Theatrical Gems: Creative Team/Crew

Theatrical Gems presents a one-night only benefit performance of:

Irving Berlin's

IRVING BERLIN (Music and Lyrics). Born Israel Beilin in a Russian Jewish shtetl in 1888, he died as Irving Berlin in his adopted homeland of New York, New York, USA, in 1989. Songwriter, performer, theatre owner, music publisher, soldier and patriot, he defined Jerome Kern's famous maxim: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Berlin wrote over 1200 songs, including "White Christmas," "Easter Parade," "Always," "Blue Skies," "Cheek To Cheek," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "God Bless America." He wrote the scores to more than a dozen Broadway musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, and provided songs for dozens of Hollywood movie musicals. Among his many awards and accolades were the Academy Award for "White Christmas," a Congressional Gold Medal, a special Tony Award and commemoration on a 2002 U.S. postage stamp.

HOWARD LINDSAY and RUSSEL CROUSE (Book). The Lindsay and Crouse partnership stands today as the longest collaboration of any writers in theatrical history, lasting for 32 years. Howard Lindsay was born in 1889 and died in 1968. He became an actor at nineteen and went on to become a successful Broadway playwright and director. Russel Crouse was born in 1893 and died in 1966. After serving in the Navy, he worked on New York newspapers, gaining his first renown through a signed column in the Post. In 1932 he became head of the publicity department for the Theatre Guild and in 1933 wrote his first Broadway show, collaborating with Corey Ford on the musical comedy Hold Your Horses. From 1934 on, Crouse wrote only with Lindsay. Their hits include The Sound of Music (with a score by Rodgers and Hammerstein); Anything Goes and Red, Hot and Blue (with scores by Cole Porter); Call Me Madam (score by Irving Berlin); the long-running play Life with Father (which originally starred Lindsay); the Pulitzer Prize winning State of the Union; and The Great Sebastians, written for the Lunts. Their producing credits included The Hasty Heart, Detective Story and Arsenic and Old Lace.

JACOB SHOESMITH-FOX (Director), Artistic Director of Theatrical Gems, has 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".

STEVEN H. TAYLOR (Musical Director/Piano) is extremely excited to be musically directing Theatrical Gems' first performance, Mr. President! Previous musical directing credits include 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) has been playing the drums for five years, and even though it doesn't seem long, he has certainly picked up on it. His performance history includes playing for Glen Rock Middle School's spring show and the Holy Family Parish Players on Staten Island, 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.

EDWARD HADDICAN (Stage Manager) 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) lives in Manhattan hailing from Staten Island, London, and originally North Jersey. Off-Off Broadway: Hecuba (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 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. Upcoming: Brownstone Breakdown at Theater for the New City.

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