Laurie Toscano, Blair Russell, and Adam Rei Siegel Join New York Theatre Barn's Board Of Directors

The Board of Directors of New York Theatre Barn has announced three new members joining its board: Laurie Toscano, Blair Russell and Adam Rei Siegel. Under the direction of Joe Barros (Artistic Director) and Jen Sandler (Associate Artistic Director), New York Theatre Barn is a non-profit anti-racist theatre company that serves as a home for new culture shifting musicals during incubation.

Laurie Toscano joins the board from the corporate banking world, where she is a digital and technology executive whose roots lie deep in musical training, study and performance of piano and drums. A third generation musician, Laurie attributes her transition from music to technology to the invaluable lessons learned from early and sustained musical education.

Blair Russell joins the board as an independent theatrical professional with a wide range of experience in Broadway, off-Broadway, and non-profit theatre. His credits as a producer or investor include Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, the critically acclaimed immersive Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, and the West End productions of Gyspy with Imelda Staunton and Show Boat (2016). Blair advises on the development of new plays and musicals at Show Shepherd, a theatrical consulting firm.

Adam Rei Siegel is a producer on The Other Side (Co-Producer) and Beyond Babel (Associate Producer). He is an Outreach Specialist for Dancers Responding to AIDS and Classical Action, both programs of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and produces the Fire Island Dance Festival and Hudson Valley Dance Festival. He is also a theater writer for W42ST Magazine and Broadway Roulette as well as a NextGen Advocate and Auction Committee member for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

New York Theatre Barn has been incubating original musicals in front of live audiences since 2007. Since the COVID-19 shutdown, the company has dedicated its time and energy to evolving its current programming to continue supporting artists and new musicals. Since March, the company has presented 42 new musicals and has lifted up the work of 72 writers, including Teeth (from 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Jackson), Jeannette (written by recording artist Ari Afsar and prolific playwright Lauren M. Gunderson), the 5th Avenue Theatre commission Half the Sky, Frankie (by 16-year-old Elise Marra), Jaime Cepero's Francois and the Rebels (a punk-rock retelling of the 1791 Haitian Revolution), and the Joshua Bergasse/Zoe Sarnak/Calpulli Mexican Dance Company collaboration A Crossing. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

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