"ON YOUR TOES will have audiences up on their feet."
- Backstage West
wrote their first shows together when both were still students attending Columbia University. After writing a series of musical comedies for the University's Varsity Shows and other charities, they made their professional debut with the song "Any Old Place With You," featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy A Lonely Romeo. Their breakthrough came with the score for a 1925 charity show, The Garrick Gaities, which introduced the classic valentine to their hometown, "Manhattan." From 1920 to 1930 Rodgers & Hart wrote an astonishing array of musical comedies for Broadway and London's West End. At their pinnacle the team was writing an average of four new shows a year, and among these were: Dearest Enemy, Betsy, Peggy-Ann, The Girlfriend, Chee-Chee and A Connecticut Yankee. In 1930 the team relocated to Hollywood, where they contributed songs and wrote the scores for several movie musicals, including the landmark Love Me Tonight starring Maurice Chevalier; The Phantom President starring George M. Cohan; Hallelujah, I’m A Bum starring Al Jolson; and Mississippi starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields. They were lured back to New York by legendary Broadway producer Billy Rose in 1935 to write the songs for his circus musical spectacular, Jumbo. Their score introduced "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," "My Romance," and "Little Girl Blue," and Rodgers & Hart were back on Broadway. From 1936 to 1943 Rodgers & Hart wrote a series of Broadway musical comedies, each of which seemed to top the one before in terms of innovation and box office success. On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), I’d Rather Be Right (1937), I Married An Angel (1938), The Boys From Syracuse (1938), Too Many Girls (1939), Higher and Higher (1940), Pal Joey (1940), and By Jupiter (1942) dazzled Broadway in spectacular succession, and collectively offered such classic songs as "There's a Small Hotel," "I Wish I Were In Love Again," "My Funny Valentine," "Where Or When," "The Lady is a Tramp," "Spring Is Here," "Falling In Love With Love," "Sing For Your Supper," "This Can't Be Love," "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "It Never Entered My Mind," "Bewitched," "I Could Write a Book," "Nobody's Heart," and "Wait Till You See Her." The partnership disbanded temporarily early in 1943 when Rodgers collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on Oklahoma! The Rodgers & Hart partnership resumed with a revision of their 1927 musical comedy A Connecticut Yankee, and the new production (which featured six new songs including "To Keep My Love Alive") opened on Broadway November 17, 1943. Already ill at the time, Lorenz Hart died less than a week later. Richard Rodgers then pursued a career with Oscar Hammerstein II, and their collaboration over the next two decades resulted in the following musical plays: Carousel (1945), Allegro (1947), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), Me and Juliet (1953), Pipe Dream (1955), Flower Drum Song (1958) and The Sound of Music (1959). The team wrote one movie musical, State Fair (1945), and one for television, Cinderella. (1957). Oscar Hammerstein II died in 1960. Richard Rodgers continued to write for the musical stage for the rest of his life; his fortieth, and final, Broadway musical, I Remember Mama, opened on Broadway less than eight months before his death on December 30, 1979. In March of 1990, Richard Rodgers was honored posthumously with Broadway's highest honor when the 46th Street Theatre was renamed in his honor. In 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps.
is currently represented with the National Tour of Camelot starring Lou Diamond Phillips. As part of the original Broadway creative team, Mr. Mojica was associated with Disney's Broadway musical, Beauty and the Beast (Associate Director/Associate Choreographer) for over eight years. In that time, he mounted, staged, and supervised sixteen companies of the show worldwide, with productions premiering in London, Tokyo, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Stuttgart, Sydney, and three US national Tours. As Director and/or Choreographer: Victor/Victoria (1st national), Singin' in the Rain (premiere in Seoul), Hello, Dolly! (Pittsburgh CLO), Enter the Guardsman (The Old Globe), My Fair Lady (McCoy Rigby Ent.), Damn Yankees (Sacramento Music Circus), and The Great American Songbook (Mark Taper Forum). For Reprise!, Broadway’s Best: My One and Only with Rachel York, Michael Gruber, and Betty Garrett, Anything Goes (2003 Ovation Award/Best Musical), Pippin w/Sam Harris, Zorba w/Mark Kudisch and Judy Kaye, and On The Town (2006 Ovation nominee/Best Musical). Television credits include The Disney Channel premiere of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “CSI (w/Faye Dunaway),” and the CBS Grove Hollywood-Holiday Celebration. He continues to lend his support to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Actors Fund, the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, and the Motion Picture and Television Fund. He is a member of SSDC. www.danmojica.com.
Lee is thrilled to be back at Reprise! after having choreographed Brigadoon and On the Town, (both receiving Ovation nominations for choreography), and directing several concerts for Reprise including “Reprise, Broadways Best” and the most recent “Broadway Babies’ both at the Ford Theatre. Recent work includes Beehive at the El Portal Theatre (2007 LADCC nominee for choreography), The Full Monty and the critically acclaimed West Coast Premiere of Never Gonna Dance, for Musical Theatre West (2005 Ovation Award winner). Other recent credits include: I Do I Do (Pasadena Playhouse), Wild Party (MTG), Grease for Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, (2005 Ovation Award nominee), Side by Side by Sondheim at the Pasadena Playhouse (2004 Ovation Nomination), direction and choreography for several large scale, dance production shows for Harley-Davidson in Denver, San Diego and Dallas, Universal Studios’ New York Rascal Show and Disney’s Santa Clause 3 Stage Show at the El Capitan. Other choreography highlights include: excerpts from The King and I at The Hollywood Bowl, starring Patrick Stuart and Vanessa Redgrave, the opening of the Hobby Performing Arts Center for Houston's Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) A Tribute to Jerry Herman, hosted by President George Bush and Barbara Bush, Man of La Mancha starring Robert Goulet, Mame, starring Carol Lawrence and Sally Struthers. Cabaret for West Coast Ensemble (LADCC award for choreography). Disney’s Latin American Tour A Dream Is a Wish, IMPACT at FORD FIELD, the Gala Opening of the Lions Football Field in Detroit starring Gladys Knight and Deborah Gibson, the Grand Opening of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs starring American Idol winner Ruben Stoddard and the opening ceremony for the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. Lee choreographs for several charities including, “A Night At Sardi’s” for the Alzheimer’s Association, several benefits for The Actor’s Fund, and S.T.A.G.E. (Los Angeles’ longest running AIDS benefit), starring television and Broadway celebrities, Children’s Hospital of Orange County Benefits (raising close to 3 million dollars for the charity), “Hot In Hollywood” at the Henry Fonda Theatre, featuring Nadine Valazquez (“My Name is Earl”), Shanelle Workman (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Eric Martsolf (“Passions”) Television and Film Credits include: NBC’s Hit Me Baby One More Time, the WB’s What I Like About You, starring Jenny Garth and Amanda Bynes, Nickelodeon’s All That, Warner Bros.’ animated feature The King and I, and Sony Pictures’ Dark Wolf. Lee is a proud member of SSDC and holds an MFA in dance. Many thanks to a wonderful and talented cast and crew, especially to Dan, Jerry, Jim and JJ for their inspiration and collaboration.
commences his sixth season as musical director of Reprise!. He has earned eight Ovation Nominations (finally winning in 2006 for Zorba), in addition to five LA Drama Critics Circle Nominations (having been presented the 2007 Joel Hirschhorn award for excellence in the musical theater by this illustrious organization) and won two Garland Awards. He has conducted every main season show for the last five years (being the late, great Peter Matz’s associate for fourteen shows of the first five seasons), and many of Reprise!’s special events at the Ford and most notably the recent benefit concert at the Brentwood, Give my Regards to Broadway. He made his LA Philharmonic debut at the Hollywood Bowl during the summer of '05 as on-stage pianist for Stephen Sondheim’s 75th Birthday – The Concert, also assisting Paul Gemignani. He has also assisted John Mauceri, rehearsing the summer Bowl musicals The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Mame, and Camelot. Other credits: associate conductor for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Merlin, and The Tap Dance Kid (all Broadway), Les Miserables (LA premiere company), conducting the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance starring Melissa Manchester. He has accompanied a wide variety of artists from Marilyn Horne, Florence Henderson, and Carol Burnett, to Nancy Wilson, Donna McKechnie, John Lithgow, Kelsey Grammar, Jason Graae, and Jennifer Hudson. Just last winter, he was seen on stage playing piano for Carrie Fisher in her brilliant one woman show, Wishful Drinking, at the Geffen Playhouse. He has musically directed four S.T.A.G.E benefits (Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harry Warren and Marvin Hamlisch, Comden and Green), one Actors Fund Benefit (Richard Rodgers) – each directed by David Galligan; two Les Girls Benefits (for National Breast Cancer Coalition), three WESPARK benefits (directed by Barbara Epstein), three of Sheryl Lee Ralph's Divas Simply Singing Benefits -- all star studded. As a songwriter/composer-- ASCAP Rising Songwriter Showcases on both coasts, Cabaret Conventions at New York’s Town Hall, the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Cinegrill; music and songs (in collaboration with Lindy Robbins) performed in the ’93-’98 editions of the Ringling Brothers’ Circus; the musicals Heartbeats (in collaboration with Amanda McBroom), The Gay 90’s – Looking Back and Moving On and Vampire Virgins from Venus. Gerald played his song “Mary” (written in collaboration with Faye Greenberg) – a paean to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, performed on the 2003 TV Land Awards show by Eric McCormack – in the presence of the original cast of the landmark sitcom. And now-- his rave-reviewed, world premiere musical in collaboration with Elin Hampton—Mommy, Mommy – The Musical Musical – which ran at the Hudson Theater this spring (directed by Kay Cole), has been optioned for off-Broadway production later this year.
Brett is excited to make his Reprise! debut with On Your Toes. Currently, his Scenic and Lighting Design for the world premiere of Junk: A Rock Opera can be seen at The Lyric Theatre, where past productions include A Funny Thing H appened. . . and Side By Side By Sondheim. Other Scenic Design credits include They’re Playing our Song and Nuncrackers for Valley Musical Theatre, and Urinetown for UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program. As a Design Associate, Brett’s work includes productions of Wishful Drinking, A Picasso, Speed-the-Plow, Paint Your Wagon, You Can’t Take it With You, Take Me Out and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof at the Geffen Playhouse; Cosi Fan Tutte at Seattle Opera; CAMELOT National Tour for McCoy-Rigby; Sunset Boulevard at the Hollywood Bowl; Gem of the Ocean at Seattle Repertory; James and the Giant Peach at South Coast Repertory; Over the River and Through the Woods at La Mirada Playhouse; and three productions of Plaid Tidings. Brett holds a BA in Theater Arts from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and is currently pursuing an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Mr. LeBlanc has designed over 600 productions in L.A. and around the US. He has been recognized for his work with 9 Drama-Logue awards, 6 garland awards, a Drama Critics Circle Award, an L.A. Weekly award, the Ovation, for Theatre Neos’ The Women, and the LAVC and Garland award for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir with James Barbour and Lynne Wintersteller at NOHO Arts. Most recently he received the NAACP nomination for The Bluebonnet Court. Last year Mr. LeBlanc had the privilege to design 6 world premier productions, including: Manor of Trust, Equinox, One Way Ticket to Hell, Lizard, Conjunto and Bluebonnet Court, and the west coast premiere of Friends like These with Donna Mills. Mr. LeBlanc is the owner of Valentino’s Costumes in Van Nuys and divides time between L.A. and San Francisco, where he teaches Costume Design at the Academy of Art University.
has designed nearly 100 theatrical shows, including Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks on Broadway; the 2002 to 2005 national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar; The Ten Commandments starring Val Kilmer at the Kodak Theatre; Measure for Measure, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Cinderella at the Ahmanson; The Talking Cure, Like Jazz, Big River, Flower Drum Song and First Picture Show at the Taper; and all of the past ten seasons of Reprise! Other design work includes Paint Your Wagon, Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks, and Ain’t Nothin' But the Blues at the Geffen; Play On, and Blame it on the Movies at the Pasadena Playhouse; Masada at the Shubert Theatre in LA; Forever Plaid and Blues in the Night at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami; and the US workshop productions of the upcoming West End musical Zorro with music by John Cameron and the Gipsy Kings. On Broadway he assisted long time design partner Jon Gottlieb on 2001’s If You Ever Leave Me I'm Coming With You. He served as Production Sound Engineer for Jason Robert Brown’s 13 at the Taper, Thoroughly Modern Millie at La Jolla Playhouse and was the head soundman for the national tours of Titanic, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Man of La Mancha. He won the 2003 NAACP award for Sound Design for Jesus Christ Superstar, the 2001 Ovation Award for Flower Drum Song, and the 1999 LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Cinderella, as well as five LA Dramalogue Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and two Ovation Award nominations for Best Sound Design. Mr. Allen currently teaches Sound Design for Theatre at the USC School of Theatre and at Cal Arts.
