THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY Announces Run with United Solo

Writer/Performer Kirk McGee, star of the award-winning indie comedy Chasing Taste, will bring his painfully funny one-man show, THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY, to United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival, on Sunday, November 17th at 6:00 pm at Theatre Row. Running time is approximately 50 minutes.

Both timely and hilarious, THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY follows Joe, a well-meaning tour guide at the Honorable Herbert Peabody Library and Legacy Center, who must navigate the slings and arrows of the Senator's tainted legacy as he leads an increasingly awkward tour on the Center's opening day. As the tour progresses, Joe must decide if he's going to ignore history, change history, or make history to ensure that his hero's "#MeToo" moment doesn't become "Me, Three."

THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY was inspired by the collision of two important facets of Kirk McGee's life: the #MeToo scandals of his comedy heroes Bill Cosby and Al Franken, and having grown up in a family with a (thankfully untarnished) political legacy. McGee's grandfather, Gale McGee, represented Wyoming as a Democrat in the United States Senate from 1959 until 1977. As both a Senator and Ambassador, he was a major player in the development of America's post-WW II foreign policy and almost every legislative milestone in U.S. history from the 1950s to 1980, from the Red Scare, to the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and achievements of the activist Congress of the 1960s. As the Kirk wrestled with what it means to simultaneously revere the achievements of men like Cosby or Franken and revile their personal behavior, he wondered what their legacy would be now and what role he could play to support women in the #MeToo era. A literal role-Joe the Tour Guide-was born. THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY aims to make audiences both laugh and think about the role each of us can play in creating a better, safer, more equitable world.

Kirk McGee* (Joe): Kirk is an award-winning actor and published playwright. His acting credits include: (Off-Broadway)Summer '69, Mindfreak, The Daughter of the Regiment; (Regional Theater) Twelfth Night at Philly Shakespeare, Lebensraum and Drawer Boy at StageWorks Hudson. (NY Theater) Loves Labour's Lost at Cherry Lane Theatre, I'm With Stupid at Manhattan Playhouse. (Film) Chasing Taste (nominated for Best Actor at Idyllwild International Film Festival and nominated for The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award at VisionFest), Two Weeks' Notice, and Hot Lunch. (TV) Are We There Yet?, The Path, Law & Order, and Sesame Street. He was also a company member of the American Mime Theater. As a playwright: I'm with Stupid... (Best Stage Scenes of 1999), For Better or Worse (American Globe Theater Festival Honorable Mention: Best Play). His rock musical (co-created/co-wrote book), Mother Eve's Secret Garden of Sensual Sisterhood is slated for a future off-Broadway run. www.mcgee4me.com

Corey Atkins (Director) is a Utah/Idaho born-and-raised, New York City-based, director. He most recently directed a workshop of Matthew Goldstein's new dark comedy, Purgatorium, lead by Noah and Emma Galvin, for Evan Bernardin Productions. Other credits include: Lincoln Center Theatre/Institute, Noor Theatre/NYTW, The Acting Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Hangar Theatre, and Portland Stage Company, among many others. Corey recently completed two seasons as Artistic Associate with Obie Award-winning The Playwrights Realm. From 2011-2016 he was Associate Producer for the 2015 Tony Award-winning Cleveland Play House. Corey is a Drama League Directing Fellow, a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and was a finalist for SDC's Mike Ockrent Fellowship with Casey Nicholaw, and the Gielgud Fellowship with Michael Greif. He has also been a volunteer for the Translation Committee of the Latinx Theatre Commons, and an Associate with The Sol Project. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin. www.CoreyAtkins.com

All United Solo shows are staged at Theatre Row: 410 West 42nd Street in New York City. TICKETS, with a price of $47.25 (plus a $2.25 Theatre Restoration Charge) are available at the Theatre Row Box Office and online through Telecharge at www.telecharge.com. You may also call Telecharge at 212-239-6200. When placing your reservation by phone please be prepared to provide: the FESTIVAL name (United Solo Theatre Festival), the name of THEATRE (Theatre Row - The Studio Theatre), and the specific DAY and TIME of SHOW you would like to see (THE HONORABLE HERBERT PEABODY on Sunday, November 17th, at 6:00.)

The play runs approximately 50 minutes.

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