Jesse L. Kearney Jr., a playwright, attorney and arts advocate, died March 6 at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, after undergoing emergency brain surgery two months earlier, his wife, Jacquelyn Bell Kearney, announced. He was 49.
A recipient of the Jonathan Larson Musical Theater Fellowship from the Dramatist Guild and the Lazarus Family Musical Theater Award, Kearney co-wrote Making Micheaux (2021), a short musical film about Black film pioneer Oscar Micheaux that was produced by Prospect Theater Company’s VISION Series.
He also was the co-bookwriter and co-lyricist on the full-length jazz musical The Oscar Micheaux Project (working title), which was commissioned by Prospect Musicals and developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Johnny Mercer Writers Grove. It was selected for the 2023 NAMT Festival of New Musicals and the 2024 Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals and received the inaugural Michael Friedman Award from the Pipeline Arts Foundation.
Kearney authored several one-act plays, and his musical The Little Playhouse was workshopped at Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab/American Living Room Series. And he wrote the book and lyrics for The Lion in Love and the libretto for The Blind Man, based on a story by D.H. Lawrence.
As the content acquisition and development manager at Audible Inc., Kearney championed diverse voices in audio storytelling. He was also the co-founder and general counsel of The STAGE Network, a pioneering streaming platform devoted to theatrical content, and a vice president of Black Broadway Men United.
Kearney was “consistently rooted in the mission of celebrating, educating and motivating Black men of the Broadway and theater community,” Black Broadway Men United president Anthony Wayne said in a statement. “His support for the mission has inspired monumental events and paved the way for mentees to come.”
He earned degrees from Dartmouth College, NYU’s Musical Theater Writing Program and New York Law School.
Kearney suffered a cerebral arteriovenous malformation on Jan. 8. His family has asked for help with expenses through a GoFundMe campaign.
In addition to his wife, co-founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, survivors include his daughters, Loretta and Cecilia, and his mother, Shirley. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 225 W. 99th St. in Manhattan.
“In moments like these, I think of how bright one soul can shine and pierce the hearts of so many people,” his wife said. “Jesse’s light grows stronger every day.”
