BlackfootNotes

Amas Musical Theatre (Producer)

Amas Musical Theatre has been a pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since it was founded in 1968 by legendary actress and visionary Rosetta LeNoire. Rosetta's vision for Amas is grounded in non-traditional, multi-ethnic production, education and casting. Amas is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of original musical works and to the training and encouragement of new musical theatre talent.

For 40 years, Amas ("you love" in Latin) has engraved its unique trademark in the world of musical theatre. We produce quality musical theatre presenting different cultural viewpoints—African-American, Latino, European, and Jewish—while reaching out to underserved audiences. Amas attracts actors and artists of distinction and reputation, while offering opportunities for new talent to learn and develop.

Rosetta founded Amas as a theatre where people could work together with emphasis on individual skills, regardless of race, color, creed, religion or national origin. Amas celebrates its impact in pioneering multi-ethnic casting in the American Theatre and reiterates its commitment to this reflection of our diverse society.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times has hailed Amas as "careful to present a generous spirit of inclusiveness" and as a company that "succeeds at tapping the cross-cultural market." Pulitzer Prize-winner Margo Jefferson, also of The New York Times cited Amas productions as "the kind of work that can and should be seen around the country." In the last five years, seven of our productions have moved to extended runs on and Off-Broadway, as well as across the country.

Actors' Equity Association acknowledges Rosetta and Amas' contribution to the American theatre by bestowing a yearly award in her honor, making her the first recipient. Producers and theatre companies who exemplify Rosetta's commitment to multicultural production and casting in the theatre are annually given the treasured Rosetta LeNoire Award.

"For her pioneering work with Amas Musical Theatre," Rosetta was awarded the 1999 National Medal of Arts, cited by President Clinton as "an individual deserving of special recognition by reason of her outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States."

Sherry Boone (Dr. Jane Cooke Wright)

Broadway: Jelly’s Last Jam (Maman), starring Gregory Hines and directed by George C. Wolfe, Master Class (Sharon) starring Dixie Carter, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Edie Falco, Maria Tucci, and Leslie Uggams, An Evening Honoring Toni Morrison, starring Morgan Freeman, Phylicia Rashad, Sweet Honey and the Rock, and Sonia Sanchez, Michael John LaChiusa’s Marie Christine (Marie Christine) directed by Graciela Daniele, Ragtime. National Tours: Carousel (Carrie), directed by Nicholas Hytner, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables. International: Carmen Jones (Cindy Lou), directed by Jude Kelly (London’s Royal Festival Hall). Off Broadway: The Super Star Artist Show, directed by Tamilla Woodard, First Lady Suite (Marian Anderson), directed by Transport Group’s Jack Cummings III, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Only Heaven, with lyrics by Langston Hughes, directed by Nancy Rhodes (world premiere). Regional: Intimate Apparel (Mayme), directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj for Arkansas Rep, My Fair Lady (Eliza Doolittle). directed by Richard Hamburger (Portland Center Stage/Dallas Theater Center), Master Class (Sharon) directed by Moises Kaufman, starring Rita Moreno (Berkeley Rep). Sherry’s body of work spans from Broadway to Opera. Her latest work The Super Star Artist Show, written by and starring Ms. Boone, developed with and directed by Tamilla Woodard premiered at NYC’s Zipper Theatre on Nov 30, 2007. In Sept. 2007, Ms. Boone returned from a triumphant debut at London’s Royal Festival in acclaimed director Jude Kelly’s production of Carmen Jones. Opera credits include The Scrimshaw Violin (Band Leader), libretto by Jonathan Levine, music by Bruce Saylor, directed by Mel Marvin, and Marvin and Levine’s Guest from the Future (Olga). She debuted at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival in Robert Kapilow’s Green Eggs and Hamadeus. Ms. Boone also debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Rob Kapilow’s And Furthermore, They Bite! and returned the following year to perform Kapilow’s Two By Seuss. She has been a guest Soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and the Hartford Symphony. She starred with renowned authors Gish Jen, Walter Mosley, Pulitzer Prize Winner Nilo Cruz and noted violinist Choliang Lin in “Stirring the Pot”- Celebrating the Color Experience in the USA , before the Asian, Black, and Hispanic Congressional Caucuses in Puerto Rico. Ms. Boone is founder and artistic director of Opera at Home, a cutting edge opera company dedicated to increasing the audience of opera all over the globe by creating a “heart-to-heart exchange” between audience and artist. The company was established in 1998 with the mission to motivate mankind through the human voice and to share classical music with underserved audiences. A published lyricist and poet, Ms. Boone has collaborated with composer Sean Jeremy Palmer and Opera at Home to produce and direct the new opera entitled Ellen Craft. Based on true events, Ellen’s fiery story of revenge, love, forgiveness and redemption was recognized as Best Ensemble Performance at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival. The Story of Ellen Craft : Bridging The Literacy Gap had its first session in October 2006 at the University of DC inspiring hundreds of adult learners to write, read, and speak their minds with the help of their ancestors. Ms. Boone premiered her new single entitled “We Are” on June 4, 2007 at the book launch of bestselling author Victoria Moran (Fat, Broke, and Lonely No More!) at Barnes and Noble / at Lincoln Center. Visit Ms. Boone at www.sherryboone.com

Chaundra Cameron (Dr. Geraldine Pittman Woods)

Chaundra Cameron holds a Bachelor of Arts from Xavier University of New Orleans and a Master of Arts from the University of Maryland in directing theatre. She has performed as an actress and vocalist in Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. Her New York credits include: Yo, Alice, directed by Maurice Hines (Radio City Music Hall), and When The Rains Come (John Houston Theatre). Regional credits include: Sophisticated Ladies (Pioneer Theatre, Utah), numerous productions of Crowns, and His Eye Is On The Sparrow: The Ethel Waters Story (Florida Stage). Chaundra is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theatre sorority and thanks God for her daughter Sheena and the opportunity to live her dreams.

Julia Lema (Dr. Evelyn Boyd Granville)

A native New Yorker, Julia has performed in many capacities: singer, actor, dancer and choreographer. She has performed both On and Off Broadway in such shows as Lena Horne, The Lady And Her Music, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Charlaine), Guys and Dolls, Dreamgirls (Effie White), Leader Of The Pack (Darlene Love), Play On (Miss Mary), Beehive, Blues In The Night (the Girl), Swinging On A Star (Mame/Night Club Singer), Thunder Knocking On The Door (Good Sister), Crowns (Mabel/Velma) and To Kill A Mockingbird (Calpurnia). As a director/choreographer, she was assistant to Arthur Faria in the production Ain’t Misbehavin’ starring the Pointer Sisters, and remounted that show starring Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. She also directed and choreographed a production of Five Guys Named Moe at Stage West in Springfield, MA.

Gia McGlone (Dr. Eliza Anna Grier)

Jersey Girl Gia McGlone has been blessed with her passion. A proud member of Actors Equity, Gia has been apart of productions such as Aida, Beehive, The 60's Musical, Little Shop Of Horrors, Dora The Explorer, Live In Britain, Freedom Train, with Theatreworks USA, and many others. Although a favorite to date was being a member of the original cast The Legacy Project: It Happened In Little Rock at the Arkansas Rep, featured in American Theatre Magazine. Aside from the stage, Gia is an aspiring recording artist and writer. Since graduating from Montclair State University, Gia is an artist who wants to give back in multitudes in every project. For more information please visit www.GiaMcGlone.com.

Arthur Toombs (African Drums)

Arthur Toombs was born in Camilia Georgia. At a young age his family moved to New York where he was exposed to all kinds of Afro Cuban rhythms. His passion for drumming began and he has been dedicated to the art ever since. Arthur played his first drum over 30 years ago. He trained at the legendary Bernice Johnson Dance Theater of the Arts in New York, working alongside master drummers. He would eventually become lead drummer. He also played for the Devore Dance Center as well as countless dance centers in New York City. His dynamic and powerful drumming style landed him performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and legendary jazz club Birdland in NYC with vocalist and actress Valarie Pettiford. He has also gone on to drum Off Broadway for History of the World and Ghosts. Arthur has performed with some of the most revered drummers, percussionists, musical directors and composers including Baba Olatungi, Chief Bey, Roger Squitero and Ron Abel. Back to his drumming roots, Arthur is currently lead drummer at Movement of the Children Dance Center in Queens, New York.

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj (Author)

Mr. Maharaj is civil and arts activist. Rajendra is the Associate Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage. He is the director of the Broadway bound musical adaptation E. Lynn Harris' New York Times Bestselling novel "Invisible Life." He has held artistic residencies with The Public Theater, Freedom Theatre, Alliance Theatre Kennedy Center, Crossroads Theatre, Lark Play Development Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre and Amas Musical Theatre. Mr. Maharaj is the Co. Founder and Director of River Voices, an African American and Latino Playwriting festival in collaboration with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. His regional credits include: Freedom Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, St. Louis Black Rep, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Prince Musical Theatre, Theatre of the Stars, The Goodman Theater, Syracuse Stage, and Alliance Theatre. His New York city credits include: the Public Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Lark Play Development Center, New Federal Theatre, Second Stage, Rebel Theater, Making Books Sing, and Here. He is a former director in training of the daytime Emmy Award winning directing team at ABC's All My Children. Mr. Maharaj is a founding member and the Producing Artistic Director of Rebel Theater, and recently a visiting lecturer at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Mr. Maharaj has penned several plays including: It Happened In Little Rock, Mississippi Night, Diss Diss & Diss Dat, Twenty-Five, Gray and BlackfootNotes. Co.-Conceiver of three spoken word plays Exposures, History of the Word, and Union Square, he has recently been commissioned by the Tony award winning Alliance Theater and The King Center to create a new work inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. Academically, he holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts in Directing from CUNY Brooklyn College. Mr. Maharaj is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, a member of Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Dramatists Guild of America, Negro Ensemble Co., and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Mr. Maharaj has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and Theater Communications Group.
Mr. Maharaj is the recipient of several prestigious grants and awards including National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Career Development Program for Directors TCG New Generations Grant in partnership with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre , the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council Grant, Puffin Foundation and Time Warner Diverse Voices Fund, and the Van Lier Directing Fellowship. He is also the recipient of the Woodie King Jr. Award for Outstanding Direction, four AUDELCO awards for his direction and choreography, and fourteen AUDELCO nominations over his illustrious career. Mr. Maharaj was the Assistant to the Director on the Tony Award Winning Broadway revival A Raisin in the Sun at the Royale Theatre.
Mr. Maharaj has been featured in the American Theatre Magazine, Yale Review, New York Times, The NAACP Crisis News, Chicago Sun Times, Ebony, Arkansas Times, Uptown Magazine, and Variety for his work in the American theater. He is currently represented by Bret Adams Ltd., Mark Orsini and Bruce Ostler agents 212-765-5630.

Nick Petrie (Director)

Nick Petrie is a co-founder and the associate artistic director of Rebel Theater Company. Producing credits include: History Of The Word, which premiered at the Tony Award Winning Crossroads Theater, NJ, Rasa Theater Company's Abortion and The End Apurnas. Currently he is the lead producer of the highly anticipated docudrama It Happened In Little Roc, scheduled for the 2009 Off-Broadway season. Nick has worked extensively as an assistant director for Dreamgirls, with Jennifer Holiday (the Fox Theatre, Atlanta), Ghosts, The Maverick Theatre Exposures (Rebel Theatre), Blackfootnotes (Ensemble Studio Theatre, Amas), Abortion and Movie Man (Rasa Theater), Jamaica (Paul Robinson Theatre), and Classyass and Nightswim (Actors Theatre of Louisville). He is currently slated to direct Rebel Theater Company's production of The Black Doctor for its 08' Season. As an actor he has worked in theatre, film and television. Recent credits include Arkansas Repertory Theater Actor Number 6 in It Happened in Little Rock, Lark Playwright Development Center as Casey in Breathe and Agim in Man Measures Man. Nick is a certified producer with Brooklyn Public Access Television and is the director of "On Da Money", a finance talk show. In addition to this theatrical work he works with culpepper/williams, a film production company and is currently developing new film and television projects. In addition to his work in entertainment Nick was an analyst at Credit Suisse, a project manager at UBS and has worked at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Deutsche Bank. He also worked at Miramax Films in the marketing and advertising department for the "Bridget Jones Diary" and "Iris" campaigns. Academically, Nick holds a BA in Theatre and English from The University of Vermont (UVM). While attending UVM he studied dramaturgy with theatre scholar George B. Bryan and attended the Eugene O'Neil Theatre Center in Waterford CT (NTI).

William Foster McDaniel (Music Director)

WILLIAM FOSTER McDANIEL (Music Director) previously appeared at Amas Musical Theatre as music director of an original musical by Micki Grant's and for their 2006 Benefit performance of Raisin. He also served as conductor for the First National Tour of Bubblin' Brown Sugar. Other conducting credits include The Fantasticks, Timbuktu!, Ain't Misbehavin', Sophisticated Ladies, House Of Flowers, Once On This Island, Big River, Fiddler On The Roof, Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Hello, Dolly!, Dreamgirls, Damn Yankees, Show Boat, Storyville, Dinah Was, The Will Rogers Follies, A Wonderful Life, Nunsense II, Call The Children Home, Always...Patsy Cline, Cookin' At The Cookery, Crazy For You, Smokey Joe's Cafe, She Loves Me, and The Women Of Brewster Place. His compositions have received performances by the Philharmonic of Greensboro, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, the Mozart Society Orchestra at Harvard, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the United States Army Band Brass Quintet and the Antara Ensemble of New York. Mr. McDaniel holds a Bachelor of Music from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and a Master of Music from Boston University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Paris.

Donna Trinkoff (Producing Artistic Director)

Since joining Amas Musical Theatre in fall 1994 Donna has produced WANDA'S WORLD, SHOUT!, THE MOD MUSICAL, MAGPIE, DOGMUSIC, LONE STAR LOVE, STORMY WEATHER: IMAGINING LENA HORNE, ZANNA, DON'T!, LATIN HEAT, FROM MY HOME TOWN, LANGSTON HUGHE'S LITTLE HAM, 4 GUYS NAMED JOSE, REUNION, ROLLIN' ON THE T.O.B.A., DELPHI OR BUST, Richard Rodgers Award-winners BARRIO BABIES, BOBOS, and THE PRINCESS AND THE BLACK-EYED PEA, SONG BY SONG, THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL VALENTI, Galt McDermot's TIME AND THE WIND, BRING IN THE MORNING, an original musical revue, AFTER HOURS, GOOD GOD!, WORKING, and a myriad of original musicals for the Amas Six O'Clock Musical Theatre Lab. Donna holds a BA in English and Theatre from SUNY Binghamton. She is a graduate of the National Theatre Institute, a theatre training program at the Eugene O'Neill Center in Waterford, CT and she received a Certificate of Merit from the Drama Studio in London. Donna has served on the Board of the League for Professional Theatre Women. In 1998, she received the New York Municipal Art Society Award of Merit and the 2003 Galaxy Award from the NY Women's Association.