Executive Producer - Michael Mills
__________________________________________________________________
Bookwriter/Lyricist - Jim Christian
Jim Christian is a native of Utah with over 30 years of professional experience as a director, teacher, actor, writer, and producer in the areas of theatre, television and film. His original adaptation of “The Pirated Penzance” was selected as a national winner in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in 1994 and was presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Two years later, “The Pirated Penzance” made its professional premiere at Pioneer Theatre Company under Jim’s direction.
In 1994, he was commissioned to write, direct and choreograph the original musical murder mystery, Mystery on the High Seas, which was presented aboard the QE2 [Queen Elizabeth II], the flagship for the Cunard Lines.
Jim served as Artistic Director for Utah Musical Theatre for ten years. Productions include Peter Pan; Camelot; West Side Story; Into the Woods; She Loves Me; South Pacific; My Fair Lady; Working; Forever Plaid; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Dames at Sea; Oklahoma!; Will Rogers Follies; Drood; and Cabaret.
He has worked as a director and choreographer at Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah Opera Company, Hale Centre Theatre, Utah Musical Theatre, Park City Egyptian Theatre, Rodgers Memorial Theatre, the Grand Theatre, Utah State University, Sierra Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Stage Company, Broadway in the Rockies, Musicana Dinner Theatres, and Pavillion Players. His credits include Crazy for You, Façade, I Do! I Do!, Pageant, Beehive, Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, 1940’s Radio Hour, Side By Side By Sondheim, A Little Night Music, A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Gardens version), and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.
Prior to his professional career, he attended the University of Utah where he received his B.F.A. in musical theatre. He earned his M.F.A. in acting at Illinois State University and later served as Director of Musical Theatre Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. From there, he went on to administrate the Master of Fine Arts Program in Musical Theatre at San Diego State University where he was recognized for “Outstanding Contribution by a Drama Faculty.” In 1988 he returned to Utah as Director of Musical Theatre Studies at Weber State University. In 1996 he was awarded the “Crystal Crest Master Teacher of the Year” for Weber State University. He has also been recognized for his contributions to teaching and theatre by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, the Utah Theatre Association, and the Mayor’s Office for the city of Ogden, Utah.
In July of 2004, Jim was selected as Associate Producer for “Music and the Spoken Word,” the weekly television and radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Jim is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and The Dramatists Guild.
__________________________________________________________________
General Manager - Don Frantz
Don Frantz is an eight year veteran of the Walt Disney Company where he was instrumental in creating Walt Disney Theatrical Productions and served as the Associate Producer of Broadway's "Beauty and the Beast." Following the Broadway premiere and four North American companies, Don then served as Associate Producer of Broadway's biggest hit, "The Lion King." With this pattern of success, Don was invited to join Livent, Inc. in Toronto to provide a more responsible management team for the "Ragtime" companies.
Prior to these assignments he produced and directed productions at Walt Disney World, including the nighttime spectacle "SpectroMagic", and managed the conceptual development of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "EQ" and "Noah's Ark." Prior to Disney, Don had a wide range of entertainment venues and assignments including directing or producing roles for: theme parks such as Universal Studios and Busch Gardens; special events including Superbowl Half-time Presentations and the 1984 World's Fair's 5,000 seat amphitheater; theatrical projects on the west coast including Los Angeles' Ensemble Studio Theater/LA and George Schaefer's Musical Theater/LA produced in association with U.C.L.A at the Doolittle Theater, and independent productions at the Roxy and Canon Theaters.
He received an MFA in Theater Management from UCLA where he was later accepted onto the faculty of the Department of Theater, Film and Television. For Hyperion Press he authored the book "A Celebration of the Broadway Musical, Beauty and the Beast." In 1980 Don re-discovered and constructed models of the lost secret of China's 'South Pointing Chariot.' The model, accepted by the Museum of the Province of Xian, effectively re-wrote a small chapter in the history of Chinese mechanical engineering.
In 1993, 1995 and 1996 Don broke the Guinness Record for the World's Largest Maze and developed a new, outdoor, family game called The Amazing Maize Maze®. The result was the founding of the American Maze Company which has built 30 such projects in 8 different states, entertained over one million players, and instigated a maze fad which has found root around the world. Don regularly gives seminars on teamwork to corporate clients based on his observations at the maze.
__________________________________________________________________
Set Designer - James Leonard Joy
James Leonard Joy is a New York based Scenic Designer. His Broadway credits include productions of Play On!, Take Me Along, Peter Pan, State Fair, and Ned and Jack. Also in New York he has designed Blue at the Roundabout Theatre Company, Camping With Henry and Tom at the Lortel Theatre (for which he won the Lucille Lortel Award) and Regina at the New York City Opera. He has designed for regional theatres across the country including The Old Globe Theatre, The Arena Stage, The Guthrie Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, The Cincinatti Playhouse, The Huntington Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Alliance Theatre and The Goodspeed Opera House.
Recently he has been busy with many projects for Walt Disney World Entertainment, including live shows for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line. He has designed a production for the new park at Disneyland Paris.
__________________________________________________________________
Costume Designer - Ann Hould-Ward
Ann Hould-Ward received the 1994 Tony Award as well as the American Theatre Wing's Design Award for "Best Costume Design" in Beauty and the Beast. She was selected to represent the United States in the 1995 Prague Design Quadrennial. Her costume designs for Broadway include Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George (Tony and Drama Desk nominations; Maharam Award for "Outstanding Costume Design"), Harrigan and Hart (Maharam nomination), Into the Woods (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle nominations; Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award); The Moliere Comedies at the Roundabout; Falsettos, St. Joan, Three Men on a Horse, In the Summer House, and Timon of Athens. Designs for Off-Broadway include Cymbeline, On the Verge, and Personals. Dance designs include collaborations with Graciella Daniele (Ballet Hispanico) and Lar Lubovitch (White Oak Project). Designs for Regional Theatre include projects at the Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, and Seattle Rep.
|
|
