THE STORY: Charismatic, dazzling and attractive to both sexes, Kid Champion has achieved the pinnacle of success as a rock star. He is surrounded by an entourage of groupies, press agents, would-be biographers and adoring fans—all of whom seek to share in the glittering excitement of his almost frightening notoriety. But even as the play captures the aura of this high-powered world, it also exposes the emotional and intellectual complexities of its title character, and the uncertainties, faced by a gifted, attractive kid from Kansas who is skyrocketed to sudden wealth and fame, and eroded by the drink, drugs, and messianic power which are so much a part of the rock scene. Inevitably, as pressures mount, there is tragedy and sudden decline, and the sense that all the beauty and ugliness of the 60s have been compressed into one brief, but remarkable, lifetime.
This explosive, powerful play offers a chilling glimpse into the world of rock music, and the people who are made—and broken—by it.
“…a remarkable first play.” —Cue Magazine.
“Along with Sam Shepard, Mr. Babe is concerned with American folklore, the making and unmasking of mythological figures.” —The New York Times.
“Thomas Babe has brought the whole failed, tawdry world of rock onto the stage.” —The New Yorker.
