Wonderful Town - Off-Broadway Creative Team

Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools. At Harvard University, he studied with Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt, among others. Before graduating in 1939, he made an unofficial conducting debut with his own incidental music to "The Birds," and directed and performed in Marc Blitzstein's "The Cradle Will Rock." Then at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, conducting with Fritz Reiner, and orchestration with Randall Thompson. In 1940, he studied at the ... read more Betty Comden, born in Brooklyn in 1917, was an American lyricist, screenwriter, and actress. She is best known for her work with Adolph Green, with whom she collaborated on numerous musicals and films. Comden and Green met in 1938 while both were studying at New York University, and began writing together shortly thereafter. Their first Broadway credit was for On the Town, a musical about three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City. The show premiered in 1944 and was a huge success, cementing Comden and Green's place in the world of musical theater. Comden and Green went on to ... read more Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who was born on December 2, 1914, in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Green's father was a successful businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. Green attended New York University, where he studied English and drama. Green began his career in show business as a performer in the late 1930s. He appeared in several Broadway productions, including "The New Yorkers" and "Two for the Show." However, it was his work as a lyricist that would make him famous. Green's first major success as a lyricist came in ... read more Casel is an American actress, tap dancer and choreographer. Raised in Puerto Rico, she derived inspiration for her tap style from salsa music. While in college, she studied with Baakari Wilder and Charles Goddertz. She became the first, and remains the only, woman to be a member of Savion Glover's Not Your Ordinary Tappers. Broadway: A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Award); Velocity of Autumn. Over 200 regional and international design credits in theatre, dance, and opera. Recipient of the Craig Noel Award, Connecticut Critic Circle Award, Irene Sharaff Young Master Award, Ruth Morely Design Award. Nominations from Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Henry Hewes, Elliot Norton, Bay Area, Robby, IRNE, and Jeff awards. MFA, Yale School of Drama. www.lindacho.com Lorin Latarro: Choreographer of Broadway’s upcoming TOMMY, INTO THE WOODS, WAITRESS, MRS. DOUBTFIRE, LES LIASONS DANGEREUSE with Janet McTeer and Live Schreiber, WAITING FOR GODOT with Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stuart, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG for Roundabout, and LA TRAVIATA at The Met Opera. Lorin recently directed Candace Bushnell’s one woman show, IS THERE STILL SEX IN THE CITY at the Daryl Roth Theatre, which became a NYTimes Critic’s Pick. Additional Directing credits #DATEME at The Westside Theatre, A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME at Chicago’s Nederlander Broadway. Additional Choreography includes Encores OLIVER, CHESS at ... read more Zhailon Levingston is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist. He is a Board Member for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which he co-created, and teaches the Theatre of Change course at Columbia University. He is a Music Mentor Fellow and has done work with Idina Menzel’s A Broader Way Foundation. His directing credits include: Neptune (Dixon Place, Brooklyn Museum), The Years That Went Wrong (Lark, MCC), The Exonerated (Columbia Law School), Chariot Part 2 (Soho Rep., for The Movement Theatre Company), Mother of Pearl (LaGuardia Performing Arts Center). He is the associate director of Primer for a Failed Superpower with Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin, and ... read more Notable set/costume designs include: Broadway: Once on This Island (Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk nomination), Sunday in the Park With George, Six Degrees of Separation, In Transit, Eclipsed (Tony Award), The Elephant Man (Broadway, West End), Violet. Off-Broadway: Familiar, The True, Here Lies Love (NY, London), Sweet Charity, Bella, and Booty Candy. Over 200 regional and international credits. Encores! Off-Center Principal Designer. Awards: Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, 3 Lucille Lortels, TDF Sharaff Award, 2 ATW Henry Hewes, Helen Hayes. Upcoming: Wild Goose Dreams. Head of Design at Fordham University Theatre Program. @clintramos