Musical Theatre Radio presents "Be Our Guest‪"‬ Jean Paul Yovanoff

Mark Janicello is a multiple Award-Winning, American Renaissance Man. A native New Yorker, there are very few corners of the entertainment universe that Mark has not worked in. He is trilingual (English/ German/Dutch) and has had a stage career spanning more than 30 years, including over 100 productions. Mark is a classically-trained operatic tenor, who sang over 40 leading roles in operas and operettas, while also studying acting for 10 years with a member of NY's Actor's Studio. He took a break from the stage and began working in filmed entertainments in 2013, and to date has appeared in more than 95 filmed projects. Over the course of his career, he has performed in 52 countries, recorded 39 CDs in every conceivable musical style.  

The Finellis Musical
In the 1990s, Tony Finelli, an Italian-American from New York was a star in Europe. He found fame starring in ELVIS: The Musical and together with his ever-present manager, Jürgen Drahtseil, turned that initial success into an international singing career. In 1997, at the height of Tony's fame, his manager was approached by an 'Italian concert promoter' regarding a big concert for Tony in Sicily. The 'promoter' revealed himself to be an undercover agent working for the German CIA (Verfassungsschutz) leading a secret sting operation to arrest 'Mr. Big' (Godfather of the Gambaretto Mafia Family) who was under investigation in Berlin for both tax evasion, and money laundering. In over their heads and caught between the Mafia and the German CIA, Tony and Jürgen were faced with the choice of either going to prison for Mr. Big or having both of their families murdered by the mob.On the day Tony and Jürgen are released from prison, no one meets them at the gate. Tony returns to his home wanting to rebuild his life. Unbeknownst to Tony, his Russian wife Tina had filed for divorce shortly before his release. The former model and stewardess' reputation had been ruined by the scandal surrounding Tony's arrest. Alone with two children and no income, Tina turned their mansion into a bed and breakfast. Now as the owner of Tony's former home, she lives there with their two daughters, Lola and Lena, now 27 and 20 years old. Tony's parents, Pete and Bea Finelli as well as his ancient, Sicilian grandmother 'Nonna' live in their own apartment upstairs. Four generations of Finellis are living under one roof. Recently, the maintenance man in Tina's boarding house quit. Out of love for his family, Tony Finelli, the proud peacock, swallows his pride and takes over the janitor's job, hoping to rebuild his life, restart his career and reconnect with Tina and his children. Like a clumsy Phoenix trying to rise from the ashes, Tony, the eternal optimist, sets out on a very bumpy journey to reclaim his life, rebuild his career, and win back the love and respect of his family -- and with the help of his one-time nemesis Agent Schmitt, finally rid his life once and for all of Mr. Big.Tony's extraordinary journey from a star, to jailbird, to janitor and back to the top of the entertainment game, is the stuff of legend and the story of The Finellis. 

Noel Katz is a composer and lyricist. He is best known for Such Good Friends, an original musical comedy presented at the fourth annual New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2007, here it won five awards, including Talkin’ Broadway’s Citation as the season’s best musical. It tells the story of three old friends working together in the early years of live television who are forced to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the consequences of the different choices each character makes.

Katz composed Our Wedding, The Musical, a musical written for his own actual wedding, which was featured in The New York Times in 2003.

Katz is also a specialist in theatrical improvisation. He has taught at Artistic New Directions’ Summer Improv Retreat and currently teaches at The People’s Improv Theatre. He has composed scores for a variety of Second City (NY) improv-based revues, including We Built This City on Rent Control, A Time For Heroes and Hoagies, and Generation F’d. He has also taught song improvisation at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Circle in the Square and the National Dance Institute.


Rehearsing for Life sees eleven actors on the spectrum decide to form an improv troupe. We see them learn, rehearse and improve. Then, half of them do an actual improvised set, based on audience suggestions, and an epilogue illuminates how their lives have changed.

Ashley Jana is a singer/songwriter, producer, and engineer whose music has independently garnered over 60 million streams. Her original music has been featured on HBO, NBC, Showtime, Lifetime, Bravo, Vice, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, CNN, TLC, TNT, Oxygen, and more.  20 of her original songs have been featured on the hit show “Dance Moms”, with her song “Feels So Good”, co-produced with Grammy winner Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins landing on the hit show "Empire”. She also wrote the topline melody of "Jelly Jelly" for K-pop sensation TWICE, the topline melody of "Scelgo Ancora Te" for Italian superstar Giorgia, and most recently, the song "Trouble" for America's Got Talent Allstar, Daneliya Tuleshova. Ashley works out of her home studio, where she provides a wide range of online music production services, and she recently completed production for the world premiere album version of her new musical, co-written with Will Nunziata, FIGARO: An Original Musical.

WILL NUNZIATA is a NYC-based award-winning director, writer, and creator of theatre, concert, television, and film. Film: The Old Guitarist (Writer, Director). Awards: London Movie Awards (Best Short Film, Best Director), New York Movie Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short), Paris Film Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short), among others.. Screenplay: Lillith (Winner of Best Original Screenplay, 2023 Hollywood Blood Horror Festival and Winner of Best Horror Screenplay, 2024 New York Screenplay Competition). Theatre: Figaro: An Original Musical (Director, Co-Book Writer - West End 2025), White Rose: The Musical (Director - off-Broadway 2024, West End 2025), An Entirely Ordinary Town: A New Musical (Director), Faygele: A New Play (Director), By The End Of Tonight (Director), Little Black Book: A New Musical (Co-Creator). Miss Peggy Lee (Director, Writer, Co-Conceiver) starring Tony Award winner Cady Huffman. Award: Broadway World Best Director. Concerts: Will has written and directed shows for Tony Award winner Lillias White, Platinum recording artist Jackie Evancho, Grammy Award nominee Clint Holmes, to name a few. For twenty years Will performed professionally, singing across the country and around the world with his twin brother, singer-songwriter Anthony Nunziata, culminating in co-headlining Carnegie Hall with the NY Pops Symphony Orchestra. Will is a proud graduate of Boston College and member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Union.

Figaro: An Original Musical
Set in mid-1800s Italy, Figaro: An Original Musical is the hauntingly beautiful tale of Sienna, a young woman who dreams of singing but feels imprisoned by her life on her father's farm. When a chance encounter with two young orphans thrusts her into the life of a traveling performer, she meets the handsome Figaro, who promises to make all her dreams come true - but there is always a price to fame. Part love story, part mystery, Sienna's journey to discover herself and live the life she always wanted is fraught with twists and turns until it culminates in a moment that will change the course of her life forever.

Jack Viertel is an American theatrical producer and writer.


During his 34 years at Jujamcyn Theaters from 1987 to 2021, he occupied positions including Creative Director and Senior Vice President. He was "conceiver of the longest running musical revue in Broadway history, Smokey Joe's Cafe, conceived the critically acclaimed After Midnight, and served as the dramaturg for Hairspray. The musical and movie The Prom were developed from his original concept."

From 2000 to 2020, he was a producer at the Encores! series. Under his tenure, several Encores! productions transferred to Broadway, including After Midnight, The Apple Tree, Finian's Rainbow, and Gypsy.

In 2003, he began lecturing at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He developed the content of his music theatre studies course into a book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, published in 2016. Reviews were largely positive, with The New York Times calling it "revelatory and entertaining."




Broadway Melody traces three lives through the early ambitions and unlikely pathways that landed all of them in the same place at the same time - 1960s Broadway. Woven through its pages are the hits and flops, the making and breaking of careers, the destruction of three historic theater buildings, the plague of AIDS, the machinations of union bosses and producers, and, of course, the world outside this insular community - the audience that looks to Broadway for emotional thrills, for enlightenment, and for pure entertainment.Laced with humor and sadness, portraits of historical characters from The Street and a long view of the rise, fall and revival of Times Square itself, Broadway Melody stitches three lives - and three hearts - into the fabric of an endlessly compelling tale of the American theater.

Ministry of Video is a specialist in video production for the performing arts.

As a performing arts video production company, we have over 30 years’ experience working alongside top choreographers and industry professionals across the UK. We specialise in filming promotional videos, live stage events and theatrical productions including dance and musical theatre.

 

That’s only possible from modern HD and 4K camera technology. In addition to video, we independently record audio, whether it’s a basic WAV or MP3 track off the sound desk or a complex array of vocal mics with accompanying band. Each audio channel is mixed, edited and mastered to strict Dolby digital standards, resulting in a clear and acoustically pleasing stereo soundtrack.

 

To complete our productions we can provide a closing rolling cast list or our trademark video montage credits and pre-show feature. Each project can be delivered for broadcast and on any media such as DVD, Blu-ray or for online content. Browse our performing arts and creatives pages to view samples of our work from top UK choreographers and take a moment to read the endorsements by some of our established clients. If you would like to know more about the Ministry of Video production options please contact us and we will be delighted to respond.

For top-notch musical theatre, look no further thank Spotlight Musical Productions.

From our beginnings as the IBM Choir over fifty years ago, Spotlight Musical Productions showcases Toronto’s most passionate local talent, from our cast to our creative team. At Spotlight, we’re proud not only to deliver outstanding productions for our loyal audiences, but also to foster community through our shared love of musical theatre.


The music of Elvis comes alive in “All Shook Up”. Inspired by Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, “All Shook Up” follows a small Midwestern town that is thrown into a frenzy with the arrival of Chad, a good-looking, motorcycle-riding, roustabout, who rides from town to town with a guitar on his back, blue suede shoes on his feet, and a song in his heart. Repressed by their conservative mayor, the town begins to come alive once more under Chad’s influence. Lovers meet, woo, pursue, and more, all in one zany night that will change the town forever. Featuring such Elvis hits as "Love Me Tender", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Jailhouse Rock", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Don't Be Cruel", and  "It's Now or Never", “All Shook Up” is a rocking, heartwarming tale about following dreams, opening up to love, and the power of music.