RIDGEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lively McCabe Entertainment, the global theatrical production company based in Ridgewood, NJ whose stage hits include the “most-produced play in the country” Clue (currently playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse) and its sibling Cluedo (currently touring the UK), Punk Rock Girl by Joe Iconis (currently playing at The Argyle Theatre), May We All in partnership with Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley (currently playing at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis) and Mystic Pizza A New Musical (which recently premiered at the Ogunquit Playhouse in fall 2021); proudly announces that it has acquired Broadway Theater Workshops (BTW). In residence at the Inserra Theater at Saint Joseph Regional High School (40 Chestnut Ridge Road Montvale, New Jersey), Broadway Theater Workshops is a year-round training company working with children in grades 3-12 in developing their performance skills. With Broadway performers as instructors, and offering private lessons, master classes, full-scale productions, and a robust summer camp program, BTW has become the premier youth performance program in the tri-county area over the past twenty years.
BTW instructors are working professionals, many with Broadway experience. Instructors have included Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera), Michael Park (Dear Evan Hansen), Carter Calvert (It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues), John Treacy Egan (The Producers), John Cariani (Something Rotten!, The Band’s Visit), Eric Buckley (Motown The Musical), Robin Irwin (Titanic), Richard Todd Adams (Les Miserables, Cats), Christy Tarr-McVey (The Who’s Tommy), Maria Eberline (Wicked), Eric Sciotto (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Michael Kostroff (“The Wire,” The Producers), Cathryn Basile (…Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid) and Betsey Wolfe (Waitress), among many others.
“We’re thrilled that Lively McCabe has been entrusted by John Asselta to become the stewards of the BTW legacy that he and Neil started over twenty years ago,” says Michael Barra, CEO of Lively McCabe Entertainment. “Our team is looking forward to working with the BTW staff and instructors to continue to serve musical performance students in Bergen, Rockland, and Westchester counties and beyond as we look for opportunities to expand the reach of the BTW brand.”
Founder John Asselta adds “It’s been extremely rewarding for the last 20 years to watch BTW help young actors grow in their performance skills and mature in their life skills. I am both assured and excited to know Lively McCabe will add enthusiasm and fresh ideas to our successful program and will carry the BTW flag forward helping many young performers for years to come.”
Lively McCabe Entertainment was represented on the transaction by Jisoo Kim of law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Jason Giordano of JGS CPA PC, and Barron International Group’s Jack Ferrer and Lisbeth Barron who have acted as the exclusive strategic advisor to Lively McCabe Entertainment over the past several years as it continues to execute on its growth plans.
BROADWAY THEATER WORKSHOPS (BTW)
Founded in 2002 by Neil Berg and John Asselta upon seeing a need for ongoing training for the talented students involved in Bergen County NJ and Rockland County NY’s highly competitive local high school musical programs. Initially conceived as a one week camp, positive word of mouth created a greater demand and the camp expanded to multiple weeks, and today features Junior Theater Camp for younger performers (Grades 3 to 5); Senior Theatre Camp (Grades 5 -12) with workshops conducted in acting, dancing, speech and diction, improvisation, auditioning, stage combat and more; Performance Camp where campers put up a full show in a two week period of time, and the Advanced Theater Group, a subset of Senior Theater Camp for those seeking a more intensive training experience which requires auditions to be selected for advanced study in small sessions with industry professionals.
The company also offers Private Lessons with Broadway Instructors, in voice study as well as acting and dance classes. In addition, both Master Classes and other special workshops are frequently offered on auditioning, dancing for the non-dancer and composer studies. The company also produces a fall Grammar School Musical for students in grades 3-8.
LIVELY McCABE ENTERTAINMENT (LME)
Founded in 2017 by producer Michael Barra, (formerly of Disney Theatricals, Broadway’s The Araca Group, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) and actress and drama-educator Katie Dietz, the company is based in Ridgewood, NJ and specializes in packaging and adapting family-friendly intellectual property into new stage plays and musicals to be produced globally. LME projects include the global hit play Clue/Cluedo (UK) based on the iconic 1985 Paramount Pictures film and classic Hasbro Board game, Mystic Pizza A New Musical based on the 1988 MGM film starring Julia Roberts and featuring a score including hits from The Bangles, Wilson Phillips, Rick Astley, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper among others, May We All, a country musical in partnership with Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line and featuring songs by FGL, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, and Kacey Musgraves, and new stage musical Punk Rock Girl, with a book by Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), in partnership with BMG and with a score featuring artists including Avril Lavigne, Blondie, Hole, Sleater Kinney, No Doubt, Bikini Kill, and Joan Jett, with many other projects in development.
Visit www.livelymccabe.com.
