If you are in the NYC area
and would like to come see a reading of my new play, "Broken Heart Land," PM me and I will send you an invitation.
“Broken Heart Land” - Synopsis
“Broken Heart Land” is the story of Alma Wimsey, the mixed-blood daughter of a Cherokee father. Set in Tulsa, I.T., 1903. Prior to statehood, the Dawes Rolls recorded the names of all tribal citizens and every person listed on the Dawes Rolls was eligible to receive a tribal land allotment of 160 acres. At her father’s funeral, twelve-year-old Alma learns that a marriage has been arranged between herself and Shepherd Broughton, the ne’er-do-well son of a wealthy businessman. Two months after her father’s death and one week after her thirteenth birthday Alma and Shepherd are wed. Alma is expected to produce as many progeny as possible in the shortest time possible in order to secure more land when tribal allotments are distributed. Shepherd resents the marriage arrangement foisted on him by his father, as he prefers a life of carousing and no responsibility. Shep is a witty but emotionally immature young man whose idea of the perfect life is to party himself to death. Shepherd’s friends, Tsimi, a Cherokee boy of about 18, and Orville, the town pharmacist, decide on a lark to rob a train, an endeavor that ultimately ends in tragedy. Alma rejects her family’s plan to turn her into ‘breeding stock’ and embraces the Cherokee way.