CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

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SANDY BOREN-BARRETT (DIRECTOR) - Sandy Boren-Barrett has been with Stages Theatre Company (STC) since 1990, allowing her to pursue her passion for theatre production and education, along with community building theatre serving young audiences. During her time in leadership STC has been awarded National recognition with the 2017 Harold Oaks Award for Innovative Contributions to the Field of Theatre for Young Audiences, as well as the 2018 – 50/50 Applause Award for promoting gender equity with playwrights. STC’s 2019-2020 season selection was highlighted in TYA Today Magazine as an example of “a promising increase in representation specifically in works that feature the stories of contemporary young people of color”. Sandy led an international performance tour and artistic exchange with “the egg Theatre, the Young Peoples Theatre of Theatre Royal” in Bath England. Collaboration is at the core of her work, and as an accomplished director has directed over 75 productions at STC which include many new works, dance-inspired productions, and world premieres. She directed the local premier, mainstage production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the musical which remains the highest attended production at Stages Theatre Company. Sandy remains on the Executive Committee, as former chair of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) and last spring worked with Racially Conscious Collaboration (RCC) to gain her certification in racial equity organizational leadership.

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KRYSTI WIITA PHILLIPS (CHOREORGRAPHER) - Krysti Wiita Phillips loves being back with the Stages Theatre Company Family! After working alongside Michael Matthew Ferrell, she is honored to step into the choreographer position. She has worked on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical (2022), Stage’s Tuck Everlasting, Elf the Musical, Jr. (2021 & 2019), Mary Poppins, and Beauty & the Beast. Krysti has also worked at many theatres around the twin cities including Theatre Latte Da, Children’s Theatre Company, Artistry, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Chanhassen Dinner Theaters, Duluth Playhouse, GREAT Theatre, and Eagan Community Theater. She has also had the joy of working with Hennepin Theatre Trust’s SpotLight Awards and high schools around the area. Krysti is extremely grateful to her husband and daughter, Jory and Delaney, and her family for all of their love and support.

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JC LIPPOLD (MUSIC DIRECTOR)

JC is grateful to walk alongside amazing storytellers at Stages Theatre Company in this production! As music director, JC has worked on 9 productions at Stages Theatre Company, his favorites including Bridge to Terabithia, I Love You, Stinky Face, and James and the Giant Peach. Theatre is truly a gift that brings ideas to life. May this production inspire you to bring your ideas to life.

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ALAN MEKEN (MUSIC) - Legendary composer Alan Menken has created some of the most beloved songs and musical scores of our time, with his unique voice as a composer capturing the imagination of audiences for over 35 years.Known for his music on stage and screen, he is noted for his multiple works with the Walt Disney company (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), as well as Broadway stage musicals Sister Act and Little Shop of Horrors. With eight Academy Awards, Alan has received more Oscars than any living person, and is the recipient of numerous other awards including Golden Globes, Grammys, Drama Desk Awards, and a Tony Award.

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JACK FELDMAN (LYRICS) - Jack Feldman is an American lyricist who has written songs for television, film, and Broadway. He has worked on many Disney movies ranging from Oliver & Company to The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, collaborating with Alan Menken on the songs for Newsies. He wrote the lyrics for Barry Manilow's Grammy Award–winning song "Copacabana" and won a Tony along with Alan Menken for the stage musical version of Newsies. Feldman grew up on Long Island.

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HARVEY FIERSTEIN (BOOK) - Harvey Fierstein is the author of the current smash hit Newsies as well as Torch Song Trilogy (Tony®, Drama Desk, and OBIE Awards), La Cage aux Folles (Tony® and Drama Desk Awards), The Sissy Duckling (Humanitas Award), A Catered Affair (12 Drama Desk nominations), Safe Sex (Ace Award), Legs Diamond, Spookhouse, Flatbush Tosca, Common Ground, and more. His political editorials have been published in The New York Times, TV Guide, The Huffington Post, and broadcast on PBS’s “In the Life”. His children’s book, The Sissy Duckling, is now in its fifth printing. As an actor, Mr. Fierstein is known worldwide for his performances in films like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day, and on stage in Hairspray (Tony Award®), Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy (Tony Award®), and TV shows such as “Smash,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Good Wife,” “Cheers” (Emmy nomination), “The Simpsons,” and “Nurse Jackie.”

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BOB TZUDIKER (FILM) - Robert "Bob" Tzudikeris an American writer and actor. Tzudiker is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for Newsies along with his wife Noni White, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' strike of 1899. Newsies began as a "classic underdog story ripped from the history books", with writers White and Tzudiker approaching producer Michael Finnell with an idea for a nonmusical drama; however, Disney studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg redirected the project to become a musical.He shares writing credit on Disney's Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 102 Dalmatians and Anastasia. He also contributed to the film The Lion King and has written screenplays for every major studio.He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Screenwriting at the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television at USC Cinematic Arts.

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NONI WHITE (FILM) - Noni White is an American writer and actress. White is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for Newsies along with her husband Bob Tzudiker, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' strike of 1899. She also shares writing credit on Disney's Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 102 Dalmatians and Anastasia. She also contributed to the film The Lion King and has written screenplays for every major studio. Noni also works as an actress, and has appeared in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, 7th Heaven and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, among many others.

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