Artistic Team Bios

Alan Jay Lerner (Author & Lyricist) was a Broadway lyricist and librettist, born in New York City, New York, USA. The son of a wealthy owner of a women's clothing store chain, he enjoyed the privileges of a cultured family. He began piano lessons at age five and wrote his first songs as a teenager, but his father planned for him to enter the diplomatic service. While at Harvard he contributed to the Hasty Pudding Club Shows (1938-9), and during the summers of 1936-7 he studied at Juilliard. An accident in a boxing match cost him the sight of his left eye, and after graduation (1940) he went to New York City determined to write for the theatre. He wrote radio scripts and contributed to satirical revues, and in 1942 he met composer Frederick Loewe. They began their collaboration on such hit musicals as Brigadoon (1947), My Fair Lady (1956), and Gigi (1958). Lerner also collaborated on other works, writing the libretto and lyrics for Love Life (1948, music by Kurt Weill), and the screenplay for An American in Paris (1951). He rejoined Loewe for Camelot (1960) but they had a falling-out and went their own ways. Lerner wrote the words for two other musicals, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965) and Coco (1969). He rejoined Loewe in 1973 to make a stage version of their film musical, Gigi, and then for their last collaboration, The Little Prince (1974). Lerner's final musicals were not successful, but he had earned his place as one of the most meticulous wordsmiths in the history of American musicals.

Frederick Loewe (Composer) was born in Berlin to Viennese parents, Loewe was the son of an actor and an opera tenor. A quick learner, he began playing the piano at the age of five and composing for his father at the age of seven. When Loewe was 13 he became the youngest pianist to perform with the Berlin Symphony. Katrina, a song composed by Loewe at 15, sold more than one million copies of sheet music. With confidence and a grand talent, he traveled to America. Loewe began performing concerts in the United States in 1924. Although his talent and compositions were favorably received in the United States he decided to perform in a Yorkville bar. This experience helped the young performer realize what it was that people enjoyed. After ten years of taking menial jobs in the United States, he decided to broaden his professional music career by writing plays and musicals. In 1934 he contributed music for the Broadway hit Petticoat Fever. In 1937 he teamed up with Earle Crooker to compose his first musicals Salute to Spring and Great Lady. It was also in the early years of his career that he joined with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. Together the two collaborated on such Broadway sensations as My Fair Lady, Camelot and Brigadoon. Their play, Paint Your Wagon, was hailed by critics as being one of the most well written with tone poems. After Camelot, Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner went their separate ways to pursue solo careers. Realizing the success of their partnership, the two reunited in 1973. They collaborated to bring their 1958 musical Gigi to the stage. In addition the two wrote the score for the play and film The Little Prince. Loewe's musical career lasted more than 40 years. He collaborated with other well-known lyricists and composers. With a determination to succeed, he left Vienna at the ripe age of 20 to pursue a Broadway career in a place he had never been to before. During his career he collaborated and worked on numerous Broadway musicals, all of which were successful and are still performed on Broadway today. Despite the fact that Frederick Loewe did not like his own work, all of his compositions were successful. He spent much of his life in Cannes, France after leaving the United States. He performed concerts and tours worldwide. He died in 1988 in Palm Springs, California at the age of 83.

Agnes de Mille (Original Choreographer) originally wanted to be an actress and had always had a love for acting, but had been told that she was 'not pretty enough', so she turned her attention to dance. As a child, she had longed to dance, but dance at this time was considered more of an activity, rather than a viable career option, and so her parents refused to allow her to dance. When Agnes’s younger sister was prescribed ballet classes to cure her flat feet, Agnes joined her. De Mille lacked flexibility and technique, though, and did not have a dancer's body. Classical ballet was the most widely known dance form at this time, and Agnes apparent lack of ability limited her opportunities. She taught herself from watching movie stars on the set with her father in Hollywood; these were more interesting for her to watch than perfectly turned out legs, and she developed strong character work and compelling performances. One of Agnes’ earliest jobs, thanks to her father’s connections, was choreographing the movie Cleopatra in 1934, though the dances were later cut from the movie. She appeared in The Ragamuffin in 1916, which was her first job. De Mille graduated from UCLA where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and in 1933 moved to London to study at Marie Rambert's Ballet Club. De Mille began her association with the fledgling American Ballet Theatre (then called Ballet Theatre) in 1939, but her first significant work, Rodeo (1942) was staged for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Although de Mille continued to choreograph nearly up to the time of her death--her final ballet, The Informer, was completed in 1992--most of her later works have dropped out of the ballet repertoire. Besides Rodeo, two other de Mille ballets are performed on a regular basis: Three Virgins and a Devil (1934), adapted from a tale by Giovanni Boccaccio, and Fall River Legend (1948), based on the life of Lizzie Borden. In 1943 she married Walter Prude. On the strength of Rodeo, de Mille was hired to choreograph Oklahoma! (1943). The dream ballet, in which dancers (Marc Platt, Katherine Sergava, and George Church) doubled for the leading actors, successfully integrated dance into the musical's plot. Instead of functioning as an interlude or divertissement, the ballet provided key insights into the heroine's emotional troubles. De Mille went on to choreograph over a dozen other musicals, most notably Bloomer Girl (1944), Carousel (1945), Brigadoon (1947), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Goldilocks (1957), and 110 in the Shade (1963). De Mille's success on Broadway did not translate into success in Hollywood. Her only significant film credit is Oklahoma! (1955). She was not invited to recreate her choreography for either Brigadoon or Carousel. Nevertheless, her two specials for the TV series Omnibus, "The Art of Ballet" and "The Art of Choreography" (both televised in 1956), were immediately recognized as landmark attempts to bring serious dance to the attention of a broad public. In 1953, de Mille founded the Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre, which she later revived as Heritage Dance Theatre. De Mille suffered a stroke on stage in 1975, but recovered. She died in 1993 of second stroke in her Greenwich Village apartment.

Marc Robin (Choreographer/Director) Fulton credits: Evita, Rags, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Crazy for You, The Irish and How They Got That Way, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Carousel. He also collaborated with Artistic Director Michael Mitchell as choreographer for The Secret Garden and Lightning Rod. As a freelance director/choreographer he has staged over 200 productions at theatres across the country including: Marriott’s Theatre in Lincolnshire, Walnut Street Theatre, Theatre Under The Stars (Houston), Maine State Music Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Ravinia Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, Northlight Theatre, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, Drury Lane Evergreen Park, Beef N Boards, Theatre at the Center, Peninsula Players, Mass Rep, Phoenix Theatre (Arizona), Bucks County Playhouse, Little Theatre on the Square, Circa’ 21, Fireside Theatre and Skylight Opera. He served as the Artistic Director for the OVATIONS series at the Auditorium Theatre where he directed several productions including Strike up the Band (starring Bea Arthur) and Promises, Promises (starring George Hearn). He served as the Artistic Director/Director for the National tour of the Sing Along Wizard of Oz. He was Artistic Director for 13 years at Drury Lane Evergreen Park and a Guest Professor at Northwestern University. Marc is the recipient of 16 Joseph Jefferson Awards (42 nominations); 11 After Dark Awards; 3 Ari “Zoni” Awards and the Light Opera Works Lifetime Achievement Award. He is proud to be an Artistic Associate at the Fulton and resident of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Robert Klingelhoefer (Resident Set Designer) has designed over 100 productions at the Fulton since 1987. He also continues to teach set design at West Virginia University where he is also the Director of the Design & Technology Program. This summer he designed the repertory of the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepherdstown, WV including the World Premiere of Lee Blessings’ Lonesome Hollow, and the controversial My Name Is Rachel Corrie. Past work includes the World Premiere of the Brecht/Milhaud version of Mother Courage and Her Children, and the New York Premiere of Nobel Prize poet Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy for the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre, in New York, where formerly he was also Resident Designer. For Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, in New York, Mr. Klingelhoefer designed 11 productions including Cambodia Agonistes which, in addition to many US performances, toured to the International Festival of Experimental Theatre in Cairo, Egypt and to the Market Theatre in South Africa. His work has been widely seen regionally for companies including the Capital Repertory Theatre, Asolo Theatre Co., O’Neill Theatre Center, The Cricket Theatre, and The Texas Shakespeare Festival. He lives in Lancaster with his wife Debbie, and son Matt.

Beth Dunkelberger (Costume Designer) is a Lancaster native who has been designing for Actors Company/Fulton Theatre since 1975. Beth has designed well over 150 productions. She has designed for area theatres such as Ephrata Performing Arts Center, The Independent Eye, Lancaster Opera Company, Theatre of the Seventh Sister and Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre. Regional credits include designs for Christy, The Musical (based on the book by Catherine Marshall) at The Grand Ole Opry. Film credits include Witness and The Silence at Bethany. Her artistry has been seen in Industrial shows for Armstrong World Industries and mascots for Weaver Chicken, Servomation and Gibble Potato Chips.
Paul Black (Lighting Designer) is excited to be back at the Fulton which he has come to call his second home. Some of his previous designs include the most recent, Treasure Island, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Oliver!, Dracula: Lord of the Undead, Crazy for You, The Irish...and How They Got That Way, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, Seussical, Hot Mikado, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is with great joy that he reunites with Michael Mitchell on another great project. When not in Pennsylvania, Paul works as a freelance designer living in Phoenix, Arizona. There, he has designed for the Arizona Theatre Co., Actors Theatre of Phoenix, Phoenix Theatre and Childsplay Inc. Other theatres Paul has designed for are the Music Theatre of Santa Barbara, American Stage in Florida, Carousel Dinner Theatre and the national tour of Tea at Five with Kate Mulgrew. As a guest artist Paul has lectured at Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Cornell College, Viterbo University, and Wichita State University. When not designing lights, Paul is co-executive of P2Design, a production company. Much thanks to Ellen and Bob for all of their hospitality and support over the years.

Ron Barnett (Musical Director) Musical Direction Credits include: Into the Woods, Secret Garden, Ragtime, Blackbirds of Broadway, Summer of '42, Tommy, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, Five Guys Named Moe, and Forever Plaid. Composer/Lyricist credits include: Around the World in 80 Days, book and lyrics by Julianne Homokay; A Christmas Carol and Power Play, adaptations by Fulton Opera House Playwright-in-Residence Barry Kornhauser; The Shiniest Rock of All, adapted by Jere Hodgin from Virginia author Nancy Ruth Patterson's book and numerous incidental scores, including the world premiere productions of Dracula: Lord of the Undead, Lightning Rod, Treasure, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Cyrano. Ron has scored over two dozen shows for regional children's theatre, some of which have toured nationally, been performed at the Producer's Association of Children's Theatre in NYC and the Kennedy Center in Washington, and been nominated for TCG awards. Orchestrations include: the world premiere productions of Bojangles (music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Sammy Cahn), Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (songs by NYC composer David Kirshenbaum), Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark's Treasure Island and Grand and Glorious, featuring songs of Jerome Kern. Sound Design credits include: most plays at the Fulton in the last six years, All Under Heaven, starring Valerie Harper as Pearl S. Buck and Zelda: The Last Flapper, which has played in Romania and Hungary as part of an ACTIV-5 international theatre festival.

David C. Temby (Sound Designer) has created sound systems and designs for many productions, a talent he developed after discovering that there wasn’t much demand for a color-blind lighting designer. David has designed productions and systems for Phoenix Theatre, Childsplay Theater, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, Arizona State University, the City of Phoenix, the White House Communications Agency, Coca-Cola, IBM, CNN, and the United States Air Force. He is also the General Manager for Clearwing Productions Arizona, a company that provides sound & lighting systems, designs, and production management for concerts, corporate shows, theatrical shows, and special events. David makes his home in Phoenix, Arizona with his loving wife, Jenifer.

Anthony Lascoskie, Jr. (Make-up and Wig Designer) Before joining the Fulton, Anthony managed the Millersville Costume Shop. Anthony has designed costumes and wigs for local theatres as well as private clients. His favorites include La Cage aux Folles, The Rocky Horror Show and working on the hair for Taffetas, Joyful Noise, Seussical and Enchanted April. Besides being the resident make-up and wig designer, Anthony also manages the costume shop for the Fulton. He is excited to have the Fulton's extensive costume collection open to the public.

Anne M. Jude (Assistant Stage Manager) is so excited to be returning to the Fulton after spending the holidays with Fiddler on the Roof. Originally from Minnesota, Anne has spent the past two years exploring the east coast, working at the Goodspeed Opera House, Walnut Street Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Commonweal Theatre and the Theater at Monmouth. She received her BFA in Arts Administration from Viterbo University. Proud members of Actors Equity. Love and Thanks to the Fam! For Mom.

Liz Reddick (Stage Manager) is pleased to continue her career “near the stage” at Fulton Theatre with this production of Brigadoon. Most recent credits include Barber Of Seville and Carmen at Tri-Cities Opera and Hairspray, Grand Hotel, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and West Side Story at Maine State Music Theatre. Other recent credits include The Oresteia off-off Broadway at Blue Coyote in NYC and Edges, Moonlight & Magnolias, Intimate Apparel, Metamorphoses and SYNCOPATION, all at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany. Liz has been a professional stage manager for over twenty years, working on plays, musicals and operas regionally. Currently a New Yorker, Liz is a Native Texan and 1985 graduate of Austin College in Sherman, TX where she received the Heywood C. Clemons Volunteer Service Award in 2000.

Michael D. Mitchell (Artistic Director) has spent his life as a professional director and an educator. He holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma and has held teaching positions at the University of Texas and Oberlin College. During his career, he has directed more than 150 productions including the world premieres of the musicalization of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the highly regarded Treasure (2004) and Lightning Rod (2006). During his tenure the theatre has commissioned and produced nine world premieres. Michael has served on the staff of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; as Executive Director for six years of the Civic Theatre of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and in 1987, the Governor of Nebraska named him an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy, for outstanding contributions to the cultural life of that state. From 1993-1999, he was Artistic Director of the Phoenix Theatre, Arizona’s oldest professional arts organization. During that time Phoenix Theatre was consistently recognized for production excellence, including five best production of the year awards. In 1998, he received an Arizona Award for direction of the critically acclaimed production of Ghetto. Michael has been guest director for a number of theatres including Skylight Opera (Milwaukee), Theatre Tulsa (Oklahoma), Black Theatre Troupe (Arizona) and Nebraska Repertory Theatre. In 1999, he became Artistic Director of the Fulton. Michael has served on the Board of the Lancaster Historical Society and currently is a member of the advisory council for the Dean of Arts and Humanities, Millersville University.

Aaron A. Young (Managing Director) is in his fifth season at the Fulton. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Brigham Young University and holds a degree in theatre arts. For six seasons, he directed the marketing and management of the Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Theatre, both programs of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. Aaron has also served as general manager for the Missouri Repertory Theatre and marketing and corporate development manager for Kansas City's historic Folly Theatre. Once a professional performer, he now enjoys singing with his daughters to the accompaniment of his wife's clawhammer banjo.

Barry Kornhauser (Playwright-In-Residence/Director of Theatre for Young Audiences) is the United States nominee for the 2008 ASSITEJ International Award for Artistic Excellence. He has received the AATE Distinguished Play Award, the IRT/Bonderman Playwriting Prize, a TYA/USA International Observership and its “Best Plays of the Decade” commendation, and fellowships and grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, TCG, and the National Endowment for the Arts. This Is Not A Pipe Dream, Warped, Better Angels, Thunder and Potatoes, Calibanana, Worlds Apart, Honey & Sting, Power Play, and A Christmas Carol are some of his titles. Directing projects have included Amazwi Omoya, New Kid, Sundiata, Two Donuts, Robinson & Friday, Wiley and the Hairy Man, Currently Franklin: The Story of a Paper Boy, and this season’s ¡Bocón!. He also directs the Fulton’s Youtheatre program for at-risk and disabled teens, winner of multiple NEA grants, the Starbuck Foundation’s “Giving Voice” Honor, and the PCA’s “Keystones of Accessibility” Award. Barry has taught theatre everywhere from a one-room Amish schoolhouse to the University of New Mexico, and his HIV/AIDS prevention theatre project, created under a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, won the state’s “Best Practices” honor. As playwright and/or director, his work has taken him to such venues as the San Diego Theatre of the World Festival, the New Play Festival of NYC’s Provincetown Playhouse, the Bonderman Festival, the Smithsonian, and both the Kennedy Center’s “New Visions/New Voices” and “One Theatre World” events. Barry was the recipient of the Theatre Association of Pennsylvania’s first Educational Theatre Award for “outstanding service by an individual for the advancement of theatre education in the Commonwealth.” He also was the 2006 recipient of the Ivey Award for playwriting for his script of Reeling which premiered at the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, recipient of the 2003 Tony Award as America’s “Outstanding Regional Theatre.” Barry’s verse adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, the Fulton’s 2000-2001 season opener, was remounted by Michael Kahn at the acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre, and was Washington’s most honored production in 2005, winning four Helen Hayes Awards including “Best Play.” His newest work for the Fulton, Sowing The Wind, was developed through a PennPAT “New Directions” grant. Barry has served on various panels of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio Councils on the Arts, the Heinz Endowments and the NEA. He is on the board of TYA/USA and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, Barry shares an enthusiasm for the school with his wife Carol who works there, and sons Max (a recent grad) and (Junior) Sam. Daughter Ariel (future Fummer) completes his real-life’s cast of “characters.”