Mykal Kilgore Joins LI Musical Theatre Festival Lineup

Long Island Musical Theatre Festival has announced that Grammy Award nominee Mykal Kilgore will join its 2024 summer program as a guest artist. Kilgore will join a long list of LIMTF guest artists, which includes Stephen Schwartz, Beth Leavel, Jeanine Tesori, Alice Ripley, Adam Kantor, Jay Armstrong Johnson and more. The 2024 LIMTF program includes a production of Parade (Advanced Intensive), 13 Jr. (Intermediate Intensive), and Roald Dahl’s Matilda – A Choral Medley (Beginner Program) intensive. Additionally, there will be a Jason Robert Brown Celebration featuring performances by Mykal Kilgore and LIMTF participants.

Long Island Musical Theatre Festival provides students with the opportunity to work with Broadway guest artists, perform a fully staged musical with a professional orchestra, and receive training from current industry professionals. Its mission is to provide a program that is educational and fun while creating a safe environment for students to take risks and discover who they are as performers.

Parade is a Broadway musical drama that dramatizes the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager who was accused and convicted of murdering a 13-year-old factory worker in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913. The musical explores the dangers of prejudice and ignorance, and tests the faith, humanity, justice, and devotion of Leo and his newlywed wife Lucille as they struggle to make a life in Georgia.

13 Jr. tells a timeless story about fitting in - and standing out! Evan Goldman is plucked from his fast-paced, preteen New York City life and plopped into a sleepy Indiana town following his parents' divorce. Now the new kid at school, he needs to establish his place in the popularity pecking order. Can he situate himself on a comfortable link of the food chain... or will he dangle at the end with the outcasts?!? A true coming-of-age musical, 13 Jr. is made especially for adolescents with a universal message about friendship and being true to yourself.

Matilda the Musical tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, a five-year-old girl with a sharp mind, vivid imagination, and psychokinetic powers. Matilda is unloved by her cruel parents and headmistress, but impresses her schoolteacher, Miss Honey. With the help of Miss Honey, Matilda overcomes obstacles and dares to take a stand to change her own destiny. 

Tickets are available here.

ABOUT Mykal Kilgore

Mykal Kilgore’s artistry cuts through traditional barriers and represents the hope of gospel, the soul of R&B and the vulnerability of country. The singer/songwriter’s debut album, A Man Born Black was released in 2019 and was an exploration of faith, loss, the stumble and spills on the way to maturity, and the beauty of hope and love.

Now, in 2021 Kilgore will release his new single “The Man In The Barbershop” (via Affective Music,) a story told from a Black Gay man’s perspective about his and many other’s experiences at the neighborhood barbershop where people gather and gossip about their community and the world.

“The Man In The Barbershop” is the first single from Kilgore since his GRAMMY nominated single “Let Me Go,” from his A Man Born Black album. There, at the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, Kilgore made history as the first openly gay artist to receive a nomination in the “Best Traditional R&B Performance” category. “The Man In The Barbershop” was produced by Jamison Ross, Cory Irvin and John Michael Rouchell and Executive Produced by David S. Hargrett.

A born and raised Floridian, Mykal moved to Nashville, TN as a hopeful singer and songwriter after attending Florida State University. Eventually, his voice caught the attention of Tony® and GRAMMY® Award winner, Billy Porter during an audition. Porter’s careful mentorship opened lanes for Kilgore to move to New York City and to enter the Broadway world. To date, his credits include Motown the Musical, The Book of Mormon, and Hair. Mykal has consistently chosen roles that elevate positive representation of people of color including The Wiz Live! (NBC) and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC). Most recently, he appeared in Songs for a New World, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and The MUNY’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe.

With the release of “The Man In The Barbershop,” Mykal has once again stepped into the forefront to share his unique perspective with the world. As a Black queer man, Mykal uses his platform to serve as a change agent for civil rights as well as issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. His instrument is guaranteed to educate, entertain and elevate the lives of all who have the luxury of experiencing his unmatched sound.

Mykal is eager and hungry to share his new creations as his star continues to shine brighter and brighter in the post-pandemic world.

To post a comment, you must register and login.