The Whitechapel Whirlwind

One of the reasons I'm switching to shorter entries here is that, for the past few months, I've suddenly had a lot of writing projects on my plate. I sold a book, for one thing--I'll post more about that later.

Another thing I've been working on is the libretto for The Whitechapel Whirlwind, a new opera composed by Howard Fredrics. It's about the legendary British boxer Jack "Kid" Berg, who was an international superstar in the 1930s. One of the pleasures of the project has been going wild with the 1930's slang. I get to write lines like "It don't make Kiki happy when you flag them bindle broads"--and then I get to hear them set to music. (In case you're wondering, Kiki is the girlfriend of gangster Legs Diamond; her flirtation with "Kid" Berg leads to some very dangerous consequences for him.)

We're premiering scenes from this work-in-progress in London on 29 March. You can find more information at the Bloomsbury Theatre's website, or you can see the poster for the event here.