Cris Eli Blak (left), Bobby Short (right)

Abingdon Theatre Commissions New Play on Cabaret Icon Bobby Short

Abingdon Theatre Company (Chad Austin, Producing Artistic Director) is thrilled to announce that the playwright attached to their first-ever full-length new play commission is the previous Carolyn Halpert Artist-in-Residence, Cris Eli Blak. The project is conceived by Chad Austin and commissioned by Don and Nancy Watson, and will be based on the ‘icon of Manhattan song and style,’ Bobby Short. Abingdon Theatre Company will be developing the piece as part of their upcoming 33rd season.  

The new play will center on the life of Bobby Short, a singer, pianist, recording artist, author, actor, producer, and philanthropist who is notably known as the ‘King of Cabaret.’ Having performed at Café Carlyle for over three decades, Short is often credited with being the best interpreter of the Great American Songbook, with words and music written by national composers from the pre-rock era, such as George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rogers, and more. Short recorded and performed songs by Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and more, and received three Grammy Award nominations. Although he had a repertoire of more than 500 songs, Short was best known for his interpretations of the urbane, witty compositions of Cole Porter. Porter’s music played a pivotal role in shaping American musical theatre and popular music, and is cemented as one of the most influential composers in Broadway and Hollywood history. This project will be the first biographic play about the iconic performer, featuring music that audiences know and love. 

Playwright Cris Eli Blak said, “We were at an Italian restaurant in midtown when Chad Austin first pitched me the idea of writing a show about Bobby Short. My first question was, ‘Who’s Bobby Short?’ It’s been over a year since that initial conversation, and now Bobby Short has become a huge part of my life. My question has now become, ‘How do we get everyone else to know Bobby Short?’ Working on this piece has been one of the most challenging, exciting, and rewarding experiences of my career so far. I feel extremely fortunate to have been given the responsibility of telling this story, and I’m focused on continuing to work on bringing Bobby’s name and presence and voice back home to New York City.”

Nancy and Don Watson shared, "We are thrilled to support this new work about the iconic New York Entertainer, Bobby Short. He captured New York City's glamour and vitality in his every performance. We are so happy to see him being introduced to a new generation." 

Member of Abingdon Theatre Company’s Board of Directors, Amy Gewirtz said, “I am elated that Abingdon Theatre Company’s first commissioned full-length play is being written by Cris Eli Blak, who was a former Carolyn Halpert Artist-in-Residence; the very program that was founded in honor of my late aunt. It’s the icing on the cake that this piece celebrates one of our family’s longtime favorite artists, Bobby Short. We can’t wait to see this work come to fruition under Chad’s direction!” 

Cris Eli Blak’s work has been produced and performed around the world. He is a staff writer on the hit series Power Book III: Raising Kanan. He is the inaugural winner of the Black Broadway Men Playwriting Initiative, the 2024 Charles M. Getchell New Play Award, and the Atlanta Shakespeare Company’s inaugural winner of the Muse of Fire BIPOC Playwriting Festival. He is currently an artist-in-residence with Abingdon Theatre Company, a 24-2027 Core Writer with The Playwrights Center, and a member of the Evolving Playwrights Group with Circle X Theatre Company. He was previously an artist-in-residence with Ojai Playwrights Conference, The State University of New York - Oswego, Liberation Theatre Company, La Lengua Teatro en Español/AlterTheater Ensemble, Fosters Theatrical Artists Residency, Paterson Performing Arts Development Council, and Quick Silver Theatre. He was the recipient of the Emerging Playwrights Fellowship with The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre Company and an inaugural fellow with the Black Theatre Coalition. His work has been published by Smith & Kraus, Inc., Ghost Light Publications, 1319 Press, Flowersong Press, YOUTHPlays, Applause Books, The PlayGround Experiment, New World Theatre, Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, and in the Black Theatre Review.

Established over 30 years ago, Abingdon Theatre Company (ATC) develops and produces critically acclaimed, brave, new American work by emerging and established artists. Mainstage Productions include the Off-Broadway premieres of Max Mondi’s Maybe Tomorrow with Dan Amboyer and Elizabeth A. Davis, Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness written and performed by Dave Droxler, the New York premiere of Queens Girl in the World, which was nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance for the Vivian Robinson Audelco Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre, and the NYT Critics’ Pick Get on Your Knees written and performed by Jaqueline Novak, nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

The One Night Only Series has showcased work such as Alex Edelman’s Just for Us which went on to receive Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations and has just completed its run on Broadway; Back by Matt Webster starring Emmy Award nominee Madeline Brewer and Tony Award nominee James Cusati-Moyer; The Prompter starring Oscar-winning actress Estelle Parsons; Date of a Lifetime, a new musical with book and lyrics by Carl Kissin and music by Robert Baumgartner Jr. ATC’s Around the Table Series has produced staged readings of new plays such as The Inferno by Chris Sherman and Arancini by Joey Merlo. In 2020, ATC established Abingdon Virtual led by Executive Producer Chad Austin, and has since produced three award-winning films, including As Apple Pie written and directed by Artist-in-Residence Pierre Marais, which was an official selection of the Cannes World Film Festival for Best Young Filmmaker and won multiple awards at festivals including Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Drama USA; Abingdon Virtual’s premiere film, It Cries Too Loudly, was an official selection of the Prague International Short Film Awards and won Best Cinematography and Best Short Film at the Eastern European Film Festival. 

www.abingdontheatre.org