Aida - Broadway Creative Team

David Henry Hwang is a Tony Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1957, Hwang grew up in a Chinese American household and attended Stanford University where he earned a degree in English. Hwang's breakthrough came in 1988 with his play "M. Butterfly," which won the Tony Award for Best Play and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The play is based on the true story of a French diplomat who carried on a 20-year affair with a Chinese opera singer, only to discover that she was actually a man. "M. Butterfly" explores themes of gender, ... read more Elton John began his professional music career as a teenager performing as a pianist at the Northwood Hills Hotel. In 1962 he formed the band Bluesology, which by the mid-1960s backed touring American artists including the Isley Brothers, Major Lance and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. In 1967 he answered an advertisement in New Musical Express, leading to his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. The pair joined DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968. John released his debut album, Empty Sky, in 1969. His self-titled album Elton John (1970) included the hit single “Your Song.” He followed with Tumbleweed Connection ... read more Sir Tim Rice is an author and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; for additional songs for the 2011 West End revival of The Wizard of Oz; and for his work with Alan Menken on Disney's Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the musical King David. He also worked with Elton John on Disney's ... read more Broadway: Aida (Grammy Award), Tarzan, Bombay Dreams (Tony nomination, Best Orchestrations), Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love, Chess, Les Misérables, Starlight Express. Feature film: Chicago (Grammy for Best Soundtrack), Nine, Dreamgirls, Across the Universe, Connie and Carla. Television musicals: “Cinderella,” “Annie” (Emmy Award), “South Pacific.” Feature animation: The Lion King, Tarzan, Mulan, The Emperor’s New Groove. Recordings: Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Jennifer Hudson. Concerts: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, Francis Ford Coppola’s presentation of the silent film epic Napoleon with symphony orchestras throughout the world. Broadway highlights: Dear Evan Hansen, She Loves Me, Curious Incident..., Gigi, The Bridges of Madison County, If/Then, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, Follies, Sister Act, Arcadia, A Steady Rain, Shrek, The Little Mermaid, Legally Blonde, Spamalot, Tarzan, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nine, Gypsy, Sweet Smell of Success, The Invention of Love, Aida, The Iceman Cometh, Chicago, Side Show, Steel Pier. Film/TV credits: "Peter Pan Live!" (NBC), "The Sound of Music Live!" (NBC), It’s Complicated, Angels in America (Emmy-nominated), To Wong Foo... Broadway: Sweet Charity (Tony nom.), Aida, The Who's Tommy (Tony, Drama Desk, Astaire awards), How to Succeed... (Tony nom.), Dream: The Johnny Mercer Musical (director/choreographer; Tony nom., Best Choreography), Jerry's Girls, Baby (Tony nom.). West End: The Who's Tommy (Olivier nom.). Other credits: Off-Broadway's A Hot Minute and Angry Housewives, national tour of Spirit, ...Forum at La Jolla (San Diego Drama Critics and Drama-Logue awards). Performer credits: A Chorus Line (Mike, original cast), The Act, Seesaw, Perfectly Frank, Irene, Big Deal, Rachel Lily Rosenblum and Dancin' (Tony nom.). He has done musical staging for Liza Minnelli, Barry Manilow, Chita Rivera, ... read more Recent Productions: Don Carlos (MET, NY) Love Never Dies (Adelphi, London). Bob Crowley has designed over twenty productions for the National Theatre, including most recently: The Habit of Art, The Power of Yes, Phèdre, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Gethsemane, and Fram (which he also co-directed with Tony Harrison), The History Boys (Broadway - Tony Award), His Girl Friday and Mourning Becomes Electra, plus more than twenty-five productions for the RSC, including: Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Plantagenets, for which he won an Olivier Award. For the Donmar Warehouse - Into the Woods and Orpheus Descending. Other credits include: Pavane ... read more Natasha Katz is a New York-based lighting designer. She is a six-time Tony Award winner who has designed extensively for theatre, opera, dance, concerts, and permanent lighting installations around the world. Her recent Broadway credits include: Diana, The Music Man, All My Sons, Burn This, The Prom, Frozen, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Cats, School of Rock, An American in Paris, Aladdin, Skylight, The Glass Menagerie, Once, Follies, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage, and Aida. Music Coordination for Broadway: The Book of Mormon, American Idiot, The Addams Family, Million Dollar Quartet, Memphis, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Mamma Mia, The Lion King; National Tour coordination: Les Misérables, Next To Normal, 9 to 5, Billy Elliot, In The Heights, Shrek, The Lion King, West Side Story, Wicked. Barbra Streisand Concerts (1994-2007). Kennedy's Broadway sound design credits include On Your Feet, Doctor Zhivago, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Tony Award), Hands on a Hardbody (Drama Desk Award), Jesus Christ Superstar, Catch Me If You Can (Tony nomination), Guys and Dolls, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, Jersey Boys (Drama Desk Award), Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays, Rent, Hairspray, The Producers, Aida, Titanic, Big, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Carousel, and The Who’s Tommy (Drama Desk Award). In addition, he was the production engineer on such Broadway shows as Cats, Starlight Express, Song & Dance, The Phantom of the Opera, Carrie, ... read more Stewart F. Lane is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, director, and author. He was born on March 16, 1947, in New York City, and grew up in Great Neck, Long Island. Lane attended the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater from Columbia University. Lane began his career in the entertainment industry as an actor, appearing in off-Broadway productions and regional theater. Thomas Schumacher serves as President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, overseeing the development, creation and execution of Disney's legitimate Stage Entertainment worldwide. The division's credits include Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, On the Record, High School Musical, TARZAN, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Shakespeare in Love, Freaky Friday and Frozen. Recently he served as Executive Producer for the live-action film Beauty and the Beast. As President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, he oversaw some 21 animated features, including The ... read more JOHN SHIVERS (Sound Design) Shucked, Beauty and the Beast (New Production Worldwide) Pretty Woman (Worldwide), Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, Kinky Boots (2013 Tony Award recipient), Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, Leap of Faith, Bonnie & Clyde, Sister Act, 9 to 5, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, In My Life, Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays, Julia Sweeney’s God Sad ‘Ha’. International: Wicked, Spirit of Life, The Secret, Tarzan, Das Wunder Von Bern, The Lion King (Shanghai) and (Singapore), Regional: The Muny (2015 -Present), Trading Places, Afterwords, The Wanderer, Becoming Nancy, 42nd St., Rock of Ages, The Heart of ... read more Rick Sordelet - Fight Director - Rick and his son and partner, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, created SORDELET INC, www.sordeletinc.com with 73 Broadway credits that include Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Wolf Hall. Also staged the fights for the opera Cyrano de Bergerac starring Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera House, and the LaScala in Milan, Italy; and for over 65 productions on five continents including Ben Hur Live European Tour and sit down in Rome. Film: Ben is Back starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, The Game Plan starring Dwayne Johnson; Dan in ... read more