The King of Harlem
The King of Harlem follows the story of Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prize fighter who is boxing his way to glory at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, but after a chance encounter with Federico García Lorca, all of the plans Mercy made begin to collapse in the name of desire.
The Writers
John-Michael Lyles (Book & Music & Lyrics) is a Vivace winning, multi-hyphenate creative! “HOW TO STAY BRIGHT” is his debut EP. He wrote additional music for the Second Stage production of We’re Gonna Die, participated in the Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows ’21, Musical Theater Factory’s 2nd MAKERS Cohort, the 2021 Rhinebeck Retreat and 5th Avenue’s First Draft: Raise Your Voice. Co-writing book, music and lyrics with David Gomez for The King of Harlem (2022 finalist for Relentless Musical Theater Award). As an actor, he’s originated two roles on Broadway: “Thought 3” in A Strange Loop (Obie) and “Eli” in The Heart of Rock & Roll!
David Gomez (Book & Music & Lyrics) is a songwriter, librettist, and playwright. With John-Michael Lyles he co-created The King Of Harlem, which has received support from the Lucille Lortel’s 121 Project, The Dramatist Guild Fellows Program, The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, The American Playwriting Foundation, and Musical Theatre Factory’s MAKERS Cohort. With composer Jude Obermüller he created the lyrics for Miss Havisham’s Wedding, The Blue Shoes, and Feet Keep Me Flying. Recent commissioned musicals include Adelita (Paramount Theatre, IL) and Sugarplum (Music Theatre Kansas City). David is a Chicano theatre artist invested in continuing the tradition of corridos which use popular song forms to celebrate Latine stories. @gomez_zdavid
Development History
In 2020, The King of Harlem was accepted into both the second Musical Theatre Factory (MTF) Makers Cohort and the Dramatists Guild Fellows Class of 2021. The following year, it was supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and a Dramatists Guild Foundation-funded research trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, deepening the team’s historical and thematic exploration. In 2022, MTF produced a cold reading at Playwrights Horizons, and with a grant from NYSCA, the team mounted a 29-hour Equity reading directed by Raja Feather Kelly. That same year, the piece was named a finalist for the American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award. In 2024, it had a 29-hour reading at Montclair State University with support from NAMT (Writers Residency Grant), and MTF jointly funded an additional 29-hour reading at the same institution. In 2025, with support from The Bridge, the team will produce a new 29-hour reading and finalize the fifth draft of the piece.
Connect
John-Michael Lyles, jmlyles1@me.com, (469) 644-5324