NYK-RAPP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member of Broadway Cares
- Partner at the Legendary Charles Rapp Enterprises
Arnold Graham is a pioneer in show business! Born and raised on the lower east side of Manhattan and started his professional career from the time he was fifteen.
Arnold worked with his father, Sam Graham at Columbia Radio and Theatrical Bureau. During his early years, while working alongside his father, he studied at City College, "Always on the lookout for young talent".
In 1970, Arnold became a partner at the legendary Charles Rapp Enterprises. Upon the death of Charlie Rapp in 1974, he and Charlie's nephew, Howard, became full partners. Left to bring this very successful business to the next phase, both Arnold and Howard have been together ever since. As a matter of fact, the book "It Happened in the Catskills" features many of the creative stories about the life and times of the Catskill Mountains.
Mr. Graham is a member of Broadway Cares, a member of the world renowned New York Friars Club and is involved with a multitude of charities.
An accomplished and versatile actress/singer/ dancer, Chita Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received seven additional Tony nominations. She recently starred in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer's Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. Chita was awarded the Presidential Medal of freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002 and is the first Hispanic ever chosen to receive this award.
This past spring, Chita recreated her starring role in The Visit, the new Kander/Ebb/McNally musical at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, which originally premiered at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago. Her more recent stage appearances include starring roles in the revival of the musical Nine with Antonio Banderas on Broadway; The House of Bernarda Alba at the mark Taper Forum in Los Angleles; Venecia, a new Argentinean play directed by Arthur Laurents at the George Street Playhouse; Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at Paper Mill Playhouse. She also starred in the London, Las Vegas and Toronto productions of Chicago-The Musical.
For her starring roll in Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway, Chita received the Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a musical, as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, The Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Actress in a Musical, the Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre and The Astaire Award honoring outstanding achievement in Broadway Dance. Chita first played the role of the Spider Woman in the Toronto production of the show, receiving unanimous acclaim. She then repeated her triumph in the London production of Spider Woman, which won the Evening Standard Award as Best Musical of the Year. This was followed by the Broadway and touring productions.
Chita's performing aspirations began with ballet training at the age of 11 in her native Washington. Five years later she moved to NewYork where she auditioned for legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Balanchine of course recognized Chita's talent and gave her a scholarship to the American School of Ballet.
As an aspiring 17 year-old ballerina, Chita decided to accompany a friend to an audition for the chorus of Call Me Madam. Chita was cast as a principal dancer and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The ballet world's loss was Broadway's gain - a future legend's theatre career was born.
This time last year, Chris Mann faced his make-or-break moment. "I remember it was Halloween night and my blind audition for The Voice was just a few days away," Mann recalls. "I was a nervous wreck. I went to The Voice with the hope of just making the show."
What a difference a year makes. Now Mann is signed to Faircraft/Universal Republic, a new label formed by renowned producer/music executive Ron Fair. He's also releasing his major label debut, Roads, a bold reimagining of the classical-pop genre. The aptly-titled album represents the culmination of a long and challenging journey for this gifted and dedicated young artist, who'd been pushing forward against what had appeared to be overwhelming odds.
After studying opera at Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Wichita, Kansas, native had spent years singing in clubs and auditioning for record labels without a nibble, until three years ago, when one classical label took a chance on him. Mann was working on what would have been his debut album when he was abruptly dropped, the victim of a wholesale regime change at the company. Devastated, he started working behind the scenes as a session singer on Glee, and occasionally getting on camera as a member of the fictional vocal group the Warblers. He was making a decent living, and for a while he managed to convince himself that it was what he should be doing with his career.
"I never doubted my talent, but I had so many people not know what to do with me that I started to think I was weird," Mann explains. "So I spent the next couple of years doing pop, until I realized I was wasting my time, and my voice, trying to dumb it down. I decided to go back to the genre I love-what I'd dedicated my whole life to learning how to do-classically based pop music."
When he strode onto a soundstage at Sony Studios to perform Andrea Bocelli's "Because We Believe" for his Voice audition, Mann was more nervous than he'd ever been before a performance. "It was a combination of knowing that this was bigger than anything I had ever done before and realizing that it could change my life," he says. "I just sensed that that something different was gonna happen this time-something good."
Mann's intuition was right. He killed it that day and was selected to be on Christina Aguilera's team. "As the first serious classical singer on one of these shows, I couldn't believe it when I kept getting voted through, week after week. These people who kept voting for me were my fans-they gave me back my confidence and helped me find my true voice."
After the series ended, Mann signed with Faircraft-serendipitous in that back in 1998 Fair, then senior vice-president of A&R for RCA Records, had signed, oversaw and supervised Aguilera's career. The decision was a no-brainer for both Mann and Fair. "Ron is a believer," says Chris. "He has a passion for classical crossover music-he gets it." Together, they immediately began conceptualizing of the album project-or projects, including a Wal-mart exclusive Christmas EP.
"I knew exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it, because I'd been preparing for this record for so long," Mann points out. He called on an A-list crew of producers: Walter Afanasieff (Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey), Keith Thomas (Charlotte Church, Luther Vandross, Vanessa Williams), Marco Marinangeli (Josh Groban, Il Divo), Marius de Vries (Madonna, U2, Josh Groban) and Bleu (Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato),as well as arranger/conductor Joel McNeely (Seth McFarlane, various Disney soundtracks).
"These guys are pros and they all speak the same language," says Mann. "Still, it was amazing how smoothly and quickly it all went. We got 16 tracks-the album and the EP-done in six weeks. That's because the vision was so clear."
Clint Holmes is more than a singer. Like a painter with a blank canvas, he makes every performance an original. His powerful voice and magnetic stage presence embrace the upbeat side of his life. When he is on stage, anything can happen. And it usually does.
Born in England, Clint is the son of an African-American jazz musician and a British opera singer. When he was eight, his musical indoctrination began with his mother teaching him classical vocal techniques at home, while his dad showed him how to scat sing in the jazz clubs. Clint admits it was the best of two musical worlds. Today he says, "My mom taught me how to sing correctly and my dad taught me how to enjoy it."
Clint's first break came when Joan Rivers invited him to be her sidekick and announcer on the now defunct "The Late Show." This was followed by a two year stint on "Entertainment Tonight," for which he served as their musical feature event correspondent.
Although his visibility was greatly enhanced by those roles, it wasn't until he landed his own Emmy winning talk/variety show on WWOR - TV that it all came together for Clint. "New York at Night" featured celebrity guests from the worlds of film, TV, theatre and music. Clint, in his duel role as host and singer, has the opportunity to showcase the full range of his talents as he performed, interviewed guests and interacted with his audience.
Television producers from coast-to-coast have long recognized the added value of including Clint in their productions and it has led to his numerous appearances on network TV programs including two "Miss America Pageants," "The Peoples Choice
Clint, Harrah's "Entertainer of choice for the Millennium," recently starred for six years in "Clint Holmes at Harrah's," a nightly show seen at Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. On March 22, 2002, Harrah's named their main showroom the "Clint Holmes Theatre," a rare honor received only by a handful of entertainers in Las Vegas History and a first for an African American performer. Clint was also heralded as "Best Singer" in Las Vegas by the readers of Las Vegas Review-Journal.
When Clint is not rehearsing and working on his new Broadway-Bound musical "JAM," he is touring and performing extensively.
Dudu Fisher is known throughout the world for his stirring performance as Jean Valjean in the hit show "Les Miserables," but his career began in his native country Israel many years before.
After three years of service in the Israel defense forces, Fisher studied at the Tel Aviv academy of music and studied privately with some of the great cantors of the previous generation. He was only 22 when he was invited to become the Cantor of the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv. Along with his synagogue duties, Fisher also traveled throughout the world, bringing traditional Hassidic, Yiddish and Cantorial music to new audiences. During a trip to London in 1986, he happened to see a performance of the musical "Les Miserables." It was an event that changed his life. When word was released of the show's forthcoming production in Hebrew, Fisher knew that he had to audition for the show. The fact that he had absolutely no experience working in the theater did not deter him for a moment. In true Broadway musical fashion, the British director of the Israeli version, Stephen Pimlot, chose the inexperienced Fisher for the lead role of Jean Valjean. The rest is history. "Les Miz" became the longest running show in Israel and Fisher became a superstar. His stardom is not limited to Israel. In 1988 he was invited to London to take part in a royal command performance hosted by the queen of England. The performance was a special version 0f "Les Miz," featuring artists from the many "Les Miz" productions playing around the world. From there, the play's producer, Cameron Mackintosh, invited Fisher to play the role of Jean Valjean on Broadway and London's West End.
The role of Jean Valjean even took him to soccer's world cup final at Wembly stadium, where he and four other "Valjeans" were invited to sing. Although Dudu Fisher is not the first Israeli actor to achieve success in the theater and musical world, Fisher did achieve a first of a different kind. As an observant Jew, he was the first actor on Broadway and the west end to be excused from performing on Friday nights, Saturday matinees and all Jewish holidays. During his long career, Fisher has recorded thirty eight albums. He sang the role of Moses in the Hebrew version of Stephen Spielberg's "The Prince of Egypt." He has sung with the Israel philharmonic orchestra, conducted by maestro Zubin Mehta, recorded an album of show tunes with the London symphony orchestra and has performed as well with the Baltimore and Queens symphony orchestras. In addition to Britain's royal family, he has performed for the Thai Royal Family and for President and Senator Clinton. He was the first Israeli artist allowed to sing in the Soviet Union in the days before Perestroika. His concerts there were attended by thousands of Jews thirsting for Jewish culture. A particularly moving concert took place in his father's hometown of Dubnow in the Ukraine. In the theater, Fisher has played leading roles in the productions of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Kol Nidre", by Lalo Shifrin and Avi Koren, "Over The Rainbow", and "Stairways to Heaven". Fisher's first one-man show "Never on Friday", opened at Off-Broadway's Jewish Repertory Theater in 1999. Lawrence Van Gelder of the New York times called the show... "A display of a vocal talent that resists confinement and is an explosion of religious faith that is reflected in the show's title. Mr. Fisher possesses the spectrum of talent to make it work." From January to April of 2001, Dudu Fisher was seen on Israeli stages starring in "The Rothschilds", a musical by Jerry Bock and Sherman Yellen. Shortly after, he was presented the "Liberty Award" at the Lower East Side Festival, which celebrates contributions to Jewish culture in America. In October of 2002, Dudu again thrilled his audiences with a one-man show, "Something Old, Something New", which was written by Richard Jay-Alexander, Dudu's Broadway "Les Miz" director. He opened to rave reviews. Victor Gluck of back stage wrote of fisher, "The energy that Fisher radiates on stage can light a small city". Cheryl Kupfer of the Jewish press entitled her review, "Something Old, Something New-Something Awesome". "He might just as well have called it Something for Everyone", wrote Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times. Adding to Fisher's accomplishments are his staring role in the film "The Road to Glory", acting as host on an Israeli television series and appearing on innumerable radio and television programs throughout the world. It is safe to say that Dudu Fisher has excelled in every aspect of his profession. He is happily married and the proud father of three children. Dudu's fall 2004 one-man show "Dudu Fisher Coming to America" which features selections from "Fiddler on the Roof", "The Jazz Singer" and "Yentl" recently toured in the United States. In Israel, Dudu brings back Yiddish and Klezmer music with an ongoing production for the Yiddishspiel Theater. Audiences are thrilled by his latest show, "Jerusalem". The tour of this show began in Jerusalem and he continues to travel through the states and europe with the production.
Fisher has recently completed filming an Emmy nominated PBS special in the valley of Beit She'an in Israel. The premier airing of the program which took place in Florida in December of 2008 was a huge success. This PBS show is being aired nationwide in 2009.
A dream come true solo performance took place in Carnegie Hall on October 25, 2009 to an enthusiastic audience. They showed their appreciation of Fisher's talent with three standing ovations. He had to respond to the thunderous applause by appearing on stage for a second encore. This performance is part of an East Coast 2009 tour which will be followed by another tour in the winter of 2010.
From the Opera House in Sydney Australia to Madison Square Garden in New York, from the Budapest Opera House to the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, from Singapore to Sao Paulo, Dudu Fisher spends most of the year traveling around the globe bringing joy to millions of people.
Freddie Roman has conquered comedy and comedy has proclaimed him Catskills Court Jester! A master entertainer, Freddie stands at the peakof his comedy profession garnering high praise and huge laughs in any Venue he performs.
As the creator, packager and star of the ground-breaking Catskills on Broadway, he would bring the mountains to Broadway. The show offered a nostalgic and laugh-packed salute to the upstate New York region whose hotels spawned scores of America's foremost performers, writers and directors. It was a new format for the staid Broadway community and earned Freddie critical and audience acclaim as well as a stint on the Tony Awards broadcast. The show has toured across the United States and Canada, reveling in its plaudits.
Under scoring his growing presence in the entertainment world, Freddie serves as Dean (President) of the New York Friars Club, the oldest and most influential brotherhood in the world of show business. This prestigious entertainment organization, home to the legendary Friars Roasts, has overwhelmingly embraced Freddie's leadership, due in part to his quick wit and comedic observations.
Freddie started out as a teenager comic in the Catskill and then as a young actor at New York University and various stock theaters in the northeast. However, with the concerns of supporting a growing family, he was forced to shelve his entertainment aspirations. While he obtained a position, and maintained a successful career, as proprietor of a ladies' shoe store, Freddie still longed to return to the applause he earned during his early years as a struggling comedian and actor. With the support of his wife and family, Freddie returned to the world of comedy and rapidly became a hit in the New York area. His personable style and "everyman's" outlook at the world around him won him both fans and friends. Roman's reputation as a warm witty monologist began to spread as his skill at relating to audience grew.
The turning point in Freddie's career came during one of his hysterical performances in which the late Totie Fields happened to be in the audience. By the end of his set he had the great comedian in tears and by the end of the evening she had offered him the opportunity to join her on her nationwide tour. It was a unique invitation as it was rare to have two comedians on the same show. Freddie soon developed a national following. He has maintained his comedy status throughout the country, performing for audiences in all of the major resorts from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas to Harrah's in Atlantic City.
Freddie completed a one-year engagement at the Trump Castle in Atlantic City, starring in his own show Tonight Live. He made his motion picture debut in the critically acclaimed Sweet Lorraine, co-starring Maureen Stapleton. He also starred in his own television special The Big Room for Comedy Central as well as his appearances on their televised Friars Club Roasts.
When not performing on the road, Freddie spends time with his wife Ethel in New Jersey. His leisure time is anything but relaxing; however, as he devotes his own Freddie Roman Celebrity Golf Classic which benefits area hospitals. His daughter Judi is a former Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney and is herself the producer of Freddie and Ethel's grandchildren, Michael Oliver and Madeline Emma Levin. His son Alan is a TV writer and producer of such shows as Dear John, Anything but love, Baby Talk and Coach. Alan is also the father of Molly Eve Kirschenbaum.
Jodie Langel recently stared as Diana in Next to Normal at the actors Playhouse. She also just completed the sold out Critically acclaimed production of Joseph…Dreamcoat: starring as the Narrator at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Broadway/ Tours: Les Miserables: Cosette, Martin Guerre: Bertrand, Joseph…Dreamcoat: Narrator , Cats: Grizabella, where she was the youngest person to ever portray the role. Regional/New York: NY credits include: Bernsteins Mass: Carnegie Hall/ Kennedy Center, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Lead regional roles include Evita: Maltz Jupiter Theatre, (Carbonell Nomination), Funny Girl, Chess at Paper Mill Playhouse directed by Rob Marshall, and the Tony Winning Eugene O'Neill Theatre Conference and The Thing About Men. New York readings: The First Wives Club understudying Ana Gastayer and Dracular Readings by Dess McNuff. She was a lead soloist for President Clinton the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra and the Mets/Yankees Subway Series! TV: "Rescue Me". She has performed in concerts around the country and most recently in :Broadway Live" at the Zinman Hall at Levis JCC in Boca Raton as well for the Broadway Club at Valencia Pointe. Jodie is the co-author of the book "Making it on Broadway; Actors Tales of climbing to the Top," with a forward by Jason Alexander. She personally interviewd such notables as Antonio Bandaras, Brooke Shields, Chita Rivera and Idina Menzel. Jodie founded her own established educational program "Making it on Broadway"
Mr. Reams is the proud recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, CCM/University of Cincinnati.
Lee Roy Reams won critical acclaim as Roger DeBris on Broadway and the First National Company of Mel Brooks' musical hit, The Producers (Carbonell Award, Washington DC's prestigious Helen Hayes Award, and Las Vegas Life Award).
Columnist Liz Smith calls him "Broadway's Darling" and the New York Times hails him as "Broadway's song-and-dance man nonpareil" for his leading Broadway roles: Billy Lawlor in David Merrick's legendary 42 nd Street
Star of stage, screen and television, Maurice Hines connected his acclaimed career at the age of five, studying tap at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in New York City. Mr. LeTang recognized his extraordinary talents and was soon choreographing numbers specifically for Maurice and his brother Gregorey Hines.
Soon the brothers were appearing on Broadway and touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton and Gypsy Rose Lee. Their father then joined the act and shortly thereafter "Hines Hines & Dad" was performing to rave reviews in New York, Las Vegas and Europe. The group also appeared on many television shows including THE PEARL BAILEY, HOLLYWOOD PALACE AND 35 appearances on THE TONIGHT SHOW.
Mr. Hines pursued a solo career and success soon followed when he was chosen to star as Nathan Detroit in the National Touring Company of GUYS and DOLLS. After his thrilling performance, Broadway beckoned and Mr. Hines created a sensation during the 1978-1979 season with his singing and dancing in the hit musical EUBIE! He followed this performance with the celebrated roles co-starring in BRING BACK BIRDIE with Chita Rivera and Donald O'Connor and starring in SOPHISTICATED LADIES.
Next, Mr. Hines made his big screen debut in the Frances Ford Coppal's "The Cotton Club." As the film hit theaters across the country, so did Ballet Tap USA, a dance company created by Mr. Hines and Mercedes Ellington.
Mr. Hines then conceived, directed and choreographed the Musical UPTOWN…IT'S HOT which for 17 sold out weeks in Atlantic City. He joined the cast when the show moved to Broadway and received a 1986 Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical.
He followed this achievement by co-directing and choreographing the National Tour of the musical SATCHMO produced by Kenneth Feld. As one of the few stars who truly loves the road, Mr. Hines then directed, choreographed and starred in the National Tour of the musical HARLEM SUITE with successive leading ladies, Jennifer Holiday, Stephanie Mill and Melba Moore.
Following these successful stage runs, Mr. Hines turned his attention to direction and choreographing music videos, including I'LL BE GOOD TO YOU, the first release off of Quincy Jones BACK ON THE BLOCK album. Mr. Hines has directed the RADIO CITY SPECTACULAR (the first African-American director for Radio City Music Hall). In the 1994-1995 season, Mr. Hines starred as Jelly Roll Morton in the forty city first-class National Tour of the musical JELLY'S LAST JAM. He recently returned to the role of Nathan Detroit in the first-class National Tour of GUY'S AND DOLLS.
Mr. Hines is currently in pre-production for YO ALICE, the new urban hip-hop fantasy he conceived and will direct and choreograph. YO ALICE is being produced as a film and live production. His critically acclaimed jazz album, "Maurice" is on the Arbors label. He is also directing the life story of Ella Fitzgerald. As always, all of Mr. Hines performances are dedicated to his mother, Alma, Susan Weaving and his manager, Stanley Kay.
Melissa Manchester's self-made You Gotta Love the Life (release date: Feb. 10, 2015), the singer-songwriter's first album since 2004, celebrates 40 years of making music. The album offers a variety of songs performed with legendary artists such as Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Keb' Mo', Dionne Warwick, Dave Koz, and Joe Sample, in one of his last recordings.
You Gotta Love the Life is the Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning singer's first new studio album since When I Look Down That Road. This record marks her only collaboration with Hal David for what turned out to be his last recorded lyric. Manchester produced the album with guitarist Terry Wollman co-producing.
If one measures Hollywood stars by such traditional markers as grace, beauty and sophistication, then Stefanie Powers harkens back to Hollywood's Golden Era when stars were the essence of what everybody dreamed to be. And if one measures the quality of a person by their sense of dedication, their concern for the world around them, by their ability to step outside themselves and see the greater importance of community and society, then Stefanie Powers exemplifies the "new Hollywood"-----smart, charismatic, committed and, yes sexy.
Actress Stefanie Powers, whose charming and thoughtful real-life personality may most closely resemble stunning renaissance woman Jennifer Hart, the character she portrayed on the hit television series "Hart to Hart," has combined a natural curiosity and passion for knowledge, world travel and diverse cultures into both an award-winning acting career and an equally active life of heartfelt philanthropic work.
"The cornerstone of that work is the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, a public Charity dedicated to the preservation of wild animals, which Stefanie helped to found in honor of the late actor and for which she serves as president. The William Holden Wildlife Education Center, which currently serves 10,000 students a year, is located near Mount Kenya Safari Club and the Mount Kenya Game Ranch started by Holden in the late 1950's before conservation became a popular issue.
"The Foundation is an extremely large commitment," Stefanie admits, "But it's not something I entered into without understanding the full impact of the obligation. It's a lifelong commitment that sometimes monopolizes one hundred percent of my time."