A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway

KENNY LEON (Director)
THOMAS LYNCH (Scenic Designer)
PAUL TAZEWELL (Costume Designer)
BRIAN MacDEVITT (Lighting Designer)
T. RICHARD FITZGERALD (Sound Designer)
DWIGHT ANDREWS (Composer)
JAMES CALLERI, C.S.A. (Casting)
PATDRO HARRIS (Choreographer)
CHARLES G. LaPOINTE (Wigs)
KATE WILSON (Dialect and Vocal Coach)
MICHAEL BRUNNER (Production Stage Manager)
NARDA ALCORN (Stage Manager)
GENE O’DONOVAN, AURORA PRODUCTIONS (Production Management)
ROBERT COLE (General Manager)
LISA M. POYER (General Manager)
DAVID BINDER (Producer)
VIVEK J. TIWARY (Producer)
SUSAN BATSON, BLACK NEXXUS, INC. (Producer)
CARL RUMBAUGH (Producer)
RUTH HENDEL (Producer)
JAYNE BARON SHERMAN (Producer)
DEDE HARRIS (Producer)
ARIELLE TEPPER (Producer)
BARBARA WHITMAN (Producer)
CYNTHIA STROUM (Producer)
ERIC SCHNALL (Associate Producer/Marketing Director)
BRIAN SAVELSON (Associate Producer)
HAL GOLDBERG (Associate Producer)

KENNY LEON (Director) is an acclaimed producer and director who is presently co-founder and Artistic Director of True Colors Theatre Company, dedicated to diversity and the preservation of African American classics. He served as Artistic Director of the Alliance Theatre Company for over a decade and has directed regionally at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Dallas Theater Center, San Jose Rep, Indiana Rep, Goodman, Huntington, Hartford Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Geva Theatre, Long Wharf, BAM, Ga Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage and the Theatre of the Stars. While at the Alliance, he produced ten world premieres of Elton John’s Aida, Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West and Blues for an Alabama Sky, Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Athol Fugard’s Playland and in cooperation with the Kennedy Center, Debbie Allen’s Soul Possessed. He made his Off-Broadway debut at The Public directing Thulani Davis’s Everybody’s Ruby. His work includes the 2003 world premiere of Sandra Deers’ The Subject Tonight Is Love. A graduate and honorary Ph.D. of Clark Atlanta University, Kenny is the recipient of the MIT Eugene McDermott Award and was chosen Top 20 to watch by The Financial Times. As an actor, Mr. Leon recently originated the role of Citizen in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean at The Goodman. In 2005, Kenny will direct the World Premiere Opera Margaret Garner by Toni Morrison with music by Richard Danielpour.

THOMAS LYNCH (Scenic Designer). Broadway: Contact, The Music Man (Tony nomination), Thou Shalt Not, Swing!, Having Our Say, The Heidi Chronicles (Tony nomination), Ah, Wilderness!, The Young Man From Atlanta, Little Voice, Tintypes. Off-Broadway: Valhalla, Old Money, Laughing Wild, Food Chain, Madame Melville, Betty’s Summer Vacation (Obie Award), Driving Miss Daisy. Designs for all major regional theaters and with directors including Daniel Sullivan, Robert Falls, Emily Mann, Christopher Ashley, Richard Nelson and Stephen Wadsworth. Opera: The Ring Cycle (Seattle), Xerxes, (NYCO), Alcina (Covent Garden), A Quiet Place (Vienna Staatsoper), upcoming Rodelinda (Metropolitan Opera). Twice participant in the Prix d’Or of the Prague Quadrennial.

PAUL TAZEWELL (Costume Designer) Broadway: Caroline, or Change; Drowning Crow; Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk (Tony nom); Elaine Stritch: At Liberty; On the Town; The Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm; and Def Poetry Jam. Off-Broadway: Flesh and Blood; Fame on 42nd Street; One Flea Spare; Henry V; Venus; Dinah Was; and Playboy of the West Indies for Lincoln Center. Mr Tazewell designs regionally and internationally and has won Lortel, Helen Hayes and AUDELCO awards.

BRIAN MacDEVITT (Lighting Designer). New York: Fiddler on the Roof, Henry IV, Retreat from Moscow, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Nine (Tony nomination), Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Into the Woods (Tony Award), Urinetown, Morning’s at Seven, Invention of Love, Judgment at Nuremburg, The Dinner Party, Side Show, The Diary of Anne Frank, Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!, True West, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan. Tours: Urinetown, Angels in America. Dance: ABT, Tere O’Connor Dance, Lar Lubovitch. Film: The Cradle Will Rock. Additional awards: Obie for Sustained Excellence, Bessie for works with Tere O’Connor. Faculty: Purchase College. Member: Naked Angels. Father: Jake.

T. RICHARD FITZGERALD (Sound Designer). 1980 Tony Award for introduction of Infrared Listening Systems to aid hearing impaired patrons in Broadway theatres. 1993-94 Drama Desk nomination: Outstanding Sound Design, Beauty and the Beast. L.A. Ovation nominations: Best Sound Design, An Inspector Calls (1996), Sexaholix (2003). 2000 Lucille Lortel Award nomination: Best Sound Design, 4 Guys Named Jose. Broadway sound design credits: Annie, 42nd Street, Zorba, The King & I, An Inspector Calls, Translations, Dancing at Lughnasa, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, The Dresser, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Sunshine Boys, Freak, Electra, Rocky Horror Show, Sexaholix, Little Shop of Horrors, Sly Fox.

DWIGHT ANDREWS (Composer). Broadway: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars. Off-Broadway: Everybody’s Ruby, Resurrection of Lady Lester. Regional theatre work includes Miss Evers’ Boys, Colored Museum, Heliotrope Bouquet, Flyin’ West and Blues for an Alabama Sky. Film credits include Piano Lesson, Old Settler, Miss Evers’ Boys, W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices and Homecoming. Ph.D., Yale University.

JAMES CALLERI, C.S.A. (Casting) with associate Alaine Alldaffer. Theatre: Playwrights Horizons (8 seasons), The Dead (Broadway, National Tour), Betty’s Summer Vacation, Lobby Hero. Also CSC Repertory and Huntington Theater. Other credits: Albee/Beckett, Fully Committed, The Vagina Monologues, The Syringa Tree, The Guys. TV: NBC’s “Ed,” USA’s “Monk.” Film: upcoming Heights (Merchant Ivory production to be released this spring by Sony Classics), Lisa Picard Is Famous (dir. Griffin Dunne), The Jimmy Show (dir. Frank Whaley), Trouble Every Day (dir. Claire Denis). Member CSA.

PATDRO HARRIS (Choreographer) has served as director, choreographer and artistic consultant for houses nationwide, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Kennedy Center, Alliance Theatre, Studio Theatre, San Diego Rep, Tribeca PAC, Arena Stage and National Black Theatre Festival. He earned the 1996 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography and a nomination as Best Supporting Actor and he’s choreographed for many artists, including Stevie Wonder. Patdro is president and CEO of One Production Company, an entertainment consulting firm and artist training center in Atlanta.

CHARLES G. LaPOINTE (Wigs). Broadway: Henry IV with Jess Goldstein; Wicked, Anna in the Tropics, Jane Eyre, Into the Woods, Assassins, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Assistant to Tom Watson. Many regional and opera credits including Huntington, McCarter, American Repertory and Hartford Stage Theaters, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera Opera Company of Philadelphia and Boston Lyric Opera. Thanks Tom for everything!

KATE WILSON (Dialect and Vocal Coach). Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof, Anna in the Tropics, Nine, The Graduate, Oklahoma!, The Graduate, The Man Who Had All the Luck, Major Barbara, Betrayal, Tom Sawyer, The Best Man, Rainmaker. Off-Broadway: Mr. Fox: A Rumination, Big Bill, Henry V, Raindance, Burn This, Far Away, The Glory of Living, Othello, The Seagull, Impossible Marriage, Arms and the Man, Misalliance. NYC Opera: A Little Night Music. Film: Uptown Girls, Soldier’s Girl, Going Under. Faculty: Juilliard.

MICHAEL BRUNNER (Production Stage Manager). Broadway: Henry IV, Vincent in Brixton, Rose, The Heiress, A Delicate Balance, The Most Happy Fella, Abe Lincoln in Illinois (all for Lincoln Center), Not About Nightingales, Wait Until Dark, Rent. Off-Broadway: A Man of No Importance, Dinner with Friends, The Unexpected Man, Chaucer in Rome, Impossible Marriage. Regional: Williamstown, Goodspeed Opera House (20 musicals), Kennedy Center. Concerts: Carousel with Hugh Jackman and Audra McDonald and Sail Away with Elaine Stritch (both at Carnegie Hall).

NARDA ALCORN (Stage Manager). Broadway: The Lion King, Seven Guitars. Other: Jitney at Second Stage and National Theatre of Great Britain (winner Olivier Award). Regional: Yale Repertory, ACT, Goodman, Huntington, Taper, Ahmanson, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory, Alley. Professor of Stage Management at Suny Purchase Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film.

GENE O’DONOVAN, AURORA PRODUCTIONS (Production Management). Recent productions include Caroline or Change, More, Fiddler on the Roof, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Retreat From Moscow, Golda’s Balcony, Bobbi Boland, The Graduate (New York and tour) and The Full Monty (New York and tour). Other projects include Man of La Mancha, Proof (national tour), True West, Art, Titanic and Tommy. He teaches Production Management at SUNY Purchase. His associates are Melissa Mazdra and Ben Heller.

ROBERT COLE (General Manager). Since 1989, Robert Cole Productions has provided general management services for various shows, including the recent B’way revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Arthur Miller’s The Price, The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, John Leguizamo’s Freak, and Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. Producing credits include Omnium Gatherum, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (original B’way production), The Crucible, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, Angels in America, The Young Man from Atlanta, Redwood Curtain and Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll. Cole produced the film, Tape, starring Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke.

LISA M. POYER (General Manager). Also this season: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Omnium Gatherum. On Broadway, as Company Manager: The Crucible, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Price, Death of a Salesman, Freak, An Ideal Husband, Having Our Say, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, Gypsy Passion, A Streetcar Named Desire, Lend Me a Tenor, Fences. Lisa is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and a member of the New York Bar.

DAVID BINDER (Producer). Credits include the international hit De la Guarda, which is now in its sixth year Off-Broadway. He has produced the show in Las Vegas, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Seoul. He is also the original producer of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s award-winning rock ‘n’ roll musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well as Lisa Kron’s 2.5 Minute Ride in New York and San Francisco. On Broadway, David has produced benefit readings of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart with Barbra Streisand, Kevin Bacon, Eric Bogosian, Stockard Channing and John Turturro (which was recorded and released by Simon and Schuster Audio) and Tony Kushner’s Slavs! with Tracey Ullman, Sandra Bernhard, Madeline Kahn and Olympia Dukakis. Additional credits include a seasonal reading series of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory with a rotating cast that has featured Matthew Broderick, Cherry Jones, Nathan Lane, Kevin Spacey and Elaine Stritch among many, many others.

VIVEK J. TIWARY (Producer). As Founder/CEO of Tiwary Entertainment Group (www.tegltd.com) and StarPolish (www.starpolish.com), Vivek is involved in production, management, marketing, and investment in theatre, music, television, and film. Upcoming TEG productions include The Ride, a high-tech, experience-oriented show, and AMC television series “Into Character.” TEG has been a consultant for numerous arts and entertainment properties, and is an initial investor/Limited Partner in Mel Brooks’ The Producers. At StarPolish, Vivek co-manages Columbia Records recording artist Ari Hest and rock bands Spinning Images, Gooding and Junior. Vivek also produces musicians/recordings in all genres. Vivek is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business.

SUSAN BATSON, BLACK NEXXUS, INC. (Producer) has been publicly thanked by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman for coaching their performances, and has been the creative consultant for many of Spike Lee’s films. As an actress, she’s the recipient of NY and L.A. Drama Critics awards and an Obie. She was recently profiled in The New Yorker, Backstage and The Hollywood Reporter. Producing credits: The Rivals alongside Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, dir. Steven Spielberg; American Darlings alongside Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

CARL RUMBAUGH (Producer) spent the first eight years of his entertainment career as an agent with Agency for the Performing Arts, later becoming a talent manager at Industry Entertainment. For the past year and a half, he and his producing partner, Susan Batson, have been developing film projects. Their first endeavor is the Dreamworks project The Rivals, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Nicole Kidman. Their second studio project, American Darlings, will star Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman.

RUTH HENDEL (Producer) is also currently represented on Broadway by Tony Kushners’s Caroline, Or Change (co-producer) and William Gibson’s Golda’s Balcony (associate producer.) In addition, she was a producer of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses on Broadway. Recent Off-Broadway productions: The Exonerated and Stephen Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st Street. Love to Stephen, Abby, Sam and Joe.

JAYNE BARON SHERMAN (Producer) makes her Broadway debut with A Raisin in the Sun. Currently she is also developing a feature film about Tallulah Bankhead, which will be directed by Philip Kaufman and written by Christopher Bram and Draper Shreve. As co-chair of the Emmy-nominated “In the Life,” America’s independently produced gay and lesbian magazine format television show, broadcast on PBS, she focuses her business and creative skills for community activism.

DEDE HARRIS (Producer). Hairspray (2003 Tony Award, Best Musical); Golda’s Balcony; The Crucible (Liam Neeson, Laura Linney); Elaine Stritch At Liberty (2002 Tony Award, Best Theatrical Event); Metamorphoses; Noises Off (Peter Gallagher, Patti LuPone); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (2001 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play); The Music Man; Swing!. Off-Broadway: The Exonerated; tick, tick, ...BOOM!; Mnemonic; The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. London: Ragtime; On an Average Day (Woody Harrelson, Kyle MacLachlan); Boston Marriage.

ARIELLE TEPPER (Producer), since 1998, has produced on Broadway and received 12 Tony nominations. Ms. Tepper is currently producing Jumpers and The Moonlight Room. Recent credits: Bounce at the Kennedy Center by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, directed by Harold Prince. Broadway: Hollywood Arms by Carol Burnett, A Class Act, James Joyce’s The Dead, John Leguizamos’s Freak and Sandra Bernhard’s I’m Still Here…Damn It. Off-Broadway: De La Guarda “Villa Villa”, The Last Five Years, Harlem Song and Goodnight Children Everywhere.

BARBARA WHITMAN (Producer) is thrilled to make her Broadway debut with this production. She recently produced The Comedy of Errors with Westchester’s Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company. She is the proud mother of Daniel and Will.

CYNTHIA STROUM (Producer), after graduating from the University of Southern California, worked in the film industry, eventually producing national television commercials. She now focuses on personal investments in start-up businesses and philanthropy. She has served on the boards of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Channel 9/KCTS (Public TV), The Jewish Television Network, A Contemporary Theatre and, most recently, The Shoah Foundation (founded by Steven Spielberg). She is also the national Chair of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN).

ERIC SCHNALL (Associate Producer/Marketing Director) is currently represented off-Broadway by De La Guarda. He handled marketing and promotions for The Vagina Monologues and was a producing associate of the Broadway, West End and touring productions of Rent (1996-1999). Eric is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. He is also a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Billboard, Revolution and Travel & Leisure.

BRIAN SAVELSON (Associate Producer) is a writer, director, producer and actor. His original play, All the Kings’ Men, received rave reviews for its New York run. Directing credits include Picture, Dreamers and an original adaptation of the Marguerite Duras novel, La Maladie de la Mort. Brian is also the author of an original feature-length screenplay, currently in development for production.

HAL GOLDBERG (Associate Producer) is an agent for commercial photographers. His company, Proof, has many clients in the Entertainment, Fashion and Advertising industries. This is Mr. Goldberg’s first theatrical endeavor, but not his last. He would like to thank David Binder for inspiring him by his commitment in bringing this production to Broadway.

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