The Funkentine Rapture
Book by Lee Summers and Ben Blake
Music and Lyrics by Lee Summers

Circa: 1977. A detective interrogates a woman who has been robbed of her soul-food groceries; apparently Harlem is under attack. We segue to the single room of George Preston, a youthful mop boy/musician who grooves on Real Good Funk as he travels from home to his “survival gig.” We arrive at Mr. and Mrs. Funk’s, “Funky Diner” -- Harlem’s busy premiere Catfish Surprise haven, where we meet owners, the Funk’s and their only daughter and waitress, Simone. A rumor that legendary “funk” musician, Freddie Nelson may return for the upcoming Funkfest at the Apollo Theatre causes a buzz and Mrs. Funk’s inner monologue, Nothin’ But The Funky Truth about her undisclosed affair with Nelson and the chance the he may be Simone’s true father. Restaurant regular Reverend Stankley arrives, promising to stay on the lookout for any perps that may try to attack the diner.

George meets a homeless old man in the alley (is he the same detective we saw earlier?) We get a glimpse of George’s heart as he give the old man his own lunch.

In George’s desire to become a star of “Funk” music, he sings, Let My True Funk Free. Also, he is secretly in love with the Funk’s daughter, “Simone.” Reverend Stankley, a street-corner preacher, gives George advice on how to make it – then resumes his sidewalk sermon of a future Sedentary Nation. Meanwhile, in a nearby dark lair, we meet four multicultural teens in rehearsal for an audition for Friday’s Apollo “Funkfest”. They sing - and are, Disco Rainbow and complain to their unseen boss, The Big Bad Man. George, Simone and her classmates, Angel, Dick and Abdul (a Barbra Streisand fanatic) lament unrequited romances in Still She. George’s discouraged band, “the Funksters” are still Stickin’ Wid It - while the Funk’s warn, Wrong Funks to Funk With to anyone who’d threaten their marriage. Back at the lair, The Big Bad Man reveals motives for revenge in the Ballad of Bubba Sonders. Later, in a dream, George receives a premonition of lyrics and love as he is told of the Funkentine Rapture. Inspired, he confesses to Simone, U Do It 4 Me. Harlem life intersects, the Funksters disband and don’t show up for the audition; the Disco Rainbows do, Simone’s in love with George too, the Big Bad Man’s evil plan is in action – and all uptown agree, (Funk’s) My True Desire.

Having missed the Apollo audition, George encounters the mystical, Old Charlie, who sings, Show Biz and Adversity, encouraging him to not give up. Soon after, Mr. Funk also meets with Charlie; they turn out to be old friends. The Big Bad Man knows that George could ruin his evil plan by winning the Funkfest; he sings, Uh Oh…The Hero to Disco Rainbow. Back at the Funky Diner, George arrives looking for Mr. Funk, to get the day off to focus on his band, leaving Simone sadly disappointed that he’s not focused on her. She sings, The Wrong Mr. Right. Mr. Funk arrives back at the Diner, greeted by a domestic confrontation instigated by the rumors of a long lost rocker, Freddie Nelson’s return. Mrs. Funk sings, A Woman Has Her Reasons, accepting her fate that Mr. Funk will learn Freddie is Simone’s biological father. George learns it is Reverend Stankley who has convinced his band to break up. In the song, Funk Is All I Wanna Do, the Funksters and George are reunited. Old Charlie tells them to be at the Apollo stage door the night of the Funkfest. As “Catfish Surprise” is a key cog to The Big Bad Man’s diabolical plan, the Disco Rainbows corner Simone for the recipe in Next Best Funk. The next day, the Funk’s are in a panic that Simone is missing. Stankley enters the diner with instructions from her kidnappers.

It’s the Friday night Funkfest - the Apollo MC is introducing bands; George and his Funksters wait and wonder why Old Charlie has asked them there. We learn that Old Charlie is Freddie Nelson’s manager. Charlie sends the Funksters and George onstage to cover for Freddie. Stankley has brought Mr. and Mrs. Funk to the lair of The Big Bad Man, beneath the Apollo Theater. The Big Bad Man has access to all wiring and cables that connect to the Apollo stage. Stankley reveals he is The Big Bad Man and further reveals Simone, bound and gagged over a humongous deep fryer. He threatens to fry her unless Mrs. Funk makes Catfish Surprise. Meanwhile, George and the Funksters, on stage, hear Simone’s moans through the sound system, blasting it throughout the Apollo! George leaves the stage, telling the audience to Funk Amongst Yourselves, following Simone’s moans to the Apollo basement.

In the “Apollowest,” The Big Bad Man discovers Mrs. Funk has made a faulty batch of Catfish. George arrives to the rescue. A chase ensues onto the Apollo stage. George and The Big Bad Man find themselves onstage before a brutal Apollo crowd. They have a Funk-Off. George reprises, The Funkentine Rapture, which escalates to Funk You In The Dozens. The Big Bad Man is defeated in funk and insults! The crowd goes wild. Backstage the Disco Rainbows have called the police on Stankley a.k.a. The Big Bad Man. Old Charlie clarifies loopholes in the Disco Rainbow’s contracts with The Big Bad Man. Charlie also reveals that Mr. Funk has been Freddie Nelson all along, having given up his career for Mrs. Funk when she got pregnant with their daughter, Simone. Charlie explains that Freddie’s songs have generated millions. Freddie Nelson a.k.a. Mr. Funk goes onstage in duet with George. They reprise, Real Good Funk. They kill. George and Simone end up together; The Big Bad Man and the Disco Rainbows go to jail. The Funky Diner and recipe are safe; Mrs. Funk opens a chain of Catfish Surprise Franchises. Old Charlie mystically moves on, and George and his Funksters become true Funk Masters and let their true funk free from that day forth.

From My Hometown Conceived by Lee Summers Co-written by Lee Summers, Ty Stephens and Herbert Rawlings, Jr.

Circa 1980: Inspired by classic rhythm and blues artists like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, the Stylistics and Otis Redding, three young soul singers head for the Big Apple to fulfill their dreams of headlining at the Apollo Theater.

The three characters are simply named for their Rhythm and Blues producing hometowns: “Philly,” “Memphis” and “Detroit.” Each is leaving behind a life of poverty and a hometown sweetheart. From the start, From My Hometown’s humor, precision harmonies and exciting choreography explode against the backdrop of the New York City of 1980. Propelling each character is the embodiment of an arsenal of hometown hits -- nostalgic tunes of competition, such as: Jackie Wilson’s, “Lonely Teardrops,” Otis Redding’s “Sitting On The Dock Of the Bay,” and Sam Cooke’s, “Chaingang.” Their solo stories surface intermingled with the music of: “Sam and Dave,” “Al Green,” “Rufus Thomas” and “The Spinners.”

In a series of new-to-New York coincidences, we experience the laughter, fears, fights, separations, broken hearts, poverty, humiliation, romances, rejections, and hopes of Philly, Memphis and Detroit -- three show biz dreamers. Collectively, they are impacted as years pass and the world around them changes. Past, present and future interplay, challenging them to unify as a group. For inspiration, they joyfully relive classic Rhythm & Blues by the great three man groups that came before them, ala “The Impressions,” “The Chilites,” “The Ojays,” and “The Isely Brothers.” By overcoming odds and obstacles, a decade later, award-winning three man group “Unity” finally performs their own hit anthem, “I Want You To Stand By Me,” at the Apollo. They finale, a trip-down-memory-lane -- live-at-the-Apollo style. The audience leaves humming tunes old and new -- reminded no one’s singing solo; we are all part of a greater whole, with hopes of a happy ending.

Yo' Alice
Book by Lee Summers
Music and Lyrics by Timothy Graphenreed and Lee Summers

Summers is also author, co-composer (With Timothy Graphenreed, Original Broadway: The Wiz) of the soulful adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland,” Yo’ Alice, which was presented in a New York workshop produced by Madison Square Garden/Radio City Entertainment, then later optioned as film feature in 2003 with screenplay written by Summers. In 2006 Yo’, Alice was presented in a reading at New York’s Triad Theatre, featuring an all-star cast.

Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song
Book By Lee Summers
Conceived by Maurice Hines

Mr. Summers is also author of Ella Fitzgerald, First Lady Of Song, which premiered at the Crossroads Theater in December 2004, starring Freda Payne as “Ella.”

If These Shoes Could Talk
Book by Kevin Ramsey and Lee Summers
Music and Lyrics by Lee Summers and Kevin Ramsey

History lists Lee Summers’ and Kevin Ramsey’s tap dance musical, If These Shoes Could Talk, as the farewell stage performance of the late, great, Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers. This timely exploration of the gentrification of Harlem was winner of the 1996 “Our Voices” award from The New Professional Theatre and produced by the Milwaukee and Arkansas Repertory Theaters. Summers and Ramsey also collaborated as composers on the award winning film short, “Tap Rap” starring Savion Glover.

The System
Book by Lee Summers
Music and Lyrics by Lee Summers and Guest Collaborators

The System is a palatable, yet provocative, musical theater examination of racial profiling -- and the disproportionate, ever-growing, numbers of people of color who often find themselves harassed or even behind bars. The fictional “Sam,” “Clarence” and “Frank,” (the latter two happen to be gay) are three, African American, well educated, singers in a five-man group, at “The Paradise Lounge,” a New York “theme” restaurant. While on a July 3rd, 1998, afternoon break between sets, tuxedo clad, they are arrested in Central Park -- and spend their “Independence Day” behind bars, in the system. Their story, along with the other characters we experience in their world, examines the transgenerational injuries within the African American community, their victimization and responsibilities, within the system. The System features a cast of eleven singer/actors who move well, a book by Lee Summers, and an original score of seventeen songs, mostly composed by Mr. Summers -- while other songs are collaborations between he and his associates.