THE KING OF HARLEM
Book, music, and lyrics by
David Gomez & John-Michael Lyles
The King of Harlem follows the story of Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prizefighter boxing his way to glory at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. When he is swept off his feet by a freewheeling Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca, all of Mercy’s carefully laid plans for his life and future begin to melt away in the name of desire.
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DEVELOPMENT ROAD MAP, 2025-26
The Bridge provides hands-on and tailored support, based specifically on a show’s unique needs. We work hand-in-hand with stakeholders and other development programs to ensure that resources provided are strategic and intentional, based on the show’s overall goals and opportunities throughout this year of development.
- Dramaturgical support toward NAMT draft (fall 2025)
- Presentation in NAMT’s Festival of New Musicals (fall 2025)
- Table read of completed draft (fall 2025)
- Choreography exploration supported by the Lortel 121 Project (fall 2025)
- Dramaturgical support toward a completed full draft (fall/winter 2026)
- Writing retreat at Johnny Mercer Writers Grove (winter 2026)
- Building relationships with interested producers and artistic curators, and aligning partners for workshop (spring 2026) WE ARE HERE
- 29-hour workshop and presentation, in collaboration with MTF (fall 2026)
“Federico” performed by John-Michael Lyles
“I Had a Friend Once” performed by John-Michael Lyles
David Gomez is a songwriter, librettist, and playwright. With John-Michael Lyles he co-created The King Of Harlem, which has received support from the Lucille Lortel’s 121 Project, The Dramatist Guild Fellows Program, The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, The American Playwriting Foundation, and Musical Theatre Factory’s MAKERS. With composer Jude Obermüller he created the lyrics for Miss Havisham's Wedding, The Blue Shoes, and Feet Keep Me Flying. Recent commissioned musicals include Adelita (Paramount Theatre, IL) and Sugarplum (Music Theatre Kansas City). David is a Chicano theatre artist invested in continuing the tradition of corridos which use popular song forms to celebrate Latine stories. @gomez_zdavid
John-Michael Lyles is a guitar-wielding, Vivace & Obie winning, multi-hyphenate creative! His debut EP, “HOW TO STAY BRIGHT” is being released on all streaming platforms over the summer of 2025! He wrote additional music for the Second Stage production of Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die & theme music for The Great Gay Dadcast. He was selected to participate in the Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows class of ’21, Musical Theater Factory’s 2nd MAKERS Cohort, the 2021 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and the 5th Avenue Theater’s First Draft: Raise Your Voice commission program. He is currently co-writing book, music and lyrics with David Gomez for The King of Harlem, which was a 2022 finalist for the Relentless Musical Theater Award. As an actor, he has originated two roles on Broadway: Thought 3 in A Strange Loop (Obie-winning) and Eli in The Heart of Rock & Roll! @johnmichael_lyles | www.johnmichaellyles.com