“…so watch me be an artist who was born ready-made, watch me take my lemons and make the best God damn lemon-ade.”
- County of Kings by Lemon Andersen
By Lemon Andersen
Direction: Elise Thoron
Performed by Michael Angel Viera
Adapted from the extraordinary life of poet, playwright and speaker Lemon Andersen, this riveting on-stage memoir will resonate with young audiences long after they leave the theatre. Touching on young love, the birth of hip hop, slinging crack, ballet, stealing car parts, prison, and poetry, County of Kings takes audiences on an astonishing journey of self-discovery.
The Story
County of Kings is a tough, yet poignant biographical account of a good kid growing up in an unforgiving environment. Lemon, whose parents met at a methadone clinic and died from AIDS, served two prison sentences before he was 21 and won a Tony Award before he turned 30. Weaving hard-edged drama with urban poetry, County of Kings is a coming-of-age story told with profound honesty, compassion and humor.
In Performance
Baby Power aka MAV (Michael Angel Viera) brings Lemon’s spoken word poetry and life story to the stage with style and grace. MAV then encourages students to write poems and “MCs” the sharing of their own verses in response
Appropriate for: high school, college, and community audiences
Please note: this title contains mature content and language.