Entire generations have read the global bestseller, “The Prophet,” but how much do they know about its author, Kahlil Gibran? Gibran, Lebanese by birth, may be the most tragically successful American immigrant of all time. Less known still is his patron, Mary Haskell, the indomitable Southern reformer responsible for his fame. In The Higher Love, two impressionable actors, Salim and Lucy, land the roles of a lifetime: poet Khalil Gibran and his patron, Mary Haskell. As rehearsals progress, the actors grapple with their unpredictable characters, the meaning of love, and the stage kiss to end all. Offstage, a tragedy strikes the play’s director, casting into doubt Gibran’s and Haskell’s lofty, if unrealized, ideals. From infatuation to heartache to conviction, each character is tested in his/her quest to seize the higher love.


This reading will be performed in English.