New Orleans actor KC Simms (\u201cHit Man,\u201d \u201cMike\u201d) is bound for Broadway, starring in a new play set in the 7th Ward\u00a0\u2014 one of 12 new productions in this year\u2019s 10th-anniversary Broadway Bound Theatre Festival in Manhattan.<\/p>\n
The festival is a launching pad for Off-Broadway and Broadway transfers. Oddly, Simms was a bit of a Johnny-come-lately to the theater scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know theater wasn\u2019t always my goal,\u201d Simms explained. \u201cI was working toward a film career, but as I\u2019ve grown and met these really talented people in theater, I\u2019m loving this opportunity to work on stage.<\/p>\n
“Considering that there\u2019s not much film opportunity right now in Louisiana, I\u2019m more than happy to spread the word that we have talented actors in Louisiana by performing at the Broadway Bound Festival in Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simms\u2019 entr\u00e9e into the theater world began with The NOLA Project, an ensemble theater company in New Orleans which engages in the production of innovative and adventurous new plays. Simms had worked with the group on a series of theatrical snippets that are performed as part of the Rough Draft series around New Orleans.<\/p>\n
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KC Simms rehearses in New York with Xavier Rodney who plays Louis Armstrong in “One Night at the Blackbird.”<\/p>\n
Provided by KC Simms<\/p>\n
It was through this group that he met writer and producer Thomas Mullen, who had Simms read a new play called \u201cOne Night at the Blackbird,\u201d which he co-wrote along with fellow playwright Maria Messias Mendes. When Mullen decided to enter it in the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival, he asked Simms if he\u2019d be interested in reprising his role as Herman Godfrey.<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey is the devoted manager of this hidden New Orleans 7th Ward speakeasy,\u201d Simms said. \u201cThere\u2019s a supernatural plot element within this nightclub because it\u2019s visited by ghosts. And not just any ghosts\u00a0\u2014 the ghosts of Louis Armstrong, Allen Toussaint and Mahalia Jackson. But Godfrey must continually bargain with club owner Lucy (Lucifer herself) who\u2019s burned out and wants to close the club. Godfrey may be making a deal with the devil but believes he must save the souls of the legendary music royalty which still gathers there.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Simms, who is currently in New York for rehearsals preceding the show\u2019s August premiere, this is his first time in the Big Apple in over 18 years. As a child, his mother took him and his siblings to New York City to watch the ball drop on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n
At the time, the 9-year-old wanted to be an astronaut. As he grew up, he began to realize just how long he\u2019d be in college to attain that goal. In the meantime, he happened to see the remake of \u201cThe Karate Kid\u201d in 2010 with Jaden Smith, and realized there might be room in the film industry for him, too.<\/p>\n
With that notion cemented in his mind, he began to think about drama classes in middle school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was living in Baton Rouge as a kid, and I didn\u2019t initially know what to do, but I knew my school had an excellent drama department with a lot of talented kids who were a part of it, so I signed myself up,\u201d Simms recalled. \u201cMy mom didn\u2019t even know about it, and in fact, I forged her signature on the papers that I needed to take those classes. .. When she found out what I was trying to do, she supported me and even took me to the audition.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Table read for “One Night at the Blackbird” which took place in New Orleans. KC Simms (3rd from left) and Aria Franklin (2nd from right) moved on to New York.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Provided Photo<\/p>\n
Simms majored in theater at LSU New Orleans, formerly the University of New Orleans, and began to audition for local films. While he\u2019s garnered roles that have shot in Louisiana, auditioning as of late has slowed to a crawl with the absence of studio films shooting in the state \u2014 a situation that Simms, like most other actors in this community, finds frustrating.<\/p>\n