“HOW TO STAY BRIGHT” is an homage to the flickering queer frivolity of my 20’s: an era of wigs, wings & whimsy, funding my dreams with restaurant jobs, learning to love and be loved, being stockholm-syndromed by my cell phone, conjuring levity in the face of immense grief, and cherishing my friendships as the sun set on my Saturn return… The tracks are: TEQUILA IN MY COFFEE // all the time in the world // livin the dream // man // know me well
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John-Michael Lyles is a guitar-wielding, Vivace & Obie winning, multi-hyphenate creative! His debut EP, “HOW TO STAY BRIGHT” is being released on all streaming platforms over the summer of 2025! He wrote additional music for the Second Stage production of Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die & theme music for The Great Gay Dadcast. He was selected to participate in the Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows class of ’21, Musical Theater Factory’s 2nd MAKERS Cohort, the 2021 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and the 5th Avenue Theater’s First Draft: Raise Your Voice commission program. He is currently co-writing book, music and lyrics with David Gomez for "The King of Harlem", which was a 2022 finalist for the Relentless Musical Theater Award.
photography by Laquann Dawson
THE KING OF HARLEM
The King of Harlem is an original new musical that follows the story of Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prizefighter boxing his way to glory at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. When he is swept off his feet by a freewheeling Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca, all of Mercy’s carefully laid plans for his life and future begin to melt away in the name of desire. (book, music & lyrics by John-Michael Lyles & David Gomez). Find more information here!
