Michael Allen Harris

Kingdom, a new drama by Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumnus Michael Allen Harris ’11, receives its world premiere March 2-31 from Chicago’s Broken Nose Theatre. The play centers around an entirely-LGBTQ African-American family living in the shadow of Orlando’s magical kingdom in the wake of the legalization of same-sex marriage. Harris, a graduate of the Columbia College Theatre Department’s Acting program, is Broken Nose Theatre’s resident playwright.

Michael Joseph

The show’s lighting designer is Columbia College alum Michael Joseph ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre Design. The production manager is Columbia College alum Rose Hamill ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre Technology. The production team also includes Columbia College students Rylee Freeman, an interdisciplinary BA student majoring in Theatre and Fashion Studies, and Devon Green, a senior in the Theatre Department’s Theatre Design BA program. Freeman is the show’s hair and makeup designer, and Green is the show’s props designer. All tickets are “pay what you can.” For tickets, click here.

Harris is currently pursuing his MFA in Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His other plays include Rocky Road, which received its world premiere at the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Center in 2013 — the first play by a Columbia College alumnus ever featured in the Theatre Department’s mainstage season. Broken Nose Theatre’s founding artistic director Benjamin Brownson describes Harris’ artistic voice as “Tennessee Williams meets August Wilson with a dash of Dan Savage for good measure.” Harris is also an actor and is an ensemble member of Chicago’s Eclipse Theatre Company.