Death row visitation: hope, heartbreak, and uncomfortable chairs

PERFORMANCE EXHIBIT MEDIA

Welcome to Crossroads Correctional, where the prisoner count hasn’t cleared, families are stuck in the waiting room, and a ticking clock literally hangs on the wall.

As tensions mount, the captive visitors and lone guard struggle with their individual secrets, personal missions, and the previous night’s execution, but the situation is out of their control.

Until, in the end, it isn't.

Based on years of workshops on death row, conversations with family members, and trainings with correctional officers, A GOOD BOY brings centerstage the most hidden among us: men living on death row, the families who love them, and the officers who work alongside. The characters are fictional, but all the stories they tell are true.

CHARACTERS

MARY, 50s, Multiracial. From Louisiana. Mother of a man on death row. Mezzo.

BULLOCK, 30s-50s, White. From Oklahoma. Correctional Officer (CO). Baritone.

YOLANDA, 40s, Dominican American. From NYC. Mother of a man on death row. This is her first visit. Mezzo.

BRADLEY, late 20s, African American. From California. Nephew of a man on death row. This is his first visit. Bari-tenor.

HEATHER, late 30s-40s, White. From the Mid and Southwest. Sister of a man executed the previous evening. Soprano.

Orchestration: keyboards, violin, and cello.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

TRAILER GOES HERE. ONCE WE HAVE TITLE TREATMENT AND CREDIT SLIDES, IT’S GOOD TO GO.

AUDIENCE RESPONSES

I am still thinking about A Good Boy. I’m not only thinking about it, it’s lodged in my body as felt memories and emotions.
I am still thinking about A Good Boy. I’m not only thinking about it, it’s lodged in my body as felt memories and emotions.
Powerful and remarkable. Powerful and startling.

CREATIVE TEAM

Book & Lyrics: Lynden Harris, Artistic Director Hidden Voices, https://www.hiddenvoices.org/

Composers:

Marc Callahan https://www.marccallahan.com/

AJ Layague https://www.layague.com/

Director: Kathryn Hunter Williams https://playmakersrep.org/artists/kathryn-hunter-williams/

Music Arranger: Leslie Wickham https://www.lesliewickham.com/

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

A 2024 MAP Fund awardee and a 2021 & 2022 semi-finalist for The O’Neill/ National Musical Theatre Conference, A GOOD BOY was developed with support from two Humanities for the Public Good awards, A Blade of Grass Fellowship, a Collaborative Arts award, and grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Triangle Community Foundation, the Paul Green Foundation, as well as support from the Departments of Dramatic Arts and Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The world premiere of A GOOD BOY was presented in 2025 at Playmakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC.

After a performance of COUNT: Stories from America's Death Row, a mother whose son was on death row asked Hidden Voices, "When are you going to tell OUR story?" That question sparked a collaboration with families of men living on death row. During these conversations, mother after mother said, "He was a good boy." Their powerful words and perspectives inspired the title for this chamber musical.

WHY THIS/WHY NOW

We have this statement somewhere. Will find and update.

MUSICAL STYLE & INSPIRATIONS

The ranges, complexities, and depths of the families’ stories are translated musically through diverse stylistic lenses—reworked to reflect the blues, worship and praise, operatic lament. The whole diasporic American sonic landscape is integral to telling these stories: roots and European art musics colliding with technology, sound design, and the pulse of life underscoring it all.

SONG LIST
ACT 1
P.1 "Welcome to the Crossroads" Mary, Ensemble
P.2 "Welcome to the Crossroads(var.)" Bullock, Ensemble
P.10 "Only Yesterday" Yolanda
P.15 "Evidence" Mary, Yolanda
P.24 "Face to Face" Yolanda, Mary, Heather, Bradley
P.32 "The Devil Wore Lilly" Bradley
P.37 "Don't Tell" Heather, Ensemble
P.41 "Face to Face (reprise)" Ensemble

ACT 2
P.43 "Waiting Game" Ensemble
P.53 "Bite the Bullet" Bullock & Ensemble
P.59 "Who's Your Daddy?" Bradley & Bullock
P.69 "I'm Sorry, Thank You" Heather
P.74 "You Have to Believe" Mary & Yolanda
P.76 "A Little Mercy" Ensemble