He had no medical license. He had a radio station, a scalpel, and a very unusual cure.
"Goat Balls" is a Brooksian, neo-noir musical based on the true story of J.R. “Doc” Brinkley, the con man who claimed to cure male impotence by implanting goat glands into his patients. Armed with nothing but nerve and a microphone, Brinkley became a national and international celebrity. He prescribed elixirs over the airwaves and helped popularize country music by broadcasting it far and wide. The American Medical Association eventually exposed him, and the lawsuits piled up, but not before he made a serious run for Governor of Kansas. He died bankrupt in 1942, and he is remembered as one of the most notorious medical quacks in U.S. history.
It’s a story too wild to be made up, and it swings.
We’ve written about 20 songs. Now we want you to hear them.
Our goal is to bring 12 jazz musicians and 8-10 singers into a professional recording studio to capture 10 numbers from the show, played live in the room with the sound of a 1920s American Big Band.
A musical lives or dies on its sound. These recordings will bring the score to life for theaters, producers, and collaborators, and for you, the people who help new work get made. They will carry Goat Balls into its next chapter.
Where your money goes
Professional studio time and a recording engineer
Fair pay for every musician and singer
Music direction and preparation of the band’s parts
Mixing and mastering, so every track is polished and ready to share
Production costs and fundraising fees
We believe artists deserve to be paid for their work, and a big part of this campaign is making sure the talented people playing and singing this music are compensated fairly.
How you can help
Any amount makes a difference. If you can’t give, sharing this page with a friend who loves jazz, dark comedy, or musical theater helps just as much.