Theatrical Gems: Wildcat: Creative Team/Crew

Theatrical Gems presents

N. RICHARD NASH (Book) wrote with distinction for the theatre, television, film, poetry and fiction. He is best known for The Rainmaker, which has been translated into nearly 40 languages. Nash wrote the screenplay for Porgy and Bess and the libretti for The Happy Time and 110 in the Shade. Novels: East Wind, Rain and The Last Magic. TV: one of that select group of writers associated with the period in media history known as the Golden Age of Television. Many radical plays and novels were also written by him under the name of John Roc. Awards: the American Dramatists, the Maxwell Anderson Verse Drama, the Orbeal Prize, the Wilhelm Gosse, the Cannes Prize for Literature and Drama, the Geraldine Dodge Award and the New American Play Award. He taught at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford, Brandeis, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and Princeton.

CY COLEMAN (Music). “Cy Coleman is a permanent gem in Broadway’s musical crown,” wrote The New York Post. His Broadway shows garnered Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Critics Awards and many others. Included are such favorites as Sweet Charity, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, Barnum, The Life and Little Me. Cy received three Emmys, two Grammys and countless Grammy nominations. Some hit songs include “Big Spender,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “Hey Look Me Over,” “Witchcraft” and “The Best Is Yet to Come.” Mr. Coleman’s awards and honors include the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dramatists Guild’s Frederick Loewe Award and ASCAP Foundation’s Richard Rodgers Award. He died suddenly in 2004 of a heart attack at the age of 75.

CAROLYN LEIGH (Lyrics). Collaborating with composers such as Cy Coleman and Moose Charlap, Leigh wrote the Broadway stage scores for Peter Pan, Wildcat, and Little Me. Her catalog boasts some of the biggest standards to emerge from Broadway stage scores, including "The Best is Yet To Come," "Young at Heart," "How Little We Know," "Westport," "Spring in Maine," "It Amazes Me," "The Other Side of the Tracks," "Real Live Girl," "I've Got Your Number," "Here's to Us," "Stay With Me," "On Second Thought," "Pass Me By," "When In Rome" and "Ouzo." Leigh also contributed to the film scores of The Cardinal and Father Goose. Carolyn Leigh died in NYC in 1983.

JACOB SHOESMITH-FOX (Director). As Artistic Director of Theatrical Gems, Jacob directed the first production of Irving Berlin's Mr. President in NYC since 1963 and produced the cabaret Real Men Wear Pink and Sing Showtunes (The Duplex). He has also directed full productions of Little Shop of Horrors and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as well as various readings and workshops and was the Assistant Director of Are We Writing Loud Enough for the Vineyard Theatre. He worked as an actor for most of his childhood at the Pocono Playhouse and other locations in his hometown and also appeared in NYC in The Car in the 2007 Short Attention Span Horror Festival and the film Wet Hot American Summer. In 2006 he began producing with The Vagina Monologues on Staten Island, which he continued for the following three years, making him the only male V-Day producer in the region. Jacob graduated from Wagner College in 2009 with a B.S. in Arts Administration and spent 5 months interning in development and education at the Vineyard Theatre. Thanks to Mom for always being there and EN for getting me into theatre. In memory of Dad, Gram and Gramp. Remember "If you can dream it you can do it".

JONATHAN G GALVEZ (Assistant Director), in addition to being Artist-in-Residence/Co-Founder with Theatrical Gems, is a Producer/Tech Director for Stuff Films sketch comedy, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. He created and was featured in the Theatrical Gems cabaret Real Men Wear Pink and Sing Showtunes and also appeared in their presentation of Mr. President. His writing credits include Thirty Minutes or Less in the NYC International Fringe Festival and Crossing Lights in Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s Amazing Play Festival. He received his B.A. from Wagner College and is an M.F.A. Candidate for Playwrighting at Hollins University.

CHRISTINA NOONE (Choreographer) is excited to return as choreographer for Wildcat after last choreographing Theatrical Gems' production of Mr. President. New York credits: Footloose (Ariel), I Never Saw Another Butterfly (Raja Dancer/ choreographer) Regional credits: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia), Kiss Me Kate (Lois/Bianca), and A Garfield Christmas (Teddy). "Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art"-Stanislavski

REBECCA M. QUIRK (Sound Designer). Living up to her last name, Rebecca M. Quirk is a woman who embraces the odd and treasures the unique. She completed her undergraduate studies at Northwestern State University. She currently is a MFA canidate of the Hollins Playwrights Lab. She would like to thank Jon for introducing her to Theatrical Gems.

WILLIAM BERLONI (Animal Trainer). BDWY: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (LCT), Legally Blonde the Musical, Annie (original Sandy, 20^TH and 30^th Anniversary revivals), Camelot, Frankenstein, The First, Alice in Wonderland, Oliver!, Anything Goes (LCT), Nick and Nora, La Bête, The Wiz (20^th Anniversary revival and City Center 2009), The Wizard of Oz, Dinner at Eight (LCT), Double Feature (NYCB), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Woman in White, Awake and Sing (LCT) and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Hundreds of Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions, tours, movies and television shows. Published author Broadway Tails by Globe Pequot Press. Currently the Director of Animal Behavior at the Humane Society of New York . www.theatricalanimals.com.

BRIAN MICHAEL HOFFMAN (Dog Handler) was seen onstage in NYC as "Horton" in the Off-Broadway revival of Seussical and not seen (because he was backstage) as the "Dog-Boy" on Broadway for Legally Blonde and The Royal Family. www.brianmichaelhoffman.com

STEVEN H. TAYLOR (Musical Director/Piano). Previous musical directing credits include Theatrical Gems' Mr. President and Real Men Wear Pink and Sing Showtunes, two student written Broadway revues at Wagner College, Godspell, The Rocky Horror Show, School House Rock Live, and Dreamgirls. He is currently working at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Maywood, NJ as their Musical Director.

NICHOLAS TAYLOR (Percussion) is returning to play the drums for Wildcat after the great success of Theatrical Gems' Mr. President. A drummer for five years, his performance history includes playing for Glen Rock Middle School's spring show, the Holy Family Parish Players on Staten Island, and just this past month, Hackensack High School, as well as each one of his high school's music shows. He hopes this performance goes well for him and the people on stage, and wishes everyone a great holiday season.

EDWARD HADDICAN (Stage Manager) previously worked with Theatrical Gems as a stage manager on Mr. President. He is a recent graduate of Wagner College, where he studied many aspects of theater. He concentrated in stage management. Since graduating he has been working as a stage hand at the Metropolitan Opera.

BRENDAN J. O'BRIEN (Stage Manager) is excited to be working with Theatrical Gems again after Mr. President, for which he was also Stage Manager. Off-Off Broadway credits include Brownstone Breakdown and Hecuba (both at TNC), West Village Musical Theater Festival (Wings Theater), LIZAFEST (Manhattan Rep), A Year in the Life (Algonquin Theater), Woodhull (NY Fringe) and a few others. Brendan is a graduate of the Wagner College Theater program. There he has done Beauty and the Beast, Waiting for Lefty, Annie Get your Gun, and many, many others. In London Brendan has stage managed for Hillsong Church at the West End’s Dominion Theater and for The Colour Conference 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall. Additionally Brendan is currently working for the Journey Church as the Technical Director and Stage Manager.

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