Upcoming Projects
MECCA IS BURNING - RAGE & REASON - Through NEC and Karen Brown, a collective of writers have been brought together to write a theatrical piece concerning the politics of today and the potential incarceration of the former President. What will his followers do and will we be prepared for the backlash. This play is fire . Coming out at U of Penn in February of 2023 and in NY March of 2023.
THE GUEST - We are excited to announce that director Jamal Joseph has signed on to direct this feature, produced by Mojo Films , adapted from the award-winning stage play The Guest At Central Park West, recipient of 3 Audelco Awards for Best Playwright (Levy Lee Simon), Best Actor (John Marshall Jones) and Best Dramatic Production. The film is slated for production 2023.
GENTRIFIED - This play is in development for a full production in New York City directed by Russell G. Jones. Looking for a home.
ODYSSEY TOWARDS THE LIGHT - The memoir of Levy Lee Simon is coming, expected release fall of 2022. Born and raised in Harlem USA, Levy Lee shares his journey as a black man and artist living in America. Some will relate, others will learn a lot, many will shed tears, and many will laugh a lot, and and still others will simply be entertained by the journey the odyssey of Levy LeeLevy Lee. (Being published by KL Publishing Company)
Levy Lee’s Solo Show Odyssey Towards The Light - Race and Racism will be re-mounted, slated for 2023 on Los Angeles.
20th YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the FOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM trilogy. Shades of Truth Theatre Company and New Heritage Theatre Company will be re-mounting a staged reading this trilogy in 2023. It was 22 years ago on June 2nd 2001, that the Robey Theatre and the Greenway Arts Alliance, produced part one of the Haitian trilogy, Toussaint - the Soul - Rise and Revolution. The production received critical and audience acclaim, and garnered 10 NAACP Award Nominations, including Best Production and Best Playwright. The production won awards for Best Director, Best Ensemble and Best Costumes. Subsequent productions, Dessalines - the Heart Blood and Liberation was the recipient of a Best Play nomination from the Ovation Award Committee in LA. Part three, Christophe - the Spirit - Passion and Glory, was the recipient of six NAACP nominations, including Best Production and Best Playwright. Again, the production won awards for Best Ensemble, Best Director and Best Costumes. Look for a zoom celebration for this accomplishment coming soon.
Film/TV Options
THE BOW WOW CLUB - Vendetta Films
THE GUEST - MOJO FILMS
THE STUTTERING PREACHER - JAVON JOHNSON PRODUCTIONS
DAD - previously optioned by 40 Acres and a Mule & SHINE Productions.
GOD THE CRACKHOUSE AND THE DEVIL - several options.
On The Market
CENTRAL AVENUE - TV Series
Written and created by Levy Lee Simon and Paula Neiman
We want to take you on a journey, a ride, back to a time, where the men were so dashing and the women were so fine, if you weren’t careful you might lose your mind. Back to a time when men kept their hair cut and their shoes shined, and you could get a chicken sandwich for a dime. Come with us back to, the 30s, 40s and 50s on Central Avenue in LA, where jazz was the music of the day. Where danger was ever present as gangsters and the police competed for the spoils, gambling, liquor and call girls. --- Sunshine and palm trees, cruising on Central Avenue with ease, where the Duke, the Count, Dorothy Dandridge and Lena Horne performed your favorite songs, and intellectuals debated the politics going on, and the average everyday folk felt right at home. Feel that LA night breeze, as the jazz music makes you tab your feet and grab your knees. Where was this place you might ask, this place to be, that had all that jazz! This place that was fresh, alive, and new? Come with us to Central Avenue.
SSC THE BRONX - TV series developed by Javon Johnson and Levy Lee Simon
SSC the Bronx, is a hour long, dramatic character driven series, that focuses on caseworkers working for Special Services for Children, The Bronx Field Office, NYC. The series centers on seven main characters, five caseworkers that make up the “Unit,” and two immediate supervisors. The caseworkers are the first responders to investigate reports, child abuse, sex abuse and neglect. Their job is to save the lives of children. The series will focus on the cases these caseworkers encounter, their personal relationships on and off the job.
SUNSET DREAMS - TV Series developed by Kevin Morrow and Levy Lee Simon. Idea and concept by Kevin Morrow.
Sunset Dreams is a fast paced, high-octane one hour dramatic series, set in and around the music industry in Hollywood of the 90s. It is a behind the scenes insight into a world most people will never see, the workings of a highly successful club in Hollywood. The series centers on the unlikely friendship between white club promoter and talent booker, 35-year-old, ex-heroin addict, SEAN THOMAS, and his assistant, 25-year-old, African American, ex-gangbanger, TYRONE SCOTT. Sunset Dreams is also a study in the human condition and the fragility of Hollywood. This is not Get Shorty, or Entourage. In contrast, it’s an honest portrayal of how brutal yet invigorating “the entertainment business” can be. The series exposes the strengths and weaknesses in the lives of our main characters, leaving the audience questioning what path they will take in handling major issues and situations that arise in their everyday lives and within the confines of “The Club.” “The Club,” is set in the middle of the Sunset Strip, where stars mingle and mix with sophisticated socialites, party goers, fans, tourists, everyday people, and gangsters, both organized and from the streets – often with surprising results.
IN THE JAZZ TIME 369 - Feature Film by Levy Lee Simon
In the Jazz Time 369 is a biopic about the life of the musician composer James Reese Europe, who is arguable credited with introducing the world to jazz music. He was the first African American to conduct and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the first African American to tour inter- racially with an all white dance troupe, the first African American to lead a military band in War World I, the first African American to kill and enemy on foreign soil, World War I and the first to lead his victorious 369th regiment down the Avenue of Heroes in New York City upon return from Europe. He also is the first African American to have a public funeral in the United States.
His popularity was immense and his music legendary. His notoriety crossed racial and international boundaries yet he is not well known today. This is the story of an unsung American hero, James Reese Europe.
Published Plays
PAST PRODUCTIONS (SHORT LIST)
