DC Production:
TAJLEI LEVIS (Book & Lyrics) wrote book and lyrics for Glimpses of the Moon, with composer John Mercurio. The show debuted at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in New York. Tajlei also wrote book and lyrics for A Time to be Born: A 1940's New York Musical based on Dawn Powell's 1942 novel (with music by John Mercurio). A Time to be Born had a sold-out run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as part of the New York International Fringe Festival and was also presented as part of the New Opera and Music Theatre Initiative "Birth of a Musical" Festival in Boston and A Celebration of Dawn Powell in New York. Tajlei was an artist-in-residence at Makor/92nd St. Y where she developed a musical Flappers & Philosophers, based on a short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Tajlei is a graduate of Columbia College (and a writer of the Varsity Show) and NYU Law School, where she wrote for the Law Revue. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College. She was a lyricist member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
JOHN MERCURIO (Music) wrote book, music and lyrics for Academy, which recently won the award for Best Musical at the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF). Before that, Academy completed its sold-out run at the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF), where it received the NYMF Awards for Excellence in Music and Honorable Mention for Excellence in Lyrics, Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Direction (John Carrafa) it also received the DIMF Award, which honored the show with a production at the Daegu International Musical Theatre Festival in South Korea this summer. Last December, John was awarded the ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award for music and lyrics for his work on Academy. Before NYMF, Academy was developed at workshop at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre funded by a MacArthur grant. The show will return to the Maltz this December for a full production partially funded by a grant from the NEA. Other awards: Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and a Commendation Award from the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Foundation. In 2008 his new musical Myth was developed at the O'Neill Music Theater Conference, where John received The Georgia Holof Lyricist Award for his work. John is one of a handful of artists to be chosen to attend the O'Neill twice, having been there in 1998 with his musical A Tailor's Tale. John wrote the score and co-wrote the book to Diva Diaries which ran for three months at the Lakeshore Theatre in Chicago. Before that, it played at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Other works include: The Riverhaven Book Club (the Lyric Theatre, Florida), 1001 Nights, (workshop at the George Street Theatre) and Arturo's Window. John has also composed the incidental music to plays and the scores to three ballets including one on which he collaborated with former New York City Ballet dancer and choreographer Miriam Mahdaviani. He received degrees from the Eastman School of Music and NYU and was a member of the BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop. www.johnmercurio.com
DARIUS SMITH (Music Director) is proud to be back at MetroStage after having the pleasure to be a part of the world premiere of The Stephen Schwartz Project. Currently he teaches musical theater full-time at Howard University where he directs Standing Room Only, Howard's musical theatre performance ensemble. ORIGINAL WORKS: U.G.L.Y., a new musical (Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage), Amorous Ruminations - a song cycle, Dangerous Liasons (concept/choreography by Princess Mhoon-Cooper), R/J: the fatal tour (book by Raquis Petree and Suzanne Hoffman), Samson, the musical (book by Chris McGriff). REGIONAL: Hansel & Gretel: The Witch's Twist (Adventure Theater), Queen of the Bohemian Dream (Source Theater), Strathmore Young Artists in Residence Series (Strathmore Mansion), I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Bethesda Theater). RECORDINGS: Standing Room Only (Demo). UPCOMING: The Happy Elf (with Harry Connick, Jr/ Adventure Theater/ Montgomery College), Mirandy and Brother Wind (ACTCO), Wind in the Willows (Imagination Stage). www.DariusSmithMusic.com
DANIEL PINHA (Scenic Designer) is originally from Brazil, where he has worked intensively in theater, movies, and television, developing sets from educational TV shows to soap operas, short movies to feature films, and in the fields of art direction, art production and set design in different media. Some of his credits as set designer in the U.S. include productions at the Discovery Theater/ Smithsonian Institution and Young Playwright's Theater. He also designed for the production of "Big Love" in Pennsylvania, "Winter Under the Table" for an international theater festival in Havana, Cuba, "Between Trains," "The Illusion," and "Hotel Cassiopeia" at the University of Maryland and the Roundhouse Theater. He is currently working on a project for the National Portrait Gallery as co-creator and set designer. Additionally, he has worked as assistant scenic designer in different theaters in the D.C. area including the Woolly Mammoth Theater, Signature Theater, Studio Theater, Roundhouse Theater, Theater J, and the Kennedy Center. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theater Design, with a focus on Scenic Design, from the University of Maryland.
LISA ZINNI (Costume Designer) Associate Designer for the Broadway, UK and National Touring companies of HAIR. Associate Designer for the Broadway, National Tours and many international companies of RENT; as well as many of the international companies of RENT, including the recent production at the Hollywood Bowl. NY: Off Broadway, Roundabout Underground, NY Fringe Festival and New York Musical Festival. REGIONAL: 10 seasons with The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre; Syracuse Stage; The Arden Theatre compnay, The Peoples Light and Theatre Company, The Cape Playhouse; Bristol Riverside Theatre. www.LisaZinni.com
ANDREW F. GRIFFIN (Lighting Designer) DC AREA: Othello, Dracula, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dante, Host and Guest (Synetic Theater); The Last Cargo Cult, The K of D (Woolly Mammoth Theatre); The Receptionist (Studio Theatre); Bad Dates (Olney Theatre); Amazons and Their Men, Marisol, Marat / Sade (Forum Theatre); Ferdinand the Bull (Imagination Stage); If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Harold and the Purple Crayon (Adventure Theatre, Resident Artist); The Importance of Being Earnest, Dublin Carol (SCENA Theatre). REGIONAL: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III (Delaware Shakespeare Festival); The Very Last Green Thing, Brundibar, The Maker of Illusions (Michigan Opera Theatre Children’s Chorus); Il Trovatore (Toledo Opera). AWARDS: 2010 Helen Hayes Award Nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design. EDUCATION: The Catholic University of America.
STEVE BAENA (Sound Designer) is the owner/ head engineer of Funkymonkeyboymusic LLC, a Maryland-based sound company. After many years of doing this for fun, he finally got an education. Since graduating from Omega Studios engineering and recording school, Steve has managed to make a living out of this business. His work scopes UK nightclubs to the US capitol building and most things in between. This is his sixteenth production at MetroStage and is happy to be back again.
JESSICA WINFIELD (Stage Manager) Credits include Three Sistahs, The Stephen Schwartz Project, tick, tick...BOOM!, Cookin at the Cookery, Mahalia, Pearl Bailey by Request, The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Isn’t It Romantic, ROOMS (Metro Stage); Mother Courage and Her Children (Scena Theatre); Raisin the musical, Ragtime (Morgan State University). She is also a freelance lighting designer and theatre electrician. She received Honorable Mention in Broadwayworld.com for her lighting design for Run of The Mill’s production of Blood Wedding. Other design credits include Pearl Bailey by Request, Mahalia, Isn’t it Romantic (Metro Stage); Man of La Mancha (Spotlighters Theatre); Miss Evers Boys, The Bluest Eye, Black Nativity, Story Train (Morgan State University); Night of January 6, Dreamgirls- Assistant Lighting Designer (ARTSCENTRIC).
KEVIN LAUGHON (Production Manager) has worn many hats at MetroStage for almost 6 years. He works on the technical teams at many DC area theatres. A graduate of Syracuse University, he is also an actor/singer/dancer and an accomplished choreographer/teacher who has worked at local theatres, schools and dance studios for over 15 years. Kevin’s last stage performance was in The Producers at Toby’s. Films he has worked on include Breach, The Invasion and Night at the Museum 2. www.kevinlaughon.com
CAROLYN GRIFFIN (Producing Artistic Director) has been with MetroStage since its founding in 1984 and has produced over sixty mainstage productions, including four plays and three musicals that were world premieres. She is the co-founder of the Alexandria Arts Forum, which she chaired for five years, and has served on many regional panels for area arts commissions. Awards include the Actors’ Center Award of Distinction, the Cultural Affairs Award from the Alexandria Commission for Women, the Award of Harmony from the Alexandria Harmonizers and the 2005 ALEX Award. She is on the Board of The Playwrights Forum and was chosen by the Canadian Embassy and the Helen Hayes Awards to travel to Canada in 2004 as part of the Canadian/Washington Theatre Partnership. She holds a Masters degree in Psychology from Catholic University and an MBA from Georgetown University. Her four children live in Washington DC, New York City, Savannah, Georgia, and Alexandria.
MARC BRUNI (Director) won the NYMF Directing Award for his production of Such Good Friends. He is currently the Associate Director of Legally Blonde (Bway and tour), appearing on MTV's "Search for Elle Woods". He has been associated with Jerry Zaks, Kathleen Marshall, Walter Bobbie and Jerry Mitchell on twelve Broadway productions including Tony winning revivals of The Pajama Game and La Cage Aux Folles, Grease, High Fidelity, Wonderful Town, Sweet Charity, and Little Shop of Horrors (also staging the National Tour). Marc also stages Irving Berlin's White Christman annually for Walter Bobbie, this coming year on Broadway as well as in Detroit and St. Paul. He directed My One and Only and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the MUNY, and he has worked at City Center Encores! on No, No Nanette, Applause, Bye Bye Birdie, and 70, Girls, 70. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
SHARON CARR (Producer) reinventing herself in the new millennium, is now fulfilling a life-long passion to present live theater. She began in 2006 as Co-Producer of I Love You Because (winner Best Off-West End Musical 2007, London), followed by '10 months on the road' with GFour Productions as an independent Associate Producer, presenting RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women in Cleveland (September 2006), Boston (October 2006) and Atlanta (March 2007) as well as Menopause the Musical in Minneapolis. In October 2006 she also produced the cabaret show: You Don't Know Jac, starring Jac Huberman (Winner, 2006 Broadway Idol). Sharon is a Producing Associate on How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Holiday 2006, 2007), Legally Blonde (Spring, 2007) and Dirty Dancing (Toronto, Fall 2007 and the US Pre-Broadway Tour 2008-2009). She was an Associate Producer on Masked, off-Broadway (August 2007), and is currently working on the US revival of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None as well as developing IDAHO! The Musical Comedy Love Story (NYMF 2008; Broadway 2010) and Mom Is Not My Real Name (music by Tina deVaron and book by Pam Lobley).
Ms. Carr is stepping up this coming year as General Partner/Lead Producer on Idaho! A Comedy Musical Love Story (NYMF, Fall 2008) which she hopes to bring to Broadway -- and (along side Nelle Nugent/Foxboro, Inc.) on the upcoming revival of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (Broadway and US Tour, Fall 2009). Two projects in development: Mom Is Not My Real Name (based on music by Tina deVaron) and an animated film: a family musical comedy about the story of Purim: Queen Esther.
DENIS JONES (Choreographer) has been proud, for the past three years, to serve as director of Broadway Bares, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Recent projects as choreographer include The Boy Friend for The Maltz Jupiter/Riverside Theaters, Thoroughly Modern Millie for The Cape Playhouse, Meet Me in St. Louis for The Paper Mill Playhouse and Everyone Loves a Winner, A Tribute to John Kander for The Westport Country Playhouse. Denis is the Associate Choreographer to Jerry Mitchell for Broadway's Legally Blonde and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
TED LEFEVRE (Scenic Consultant) Designs: over two dozen Off-Off-Broadway play premieres and Regional musicals apiece. Las Vegas: revue of Stevie Wonder songs starring Chaka Khan, Associate on Phantom (Venetian), and Spamalot environment design (Wynn). Broadway Associate: The Country Girl, Rock 'n Roll, Grease, Coram Boy, Sweeney Todd, Hairspray Tour, Invention of Love, Aida. Assistant: Wedding Singer, All Shook Up, Wicked, Sweet Smell of Success, Morning's at Seven, Seagull, Ivanov, Beauty and the Beast, Christmas Carol at MSG, and sixteen Metropolitan Operas. Two seasons each at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Santa Fe and Glimmerglass Operas.
www.ted-lefevre.com
DEB GAOUETTE (Props Designer) Prop Credits: props master for 42nd St. and Cabaret at the Trump Plaza Casino; props coordinator for the national tours Evita, Sound of Music, Crazy For You, and South Pacific for Troika Entertainment, and various off-broadway productions. Set design credits: the workshop of Popera Rain; projects with City Lights Youth Theatre, and productions of Stage Door, She Loves Me, Meet George Orwell, and The Retreat. Currently: assistant props coordinator for New York City Opera.
LISA ZINNI (Costume Designer) Associate Designer for the Broadway and national touring companies of RENT; as well as many of the international companies of RENT, including China, Canada, the UK, and the Italian company produced by Pavarotti. Her regional credits include 10 seasons with The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, The Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Syracuse Stage, The Cape Playhouse, and Bristol Riverside Theatre. NY: Off Broadway, Fringe Festival and NYMF. LisaZinni.com
JIM MILKEY (Lighting Designer) Man, Such Good Friends (NYMF), Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (Fractured Atlas), Lounge Act (Lunatic Theatre Company) and Pygmalion (NY Baroque Dance Company). Regional: Castro's Beard, The Shape of Things, Ears on a Beatle (Barrington Stage Company), The Wild Party and Johnny Guitar (Speakeasy Stage Company). He is also the associate on Irving Berlin's White Christmas and assistant FX designer on the Spamalot tour and Spamalot Vegas.
KATIE ROSIN / KAMPFIRE FILMS PR (Marketing/PR) Off-Broadway: Mother Load, Sage Theater; Wasps in Bed, Beckett Theater; Anaïs Nin: One Of Her Lives, Beckett Theater; Triple Threat: 2007 Drama Desk Nominee (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story, Real Danger & Elephant Girls, Theatre 5; The Monument, Clurman Theater; Don Juan in Chicago, Kirk Theater. Clients include: Ateh Theater Group, Emerging Artists Theatre, The New York Innovative Theatre Awards, Nicu's Spoon, (re:) Directions Theatre Company, T. Schreiber Studios, Woman Seeking...A Theater Company, as well as, various productions at the Midtown International Theater Festival and FringeNYC. Rosin teaches Marketing the Arts at NYU.
www.kampfirefilmspr.com
SAMANTHA SCHLUMBERGER (Graphic Designer) founded Boughton Design, a multi-disciplinary design firm in 2002. Boughton Design's work is based on a philosophy that design should reinforce an emotional connection between clients and their audiences. Commercial graphic design client work includes branding and logotype for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The Dramatists Guild of America, as well as extensive collateral design for Clear/Registered Traveler, the Animal Rescue Fund, Irvington Institute, Scholarship Chicago and Women in Development. Boughton Design also produces a line of custom stationery.
GEOFF JOSSELSON (Casting Director) Current projects: Allan Knee's The Jazz Age (59E59), Nickelodeon's The Backyardigans Live!, and productions for North Shore Music Theatre and Kansas City Starlight Theatre. Recently, Geoff cast the York Theatre Company's Musicals in Mufti, The Last Five Years (Denver Center) and the premiere productions of Sympathy Jones, Such Good Friends and Going Down Swingin' for NYMF 2007. With Calleri Casting: the upcoming film, Dragon Ball, and the Ivory Joe Cole workshop. Previously, Geoff worked on the casting of AltarBoyz, West Side Story, Carmen, Mimi Le Duck, Fanny Hill and The Great Game. Graduate of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts.
BRIER PATCH PRODUCTIONS (General Management) Combining the expertise of Laura Janik Cronin and Scott Newsome, Brierpatch Productions offers general management services for theatrical productions, tours, and special events.
Laura Janik Cronin has over 12 years of theatrical management experience on and Off-Broadway, including The Lion King, Chicago, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, August: Osage County, November, The Look of Love, Jackie Mason: Prune Danish, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Triumph of Love, Hamlet with Ralph Fiennes, Beauty and the Beast, Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well…,Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, 25 Questions For A Jewish Mother, Don't Quit Your Night Job, and My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy. Laura has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Mount Holyoke College, and holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.
Scott Newsome has managed Off-Broadway productions for over eight years. His productions include Dinner With Friends, Menopause The Musical, Harmony (Broadway out of town), Once Around The Sun, I Love You Because, Shout! The Mod Musical, and My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm In Therapy. Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from the University of Houston.
CARLOS MAISONET (Production Stage Manager) Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz, The Awesome 80s Prom, Perfect Harmony. National Tour: Stephen Schwartz's Captain Louie. New York: The Wild Party (The Culture Project), Capture Now (workshop), Glimpses Of The Moon (The Oak Room), Ward 9 (NYMF 2008). Other credits include: Jihad: The Musical (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), The Concert for Mother Earth (featuring: Joan Osborne, The Bacon Brothers, Jen Chapin, and Eddie Money). Carlos is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and a proud member of Actor's Equity.
RACHEL MAIER (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to work on this fabulous show! Her recent credits include: Broadway: All My Sons. Off Broadway: The Awesome 80's Prom, Based on a Totally True Story, Suddenly Last Summer, Captain Louie. Favorite NYC credits: Shrek! The Musical and In the Heights Workshops, Don't Quit Your Night Job, TheATrainPlays, White Noise, The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero, Jumping Blind, and numerous benefits, concerts, and readings. Rachel also works as a flying trapeze instructor at the Espana/Streb Trapeze Academy in Brooklyn. BA in Drama from the University of California, Irvine. Proud AEA member. Thanks to my family!
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EDITH WHARTON wrote the novel Glimpses of the Moon in 1922. It was an international best-seller at the time and was made into a film in 1923. The 1922 New York Times review of Glimpses compared it to her previous novel, The Age of Innocence, which had received the Pulitzer Prize in 1920, "I think The Glimpses of the Moon a much better book; it is more interesting, more memorable and closer to the heart of things."
