Creatives

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MARION J. CAFFEY (Conceiver, Director, Choreographer)

MARION J. CAFFEY (Conceiver, Director, Choreographer) has the rare distinction of having written, directed, performed and choreographed on/for the Broadway stage. He is the current producer of the iconic Amateur Night at the Apollo. His work has appeared on Broadway, major television networks, “PBS Great Performances”, The White House, The Kennedy Center and on three continents. Projects include: Apollo Live!, The Apollo Annual Gala 2015, Three Mo’ Tenors, Amateur Night Goes to London, Harlem Nights/U Street Lights (with Jason Moran), MLK Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony, The Voice of Alegria, 3 Mo’ Divas, Street Corner Symphony, Bowfire and Cookin’ at the Cookery.

 

 

JOSEPH JOUBERT (Musical Director, Arranger)

JOSEPH JOUBERT (Musical Director, Arranger) is a hugely versatile musician whose wide ranging accomplishments and talent as a pianist, arranger/orchestrator, Broadway conductor, and music director have taken him around the world. Most recently Musical Director, Arranger, and Pianist for Norm Lewis’s American Songbook, the “PBS Live from Lincoln Center” special. Mr. Joubert received a Drama Desk Award nomination for his orchestration of the acclaimed musical Violet by Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori and appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Porgy and Bess as the piano player Jasbo Brown. Mr. Joubert was also was the Musical Director and Conductor for Motown: The Musical, as well as conductor for The Color Purple, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and the Tony Award winning Billy Elliot on Broadway.

Critics have hailed Mr. Joubert’s “sensitive and supportive” performances as an accompanist and the “uncommon tonal beauty” of his playing. He has collaborated with such classical singers as Esther Hinds, Harolyn Blackwell, Florence Quivar, Simon Estes, and Hilda Harris, and performed with Kathleen Battle at the White House for President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Joubert is at home arranging and performing in any style from classical to pop, gospel to Broadway, spiritual to R & B. He has reinterpreted classic hymns on his solo piano CD “Total Praise” and received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Cross Over Album. His published arrangements are performed all over the world. As a record producer and arranger/orchestrator he has worked with Ashford and Simpson, Diana Ross, George Benson, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Holliday, Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross, and Diane Reeves. As Musical Director for Judy Collins for five years he performed with the London Symphony and many of the major American orchestras.

Born in New York City, the son of a Baptist minister, he began playing the piano at the age of eight and by age sixteen had made his Town Hall debut with full orchestra. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Dora Zaslavsky, and won the nationwide piano competition of the National Association of Negro Musicians in 1980.

 

 

ANNASTASIA VICTORY (Associate Musical Director, Conductor, Pianist)

ANNASTASIA VICTORY (Associate Musical Director, Conductor, Pianist) is a critically acclaimed Pianist, Music Director, Conductress, Arranger, Award Winning Songwriter and Orchestrator. She is known for her ability to proficiently play all styles of music and has won awards for her performances and compositions nationally and internationally. In addition to the piano, Annastasia plays accordion, celeste, synth, organ and percussions. She also sings and has appeared on television and in commercials. Her Broadway credits include: Motown, Newsies, Violet (music by Jeanine Tesori w/ Sutton Foster), Big Fish, Jersey Boys, Billy Elliot, Nice Work If You Can Get It (w/ Kelly O’Hara, Matthew Broderick) and Color Purple. Off-Broadway credits include: Little Shop of Horrors (Jake Gyllenhaal / Ellen Greene) and 3 Little Birds. Listed among her regional credits: 3 Mo’ Divas (directed by Marion Caffey, music by Joseph Joubert), Little Dancer (directed by Susan Stroman, music by Stephen Flaherty, book & lyrics by Lynn Ahrens w/ Tiler Peck, Boyd Gaines), Leap of Faith (music by Alan Menken w/ Brooke Shields, Raul Esparza), Jesus Christ Superstar (w/ Ted Neeley, Corey Glover), The Wiz (w/ David Alan Grier, Nikki M. James), Big River, Broadway Boys, Black Nativity, and Superfly (Bill T. Jones).

 

 

WILLETTE MURPHY KLAUSNER (Producer)

WILLETTE MURPHY KLAUSNER (Producer) a theatrical producer and former film studio marketing executive, is the founder and president of EDGEWORK PRODUCTIONS, a film and television production company, and of WMK PRODUCTIONS, INC. which focuses on live theatrical entertainment.

WMK current projects include World Tenors Unleashed! and the critically acclaimed  Off -Broadway and internationally toured Three Mo’ Tenors. Film and television projects in various stages of development include the Harriet Jacobs story based on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, originally produced by Klausner as the play To Take Arms, at the Tamarind Theatre in Los Angeles; Bruno Bonelli, a rap-opera film; Songbird,  the life story of Miriam Makeba, and Cosette, a musical follow up to Broadway hit Les Misérables.

On Broadway, Klausner’s productions and participations include the limited run hit The Encounter;  Tony nominated Eclipsed, starring Lupita Nyong’o; Hughie starring Forest Whitaker; Romeo and Juliet, starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad; The Trip to Bountiful, with Tony Award-winning Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams and Condola Rashad; The Mountain Top, starring Angela Bassett and Samuel Jackson, and Kat and the Kings.

In addition, Klausner co-presented the 75th Anniversary tour of the opera Porgy and Bess, in association with presenter Michael Capasso.

Prior to becoming a film and theatrical producer, she  was Vice President, Marketing and Marketing Research for MCA Universal Studios. Previously, Klausner worked for ten years with Audience Studies Inc., a leading advertising research firm for major national advertisers such as General Motors, Miles Laboratories, Coca-Cola, to name a few.

She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Cinema Foundation, the Advisory Board of Women in Film, and has served on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center, and the Women in Film Foundation.  A member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and the International Women’s Forum.

Klausner is married to attorney Manuel S. Klausner and both are co-founding members of the American Institute of Wine and Food along with Julia Child and Robert Mondavi.

 

 

Lorraine Rennie (General Manager)

Lorraine Rennie began her career in sales and marketing for Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and Anheuser Busch before establishing Top Entertainment. In addition to producing corporate events, Top Entertainment was awarded Best Entertainment of 1996 Olympics and created and produced six national tours of the Irish-American show Dancing on Common Ground. Lorraine has been General Manager of WMK Productions and Three Mo’ Tenors since 2009.

 

 

SUNDANCE PRODUCTIONS, INC (General Management)
David Coffman – Managing Director, General Manager
Diana Lounsbury – Associate General Manager

Located in the heart of Times Square, Sundance Productions is a global entertainment and production firm specializing in live stage production, theatrical licensing and theatrical consulting. With services ranging from casting, contracting, artist liaison and support to professional management of administrative, creative and technical issues. Under the leadership of David Coffman as Managing Director, the company takes particular pride in working with the most creative and successful production teams in theatre today providing international touring and production support for: West Side Story, Queen Esther Marrow’s The Harlem Gospel Singers Show, 3 Mo’ Divas, Tanguera, Latin Heat, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, Hairspray as well as theatrical licensing deals for Cats and Rock of Ages in Mexico City. Sundance works in association with its parent company BB Promotion GmbH, one of the largest commercial theatrical producing and touring company in Europe (www.bb-promotion.com).