TEAM

FOUNDERS

Bob Klein, is a musical theatre aficionado with exceptional experience in entertainment marketing. Bob contributed significantly to marketing films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to launching cable networks NICKELODEON, SHOWTIME, and FX, and to guiding arts organizations like the LA Philharmonic. In 1996 he co-founded Reprise! with Marcia Seligson reviving major musicals for southern California audiences. In 2005 they founded the Festival of New American Musicals to showcase new works, creators, and performers. Shortly thereafter, Bob co-founded FNAM with a mission to educate, mentor, and showcase the creators of musicals for stage, screen, and new platforms.

Marcia Seligson has theatre in her blood. In 1996 she co-founded REPRISE! Broadway’s Best, and served as the Producing Artistic Director presenting more than forty events. In 2008 she was a co-executive producer of the Festival of New American Musicals presenting multiple events from Santa Barbara to San Diego to thousands. Marcia has co-produced shows which have been both off and on Broadway. Her Broadway show, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, became a film starring Gena Rowlands. Her recent memoir is MY MOTHER WOULD HATE THIS BOOK, which she probably wouldn’t. It’s very funny.

Linda Shusett has experience in developing and producing for motion pictures, but her heart has always been with musical theatre. She serves as Co-Executive Producer for FNAM including co-producing past joint workshops with ASCAP. Linda currently produces the bimonthly MUSI-CAL showcase at Rockwell Table & Stage. Linda co-produced Ovation Award nominated Hoboken to Hollywood as well as other live musical events/concerts. Her love for all styles of music is evident: she has performed in musical theatre, cabaret and as a member of the Canaligators, a Venice rock n’ roll band.

Co-Executive Producers Bob Klein, Linda Shusett, and Marcia Seligson, with Norman Lear.

Co-Executive Producers Bob Klein, Linda Shusett, and Marcia Seligson, with Norman Lear.

FNAM BOARD

Kevin Bailey: Co-founded MB Artists with husband James Mellon. Producing credits: Broadway Ann, (Lincoln Center), starring Holland Taylor (Tony nomination Best Actress); the four plays in the Greater Tuna cycle, and 12 solo plays by Tuna playwright, Jaston Williams.  Acting: original Broadway and LA productions of The Lion King and Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters. National tours and regional productions: Phantom, Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, 42nd Street, Elf, Amadeus, (Hollywood Bowl) and The Fantasticks. Current projects include the new musical The Belles Are Swingin’ and the play White Lies, starring Annie Potts.

Mina Bloom (UCLA BA in Theatre, 2017) is an award-winning pianist, composer, flautist, music director and music teacher. Mina first connected with FNAM as a finalist in ShowSearch. She is the music lead for FNAM’s Pathway. Mina founded Dually Noted Theatre Company which workshops and produces new musicals. She is a Music Director with the Miracle Project. Mina composed the song cycle We Three Sisters based on Chekhov’s play. She is currently working on the full-length musical, Formosa Girls, loosely based on the experiences of her grandmother and great aunts as bride price immigrants to the United States.

Michael Donovan, President, is a critically-acclaimed casting director based in Los Angeles. He is the recipient of 9 Artios Awards, presented by the Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. Michael has cast over 1,000 theatre productions, including shows produced at the Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum, the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Kirk Douglas, Pasadena Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Ensemble Theatre Company, ICT, Arizona Theatre Company and many more. In addition, he has numerous film, television and commercial credits. Michael also teaches at Pepperdine University.

Noelle L. Hicks, Vice President, has had a life-long passion for the arts. Noelle has been a board member with the Foundation since its initial incarnation as the Festival of New American Musicals and is delighted to support the next generation of musical theatre creators. Most recently she has been a Broadway angel for Dangerous Liaisons and Dear Evan Hansen.

Marty Iker, Treasurer, is a renowned entertainment marketing/branding expert. After twelve years at broadcast stations and nine as VP/Creative Director at Warner Bros., now President/Creative Director at MI Creative Group, Marty develops award-winning brand identities, promos and commercials for major studios and networks. Iker has created iconic marketing campaigns featuring The Four Tops, Little Richard and Will Smith, among others. Marty has a B.A. in Theatre from Grinnell College, and an M.S. in Telecommunications from Indiana University. He is particularly interested in encouraging the use of new technology, new forms and new media in the creation of the next generation of musicals.

Anthony Lucca is an award-winning music director, orchestrator, and arranger. World premieres include BRONCO BILLY (Skylight Theatre Company, LA Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Musical Direction), MUTT HOUSE (Kirk Douglas Theater), CULT OF LOVE (IAMA Theatre Company), and workshop productions of new musical theatre in Los Angeles and New York. Music direction: THE CIVILITY OF ALBERT CASHIER, CALVIN BERGER (Colony Theatre Company), THE SOUND OF MUSIC, OLIVER!, CINDERELLA, SOMETHING ROTTEN!, MAMMA MIA! (5-Star Theatricals), SIDEWAYS IN CONCERT (Via Reggia Productions), EVITA IN CONCERT (Palos Verdes Performing Arts Center). Orchestration: MAYA (Prospect Musicals), KING OF PANGAEA (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), BELLES ARE SWINGING (MB Artists). As a guest artist, he teaches and music directs for the Rubicon Theatre Company’s Summer Youth Program, Loyola Marymount University, and is an adjunct faculty member at USC School of Dramatic Arts where he is director of the Musical Theatre Summer Conservatory.

Ryan M. Luévano (he/him) is a Latinx award-winning playwright, screenwriter, talent manager, and theatre critic in Los Angeles. Recently, Ryan's musical "57 Bus" was selected for the Latine Musical Theatre Lab's Table Reading Series 2023, where he collaborated closely with dramaturg Amauta M. Firmino (SLAVE PLAY). In 2021, he was awarded the prestigious Artists-in-Residence title at Chateau d'Orquevaux in France and received the Denis Diderot Grant for his contributions to "57 Bus." Additionally, his play "La Lavadora" won the Full Circle Players' New Works Play Festival in 2021, and his new play "Dance Plague" premiered at Contra Costa School of Performing Arts in Walnut Creek, CA, in 2023. Notably, "La Lavadora" was a finalist in the 2023 New Works Festival at the Santa Monica Theatre Guild, held at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, and a semi-finalist in the Screencraft Stage Play Competition. www.ryanmluevano.com.

Deirdre Marlowe, Secretary, devotes much of her FNAM time to The Pathway as a Teaching Artist, program administrator and grant writer. Marlowe was a 10-year member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. While she has written lyrics and music, her expertise is in book writing. She has collaborated on six musicals, three of which have been produced.

Patty Onagan has over 25 years of experience in performing arts marketing, publicity, special events, and production. She launched numerous world premieres including the Broadway productions of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aida. Her agency represents/has represented many arts organizations including Ebony Repertory Theatre, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Greenway Arts Alliance, Numi Opera, The Old Globe, Canon Theatricals, Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, REPRISE II, among others, and countless independent productions. Patty produced bare: a pop opera (World Premiere); Terence McNally’s Corpus Christi (Los Angeles Premiere); Lythgoe Family Panto holiday productions (associate producer); benefit concerts for the Clinton Bush Relief Fund, UNICEF and American Red Cross.

Christopher Sepulveda is a film, theatre and XR producer specializing in new work development and production. Recent credits include the new live virtual reality musical Winter Lights with Apples and Oranges Studios, the hit You Can't Stop the Beat fundraising video for The Actor's Fund, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere of Sleeping Giant by Steve Yockey, Be A Good Little Widow by Bekah Brunstetter at The Odyssey Theatre and world premiere musical Mutt House at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Other work includes the Tony award-winning Broadway production, First National Tour and West End premiere of An American in Paris with Apples and Oranges and the acclaimed revival of Spring Awakening with Deaf West Theatre.

John Snow is a professional actor, musician, and director. As actor, John has performed inplays (Samuel Beckett’s “Act Without Words II”, Moonchildren, Loyalties, Jersey Boys, Dutch Masters), and others. As musician and music director, John performed with Patrice Rushen, (Tony Nominee) Kathryn Gallagher, the pit of WICKED on Broadway, and venues (Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center). John led many highly reviewed shows (“Celebration of Stephen Sondheim”, “Celebration of Nina Simone”,“Celebration of Laurel Canyon and the 70s”, and others). As director, John helmed Taubert Nadalini’s new one man cabaret show, "Unnerving Berlin”, Carolyn Mignini’s show, “Time is on my Side”. John collaborates with theatres putting on many shows. John was artistic producer and starred in the plays “Moments in Time”, “Dutch Masters”. He admires what Mary Lou Rosato demanded from him for years in New York, “Technique serves the imagination. Without both working together and aligned, an artist has nothing.”

Tegan Summer is a member of the Broadway League and Society of London Theatre. He is the 2024 recipient of the Political and Public Life Arts & Culture award, presented to him by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, at the House of Commons. He is Co-Lead Producer on Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's new musical, Little Dancer, directed by Susan Stroman, and produced Andrew Lloyd Webber-Nimax Theatre’s revival of Aspects of Love,  and For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy. Summer is an Ovation and NAACP award recipient. Some projects for which he is librettist and lyricist include bio-musicals Mozart: Her Story (Carnegie Hall & Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Rebel - The James Dean Musical; The Nicholas Brothers Musical, The Harvey Milk Musical, Bettie Page, Queen of Pin-Ups,  Amelia: A Tale of Bravery & Mystery.

Rob Warner is an LA-based actor, writer, comedian, and singer. He has performed in the Second City Premium show Trump in Space for two years, the IO House Sketch Team Garden Party, the UCB House Team Quick & Funny Musicals; the Rockwell & Dynasty Typewriter production of Bachelor the Musical where he originated the role of Chris Harrison (besides, like, the actual Chris Harrison); and the UCB/Dynasty Typewriter version of Real Housewives the Unauthorized Musical Parody, which premiered at Sketchfest in 2023. He performs standup regularly at Flappers Main Room alongside comedy greats like Guy Branum and Moses Storm, as well as the Kookaburra Lounge & the Bourbon Room. He has published work in The Bold Italic and sung at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

FNAM ADVISORY BOARD

Hunter Bird, NYC based is a director and developer of new plays and musicals.

Jim Chabin     President, The Advanced Imaging Society

Lowe Cunningham     Director, Creative Development, Universal Theatrical Group, Universal Pictures

Nicole Pryor Derneresian, is a former actor and founder of Firestarter Entertainment, a talent agency.

Scott Devine, Executive Director, Ensemble Theatre Company, Santa Barbara

Gail Eichenthal     Director of Community Engagement, KUSC Los Angeles and KDFC San Francisco

Sheldon Epps     Artistic Director Emeritus, Pasadena Playhouse; Artistic Advisor, Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C.

Gordon P. Firemark     Entertainment  Attorney

Hanay Geiogamah     Playwright, Film/TV Producer; Professor of theater in the School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA 

Alicia Green     Director of Education and Community Outreach, A Noise Within

Richard Israel     is an award winning director and Program Director, BA for Acting for Theatre, Film and Television at LIU, Brooklyn

Bob Klein, co-founder of FNAM

Brian Kite     Theatre Director and Interim Dean of the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television

Sophie Olsen     Choreographer, Performing Arts Education Specialist

Heather Provost, Producing Artistic Director, Colony Theatre, Burbank

Chip Rosenbloom     Composer and Filmmaker

Marc Shaiman     Broadway Composer and Lyricist, Tony. Emmy. and Grammy winning composer-lyricist

Mark Slavkin     Retired Director of Education, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Deborah Strichartz     President and CEO of Big Hill Pictures

Annie Wareham     Artistic Director of Laguna Playhouse

Pamela L. Weisberg, Esq.     Entertainment and Business Attorney

David Zippel     Lyricist and Director

Marlene Zuccaro     Former Director of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts Magnet, Hamilton High School