Abingdon Theatre Company has commissioned its first full-length play, which will spotlight the life of the late singer and pianist Bobby Short. Carolyn Halpert Artist-in-Residence Cris Eli Blak will pen the play about the artist.
Conceived by Chad Austin, the project has been commissioned by Don and Nancy Watson and will be developed as part of Abingdon's upcoming 33rd season.
Also a recording artist, author, actor, producer, and philanthropist, Short performed at New York's Caf茅 Carlyle for over three decades. Although he had a repertoire of more than 500 songs, he was best known for his interpretations of the witty compositions of Cole Porter. This project will be the first biographic play about the iconic performer, featuring music for which he was known.
Playwright Blak said in a statement, 鈥淲e were at an Italian restaurant in midtown when Chad Austin first pitched me the idea of writing a show about Bobby Short. My first question was, 鈥榃ho鈥檚 Bobby Short?鈥� It鈥檚 been over a year since that initial conversation, and now Bobby Short has become a huge part of my life. My question has now become, 鈥楬ow do we get everyone else to know Bobby Short?鈥� Working on this piece has been one of the most challenging, exciting, and rewarding experiences of my career so far. I feel extremely fortunate to have been given the responsibility of telling this story, and I鈥檓 focused on continuing to work on bringing Bobby鈥檚 name and presence and voice back home to New York City.鈥�
Nancy and Don Watson added, "We are thrilled to support this new work about the iconic New York entertainer, Bobby Short. He captured New York City's glamour and vitality in his every performance. We are so happy to see him being introduced to a new generation."
Blak, a staff writer on the series Power Book III: Raising Kanan, is the inaugural winner of the Black Broadway Men Playwriting Initiative, the 2024 Charles M. Getchell New Play Award, and the Atlanta Shakespeare Company鈥檚 inaugural winner of the Muse of Fire BIPOC Playwriting Festival. He is currently an artist-in-residence with Abingdon, a 24-2027 Core Writer with The Playwrights Center, and a member of the Evolving Playwrights Group with Circle X Theatre Company.
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