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The Musical Crew
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James Lecesne (Producer)
James created the critically acclaimed solo performance Word of Mouth
directed by Eve Ensler and produced by Mike Nichols. His live action short film, Trevor, won an Academy
Award in 1994, and inspired The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that operates the only 24-hour suicide
prevention helpline for GLBT teens. Working with young people in Cambodia, Tibet and Bosnia, Mr. Lecesne created
The Road Home: Stories of Children of War, which premiered at The Asia Society in NYC and was
presented at The International Peace Initiative at the Hague. Absolute Brightness, will be published by
Harper Collins in Fall 2007. |
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Gerry McIntyre (Director/Choreographer)
Off-Broadway: Soon Of A Mornin—Lions theatre; Regional: Once On This
Island—Virginia Stage, Actors Theatre Of Louisville, La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts (Robby and
Drama-League Award for Best Director, Ovation nomination for Best Choreography and Best Musical), Gerry staged the
Island benefit at The Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. Sammy and Me—Hanger Theatre, Ain’t
Misbehavin’—Actors Theatre of Louisville, Damn Yankees, Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun at the
Madrid Theatre in California; Choreography: Laura Comstock Dog Punching Dog,
Joseph...Dreamcoat—San Jose Musical Theatre Center, A Saint She Ain’t, My Fair Lady, Side By Side
at the Berkshire Theatre Festival; TV: Rosie O’Donnell show, Designing Women, Major Dad, Golden Palace. Gerry is a
SSDC dance break winner and a national Irene Ryan winner. |
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Randy Redd (Musical Supervisor)
Randy made his Broadway debut in Parade directed by Harold Prince at Lincoln
Center. He appeared as Britt Craig in the National Tour of Parade and Bingo Little in the
American premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and regionalBy Jeeves directed by Alan Ayckbourn. His credits
include Some Men (Second Stage) by Terrence McNally directed by Trip Cullman. He most recently appeared on
Broadway in Ring of Fire directed by Richard Maltby. Randy currently teaches at NYU/CAP21 and is a teaching
artist with Camp Broadway, Broadway Classroom, Arts Horizons, and the BRAVO Network’s On the Show. Numerous
musical direction credits include the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (an annual event which features 600 kids from
all over the US). |
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Lynn Ahrens (Book & Lyrics) & Stephen Flaherty (Music)
Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) won
Broadway’s theatrical triple crown--Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for the score of the
Ragtime (based on the E.L. Doctorow novel) with book by Terrence McNally. Ragtime was also
nominated for London’s Olivier Award as Best Musical for its West End Premiere. Ahrens and Flaherty received two
Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for the songs and score of Anastasia, Twentieth
Century Fox's first feature animation. They are the co-creators of the hit Broadway musical Once On This
Island (first produced off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons) which was awarded London's Olivier Award as Best
Musical, and received eight Tony Award nominations, NAACP Theatre Awards for Best Musical and Best Playwright, Drama
Critics Circle and Outer Critics Circle nominations. They co-wrote Seussical, based on the works of Dr.
Seuss, which premiered on Broadway in 2000 and received Grammy and Drama Desk nominations. Seussica is now
the most frequently performed stock and amateur show in America. They have premiered three shows at Lincoln Center
Theatre: My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, with book by Terrence McNally (Outer Critics Circle
Award, Best Musical and Best Score) and Dessa Rose (Audelco Award, Best Musical, Drama Desk and Outer
Critics Circle nominations.) Off Broadway: Lucky Stiff, (Playwrights Horizons, Richard Rodgers Award,
Washington's Helen Hayes Award as Best Musical.) Most recently they were represented on Broadway with original songs
for Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life. Concert works include With Voices Raised, commissioned by the
Boston Pops orchestra. Their latest musical, The Glorious Ones, just premiered at Pittsburgh Public
Theater. Individually, Ms. Ahrens is the lyricist and co-book writer for A Christmas Carol, with music by
Alan Menken, which ran for ten years at Madison Square Garden. Her teleplay adaptation of A Christmas
Carol, recently premiered on NBC, starring Kelsey Grammer. (Hallmark Entertainment). She wrote original lyrics
for the feature film Camp (IFC Films). For her work in network television as a songwriter, creator and
producer, Ms. Ahrens has received the Emmy Award and four Emmy nominations. Her songs are a mainstay of the famed
animated series Schoolhouse Rock. Mr. Flaherty wrote the incidental music for Neil Simon's play
Proposals on Broadway. His Ragtime Symphonic Suite premiered at the Hollywood Bowl under the baton
of John Mauceri. Other notable commissions include those from Carnegie Hall and the Guggenheim Museum. Most
recently he wrote the musical score for Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein, based on texts by
Ms. Stein as adapted and directed by Frank Galati, which was produced by Chicago’s About Face Theatre and the
Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (Jefferson Award, Best New Musical 2006). He is a founding member of the
acclaimed theatre company, Drama Dept. Ahrens and Flaherty shows have been recorded by RCA/Victor, Sony, Decca
Broadway, Varese Sarabande, Atlantic and JAY Records. A print anthology of their music, “The Ahrens and Flaherty
Songbook,” is published by Warner Brothers Publications. They both serve on the governing body of the Dramatists
Guild of America and are members of ASCAP and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They co-chair the
Dramatists Guild Fellows Program for emerging writers and are pleased to welcome tonight’s talented new writers.
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Lesley Mazzotta (Associate Producer)
Lesley is a theater producer with over fourteen years experience creating special
events, themed experiences and educational programs on Broadway and across the country. From six years, she served
as Producing Director of Camp Broadway, an award winning theater company, developing and overseeing all aspects of
their year-round performing arts programs, educational projects, special events and corporate partnerships. In
addition, she has worked on Broadway’s Damn Yankees starring Bebe Neuwith and later Jerry Lewis; the national tour
of Damn Yankees starring Mr. Lewis; Duke Ellington’s Play On! and the Outer Critics Award-nominated Jam On The
Groove. She was Associate Producer for London‘s West End Production of Damn Yankees and Budd Schulberg’s Broadway
production of On The Waterfront starring Penelope Ann Miller and Ron Eldard. Lesley is a member of The League of
American Theaters and Producers, where she serves on the education committee.
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Gary Solomon, Jr. (Producing Associate)
Gary Solomon, Jr., a native of New Orleans, LA, is in his final year at
NYU¹s Tisch School of the Arts. Recent producing credits include a sold-out
run of the musical The Full Monty as a fundraiser to provide direct aid to
artists returning to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, a held-over
run of The Last Five Years, and an award winning production of The Musical
of Musicals (The Musical!). At age 21 Gary has been instrumental in the
creation of over 150 theatrical works to date. Gary co-founded The
Children¹s Leukemia League, an organization that grew into a group of over
200 young adults who raised funds and awareness specifically for children of
their age bracket living with leukemia. He also served for many years as
the Chair of the Children¹s Wing for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation and is an avid volunteer for both the New Orleans AIDS Task Force
and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. |
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Amanda Rehbein (Production Designer)
Amanda hails from the Canadian prairies. Most recently she has designed A Marriage of Figaros
at the Manhattan School of Music, The Vietnamization of New Jersey at The Beckett Theatre, and A Movie Star Has
to Star in Black and White at NYU. She is the resident designer for The Peddie School and is a teaching artist for
The Roundabout Theatre Company. She has worked with Moises Kaufman, Christopher Durang, and Gordon Ostrowski.
Amanda has a BFA in Design for the Theatre from Concordia University in Montreal and an MFA in Design for
Stage and Film from NYU's Tisch School for the Arts. Visit www.AmandaRehbein.com.
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David Reis (Pianist/Conductor/Vocal Coach)
David moved to New Orleans 11 years ago after falling in love with the city’s unique cultural heritage. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Texas-Austin. His primary teachers were Carroll Chilton and David Renner. He has served as musical director and pianist for numerous musicals at the high school, college, and professional level. Credits include: A Little Night Music, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Oliver, Wizard of OZ, Oklahoma, Sleepover, Cinderella, Forever Plaid, and Lies and Legends: The Musical Stories of Harry Chapin. In addition to his musical theatre work, he is active as a solo artist performing romantic and twentieth century classical piano repertoire as well as his own improvisational piano compositions which are rooted in the New Orleans piano styles of Professor Longhair and James Booker. He has served as a staff accompanist for dancers, vocalists, and instrumentalists at the University of New Orleans, Loyola University, and Tulane. |
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Desirée Stevenson (Stage Manager)
Desirée is a Loyola University graduate.
She has recently returned from Orlando where she worked in Walt Disney
Entertainment as a production assistant on such projects as Amway International
Convention, Festival of the Masters art show, ESPN the Weekend, and
Holiday Wishes Firework Spectacular. When in Florida, she also worked
on the entertainment production team for the Daytona 500 NASCAR race
pre-show. Her other stage management roles include Okra, Kimberly
Akimbo, and The Sunken Living Room (Southern Rep); Spring
Awakening (EgoPo Productions); and Nickel and Dimed, Camwood
on the Leaves, and the Wreck on the Five-Twenty-Five (Loyola
University). |
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