The King’s Wife at Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL

I was really fortunate to spend March 10 through March 14 workshopping a new musical called The King’s Wife. It was part of Paramount Theatre’s Spark Lab Series for new play development. The musical centers on the lives of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, and their mutual husband, King Henry VIII. I played the Judge, an amalgamation of several different historical figures (including Thomas Cromwell), representing the influence of secular and state voices upon Henry. The creative team of Mêlisa Annis (book), Jamie Floyd (music & lyrics), Tamilla Woodard (director), and Jared Stein (musical director/supervisor) have made an extraordinary piece - moving, thrilling, funny, and musically GORGEOUS - and the cast was uniformly excellent.

We used Monday through Thursday to read through and learn the material while the creative team was making slight edits to the script and score as they heard the actors work on it. The week culminated in a sold-out, standing-room-only concert performance on Friday, March 14 in Aurora, IL at Society 57’s amazing event space, and the audience who were lucky enough to get a ticket absolutely loved it. Keep an eye out for this show when it premieres. You can find more about the show and Paramount’s workshop HERE.