PLAYS AND MUSICALS BY MIKE KELLEHER
THE HOLOGRAM
IN THE MIRROR
A group of artists (a poet, musicians, singers, and a playwright) gather for a weekend retreat at a remote mountain cabin to compose their works without the help of—or interference from—artificial intelligence (AI) which has come to dominate the arts, yet they find it difficult to escape its effects and may not be as alone as they think.
BACH IN BROOKLYN
The brilliant composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach, under-appreciated, embittered, tired, and ill at the end of his life, walks into a dark alley in Leipzig in 1650 and emerges in another time and place: a jazz club in today's Brooklyn. During his journey he rediscovers his love of music by playing and talking with young jazz musicians, compares their world and suffering with his own, confesses his sins, seeks grace, and finds peace and redemption as he sees how his music is relevant even today. Bach in Brooklyn is suffused with recorded music: Bach’s own repertoire, jazz, and a fusion of the two traditions, arranged and recorded by the author with professional jazz and classical musicians.
CONSTANT
"Constant" is an intense political drama in which a promising young policy professional (Tonyah) impulsively takes a job with a charismatic and unscrupulous international political fixer (Charles) who tries to persuade Tonyah to betray her values, her family, and her country. It reveals how power amplifies the inherent character traits of those who wield it. It also shows power’s constant allure and drive to action—and the need to nurture institutions and leadership capable of containing its corrosive effects.