KC writer Nathan Louis Jackson, who brought ‘reality and grit’ to stage, TV, dies at 44
Nathan Louis Jackson, an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based in the Kansas City area, died Tuesday. He was 44.
Jackson was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, where he graduated from Washington High School and Kansas City, Kansas Community College. He studied theater at Kansas State University before earning his Master’s of Fine Arts in playwriting from The Juilliard School.
The Lincoln Center, a New York theater, then staged productions of “Broke-ology,” a Kansas City, Kansas-based play about a Black widower and his two adult sons, and “When I Come to Die,” a prison drama about a death-row inmate who survives a lethal injection.
Jackson later moved back to the metro area, where he continued writing and served for six years as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at Kansas City’s Repertory Theatre beginning in 2013.
“Jackson’s work often showcased his love for his hometown,” his family said in a statement “Having lived and worked on both coasts, Nathan’s heart belonged in Kansas City.”
The Rep mounted productions of both “Broke-ology” and “When I Come to Die” before premiering Jackson’s “Sticky Traps” in 2015 about a Kansas mom’s efforts to protect her gay son’s honor and legacy when a church comes to protest his funeral. In 2018, the theater staged his show “Brother Toad,” about gun violence and the Second Amendment.
“One of the unfortunate duties of an artist is to be an observer,” Jackson wrote in a 2015 guest column in The Star. “As a playwright, it is a necessity that I closely observe the world around me. I then form an opinion based on what I’ve observed and express that opinion by recreating the world on stage.”
“This often requires me to separate myself from the world around me, so I can take an objective look at it,” he continued. “Just like a scientist, I must sometimes resist the urge to interact with the subject being studied.”
His work earned national recognition for his playwriting, including two Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Awards, a Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award and the Kennedy Center’s Gold Medallion.
“Nathan writes about the most pressing issues of our time in a voice that is nuanced, specific and rooted in the very real dramatic situations he creates for his characters,” Eric Rosen, the Rep’s former artistic director, told The Star in 2016.
“Unlike many writers of his generation, he’s less interested in ‘sending a message’ than putting his characters into very real situations in which conflict comes out of story.”
While he called the Kansas City area home, Jackson commuted to New York and Los Angeles, writing for television shows like “Luke Cage,” “Shameless,” “Southland” and “13 Reasons Why,” among others.
Cheo Hodari Coker, who created and produced “Luke Cage,” told The Star in 2016 that Jackson often drew on his personal experiences in the writer’s room. When they wrote of the titular character washing dishes at a restaurant, Jackson told his fellow writers stories of cleaning dishes at Ricky’s Pit Bar-B-Q in KCK and Famous Dave’s in Manhattan, Kansas, before dogs followed him home because of the smell.
“No matter what grandiose heights he writes at, he never leaves his other experiences behind,” Coker said. “He brings this essence of reality and grit … and barbecue sauce!”
Jackson’s family said he was passionate about Kansas City barbecue, the Chiefs and the city’s arts community. They’ll remember him for his kindness and his preference for phone calls over text messages.
Jackson is survived by his wife, Megan Mascorro-Jackson, children Amaya and Savion Jackson, mother Bessie Jackson and siblings Ebony Maddox and Wardell Jackson.
A celebration of life will be planned for a later date.
Jon Niccum and Robert Trussell contributed to this report.
