A Star Is Born
Starring Buffalo was founded in December 2017 to connect, entertain, teach, and thrill, and above all, to provide top-quality musical theater. Drew Fornarola, Artistic Director, was inspired by NYC’s City Center Encores! Series, which offers short-run, unstaged versions of musicals starring superb Broadway performers, a perfect model for attracting busy acting professionals to build top-quality musical experiences out of town. The final twist was to make the professional performances a participatory opportunity for students: by allowing high school choirs to join in rehearsing and performing these shows, they would get a window into a life in professional theater.
Drew and Laura Brodie, original Board President, quickly pulled together an all-star team to bring the idea to fruition. The two drew on their high school experience in the music department at Williamsville East (Amherst, NY) to develop an interdisciplinary model for performances, designed to incorporate talent and art from a wide range of sources.
Starring Buffalo produces full-length, staged concert versions of musicals featuring Broadway guest artists, professional Buffalo area actors and musicians, and local student and community groups performing together. It offers Buffalo audiences unrivaled access to great theater artists, while providing Western New York students and community members the chance to learn from, work alongside, and be inspired in both master class and performance environments. The organization launched in 2018 with THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, and since then has produced six additional large scale musicals at Shea's 710 Theater, as well as numerous sold-out cabaret and educational events at unique venues around the city. Recent Broadway artists that have performed with and taught for Starring Buffalo include Tony Award Winner Matt Doyle (Company), Tony Award Winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Tony Award Nominee Sidney DuPont (Paradise Square) and over 30 other visiting Broadway actors. Each production features nearly 100 local actors, singers, players, and dancers in addition to the Broadway stars.
Starring Buffalo is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Starring Buffalo Team
Drew Fornarola, Artistic Director
Michael Russo, Executive Director
Dina Slawson, President
Emily Glick, Associate Artistic Director
Steven Tartick, Marketing & Advertising Director
Suzy Forster, Marketing & Social Manager
Michael Morog, Production Manager
Starring Buffalo Board
Dina Sarno Slawson, President
Owner/Artistic Director, Academy of Theatre Arts
Steven Tartick, Secretary (Co-Founder)
Founder, Overture Strategy
Drew Fornarola, Treasurer (Co-Founder)
Theatrical Producer, Writer
RoseAnn Berardi
Laura Brodie (Co-Founder)
CEO, Pusterla 1880 North America
Rosemary Enright
Partner, Barclay Damon LLP
Emily Glick
Vice President - Financial Advisor
Cindy & Al Ripley
Senior Advisor, Education, iTheatrics
Karen Saxon
Music Educator, City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park
Debbie Wilson