER: Freedom Summer (Baldwin Wallace University, New York Musical Festival, BW/Playhouse Square), Never Be King (the Never Be King E.P., developmental). ORCHESTRATOR/ARRANGER: Brilliant: The Musical (Broadway Bound Theatre Festival, Theatre Row), Boundless: The Musical. MUSIC DIRECTOR: Playhouse Square, Timber Lake Playhouse, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. BWMT 2019. www.samcolumbus.com for more.
Development History
Never Be King was dreamt up on a lunch break at City Kitchen in the summer of 2018. Subsequently, the show’s beginnings were developed at Baldwin Wallace University, where writing duo Charlie H. Ray and Sam Columbus were students. Never Be King entered into developmental readings beginning in 2021. In the fall of 2022, the Never Be King E.P. was released to streaming services, garnering 10,000+ streams in its first ten days. Never Be King heads to 54 Below on November 6th, 2023 for a concert featuring the E.P. cast.
Connect
For more information, visit neverbeking.com/contact or reach out to us directly at info@neverbeking.com