Leadership

Board President

MARILYN (MEBBY) BROWN

Mebby’s record as a community leader is distinguished. A native of Shaker Heights, she has been involved in many civic and community volunteer organizations and Boards including the Musical Arts Association of the Cleveland Orchestra, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Botanical Garden and the Chisholm Halle Costume Wing to name a few.

“It is wonderful to be at the helm of this illustrious group,” said Mebby. “Musical theater is one of my passions, and despite the challenges we face in our society, I feel that TMTP, through Janet and Bill Rudman’s careful guidance, is ready to forge ahead in new ways. With help and counsel from our many participants, I promise to give 100% of my energy to this unique and nationally respected organization.”

For founder and artistic director Bill Rudman, Mebby’s election provides a special pleasure: “I’ve been a friend of hers for many years—long before Mebby joined us as a trustee. The same was true of Janet. TMTP is about people coming together, enjoying each other’s company, and working together to support an excellent cause: honoring the classic American musical. “And the fact is that all of us at The Musical Theater Project feel honored to have Mebby.”

Founding Artistic Director

BILL RUDMAN

Bill is an educator, broadcaster, producer and founder of The Musical Theater Project. As TMTP’s Artistic Director, he has created more than 100 concerts and cabarets that celebrate and share musical theater as a uniquely American art form. His radio programs, “Footlight Parade” and “On the Aisle,” are heard across the country on public radio stations, Public Radio Exchange (prx.org) and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. In 1983, he and New York author Ken Bloom co-founded Harbinger Records, a label that has won critical praise for albums devoted to the American musical and the Great American Songbook; the label is now a division of TMTP. In 2000 he became the first recipient of the Robert Bergman Award for his work in arts education and community outreach.

Phone: 216.860.1518, ext. 706
Email: Bill@MusicalTheaterProject.org

Director of Marketing and Development

BARBARA VITCOSKY

Prior to joining The Musical Theater Project, Barbara served for nine years as director of development for The Wilderness Center, a nonprofit nature center located in Wilmot, OH. She has more than twenty-five years of fund development and marketing communications experience at institutions such as the American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter, Humane Society Silicon Valley, and Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Barbara has a BA in Communications from King’s College (PA).  She has been involved with the Association of Fundraising Professionals throughout her career and served on the board of the Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter.

Barbara was born and raised in northeast Pennsylvania and lived in the California Bay Area but has lived most recently in Wooster, Ohio for more than 10 years.  She brings with her a lifelong appreciation of the arts and is especially delighted to be rekindling her love of musical theater.

Phone: 216.860.1518, ext. 709
Email: Barbara@MusicalTheaterProject.org

Associate Artistic Director

NANCY MAIER

Nancy is a music director, vocal coach and accompanist who spent years in New York City honing her skills in these areas while doing nightclub work as a singer/pianist. Nancy served as the former music director/coach of the acclaimed music theater program at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music under the direction of Victoria Bussert. She has also music directed for Cain Park, Great Lakes Theater, Porthouse Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Beck Center and Karamu House.

Email: Nancy@MusicalTheaterProject.org

Administrative Assistant

ASHLEY BERNETT

Before joining The Musical Theater Project, Ashley worked for four years at the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio in the membership recruitment department where she developed her skills of event planning, marketing and sales. Her true passion has always been the arts ever since she began acting in musicals at the Fairmount Center for the Arts in Novelty, OH. She continued to participate both on and behind the stage from childhood to college in shows like Mary Poppins, Sweet Charity, and Peter Pan.She is thrilled to combine her love of theater and working in a non-profit.

Ashley has a BA in Communications and Theatre Arts with a minor in Creative Writing from John Caroll University.

Phone: 216.860.1518, ext. 701
Email: Ashley@MusicalTheaterProject.org