OLD TIMER’S DAY

MARC ACITO 

 

Marc Acito wrote the libretto of the Broadway musical Allegiance, which New York Newsday recognized for its “well-structured book” and “fully developed characters.” Other shows include A Room with a View (5th Avenue, Old Globe) and Chasing Rainbows (Goodspeed Musicals, Papermill Playhouse), a musical about the adolescence of Judy Garland planned for a run in London’s West End in 2022. In 2016, Acito became the first Broadway writer to create a new musical in China; The Secret (Broadway Asia) features the songs of Jay Chou, the “King of Mando-pop." His second musical in China, Sound of the Silk Road (Nederlander Worldwide) premiered July of 2021. Acito won the Ken Kesey Award for his novel How I Paid for College, which was also a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a Top Teen Pick by the American Library Association and was translated into five languages the author doesn’t speak. It spawned a sequel, Attack of the Theater People. Acito made his directing debut with his musical Bastard Jones at The Cell in New York, which he will adapt and direct as an independent film for New Edens, a production company he founded to produce low-budget musicals for digital media. A former commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered, Acito has written for The New York Times, Playbill and American Theatre. He teaches History and the Musical at NYU’s New Studio on Broadway.

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FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

MARC ACITO, SHELDON HARNICK & DONALD OLIVER

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Mr. Harnick began writing music while still in Carl Schurz High School in Chicago. After his Army service, he graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree. His vast body of work includes: She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, The Apple Tree, and Fiorello!, among many more. He won Tony Awards for Fiorello! and Fiddler on the Roof. Among many awards and accolades, Mr. Harnick is the proud recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (Fiorello!), as well as the Drama League Awards’ Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre, and the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. 

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Donald Oliver, a native New Yorker, wrote the score for the musical The Case of the Dead Flamingo Dancer with author/lyricist Dan Butler, produced in the United States and England. He also contributed music for two songs in the holiday revue That Time of the Year; it was recorded—twice—and performed—many times—since its premiere in New York. He is currently developing a new musical, tentatively titled In the Name of Love. He’s been part of the music staff of dozens of both famous and infamous Broadway musicals, including many you’ve heard of and some you’ve probably seen.

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TRUTH & SEX
SUSAN CINOMAN

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Susan Cinoman is a playwright and screenwriter whose work is published and produced internationally. For television, she is the creator of the recurring character, Miss Cinoman on ABC’s, The Goldbergs, and frequent contributor.  Plays were seen at Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Miranda Theatre, Off Broadway, including Cinoman and Rebeck, Gin and Bitters, and cabaret musical, Out of the Blues. Currently Period Piece, a theatrical experience is in development as is her play, Guenevere, winner of the Guilford Prize in Drama.  She is the recipient of the Maxwell Anderson Playwrights Prize, Ellie Award in Playwrighting, Golden List Best Unproduced Pilot, Best Connecticut Filmmaker,Best Narrative Short of the New England Film and Video Festival, Selection Berkshire International Film Festival. Her website is https://www.susancinoman.com

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HAIR UNDONE

CHERYL DAVIS

 

Cheryl Davis is a distinguished playwright and screenwriter based in New York. Her most decorated work as a playwright includes Barnstormer (Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award) and Maid’s Door (7 Audelco Awards, showcased at the National Black Theatre Festival, Finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize). Her other notable plays include the highly-reviewed Bridges, The Color of Justice, Winnie the Pooh KIDS, Cover Girls, and Swimming Uptown. Cheryl also received the Ed Kleban Award for her work as a musical theater librettist. Cheryl received a Writers’ Guild Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on the daytime dramatic serial As the World Turns. She has also written for Law & Order: SVU, health-related radio drama Staying Well in Camberwell, and was on the writing team for web soap opera Our World. Her work has been read and performed internationally, including at the Cleveland Play House, the Kennedy Center, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her website is https://cldplay.com/

 

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HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN

ALEXANDER DINELARIS

 

Alexander Dinelaris is an Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winning screenwriter for Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), a co-producer on the three time Academy Award® winning film The Revenant, and the book writer for the Broadway musical On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, as well as The Bodyguard Musical which began on the West End and now performs worldwide. He is the screenwriter and producer of the upcoming feature film, Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical, which he is also currently readapting for the stage.  Alex also wrote the script for the upcoming film, Carmen directed by Benjamin Millepied, starring Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal. 

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SKIN DEEP

TINA HOWE

 

Tina Howe’s most produced plays include Birth and After Birth, Museum, The Art of Dining, Painting Churches, Coastal Disturbances, Approaching Zanzibar and Pride’s Crossing. These and other works premiered at the Public Theater, the Kennedy Center, Second Stage, The Old Globe Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Atlantic Theater Company, Primary Stages as well as being translated and produced abroad. Among her many awards are an Obie for Distinguished Playwriting, a Tony nomination for Best Play, an Outer Circle Critics Award, a Rockefeller Grant, two N.E.A. Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, the Sidney Kingsley Award, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, two honorary degrees, the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre, a Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement, and most recently, PEN’s Master American Playwright award in 2015. A two time finalist for the Pulitzer prize, Ms. Howe has taught at NYU, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and UCLA before becoming Visiting Professor at Hunter College in 1990, then going on to launch the Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA in Playwriting in 2010 as Playwright-in-Residence. Ms. Howe is proud to have served on the council of the Dramatists Guild since 1990. 

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FIGHT THE POWER

CAYTHA JENTIS

 

Caytha Jentis is a New York based award-winning writer/playwright. She has written five feature films that include And Then Came Love, starring Vanessa Williams and Eartha Kitt, and Bad Parents, starring Janeane Garofalo and Cheri Oteri.  Her short film April Showers is currently doing the festival circuit.  Her play It’s All About the Kids won the NJ Playwrights Competition and her new play Sex Work/Sex Play has been selected to be part of the Emerging Artists Spring New Works Series.  As a producer, Caytha produces films, storytelling events and The Gold Standard Arts Festival, the only festival to celebrate emerging and established older artists. Her website is www.foxmeadowfilms.com

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