Jesse L. Kearney Jr., a playwright, a recipient of the Dramatists Guild’s Jonathan Larson Musical Theater Fellowship and the vice president of the advocacy group Black Broadway Men United, died Thursday, March 6, at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, of complications from a cerebral arteriovenous malformation.
His death was announced by his wife Jacquelyn Bell Kearney, co-founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition. “In moments like these,” she said in a statement, “I think of how bright one soul can shine and pierce the hearts of so many people. Jesse’s light grows stronger every day.”
An attorney and arts activist, Kearney made significant contributions to both the legal and performing arts communities throughout his career. As the Content Acquisition and Development Manager at Audible, Inc., he championed diverse voices in audio storytelling. He was a cofounder and General Counsel of The STAGE Network, a streaming media platform devoted to the performing arts.
Anthony Wayne, President of Black Broadway Men said in a statement that since joining the Board of Black Broadway Men United Inc. back in 2021 as Vice President, Kearney was the integral backbone of the foundation and brought his legal and structural expertise to the forefront. He was, Wayne writes, “consistently rooted in the mission of celebrating, educating and motivating Black men of the Broadway and theatre community. His support for the mission has inspired monumental events and paved the way for mentees to come.”
The recipient of both the Larson fellowship and the Lazarus Family Musical Theater Award, among other honors, Kearney cowrote Making Micheaux, a short musical film about the African American film pioneer Oscar Micheaux, produced by Prospect Theater Company’s Vision Series (2021) and is the co-bookwriter and co-lyricist on the full-length jazz musical The Oscar Micheaux Project (working title), which was commissioned by Prospect Musicals, developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Johnny Mercer Writers Grove, selected for the 2023 NAMT Festival of New Musicals and the 2024 Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals and received the inaugural Michael Friedman Award from the Pipeline Arts Foundation.
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Kearney also authored numerous one-act plays, and his musical The Little Playhouse was workshopped at Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab/American Living Room Series.
He wrote the book and lyrics for The Lion In Love (music by Brian Feinstein) and libretto for The Blind Man (lyrics by Peter Mills, music by Deborah Abramson) based on a story by D.H. Lawrence.
He is survived by wife Jacquelyn Bell Kearney, daughters Loretta and Cecilia, and mother Mrs. Shirley R. Kearney.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 18, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
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