Johnny Mercer b. Savannah, Georgia, November 18. 1909. Mercer's gift for idiomatic, regional lyrics was well suited to such Broadway musicals St. Louis Woman, Texas, L'il Darilin' and L'il Abner.

José Fernandez began his theatrical career as an actor. On Broadway, THE ME NOBODY KNOWS, for which he received The Variety Critic's Poll Nomination for Best Actor, as well as HAIR, TRUCKLOAD and TWO GENTLEMEN of VERONA.

Kurt Weill (1900-1950) began his career in the early 1920's, after a musical childhood and several years of study in Berlin. By the time his first opera, THE PROTAGONIST (Georg Kaiser), was performed in April 1926, he was an established young German composer.

Joe Troiano is the award-winning author of more than ten children's books including: The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin; The Legend of Mistletoe and the Christmas Kittens; The Legend of Jellybean and the Unbreakable Egg; The Legend of Lyla the Lovesick Ladybug; The Legend of Beacon th

Jeff Zahn is an award-winning music supervisor/composer.

Larry Gelbart, a Chicago-born writer and producer who has achieved success for his work in radio, television, film and theater.

Douglas McGrath was a filmmaker and playwright. Most recently, he directed the HBO documentary "Becoming Mike Nichols." He collaborated with Woody Allen on the screenplay for Bullets Over Broadway, for which they were nominated for an Academy Award.

Barry Mann has written the melodies of some of the most influential pop songs in musical history.

Cynthia Weil was the acclaimed lyricist of classic songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," the most-played song of the 20th century.