With all the things he's accomplished, one that Michael Reno is most proud of is the fact that he never really grew up. Instead, he's maintained a close connection to childhood that lets his imagination continue to grow and change – and allows him to communicate directly with kids of all ages. (This is evident in each of the My Songs music lines!)
Michael's background and home is the musical theatre. He is the composer and lyricist of several musicals and musical revues which have been performed across the US. He composed the film score for 'North Cross Jordan, as well as the television productions Time On Their Hands and Coming to Ametrica, a children's program aimed at teaching the metric system to children in the US.
Michael's career as a director and musical director has taken him all over the world, to venues ranging from Montreal's Place des Artes and the Vienna Concert House, to New York's Madison Square Garden and L.A.'s Universal Amphitheatre. The nearly 100 musical productions that he has worked on include musical theatre classics such as Fiddler on the Roof, Mame, Cabaret, Man of La Mancha, My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, West Side Story, Grease, Camelot, Applause, Annie, Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, and Hello, Dolly as well more diverse works such as Leonard Bernstein's Mass, Candide, the original San Francisco production of The Rocky Horror Show, and the summer stock premieres of Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair.
In the Los Angeles area, where Michael now makes his home, he has worked on various TV projects for NBC, on film projects such as Disney's The Lion King, and on stage productions for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera workshop, the Pasadena Playhouse, Lawrence Welk, the Celebrity Theatre, and the Coronet Theatre. His work in the L.A. area has earned him numerous Drama-Logue Awards, as well as the L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Award for the West Coast premiere of Working.
Michael received his MA in Theatre (with distinction) in the Spring of 1998 from California State University, Northridge, where he has recently directed their productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Working, which toured to China in June of 99 as the beginning of a cultural arts exchange with the Shanghai Theatre Academy. He is also currently occupied as co-founder and owner of two businesses: My Songs (which produces the best music for children!) and Command Performance Productions, which produces original musical theatre productions for corporate clients.
|
