The Play's the Thing

jackkirby05

I'm a little hesitant to plug any Kickstarter projects. I think this is the third or fourth one I've recommended and each time, I then get fifty requests to promote others. I may just limit myself to one per month or one every other month or something, just so I can say to people, "Gee, I'd love to give you a shout-out but I plugged a Kickstarter two weeks ago and I have this rule…" Making a rule is a great way to avoid saying "no" to people.

Anyway, I do have to mention that Jeremy Kirby, grandson of the great Jack Kirby, has a Kickstarter that no fan of Jack's will want to miss. It's a book that will feature rare artwork of Jack's, rarer photos and — rarest of all — the complete text of a play Jack wrote. Jack wrote a couple of plays, including at least one with Joe Simon, that as far as I know were never produced. Both Joe and Jack were interested in the theater and they both lost some money investing in the 1952 Broadway revival of Shuffle Along, a musical featuring the songs of (and presence onstage of) the great Eubie Blake. It opened at the Broadway Theater on May 8, 1952 and had an exciting run that lasted all the way until May 10, 1952. Jack called it a play that was seen by very few people who didn't have money or relatives in it.

Jeremy's going to publish the entirety of a play Jack wrote called The Frog Prince. What's it about? Is it any good? I dunno but nothing Jack ever did wasn't interesting or worth the time it took you to read it, plus there are all these great photos and drawings. Go check out Jeremy's Kickstarter and get in on this.