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Margaret Hoorneman (Adaptor)
The lifeblood and brainchild behind this Herculean endeavor, Margaret's background and experience as a playwright is rooted in teaching literature in the Iowa Public School System for over 40 years. Having taught Dickens, and particularly Great Expectations, each of those years, she became as familiar with his writing as if it were her own. Always the theatre maven, Margaret has always contended that Great Expectations, perhaps more so than other Dickens works that had been produced into musicals, really lent itself to the classic American musical in its story and structure. At 92 Margaret is a testament to age really being a state of mind and that we are never too young to go for our dreams.
Richard Winzeler (Composer)
Richard started his association with musical theatre performing in a regional summerstock production of The King And I at the age of 5 in Peoria, Illinois (yes, it played in Peoria!) and he went on to enjoy performing through high school and college. Performing ignited his love of theatre music and a natural progression to be involved as a composer for musical projects like Great Expectations. His first professional gigs were working as a rehearsal pianist for a variety of television specials before moving on to arranging and conducting in Vegas, Tahoe and Atlantic City for such performers as Suzanne Somers and Cathy Rigby. As a songwriter, Richard has had a Billboard Top 10 R&B single, and had songs recorded by Diane Schuur, Lou Rawls, Michael Johnson, Terry Steele, Gladys Knight, and Phil Perry.
Steve Lane (Lyricist)
Having been in performance much of his life, Steve began his career in Washington, D.C., singing in rock bands in local clubs. He was selected to perform with a group of singers and dancers for the first US State Department tour of the former Soviet Union for five weeks and then performed at the White House. Moving west, he then joined Debbie Reynolds' Las Vegas Show singing and producing for nearly 15 years. He has also appeared on the Tonight Show with his band Uptown Country who also performed with Bob Hope, Perry Como, and Shirley McClaine. He has since written songs that have been sung or recorded by Jasmine Guy, Aretha Franklin, Peabo Bryson, Phil Perry, Diane Schuur, and Anita Baker, with whom he earned a multi-platinum record. Working on Great Expectations has allowed Steve to broaden his craft to include the challenging genre of the musical theater where much of the story telling is done in song. Many thanks to the Utah Shakespearean Festival for helping us continue our dream for Great Expectations' future.
Brian VanDerWilt (Co-Writer)
Having completed his B.S. in theatre and M.F.A. in television at Northwestern University in Chicago, Brian began his career at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California as a story editor for Touchstone President Donald Deline. Working his way up the creative executive ranks as a programming and development assistant for Julia Franz, Brian started to make his mark on some of the most significant shows in television's history - serving on the creative teams of such shows as Ellen, Unhappily Ever After, and Home Improvement. His tenure at Disney caught the attention of 20th Century Fox where Brian was named Director of Current Programming for David Nutter's venerable production company Genrebend Entertainment. Among his primary responsibilities was overseeing the daily creative production of the then new series, Roswell. Two years later as the company's Vice President of Creative Affairs, Brian found himself collaborating with none other than 'king of the world' James Cameron in the development of Cameron's only television endeavor, Dark Angel. Combined with a strong affinity for the stage and an educational background very much grounded in the theatre, Brian continues to devote his energies in both professional worlds. As a programming and development consultant for the current 2006 television season at ABC Entertainment and the ABC Cable Networks Group, Brian's creative spirit and drive is no doubt fueled by his grandmother's passion & her unequivocal proactive commitment to making the world a better place.
Steve Lozier (Co-Writer)
As a high school freshman in the Boston area, Steve Lozier was assigned to read the Charles Dickens novel “Great Expectations.” He was so moved by the story of a young boy with large dreams; he refused to return the book at the end of the year. To this day, that book is his only and beloved copy of Dickens’ masterpiece. Since that fateful theft, he went on to study film and writing at Emerson College and after graduating moved to Los Angeles. Lozier has worked in various areas of television and he ran the successful monthly nightclub/cabaret The Freak Show. Recently, he produced and directed a documentary, “Season Of Dreams,” which follows a group of teen actors during the whirlwind of pilot season. This year he was fortunate to be the General Manager for the award winning musical The Beastly Bombing which he helped deliver to the 2007 New York Musical Theater Festival. Currently, Lozier is the Managing Director of MOVING ARTS, a Los Angeles theater company with a 15-year history of excellence. He no longer steals books.
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