Written by Brittany Shawnté
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I’ll Make You Famous Entertainment
Richard is the creator of upcoming inspirational and comical musical, Lord, Why Can’t I Do Right?, which premieres on June 17 at the Porter-Sanford III Performing Arts Center in Decatur, GA. The stage play, directed by Shelly Garret (Godfather of Urban Theatre, Beauty Shop), is a powerful work about two brothers with their own demons and contradicting motives, who collaborate to start a church. “I honestly didn’t know I had this in me,” Richard admitted, attributing the vision of the play to God. The play stars Ashford Sanders, who is known for his appearance on Season 5 of BET’s Sunday Best, along with other social media stars.
A full synopsis of Lord, Why Can’t I Do Right is below:
In life’s journey towards our true purpose, we often encounter temptation, self-doubt and resistance from others, including family. But it is by the grace of God that we can overcome these challenges and walk into our calling. This play tells the story of transformation as characters overcome drug addiction, near death experiences, abuse, abandonment and loss on the path towards self-realization.
Kenny, an unsuccessful man by society’s standards, is caught up by a fascination with women, drugs and money. Following an unfortunate near death experience, Kenny’s true purpose in life is revealed. Now, Kenny must spread the word about the grace and goodness of God.
Kenny’s brother, DeAundre, is a white collar hustler, who is extremely successful at scheming the community to support his fake businesses. For his own selfish reasons, DeAundre offers to assist Kenny in establishing a church to proclaim how he overcame death.
DeAundre conceives a manipulative plan to use his brother’s church to expand his phony empire, while ignoring Kenny’s supernatural gift of ministry. When two brothers with contradicting objectives collaborate to start a church, all hell is bound to break loose. It’s a grueling life to live when your own blood cannot be trusted.
With this play, Richard hopes that his words leave people feeling encouraged, but also remind them to live a life of service. He also wants the audience to get that judgment of others is completely up to God. “People have to realize that our past experiences mold us to be who we are, but you can’t allow your past to hinder your future,” the writer added. “God has [a] plan to use everyone and, in this play, you see how even those with a messy past are used to spread the message of love and salvation.”
In addition to balancing his work with this production and a job as a junior marketing executive, Richard also serves as the founder of I’ll Make You Famous Entertainment, which has been around for over 10 years. Over that time, the company has worked with a wide array of talent, including Patti LaBelle, Shirley Caesar, The O’Jays, and Lil’ Scrappy. Richard and his team use their gifts and talents to provide management and consulting to those who are in the entertainment industry or who seek to be.
The company opens the door for talented playwrights, songwriters, actors, and more to use their gifts to bless others in productions, something that is very important to Richard. “ I believe people need to see an enactment of everyday life in a comical fashion with a taste of drama,” he said. “This allows people to [not only] understand the issues, but allows them to have an open mind to the solution.”
Currently, Richard is working on the sequel to Lord, Why Can’t I Do Right? as well as other plays, using his gift of storytelling to impact audiences in a powerful way. That’s definitely inspiration to me, as a writer in my own niche, to continue to use my words to inspire, uplift, and help others as well!
If you’re down south, make sure that you go see Lord, Why Can’t I Do Right? on June 17 at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center in Decatur, GA! There are two times for the show (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.), so stop in to see what sounds like an amazing production! Tickets can be purchased here. You can also check out more updates on the play on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram!
EllaThought 