Art Cole Lifetime of Leadership Award
Honors a lifetime of leadership in community theatre by members of AACT who have provided leadership at the national level, in addition to local and/or regional levels.
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2012 Honoree
Bill Muchow
Minneapolis, MN |
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William (Bill) Muchow has been a
producer, board member, technical director,
designer, and crew chief for lighting and sets for
theatres in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Ireland for over 50 years. He was
Producer for two Dakota Fine Arts Consortium (DFAC) best of MACT Fest shows. Bill represented the USA at four IATA World Congresses of Amateur
Theatre. Bill is a Past President and Treasurer of the American Association of
Community Theatre, Minnesota Association of Community Theatres (MACT), and
Applause Community Theatre. He is
a retired Financial Planning Manager for Thermo King Corporation and is the
current Treasurer of both DFAC and MACT. Bill
served 6 years on the Board of the Minnesota CPA Society -including one year
as Treasurer and one year as Vice President. He holds an MBA in Management from Penn State University, and a CPA
from the State of New York.
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| Previous Recipients |
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1987 Art Cole (Midland, TX)
1988 Sydney Spayde (Iowa City, IA)
John Wray Young (Shreveport, LA)
1989 Mort Clark (North White Plains, NY)
1991 Sherwood Lohrey (Memphis, TN)
1992 Harv Thompson (Madison, WI)
1993 Norman McPhee (Racine, WI)
1994 Jim Carver (Kalamazoo, MI)
1995 Enid Holm (Odessa, TX)
1996 Betty Tomlinson (Spokane, WA)
1998 L. Ross Rowland (Muncie, IN)
1999 Bea Miller (Memphis, TN)
2000 Rusty Clauss (Alexandria, VA) |
2001 Rod McCullough (Lancaster, PA)
2002 Twink Lynch (Topeka, KS)
2003 Shirley Harbin (Detroit, MI)
2004 John Viars (Des Moines, IA)
2005 Jack Phillips (Downers Grove, IL)
2008 Joanne Berry (Bay City, MI)
Stephen Peithman (Davis,
CA)
2009 Frank Peot
(Sun Prairie, WI)
2010 Tom Cowley
(Ponca City, OK)
2011 Jim Sohre, Army Europe
Command
Entertainment
Sherman C. Ward, Alexandria Bay, NY |
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David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award
Recognizes members of AACT for significant, valuable, and lasting service to community theatre. .
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2012 Honoree
Paul Nelson
Olean, NY |
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Paul Nelson has been credited with being the best all
around adjudicator in the Theatre Association of New York State (TANYS). He
administers the TANYS Adjudication Program and has been adjudicating in New York
State for over 16 years. He has served as a Responder for the Ohio, Delaware and
Pennsylvania State Festivals and as adjudicator for the Region I and Region III
festivals. He is a lifelong member of Alpha Psi Omega and has won multiple
awards for his numerous theatre activities. Paul has been recognized by TANYS
and the Eastern States Theatre Association (ESTA) for his work as an actor and
director and by TANYS for outstanding contributions to non-professional theatre.
He has served as TANYS president and as an ESTA board member. Paul earned
theatre and education degrees from SUNY Geneseo. He is employed as a Mental
Health Registered Nurse and is working on his Masters as an Adult Nurse
Practitioner.
2012 Honoree
Ron Paoletti
US Army, Europe |
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Ron Paoletti was a Soldier in the U.S. Army, 1972-74, then
created a successful career as a civilian, eventually as Recreation Specialist
in Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Hanau, Schwetzingen, and Heidelberg, Germany; most
recently as Army Community Recreation Officer in Stuttgart. He was widely admired for excellence at his "day job," he is
most lauded for devoting himself tirelessly to his passion, theatre. Ron amassed an enviable number of volunteer achievements. He starred in The Goodbye Girl in Heidelberg in 1996, and helped
re-vitalize Roadside Theater and was instrumental in helping renovate its
facility. He performed in, directed,
and supported dozens of SRO shows. Among
many honors, he earned the Topper Award as Best Director for Dancing at Lughnasa
and an All-Army Arts Festival nod as star of Man of La Mancha. Ron's boundless enthusiasm, energy and talent have made Roadside Theater
and Stuttgart Theatre Center into the acclaimed programs they are today. (Ron's
award was presented posthumously to his wife in Germany in April.)
| Previous Recipients |
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1978 Robert E. Gard (Madison, WI)
1979 Art Cole (Midland, TX)
1980 John Wray Young (Shreveport, LA)
1981 Jeanne Adams Wray (Stillwater, OK)
1982 Robert Plumb (Broken Arrow, OK)
1983 Betty Tomlinson (Spokane, WA)
1984 Kay Fliehr (Edina, MN)
1985 Twink Lynch (Topeka, KS)
1987 David Gooder (Downers Grove, IL)
1988 Mort Clark (North White Plains, NY)
1989 Al & Elise King (Clinton, IA)
1990 Bea Miller (Mempis, TN)
1991 Shirley Harbin (Detroit, MI)
1992 L. Newell Tarrant (Raleigh, NC)
1993 Sandra Karnack (Minot, ND)
1994
Charles Chesnut (Chappaqua, NY)
1995 John Wills (Spokane, WA)
1996 John Viars (Des Moines, IA)
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1997 JoAnne Nissen (Racine, WI)
1998 Donna Norberg (Minneapolis, MN)
1999 Jerry Paquette (US Army)
2000 Bill Razo (Hobbs, NM)
2001 Jeanne Stein (Los Alamos, NM)
2002 Ginny Winsor (Omaha, NE)
2003 Dawn Enders (La Crosse, WI)
2004 Eleanor Smith (Columbus, OH)
2005 Norm Small (Winter Haven, FL)
2006 Steve Walpert (Fort Gordon, GA)
2007 David Allen, Memphis, TN
Nick Credgington, Fort Belvoir, VA
Ginger Heath, Charlotte, NC
2008 Vanita Rae Smith, Honolulu, HI
2009 Dane Winters (US Army, Heidelberg)
2010 Dwight Martin (Honolulu, HI)
2011 Sherman C. Ward Alexandria Bay, NY |
Distinguished Merit Award
Presented to individuals and organizations in recognition of contributions made to promote and develop the highest standards for community theatre.
2012 Honoree
Dennis Assaf &
Jefferson
Performing Arts
Society
Metairie, LA |
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Under Dennis G. Assaf's artistic vision and community
leadership, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) was born in 1978. In
the ensuing years, Maestro Assaf has created educational outreach programs for
children and adults in music, dance, and community theatre. He serves as the
Executive/Artistic Director and Conductor. In 1989 the JPAS "Theatre
Wing" was launched with an amazing production of West Side Story. Over the
next 20+ years JPAS expanded its theatrical offerings to include four summer
musical intensive camps in two different theatres simultaneously, currently
serving over 450 kids in grades 3-7 and 8-12. In 2004 JPAS grew again with the
"Theatre Kids!" program, which offers two full musical theatre
productions annually. Typically 150 children are cast into two groups of 75 to
afford as many children as possible the opportunity for self-expression. In 2007
the Theatre for Young Audiences was created and serves as JPAS' community
theatre touring component in five South Louisiana parishes and Mississippi. He has received many varied awards and has dedicated these last
34 years to pursuing the dream of a new performing arts center for Jefferson
Parish. He secured a $15 million pledge from the state of Louisiana. The center
in now under construction.
2012 Honoree
Linda McClane
Fernandina Beach, FL |
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Linda McClane is a charter member of Amelia Community
Theatre, which was founded in 1981 in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Initially, she
worked in publicity and as an actor with the Peppermint Players, an adult troupe
that performs in county elementary schools. Over the years, she has served in
all areas of production including tech, stage manager, producer, actor, and
director, and she runs the summer camp program. She is on the Board of Directors
and is a past president. Linda became Managing Director of the theatre in 1998.
In 2010, Amelia Community Theatre built a new theatre, and at that time, Linda's
position, which also includes artistic director and box office duties, became a
paid one. Linda has received her theatre's Volunteer of the Year award and her
city's Volunteer of the Year Award for arts enrichment. She and husband John
McClane have two grown sons.
| Previous Recipients |
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1979 Norman Carver (Kalamazoo, MI)
1980 Douglas Cook (University Park, PA)
1981 Henry Fonda (Omaha, NE)
1982 David Gooder (Downers Grove, IL)
1983 Bea Miller (Memphis, TN)
1984 Alaska State Community Theatre
Association
1985 National Multicultural Theatre Association
of Canada
1987 Twink Lynch (Topeka, KS)
1988 Kalamazoo Civic Players (MI)
1989 Charles Jones (Omaha, NE)
1990 Hiroshi Koizumi (Toyama City, Japan)
1991 Target Stores
1992 Paul Ebert (Oak Ridge, TN)
1993 Jon Kerkhoff (Omaha, NE)
1994 Theatre Midland (TX)
1995 Sherwood Lohrey &
Theatre Memphis (TN)
1996 Steve Spiegel & Music Theatre
International (New York, NY) |
1997 William Talbot (New York, NY)
1998 Stage Directions Magazine
1999 David Young (Gainesville, FL)
2000 Charles Jeffers (Hickory, NC)
2001 Jim Sohre (US Army, Europe)
2002 Enid Holm (Odessa, TX)
Harv Thompson (Madison, WI)
2003 Ohio Community Theatre Association
2004 Shirley Cockrell (Oneida, NY)
Hap Ryder (Fairbanks, AK)
Pat White (Amherst, NH)
2005 Jerry Zimmerman (Ft Jennings, OH)
2006 John Rich (Pullman, WA)
2007 Morrie Enders (Kalamazoo, MI)
2008 Jim Buckley (Cambria, CA)
2009 Bonnie Daniels
(US Army)
Andre Bruce Ward (Memphis, TN)
2010 Penelope Notter
(Grand Rapids, MI)
2011 April Cochran Paducah, KY
Ginny Morrison Seville, OH |
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Mort Clark International
Achievement Award
Recognizes an individual who, or an organization that, has accomplished significant achievement in the promotion of excellence in international community theatre. (This award may be presented at an international event.)
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| Previous Recipients |
| 2007 Hiroshi
Koizumi (Japan)
2008
The Cellario Family (Monaco)
2009
Jim Sohre (Army
Europe Command Entertainment)
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Robert E. Gard Superior Volunteer Award
Presented to individuals over the age of 65 who have faithfully served community theatre on a non-paid basis for over 25 years.
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2012 Honoree
Don
Mansfield
Jackson, MI |
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Don Mansfield became interested in theatre in grade school.
After graduate school, he moved to Jackson, Michigan to join Consumers Power Co.
There he returned to acting with the "Presby Players" at the First
Presbyterian Church and he joined Center Stage Jackson (CSJ). He was elected to
the CSJ board in 2005, and proposed the formation of a youth program as there
was no such program in Jackson County. Don was appointed chair of the Youth
Theatre Committee. The program annually produces a play and a musical,
partnering with the Presbyterian Church and the Jackson Public Schools. Don
routinely handles publicity, box office, and program production, plus other
duties, including directing, producing, and seeking grants. The CSJ board
credits the Youth Theatre program with expanded family participation, increased
membership in and awareness of CSJ, contributing to the financial stability of
CSJ, and transitioning participants to main stage productions. Don is 82 years
old.
2012
Honoree
Judi Schweppe
Johnson
Eugene,
OR |
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Judi Schweppe Johnson began her association with the Very
Little Theatre (VLT) in Eugene, Oregon in 1949 at age 12 when she played Little
Mary in Ten Nights in a Barroom. She acted until she left Eugene in 1955.
Returning in 1966 as a single mother of four, she quickly become part of VLT's
hard working core of volunteers. She served as an actor, director, and board
member, including president in 1976-77. Judi worked in numerous capacities
backstage: furnishings, props, set painting, stage managing, house operations,
and 17 years as box office manager. She brought skills from her professional
life, as Operations Manager at the University of Oregon Bookstore for 32 years,
to her box office work. Under her
direction VLT's box office consistently ran in a very efficient manner. Now
retired, Judi still works in the box office, enjoys the VLT family, and is
proud of VLT's 83 year history!
2012 Honoree
Richard C. Whaley
Annapolis,
MD |
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Richard C. Whaley has been a member of the Colonial Players
of Annapolis, MD for 61 years. It began in 1951 when he, employed as an
oceanographer, and his bride, Beth, settled in Annapolis. Beth immediately found
the Players. As a dutiful new husband, Richard volunteered to help. In 1954 the
Players bought an old building and Richard helped convert it into a theatre. He
also worked on later renovations and expansions of the building. Over the years
he has served on the board, including as president, and on long range planning,
and maintenance and improvement committees. He ushers and has worked in the box
office from hand written tickets to the now computerized system. His largest
contribution, especially since he retired, is as lead carpenter. He handles
construction for every production - eight or nine a year. He excels in creating
clever and safe ways to make the designers' and directors' visions work.
| Previous Recipients |
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1982 L. K. Boutin (Des Moines, IA)
1983 Ruth Kenyon Tate
(North White Plains, NY)
1984 Emma & Alan Bowlsby
(Indianapolis, IN)
1985 Roberta Kendrick (Minneapolis, MN)
1987 Peggy Greene (Topeka, KS)
1988 Alice B. Rogers (Memphis, TN)
Hilda Greenquist (Racine, WI)
1989 Mary Peckham (Omaha, NE)
Lil Williams (Ardmore, OK)
1990 Dick Brown (Des Moines, IA)
1991 Mary Dwyer (Sheyboygan, WI)
1993 Firth Chew (Spokane, WA)
1994 John Edmands (Racine, WI)
1995 Ruth Cole (Midland, TX)
1996 Holley R. Webster (Wallingford, PA)
1997 Jean Mitchell (Grand Rapids, MI)
1998 Dottie Griffith (St. Joseph, MI)
1999 Betsey Reeder (Memphis, TN)
2000 Jane Margison (Riverside, CA)
Robert Montgomery (Bremerton, WA)
2001 Heddie Kent (Concord, MA) |
2002 Paul Sturner (Tonawanda, NY)
Isabella Ward (Dover, DE)
2003 Charlotte Hall (Fort Thomas, KY)
Fred Normand (Rome, NY)
2004 Tom Cowley (Ponca City, OK)
Jo Pruden (Fort Shafter, HI)
2005 Hal Robinson (Royal Oak, MI)
Sherman C. Ward, Jr. (Haddenfield, NJ)
2006 Marge and Ted Ressler (Dover, DE)
2007 Rosemary Green & Louise Carpenter
(Ocala, FL)
2008 James N. Alexander, III (Haddon
Heights, NJ)
Peg
Brandon (Winter
Haven, FL)
Henry
Pope (Walla Walla,
WA)
2009 Rae Cohan (Newport Beach, CA)
Max
Polley (Davidson, NC)
Willa Wye
Rockett (Belmont, MA)
2010 Arthur Delo, Jr. (Jersey City, NJ)
Martha
Kovacsi (Bay City, MI)
Madge
Levinson (Toldeo, OH)
2011 Geri Becker, Venice, FL
Wayne Pressnall, North Platte, NE
Bennett Wood, Memphis, TN |
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Special Recognition Award
Presented to persons or organizations whose
contributions to community theatre are far reaching and of a special nature.
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2012 Honoree
Merrie Dawkins
Rockingham,
NC |
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Merrie Dawkins knew from the age of four that
she loved the theatre. When she returned to Hamlet, NC after studying theatre in
college, she was delighted to find a community theatre in the area. Merrie has
volunteered at Richmond Community Theatre (RCT) for 31 years. She has been a
board member (including president), actor, technician, backstage crew,
children's theatre organizer, and financial contributor. She does whatever needs
to be done. RCT almost closed when its founding director retired. Merrie and
others worked with the city of Rockingham to find a new director, and to figure
out how to keep things going. It was a point of community pride; so many
industries and businesses had closed, but the 4th oldest community theatre in
the state remained. Essentially Merrie is always willing to support what is best
for the community and the theatre as a whole. It's not about her. It's about the
community. It's about the theatre.
| Previous Recipients |
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1996 A. R. Gurney
1997 International Thespian Society
1998 Studio de Monaco - World Festival of
Amateur Theatre
Dundalk (Ireland) International
Maytime Festival
Toyama (Japan) International Theatre
Festival
1999 Stephen Peithman (Davis, CA)
2000 Kurt Majkowski (Eau Claire, WI)
2001 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery
(Fort Sill, Lawton, OK)
2002 Frank Peot (Sun Prairie, WI)
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2003 Vilseck Bavarian Arts Guild
(Vilseck, Germany)
2004 Patty Duke (Northern ID)
2005 Kathie Maldonado (Hobbs, NM)
2007 Angela L. Ardolino (Miami, FL)
2008 Victoria L. Hanrahan (Ansbach,
Germany)
2009 Robert G. Anderson (Starkville, MS)
John
Kollack (Clarkesville, GA)
2010 Dan LaMorte (US Army, Europe)
2011 L. Ross Rowland, Muncie, IN |
Twink Lynch Organizational Achievement Award
Recognizes AACT member theatres for successfully completing major steps in new directions, expanding services to their community, or moving to the next level of organizational development.
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2012 Honoree
Amelia
Community
Theatre
Fernandina Beach, FL |
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Amelia Community Theatre (ACT) was founded in 1981 with 80 charter members contributing $10 each to fund the first production. Shows were held at the high school and other available halls. In 1988, ACT purchased a building and converted the space into a theatre that seated 88. ACT was proud of its shows and complex sets, and its audiences liked the intimate setting, but the small space also had limitations. In 2005, debt free and financially secure, the all-volunteer theatre began a capital campaign to raise funds to build a new theatre on land it owned adjacent to the small theatre. In 2010, now with one employee and a mortgage, ACT opened the doors to a theatre that seats 160 with a rousing production of The Pirates of Penzance. Volunteer and audience numbers increased. ACT added online ticketing in 2011. Its community is proud of its theatre!
2012 Honoree
Houston
Family
Arts
Center
Houston,
TX |
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Houston Family Arts Center (HFAC) was founded in 2005, and has rapidly made an impact. In 2010, it opened the Garza Main Stage Theatre, serving the 750,000+ people in the Cypress, Texas area. It now has a 9500 square foot facility with two performance venues, four dance studios, and other spaces. From its inception HFAC conducted summer performance camps. It has expanded to an Actors Academy for all ages with a managing director. HFAC collaborates with other theatres, including co-producing and loaning set pieces and costumes. HFAC recognizes the importance of new works, opening the Garza Main Stage Theatre with a world premiere, and commissioning a piece by a NY playwright. It held a reading of Kissless by Chance McClain, who then asked HFAC to cast and produce the show for the 2011 New York Musical Theater Festival. HFAC has helped raise $15,968 for other charities. In 2011, HFAC produced 23 shows with 544 actors for 18,444 patrons.
2012 Honoree
Manatee
Players
Bradenton, FL |
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Manatee Players was formed In late 1947 as part of the Women's Club, eventually growing into its own facility in 1953 where four shows were showcased annually. In the past 10 years, Manatee Players has grown to produce eight main stage musicals and two fully produced youth theatre musicals, annually enjoying 95% capacity attendance. These productions have been recognized with multiple awards by the Florida Theatre Conference, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, and
AACT. Manatee Players has reached out to the local community by providing in-school touring productions dealing with topics of social importance, arts integrated teacher curriculum assistance, on the job training for mentally challenged, Teatro Latino (plays performed in Spanish with English
sur-titles), new play premieres, and a newly formed senior theatre troupe. Manatee Players is in the final stage of a $15 million new state-of-the-art facility slated to open in January 2013.
| Previous Recipients |
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2003 Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy (KS)
Quincy Community Theatre (IL)
2004 Albuquerque Little Theatre (NM)
2005
Bay City Players (MI)
2006 Chattanooga Theatre Centre
2007 Stuttgart Theatre Center, Germany |
2008 SHAPE Performing Arts Center,
Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers
Europe (Belgium)
2009 Venice Theatre (Venice, FL)
2010 Twin City Stage (Winston-Salem,
NC)
2011 Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre,
North Dakota-Minnesota
Theatre Memphis, Memphis, TN
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Corporate Award
Presented to businesses and corporations for significant financial support of community theatre on a regional or national basis.
2011 Honoree
SC Johnson
Racine,
WI
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SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace, and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. SC Johnson has supported community artistic endeavors and growth through several avenues. A company sponsored volunteer network assists in volunteer recruitment. The SC Johnson "Dollars for Doers" program provides cash donations in return for volunteer hours, providing tangible rewards to Johnson employees and their organizations. The SC Johnson Fund has awarded matching grants that have been instrumental in theatres' growth. In its headquarters town, Racine, WI, SC Johnson partners with theatres for educational and children's theatre programs through its Golden Rondelle Theatre. The 125-year-old company, with more than $8 billion in sales, employs approximately 12,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. SC Johnson previously received AACT's Corporate Award in 1994 and is still committed to community support.
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| Previous Recipients |
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1987 Southwestern Bell (Topeka, KS)
1992 General Mills
1993 Martin Marietta Energy Systems
(Knoxville, TN)
1994 S.C. Johnson Wax (Racine, WI)
1995 Meadows
Foundation (Dallas, TX)
1996 Dan Castle & PCI Entertainment
(Bloomfield Hills, MI)
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2001 Music Theatre International
(New York, NY)
2008 Music Theatre
International
Target Stores
2009 Theatrical Rights
Worldwide
2010 Manhattan Tour
& Travel, Inc. |
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