Douglas Lyons is determined to bring more joy to the stage. The playwright and actor made his writing debut on Broadway with the 2021 comedic family play Chicken & Biscuits, which has since gone on to a healthy life in regional theatre, becoming one of the most-produced plays in America in the 2022–23 season. Now, Lysons has announced that he's creating a trilogy of comedies, which he calls "The Deep Breath Trilogy: New Plays for Black women."
"Growing up as a young Black man from New Haven, Connecticut, with roots in North Carolina, on my mother's side, I have been privy and exposed to so much joy and so much life that we just don't see depicted on stage. A lot of my friends who do musicals, who do plays, they don't have juicy, fun roles. They don't get the rom com, they don't get the farce," explains Lyons, who adds that typically, the stories that get told about Black women center pain and strife. Lyons wants to change that. "So, I've sort of made it a mission to create this trilogy of plays, which I've titled 'The Deep Breath Trilogy, New plays for Black women.' And in each play, a Black woman takes a big, deep breath on stage, which I find to be revolutionary—because so often Black women are tasked with taking care of everyone else or belittling themselves. We rarely get to see them center stage, breathing in their beauty without any oppression or harm."
The first play in that trilogy is Chicken & Biscuits, which has received over 31 productions since its Broadway run. The play centers on the Jenkins family, who reunites after their patriarch passes. The second play is Table 17, currently running Off-Broadway at MCC Theater starring Tony Award-winning actor Kara Young. The romantic comedy centers on a pair of exes who meet for the dinner. The play has been extended until September 29. Of the show's future, Lyons can only hint, "My hope is that the restaurant is not closed."
The third play in the trilogy, which has not yet been produced, is called Don't Touch My Hair. It follows two friends who, after smoking a very potent blunt, go on a drug trip. Says Lyons: "And in that hallucination, they gain superpowers." Don't Touch My Hair will receive a workshop production at IAMA Theatre in Los Angeles, February 13–24. Each play in the trilogy touches on themes of family (Chicken & Biscuits), love (Table 17), and friendship (Don't Touch My Hair).
Lyons says that for many actors, it can be emotionally heavy to have to tell stories of trauma every night. His last Broadway appearance was in Parade, which dealt with a murder and the lynching of a Jewish man. For him, writing stories of joy is a reprieve from all that heaviness (he wrote Table 17 backstage at Parade). "As an actor myself, having done Parade, which is such a beautiful show. But then, also, the weight of that story in general—there are two people murdered in that show every night. That's hard work. And so, what is the balance? And hopefully, this trilogy will be that balance for Black actresses for years to come." He also wants to create work for Black actors that are contemporary, relatable, and not trapped in stereotypes: "That's what I aim to do with this trilogy, to create a bit of breath for Black folks to come in and be like, 'I don't have to deal with no racism today, and I am not anybody's maid or driver today. I'm just in love. And that's really awesome, because I actually am looking for love.' And giving women that opportunity."
Biko Eisen-Martin and Kara Young in Table 17
Biko Eisen-Martin in Table 17
Michael Rishawn and Kara Young in Table 17
Kara Young in Table 17
Biko Eisen-Martin, Michael Rishawn, and Kara Young in Table 17
Michael Rishawn in Table 17
Biko Eisen-Martin and Kara Young in Table 17
Michael Rishawn in Table 17
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