The History of War (2010)

Michael is very excited to be making his NYMF debut in this particular role with such a talented creative team and cast.  Broadway/NYC: All My Sons (Bert), The Coast of Utopia (u/s Kolya/Sasha), Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Ben).  Selected readings: Pan (Tootles), Finding Neverland (Michael), A Christmas Story: The Musical (Randy).  Film/TV: HBO’s John Adams (Charles Adams), NBC’s Little Spirit (Leo), TBS’s Are We There Yet? (Troy), VH1/THC’s Woodstock: Now and Then (himself), Nick's Wonderpets (Buck).  Favorite job: drummer.  Check out the band at http://www.youtube.com/membersofthepress. 

st engagement was the entire North American tour of Monty Python’s Spamalot, directed by Mike Nichols and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. His Mrs. Galahad was seen throughout the U.S and Canada, and his King Arthur led the company in San Diego, San Jose, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Tucson, Nashville, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, and Hershey, Pennsylvania, where the air really does smell of chocolate. Regional acting credits include: Copenhagen (Heisenberg), 1776 (Rutledge), The Lion in Winter (Geoffrey), Twelve Angry Men (Juror #2), Measure for Measure (Claudio), Ostrovsky’s A Family Affair (Lazar), Candida (Lexy), Trask & Fenn (William Fenn), and The Boys Next Door (Barry). Regional directing credits include: Camelot, Die Fledermaus, Guys & Dolls: In Concert with Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Billy Bishop Goes To War, Wesley Middleton’s Tomato Plant Girl (director/composer), James Still’s Meet Me Incognito (director/composer), and the world premier of José Cruz Gonzáles’ Earth Songs. Christopher has been an artistic associate with Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY, The Theatre Building in Chicago, and Metro Theater Company in St. Louis. He is proud to have taught with and designed curriculum for the nationally recognized education department of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Christopher graduated from and has served as guest director and faculty member at Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre & Dance, St. Louis. Born in South Georgia, he has made his home in St. Louis, Chicago, Santa Cruz, CA, and the mountains of Harlan County, Kentucky. Currently, he’s hiding out in the wilds of New York’s Upper West Side. He is a member of Actors' Equity and The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Broadway:  Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella (nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards, leading actress);  The Diary of Anne Frank (Edith Frank) with Natalie Portman;  Amy in The Show Off at the Roundabout;  Adriana in The Comedy of Errors at Lincoln Center juggling with the Flying Karamazov Brothers (PBS Great Performances); Barnum with Jim Dale and Glenn Close. Very proud to have played Karen in Off-B’way’s  Dinner With Friends directed by Daniel Sullivan,  Aunt Louise in Nine Armenians at Manhattan Theater Club; Amalia in She Loves Me  at Playwrights’ Horizons); Janet in Fun/Nobody directed by W.H. Macy; Rebecca in the original workshop of Rags directed by Steven Schwartz. Played Gus’s long-lost mother on The Guiding Light for six months; Law and Order and SVU; and the films So Fine and I Dreamed of Africa. Favorite job: Mom to two great daughters.

Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar (King Herod), The Who’s Tommy (Uncle Ernie, Tony Nomination), Titanic (Ismay), A Christmas Carol (Jacob Marley), The Visit. Off-Broadway: Shockheaded Peter, Silence!,  One Flea Spare (NYSF/Obie/Best Play), Earth and Sky, Twenty Fingers, Twenty Toes, Lucky Stiff, Taming of the Shrew, Scrambled Feet, Nightclub Cantana, Two Grown Men.  TV: “Sally Hemmings,” “The Client,” ‘Fool’s Fire,” “Law & Order.”  Film: Clopin in Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Hunchback, Part Deux.”

Jason Kravits was last seen on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone, and previously in Sly Fox. He is probably best known for his work on TV, specifically as ADA Richard Bay on ABC's "The Practice." Other favorite TV credits include "30 Rock," "Royal Pains," "Gravity," "Are We There Yet," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Ed" and "Grey's Anatomy."  Movies include "Sweet November," "What Just Happened?" and "The Stepford Wives." He is also the proud co-creator of "Lords of the Playground." Jason has always wanted to play Chip Zien playing Napoleon, and is glad to have been given the chance.

Andrew Pandaleon is thrilled to be making his NYMF debut.  Past credits include: Happy Days (Richie) at Gateway Playhouse, Laughter on The 23rd Floor (Brian), History Boys (Scripps) both at Northern Stage, Play It Cool (Will) at The Celebration Theater. Andrew is a graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television and attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL. He also studied at The Piven Theater and was a member of their renowned “Young People’s Company.”  Thanks to Mom and Dad for your unending love and support.

Hailing from Sedalia, Mo Eric is thrilled to be making his NYMF debut in The History of War. He is currently a featured artist with the Yip Harburg Foundation which is dedicated to the preservation of his legacy through various projects and provides educational opportunities to low-income and minority students. Some of his favorite roles include Jim in Big River, Judas in Godspell and Crooks in Of Mice and Men. Eric can be seen performing as the newest member of Symphony Space's resident company the Thalia Follies in their upcoming season. He would like to thank God, his amazing Mom, Family and Friends for their unconditoinal love and support.

BFA in Dance from Juilliard. (Broadway) West Side Story: 1980 revival, Cats: original cast , Song & Dance, Shogun and The Engineer in Miss Saigon. (Regional) Engineer in Miss Saigon: Toronto, Stuttgart, Chicago, Denver, Miami. Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Title role in The King & I. (Workshops) Smokey Joe's Cafe, To Sir with Love. (Television) Fame pilot.  Mr. Sebek is a composer/ lyricist who coaches voice and performance in New York’s Hudson Valley specifically serving the area's young talent. He is also a celebrated director/choreographer for local theatrical productions of The Music Man, Oliver, Thoroughly Modern Millie andSeussical.

New York- Conrade in Much ado about nothing (New York Classical Theatre) Williams in Henry V (American Globe Theatre) Flashback Ben in the Five Borough Plays (Milk Can Theatre Co.) Regional: Mr. Briggs (Dracula), Russell Henderson (The Laramie Project Epilogue), u/s Raskolnikov (Crime & Punishment) Swing (Christmas Carol) and Commissioner Franklin (Heist! 34th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays) all at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Robbie also wore a tunic for his professional debut in Cinderella (Plano Repertory Theatre). In the winter Robbie will be playing the Artful Dodger in the Vermont Stage Company production of Oliver Twist! Robbie is incredibly thankful to be a part of the NYMF this year, as well as having the opportunity to work with such an amazing cast and crew. Special thanks to all my amazing family and friends!

Max was most recently seen roller skating across the country as Sonny Malone in the national tour of XANADU. On Broadway, Max played Enjolras in the recent revival of LesMisérables. His other Broadway credits include Alfred in Dance of the Vampires starring alongside Michael Crawford, Jean Prouvaire in the closing company of the original Les Misérables, and his debut as a disciple in the 2000 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. In that production, Max understudied the role of Jesus and performed it many times. Other New York credits include Tremont in Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall, Woody in Finian's Rainbow at the Irish Repertory Theatre, and Matt in The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.

Regionally, Max starred in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Baker's Wife and the Kennedy Center's staging of Mame. Other favorite roles include Danny Churchill in Girl Crazy, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Dorian Gray in Dorian,  Fredric in Pirates of Penzance, Freddy in My Fair Lady, Claude in Hair, and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Max's first professional job after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was touring as a back up singer for the legendary Liza Minnelli.  He has also toured Europe as Tony in West Side Story and the USA as Mary Sunshine in Chicago.

In addition to Max's theatre life, he continues to perform for some of his favorite charities, including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids and The Matthew Shephard Foundation.

Credits include Broadway productions of And The World Goes Round, 42nd Street, and MerrilyWe Roll Along and Broadway revivals of Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, and Sweeney Todd. He also appeared in Crazy For You and Follies: In Concert (both on PBS).  With his brother, Bob Walton, he wrote Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical, which began as part of the 2004 New York Musical Theater Festival under the title, The Eyes Are the First Thing To Go. It is now licensed through the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.  Website: midlifethecrisismusical.com

Deborah Abramson has written several songs with Tony-winner William Finn. Barrington Stage Company presented a revue of Deborah's material, Travels With My Discontent, in 2006.  She has also composed music for Marco Polo with Kleban-winner Peter Mills, which was showcased at the ASCAP workshop and earned her a Dramatists Guild Fellowship. In addition, she has received The Max Dreyfuss Award through ASCAP and graduated from the Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU. Deborah’s music has been featured in several cabaret evenings by singers such as Michael Winther, Stephanie Block, and Lea Michele. Stephanie Block's solo album, This Place I Know, includes a song by Abramson and Larson-winner Amanda Yesnowitz. As musical director and associate musical director, Deborah has worked on the Broadway productions of Spring Awakening and James Joyce's The Dead, the off-Broadway productions of The Glorious Ones, Bernarda Alba (Michael John LaChiusa), Dessa Rose, and My Life With Albertine, and many developmental workshops, including Sheik and Sater's Nero at New York Stage And Film. In short, Deborah keeps good company. www.deborahabramson.com

Amanda was the first individual lyricist to win the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award and her acceptance speech can be seen on the Rent movie DVD. Her musical By the Numbers (music by Brian Feinstein) earned a Dramatists Guild Fellowship, a slot in the ASCAP Showcase in NYC, and was also chosen for the TRU New Voices Series. 

Amanda penned lyrics for an adaptation of Brecht's epic play The Caucasian Chalk Circle, produced by Ithaca's Hangar Theatre where local critics agreed that her "clever lyrics do Brecht justice."

A mainstay on the NYC and regional cabaret circuit, Amanda’s work was nominated for a 2010 MAC Award and has been performed by various Broadway luminaries as well as Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on New Year’s Eve at Symphony Hall.  Additionally, a revue based on her song Those 7 Little Words (music by Mike Shaieb) enjoyed an extended run at Cleveland’s Playhouse in the Square.

She has collaborated with many other illustrious composers including Laurence O’Keefe, Steve Marzullo, Skip Kennon, Brad Ross, Brian Cimmet and Jason Robert Brown. Recently her lyrics have been featured as part of the NAMT Songwriter Showcase, NEO4, Broadway at Birdland, Lea Michele’s cabaret debut in NYC and LA, quoted in the March 23rd, 2009 issue of Time magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1884862,00.html ), and published by The New York Times (http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/words/).

Other works include New York Movie and Polishing the Frame (Both for Prospect Theater), Four-Letter Words (York Theatre, music by Feinstein), Triptych (selected for Provincetown Play Festival and ATB’s Flores Series), and Building a Wing (Best Musical at 2007 Short, Sweet & Song Festival in Sydney, music by Michael Ficocelli).

And as of June 2009, stand-alone favorite Gotta Start Small can be heard on Stephanie J. Block’s debut album This Place I Know released by PS Classics.

Amanda holds degrees from Tufts University (BA), The Boston Conservatory of Music (MM), and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (MFA), where she currently teaches full-time as a language lecturer in the department of Art and Public Policy.

Chip Zien created the central role of the Baker in Sondheim/Lapine’s award-winning INTO THE WOODS (L.A. Drama-Logue Award, Outer Critics nomination) and also created the role of Mendel in William Finn’s highly acclaimed FALSETTOS. Most recently he was seen on B'way in Mike Nichols' THE COUNTRY GIRL and as Thenardier in the revival of LES MISERABLES. He appeared in Tommy Tune’s GRAND HOTEL playing Otto Kringelein, the memorable dancing bookkeeper. Other Broadway credits include: The Boys From Syracuse, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, ALL OVER TOWN directed by Dustin Hoffman, THE SUICIDE with Derek Jacobi. Mr. Zien began his long association with William Finn in the New York premier of IN TROUSERS, the first Marvin musical, at Playwrights Horizons playing Marvin and appeared thereafter in the original productions of MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS and FALSETTOLAND. Mr. Zien also starred in the La Jolla reworking of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (L.A. Drama-Logue Award).

Off-Broadway, Mr. Zien has been equally comfortable in plays and musicals. Among his many credits: Glenn Merzer’s ANONYMOUS, Peter Parnell’s AN IMAGINARY LIFE, Wendy Wasserstein’s ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (Drama Desk Nomination), Michael Weller’s SPLIT and MOONCHILDREN, Lanford Wilson’s HOT L BALTIMORE (both in NY and LA’s Mark Taper Forum), Allan Ginsburg’s KADDISH, as well as Finn’s A NEW BRAIN (Drama Desk Nomination), DIAMONDS, the Ashman/Menken REAL LIFE FUNNIES, and the hit revue TUSCALOOSA’S CALLING ME, etc.

On TV, Mr. Zien was a series regular on THE CAROLINE RHEA SHOW, ALMOST PERFECT (CBS), NOW AND AGAIN (CBS), DEADLINE (NBC), SHELL GAME (CBS), LOVE, SIDNEY (NBC), and REGGIE (ABC). He has guested through the years on many popular shows, among them LIPSTICK JUNGLE, RESCUE ME, CSI, LAW AND ORDER, CHEERS, THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, THIRTY-SOMETHING, JUDGING AMY, COSBY, THE CAGNEY AND LACEY MOVIES, CHIPS, SON OF THE BEACH, MADIGAN MEN, and WINGS as well as numerous pilots.

His film career has been varied. He played the Chief Executive to the President of the United States in THE SIEGE and was the voice of the infamous HOWARD THE DUCK. Also: UNITED 93, SNAKE EYES, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE, GRACE QUIGLEY with Katherine Hepburn, SO FINE, HELLO AGAIN, HOUSE OF GOD, and THE ROSE.

Mr. Zien has recently turned his attention to writing. His one man show DEATH IN ASHTABULA and a musical review with Deborah Abramson, et al TRAVELS WITH MY DISCONTENT were both developed and performed at The Barrington Stage.

Mr. Zien attended the University of Pennsylvania. His wife, Susan Pilarre, is a former soloist with the NYC Ballet and currently teaches at the School of American Ballet. They are the proud parents of two wonderful daughters.

Nick Corley, a director/writer/actor, is excited to be part of this creative team. In January he will make his West End directing debut with Woody Sez at London’s Arts Theatre.  He most recently spent a year as the artistic director of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma where he directed Sweeney Todd (starring Jeff McCarthy and Emily Skinner) The Music Man, The Who’s Tommy, Woody Sez (also co-author), and Steel Magnolias. He has directed many world premieres including Woody Sez for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and European Festival tour; the off-Broadway productions of Tall Grass, Flight (Callaway Award Nomination), and Fables In Slang; and the NY productions of Tim and Scrooge (NYMF and Queens Theatre in the Park), The Overcoat (Fringe Festival), and Tallboy Walkin’. His regional premieres include The Civil War (co-directed with Gregory Boyd at Houston’s Alley Theatre), A Young Lady of Fashion (Fulton Opera House - also co-author) and Eliot Ness...in Cleveland (Denver Theatre Centre - also co-author). Other directing credits include The Bomb-itty of Errors (Adirondack Theater Festival and St. Louis Rep), Mother Russia (Carnegie Hall), The Little Foxes (Fulton Opera House), and The Robber Bridegroom, Man of La Mancha, Bat Boy, and Lucky Stiff all for The Commons Group in Vermont. Workshop presentations include The Ghost Brothers of Darkland Country by Stephen King and John Mellencamp. He has directed over 100 workshops and readings, many of them for NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program. His appearances as a performer include Broadway (Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol, She Loves Me), off-Broadway, regional theatre, film (Kissing Jessica Stein), recordings, and television.

Directing and Choreography credits include: Broadway: Associate Choreographer, Pacific Overtures. New York: Bronx Express (Fringe Festival) Andy Warhol Was Right (NYMF), Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday Celebration (New Amsterdam). Regional: The Music Man, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Miss Saigon, (St. Louis MUNY, Paper Mill Playhouse, Music Theatre of Wichita),  Kiss Me Kate, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Herringbone (La Jolla Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Shakespeare Festival  (starring BD Wong), Up in The Air (Japan Festival Washington, DC), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Diamond Head Theatre, HI), Chicago (Riverside Theatre, FL), Carnival (UNLV), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Westchester Broadway), Pacific Overtures (North Shore, Cincinnati Playhouse, Atlanta Alliance), Jesus Christ Superstar, Aida, Joseph and the Amazing..., The Fantasticks (MUNY), Guys and Dolls (Trinity University, TX), High School Musical (Lyric Theatre, La Comedia, Casa Manana, High School Musical 2 (Lyric Theatre) Christmas with the Symphony 2007-2009 (Omaha, Symphony). 

Japanese Credits include:  Turandot (Tokyo), The Snow Queen (Tokyo Disney Sea) Copacabana, Fancy Feet, (Takarazuka Revue Company), 10,000 Person Show (Tokyo Electric) and Bryant Park an original dance musical he conceived, directed and choreographed that toured Japan.

As a performer Mr. Lee was first seen on television on Star Search at age 11. Shortly after he was a series regular on Kids Incorporated. Many years later,  he has been seen in National Commercials, Television, Feature Films, including (Razor) in Hackers and the Best Picture Academy Award winning film Chicago. On Broadway he has been featured in Chicago, Guys and Dolls and the original companies of Shogun the Musical, Miss Saigon, Victor Victoria, Kiss Me Kate, On the Town, Seussical the Musical, Pacific Overtures and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Broadway/off-Broadway orchestras: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Altar Boyz, Burnt Part Boys, Bloodsong of Love, Make Me A Song. New York credits include: Fantasy Football: the Musical? (NYMF) Shafrika the White Girl (Vineyard), Ripper (NAMT), Broadway Sings for North Shore (Joe’s Pub/York Theatre) Queen Esther (Kaufman Center) Late Nite With Niko (Zipper Factory). Regional credits include: Follies (With Donna McKechnie, Marni Nixon-Barrington Stage Co.) High School Musical 2 (North Shore Music Theatre) 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (NSMT/Barrington Stage), Seussical, Private Lives, and Songs of a Night Owl The World Goes ‘Round, High School Musical, Funked Up Fairytales, West Side Story, FAME! The Musical, The Human Comedy, and A Streetcar Named Desire (Barrington Stage Co.). Other peforming credits: Clay Aiken “Tried and True DVD,” Mario Cantone, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden. B.M in Piano Performance-SUNY Fredonia, M.A. in Collaborative Piano-NYU Steinhardt.

Diana Glazer is a New York based director, producer, casting director and creative consultant with expertise in new music theater works. She has worked on the Broadway productions of Chicago, La Cage Aux Folles and Soul of Shaolin and the Asian tours of Aida and Fame. Diana is the President & CEO of DiStar Productions and is the Casting Director at Prospect Theater Company.  She currently works with Ira Weitzman, producing music theater projects at Lincoln Center Theater and also recently served as Artistic Coordinator at the Weisslers' office.  Credits: Directing: Onward (59e59), Act IV Cabaret (Weston Playhouse), Birth Day (Hudson Guild), Assassins, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, & How To Wake Up. Producing: A Political Party! (Sage), green eyes (Fringe), Angels Twice Descending, Camp Out (the cell), A Mikvah (Fringe).  Past: Nederlander Worldwide, MTC, Primary Stages, Harden-Curtis, Weston Playhouse, & Mason Street Warehouse. Diana's musical Birth Day, co-written with Larson Award winner J. Oconer Navarro, won the New Works prize at Emerson College.  Currently: Chinglish (by David Henry Hwang), Petropolis (with Navarro), The Morning After/The Night Before (Lortel/Fringe 2010), MovingMidway and many more.  Diana served as a undergraduate teaching assistant in the theater department at Northwestern University, from which she graduated. www.diglazer.com

This is Donald’s 1st venture into NYMFdom.  Other credits: At Hand Theater Co—Letters to the End of the World (PSM); Barrington Stage Company—Burnt Part Boys (ASM), Travels with My Discontent (ASM), Disorder (ASM), Mame (ASM); Chase Brock Experience—(PSM, spring season and tour); Clubbed Thumb—Precious Little (PSM), The Gentleman Caller (PSM), What Then (ASM); The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Music Theater Conference—Myth, Iron Curtain, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Tales of the City (ASM); FringeNYC—The Morning After the Night Before (PSM), Ripcords (PSM); LAVA—Tides (PSM); New York Stage and Film—Tina Girlstar (ASM); Prospect Theater Company—MAP Quest (Producer/Curator), Museum Pieces (Producer/Curator); Polybe + Seats—Granada (PSM), 365 Days/365 Plays (PSM), Life or Theater?: The Charlotte Solomon Project (ASM); Transport Group—The Boys in the Band (SM), Bury the Dead (SM), Dark at the Top of the Stairs (SM), Marcy in the Galaxy (SM).

Ilana is thrilled to be working with Nick once again and to be making her first foray into NYMFland with this team! She previously worked with Nick on A Tribute to Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach at Symphony Space (AD, dramaturg) and Tim and Scrooge at Queens Theatre in the Park (ASM). Ilana has also had the pleasure of serving as assistant director to Terry Kinney (reasons to be pretty, Broadway & MCC), Jonathan Silverstein (I Never Sang for My Father, Keen Company), and Randy White (Underneath the Lintel, Summer Solo Series at Soho Playhouse). Directing credits include Young Playwrights Festival at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Daniel Maté’s The Longing and the Short of It (Disney/ASCAP Workshop), Pigeons, Knishes and Rockettes (FringeNYC ’10), Ugly Couples in Los Angeles (Samuel French Festival), Series 6.2: Paint on Canvas (FringeNYC ‘09), Jekyll & Hyde in Concert to benefit the NY Society of Ethical Culture, Samurai Sword… with Crosstown Playwrights, Erik Christian Hanson’s Sweetheart, Rumana Habib’s YAABA and several staged readings, workshops and cabarets. She is extremely excited to be starting Grove, a theatre company in its fetal stages, with co-artistic director Michael Padden. www.ilanabecker.com

James was the associate production manager for three years at the Atlantic Theatre Company and has assisted with production management at many theaters including Theatre Row, 59E59, Atlantic Stage II and PS122. When not production managing James is a theater director, focusing on work that fuses drama with dance and music. He also works for the American Theatre Wing. This is his first year working at NYMF.

Design credits include My Fair Lady starring Kelsey Grammar at The New York Philharmonic, Wonderful Town at New York City Opera and an Emmy nomination for NBC’s Another World.  Film work: Mermaids, starring Cher and The Boy in the Bathtub.  The bulk of her resume has been represented regionally by multiple productions for Papermill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera, North Shore Music Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, The Boston Ballet, Cape Playhouse and Westchester Broadway Theatre.  Off-Broadway shows include Tall Grass, Home of the Brave, Cinderella, The Subject was Roses, Jolson & Co., A Majority of One, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Rags, Milk and Honey, The Yiddish Trojan Woman and Shabbatai.  A Chicago native, Gail has been fortunate to design tours in Taiwan, Singapore, Portugal, Columbia and Switzerland, three productions of Ain’t Misbehavin; The 30th Anniversary tour starring Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis, at The Ahmanson in Los Angeles and the Cincinnati Playhouse. Other favorite projects include the Rockette’s Christmas Show, Disney on Ice and The Ringling Bros. Circus.

This past spring James was awarded 2nd place at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his design of Everything That Rises Must Converge.  An Atlanta native, he has worked for such companies as The Alliance Theatre, Actors Express, Dad’s Garage, Theatre Gael, Georgia Ensemble, Synchronicity Preformance Group and many others. James recently graduated from Kennesaw State University. While there he designed: Fences, Bat Boy, Everything That Rises Must Converge, The Glass Menagerie, The Robber Bridegroom, The Marriage Proposal, and The Shape of Things. Last fall he had his Atlanta design début with the Dad's Garage Going Out of Business Show. This is his first year working with NYMF.

Chase is thrilled to make his NYMF debut with The History of War. Most recently he was music director and pianist for Barrington Stage Company's Into the Woods. He also continues to serve as music director and accompanist for The Amy Murphy Studio in Birmingham, AL and NYC. Chase is a graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and attended Butler University (Piano Performance). Thanks to: The Amy Murphy Studio, NHH at WAMmedia Productions, KFFinn, Brian and NYMF for this great opportunity, and love to my family.

Melissa Heller has credits as a producer, general manager, stage manager, special projects manager, writer, and more.  She has worked on the Broadway productions of Oleanna and Shrek The Musical; the Off-Broadway productions of Avenue Q, Altar Boyz, My First Time, and The Awesome 80s Prom; as well as the National and International Tours of Sweeney Todd and The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands, respectively.  Melissa works as the Assistant to the President at Davenport Theatrical Enterprises where she recently oversaw development of the new AT THE BOOTH™ iPhone app. An associate of DiStar productions, and based in NYC, she is currently working on a multitude of festival shows for the 2010 season.

Justin Huebener is a New York based producer/actor/special projects manager. Justin graduated with latin honors from Washington University in St. Louis with majors in Drama and Dance and was the recipient of the John G. Jutkowitz Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performing Arts. Currently an Assistant Producer with DiStar Productions, Justin has previously appeared in the national tour of CATS and has worked with theatres such as Stages St. Louis, The MUNY, Theatre at the Center and Step Theatre Company. When he is not “putting things together” Justin works in the real estate group of a leading global alternative asset management and financial services company…which is actually much more exciting than it sounds on paper.

Benjamin Otto is a New York based Producer/Director. He graduated from Fordham University with a major in English and a minor in Creative Writing. Ben has worked with the Flea Theater, The Arden Theatre Company, The Public Theater and with St. Ann’s Warehouse. He is the current General Manager of Compagnia de' Colombari under the artistic direction of Karin Coonrod.

Brenden has been on the staff of Lincoln Center Theater for numerous shows including South Pacific, Joe Turner’s Come & Gone, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, Happiness, and all LCT3 productions as well as the upcoming productions of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, A Free Man of Color and War Horse.  Brenden has also worked with the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, UglyRhino: a micro-season, FullStop Collective, Roots & Wings Theatricals and is a very proud graduate of Penn State University.