Don't Go Gently (2011-18)

a Beat-generation musical

by Jim and Sunny Knable

A musical for 7 actors and accompaniment (piano score)

About 1 hour and 30 minutes, in two acts with intermission

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Set in the Beat era and starring some of the most famous artists to come out of it (Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac, Anaïs Nin, Truman Capote, James Baldwin), "Don't Go Gently" is a musical which revolves around a lesser known writer/critic, Anatole Broyard, whose life was especially complex due to his ability to "pass" as caucasian. The music is jazzy, with a hint of modern popular sensibility, and the book is factual, entertaining and moving.  It had a successful reading with the Jackson Heights Repertory Theatre in 2011 and is currently in revision to present at a future date.