New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

"The Honorable Herbert Peabody" To Have Limited Run In January

originally published: 12/22/2021


(NEW YORK, NY) --  Off-Broadway premiere! How does a hapless tour guide juggle a Senator’s lofty legacy with his litany of sex scandals? That’s the question at the heart of the seriously funny one-man show, The Honorable Herbert Peabody, written and performed by Kirk McGee (Chasing Taste, “The Path,” “Sesame Street”), and developed with and directed by Corey Atkins (Lincoln Center Theatre, Cleveland Play House, The Acting Company). The limited engagement is set to begin Wednesday, January 12, 2002 at 7:00pm through Saturday evening, January 15, 2022 at Chain Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 4th Floor).

The Honorable Herbert Peabody is a very funny show about a very serious issue. It’s opening day of the Honorable Herbert Peabody Library and Legacy Center, and a well-intentioned tour guide named Joe finds himself stuck juggling the narrative of the Senator’s lofty legacy with a recently revealed litany of sex scandals. Faced with an increasingly disgruntled tour group—and a new understanding of his own actions—Joe must decide if he’s going to continue to stand idly by, or finally stand on the right side of history.

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. (His grandfather was a highly-regarded U.S. Senator from Wyoming from 1959-1977.) The idea came to a head when McGee realized that Donald Trump would one day have a Presidential Library. He wondered, would it feature the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape? Showcase the actual magazine Stormy Daniels used on the presidential posterior? As Joe the Tour Guide says, “Kinda boggles the mind, doesn’t it?” Kirk McGee is a 2021 Café Royal Cultural Foundation Spring Performance Grantee for The Honorable Herbert Peabody.

As he began writing, McGee asked himself: how does the revelation of deplorable personal behavior impact the way we feel about celebrated people’s work and legacy? And, more importantly, what was his role – and the role of all men – in supporting women in the #MeToo era and beyond? It was from these questions that Joe, and The Honorable Herbert Peabody, were born. “Peabody has genuine suspense…a captivating production,” said the AllAboutSolo.com. While the Philadelphia City Paper stated “Kirk McGee’s loose-limbed clowning is burlesque on the verge of Beckett.”

Director Corey Atkins has worked with McGee over a period of three years (with a pandemic thrown in for good measure) developing The Honorable Herbert Peabody. About the production he said, “I think of it as ‘Bill Irwin meets Mike Birbiglia meets Ted Lasso’ – a winning combination of broad physical comedy, incisive solo performance, and a powerfully human story told with honesty and warmth. We can’t wait to share it with audiences this January.”




Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here



ON SALE NOW: Tickets for The Honorable Herbert Peabody are priced at $20 and may be purchased online at www.ThePeabodyPlay.com. If you are unable to purchase online with a credit/debit card, please e-mail herbertpeabody@gmail.com for additional purchase options. Chain Theatre is a wheelchair accessible venue. Run time is approximately 70 minutes, with no intermission.

COVID POLICY: All guests must present proof of full vaccination and photo ID to enter the venue. Masks must be worn at all times inside the building.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kirk McGee (Playwright/Performer) is an actor and a playwright based in Brooklyn, NY. As an actor he's appeared in Off-Broadway productions that include the original casts of Summer ’69, Cris Angel: Mindfreak, and The Daughter of the Regiment. Other theater credits include Twelfth Night at Philly Shakespeare, Lebensraum and Drawer Boy at StageWorks Hudson, Loves Labour’s Lost at Cherry Lane Theatre, and I’m With Stupid at Manhattan Playhouse. TV roles include “Are We There Yet?” (recurring), “Law & Order,” “The Path,” and “Sesame Street.” Kirk received nominations for Best Actor at Idyllwild International Film Festival, and The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award at VisionFest, for his title role in the romantic comedy Chasing Taste (featured on Amazon/iTunes). As a writer, he strives to make funny, loose-limbed work that speaks to the survival of the human spirit. He believes that our flaws, follies and blunders unite us rather than divide us, and his work eschews conquering heroes in favor of fallible fools struggling to preserve their dignity while overcoming insurmountable circumstances. Kirk has a BFA in Acting from NYU-Tisch, and – even better –a clever, kind, funny, crafty, ten-year-old daughter, Layla.  

Corey Atkins (Director) is a New York City-based director, creative producer, and writer. 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, Cleveland Play House, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Denver Center, Hangar Theatre, and Portland Stage Company, among many others. Corey was Associate Producer for the 2015 Tony Award-winning Cleveland Play House from 2011-16, and Artistic Associate at The Playwrights Realm from 2017-2018. He 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 Gielgud Fellowship with Michael Greif. He has also been a volunteer for the Translation Committee of the Latinx Theatre Commons. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin.  




Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here





FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: Where is Everybody?

Wednesday, July 09, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: Where is Everybody?

Wednesday, July 09, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre


Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


Click here for full event listing

 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Centenary

Centenary Stage Company presents Jimmy Buffet's "Escape to Margaritaville"

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company kicks off SUMMERFEST 2025 with Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville, July 10-20 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia and Emmy nominee Mike O'Malley, this production is jam-packed with the artist's most beloved classic tunes including "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Margaritaville," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "Fins," "Volcano," and many more.



LoMotion

LoMotion Live presents "The Diary of Anne Frank"

(BOONTON, NJ) -- LoMotion Live is proud to present The Diary of Anne Frank, a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. The production runs from July 18-26, 2025 at The Parsippany Arts Center in Boonton.



Art

Art House Productions to present "Hamlet" directed by C. Rashee Stevenson in October

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions will present a mainstage production of Hamlet, directed by C. Rashee Stevenson, from October 9–26, 2025, at the Art House Theater in Jersey City. This bold reimagining of Shakespeare's classic tragedy fuses the original text with interpolated language from Les Nègres and Les Paravents by Jean Genet and works by Federico García Lorca—transforming the play into a cosmic crime thriller that plunges deep into grief, identity, and the metaphysical.



Original

Original 'RENT' Cast Member and Obie Award-winner Anthony Rapp to Teach Master Class at Gateway Playhouse

(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Somers Point's Gateway Playhouse is thrilled to announce that original Broadway cast member of the international hit, Jonathan Larson's "RENT," and Obie Award-winner, Anthony Rapp, will teach a master class to the all-teenage cast of "RENT: School Edition" on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, as part of the Gateway to the Arts program. The class runs from 9:00am to noon.



Two

Two River Theater Announces Lineup for Their 14th Annual Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater's celebrated Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival of new plays by Latine playwrights will take place from Thursday, July 31 to Sunday, August 3, 2025 in the Joan and Robert M. Rechnitz Theater. Now in its 14th year, this annual event joyfully showcases the richness, diversity, creativity, and talent of Latine theater artists. All festival events are open and free to the public.