Paul Garman Executive Director/Producer
Paul began his association with Musical Theatre West in 1963 as a performer. He continued performing throughout high school and at UCLA. He has served as producer for Musical Theatre West since the mid-1970's. Prior to that he served seven years as the company's President. Of the 120 Musical Theatre West major productions, Paul has been involved with all but 16, producing over 90 of them. Through his guidance and leadership Musical Theatre West has grown from an amateur community organization to a nationally respected regional theater group, entertaining over 60,000 patrons annually and garnering critical acclaim and numerous awards. Paul serves on several committees for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. His key passion remains the cultivation of new works for the musical stage and introducing the audience of tomorrow to musical theater.

Steven Glaudini Associate Artistic Director/Producer
Steven is thrilled be joining the wonderful team at Musical Theatre West.  For five years Steven served as the Executive Director/Producer of Performance Riverside, a non-profit professional theatre company in the Inland Empire.  Under his leadership he brought wide acclaim to his venue with his varied show selections and along the way won several awards, chiefly the 2004 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Best Musical for his production of 1776. Steven had spent the two years prior to joining the MTW family as an Equity Agent for KSA in Studio City.  He is thrilled to be back in the “show” side of show business!  Steve also is an Award-winning director and sites these shows as favorites: A Little Night Music, Cabaret, Triumph of Love, Company, Children of Eden, Sweet Charity, She Loves Me, Carousel, and the Los Angeles Premiere of My Favorite Year for Musical Theatre Guild. On stage he has performed in a wide variety of roles from Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to Fagin in Oliver!, from The Emcee in Cabaret to Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees. Steven was honored to receive the 2004 Ovation Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of John Adams in 1776. Steven resides in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Bets Malone.

Daniel Thomas General Manager
Daniel has been with Musical Theatre West since 1997; prior to joining the company he was the Box Office Manager for the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera. Daniel is also active as a professional musical director, actor, singer, and pianist throughout Southern California. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of California Santa Barbara, where he received a Corwin Grant and numerous scholarships for his work and served as the director of the Men's Choruses. Daniel is a founding member of the Musical Theatre Ensemble and has served on the Board of Directors for the Vanguard Theater and the Huntington Beach Playhouse. He is the choir director and organist at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Long Beach. Daniel lives in Long Beach with his wife Anne.

Gigi Fusco Meese Director of Strategic Development

Gigi is a long-time Long Beach resident. Gigi had a long career in real estate and mortgage banking prior to entering into performing arts administration. She has sat on the boards of the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse and the Huntington Beach Playhouse and the East Anaheim Street Business Association. Gigi is an award-winning actress and director. In 2000, Gigi became Office Manager of the Long Beach Playhouse and was quickly promoted to Executive Director/Producer in 2001. Gigi stepped down from her position at the Long Beach Playhouse to become the Director of Strategic Development for Musical Theatre West in 2007.  She is the recipient of the 2006 Arts Professional of the Year Award by the Long Beach Arts Council. She and her husband Richard have two grown children, Monica and David and live in the Belmont Shore section of Long Beach.

Mary Ritenhour Production Manager
Mary started with Musical Theatre West in 1989 as the Property Mistress. Since 1997 Mary has also served as our Assistant Stage Manager. For 12 years Mary has assisted in the development of Special Education Students. Mary continues to aide in many fundraising charities for the Long Beach community and aides in the development of the Long Beach youth in Performing Arts.

Michael Betts Box Office Manager
Michael comes to Musical Theatre West from the Casting Office of the Ahmanson, Mark Taper Forum, and Kirk Douglas Theatres. Previously, he assisted at Linda Lowy Casting, working on (among other projects) the hit ABC show "Grey's Anatomy", as well as the films "Happy Endings" and "The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio" with Julianne Moore. He continues to be active as the Casting Director for the Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles. Michael is thrilled to be back working in musical theatre having started in the Box Office/Subscription Office for Long Beach Civic Light Opera many years ago.

Tracy Des Combes Marketing/Public Relations
Tracy has lived and worked in the Long Beach community for over twenty years.  Prior to moving to Long Beach, Tracy attended and graduated with a BA in Broadcasting from Cal State Los Angeles, then worked for the syndicated television series "Name That Tune",  followed by several years on the P.R. team at Aaron Spelling Productions, working on the Spelling series "The Love Boat", "Dynasty", "The Colby's" and "Melrose Place".  After moving to Long Beach, Tracy began working for the Long Beach Civic Light Opera as Public Relations Manager, coordinating PR efforts on productions including Company in Concert (original cast including Dean Jones), Company with Carol Burnett, They're Playing Our Song with Jack Wagner and Lorna Patterson, South Pacific with Sandy Duncan and Michael Nouri and others. Since leaving LBCLO, Tracy  worked for the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach and has also been involved in many community organizations, including Long Beach Little League, YMCA (Weingart), The American Red Cross and Naples Elementary and Rogers Middle School PTA's. Tracy resides in Long Beach with her husband Brandon and her sons, Brandon Jr., (20), Alexander (19) and Madison (18), and continues to be active in the community.

Jesse GrothOlson Facilities/Rentals Manager

Jesse joined Musical Theater West in the Spring of 2008, and is very excited to be a part of Southern California's premier musical theatre company. Aside from over nine years of technical theatre experience he is also an accomplished actor. He holds a BA from Northwestern College in Roseville, MN and an MFA from The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. With years of improvisation training, and a decade of experience in technical theatre, Jesse is a well-rounded and educated performer and jack of all trades. He's acted, choreographed stage combat for both stage and screen, written, directed and produced original plays, recorded and produced original children's stories, and been the production coordinator, technical director, and master carpenter at the Long Beach Playhouse producing 18 shows a year on two stages for over two years. He's very excited about the future of Musical Theatre West and their burgeoning rentals department.

Terra Taylor Education/Outreach Coordinator

Terra joined Musical Theatre West in fall of 2007. In addition to her work in educational theatre, Terra also works regularly as an actress, singer, playwright, and director throughout LA and Orange Counties. Prior to moving to California in 1999, Terra performed in various cities across the country including Boston, Denver and parts of Northern California. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and is the recipient of the Mable Geiser Borgman Excellence in Acting Scholarship, the Andy Fitzgerald Humanitarian Award, and the 2005 Distinguished Arts Professional of the Year Award from the Arts Council of Long Beach. Terra is Founder and Artistic Director of Olio Theatre Works, a small independent non-profit theatre company specializing in the creation and production of original works.

Robert Decker Box Office Associate

Robert is new to Southern California and brings with him a variety of theater experiences from the East Coast.  He was formerly the Box Office Manager at the historic Mishler Theatre in Pennsylvania and also sold Broadway theatre tickets for Globaltickets in New York City.  Robert is a graduate of the New School University and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in NYC.  Performance credits include original New York productions, national tours with American Family Theatre , regional theatre at Forestburgh Playhouse and Allegheny Highlands, cruise ship productions in Nova Scotia, and the West Coast Premier of  "The Beastly Bombing" which won Musical of the Year at last year's LA Weekly Theatre Awards.  He has also directed and choreographed for high school, community theatre, and university productions.  Robert is happy to make Southern California his home, and he is thrilled to be part of the wonderful team at Musical Theatre West.