DANIEL THOMAS • Executive Artistic Director

A Bay Area native, Daniel returned after two decades of professional theatrical experience in Southern California as an administrator, producer, actor, director and musician. Previously, Daniel served as the General Manager for Musical Theatre West, Education Director for the Norris Center for the Performing Arts, and Box Office Manager for Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera. He was also a Founding Producer/Artistic Director of Musical Theatre Ensemble, which became the wildly popular Reiner Reading Series of Musical Theatre West.

Daniel worked for nearly every regional theatre in Southern California as an actor, musical director/conductor, and/or musician, including Musical Theatre West, 3-D Theatricals, Cabrillo Music Theatre, McCoy-Rigby Entertainment, Moonlight Amphitheatre, Candlelight Pavilion and the Santa Barbara, Fullerton, and San Gabriel Civic Light Operas, as well as the Disneyland Resort. Recently, Daniel has been the musical director/conductor on multiple productions for Woodminster Amphitheatre in Oakland and Lyric Theatre in San Jose. Daniel earned his Bachelor of Music in Composition from UC Santa Barbara, and is or has been a member of Actors' Equity Association, AGVA, and American Federation of Musicians Locals 6, 7, and 308. Daniel is grateful and lucky to have the love and support of his wife Rebecca, and they are the extremely proud parents of their son, Joshua.

EVANTE DANIELS • Director of Marketing

Meet Evante Daniels, a seasoned marketing director with over 13 years of experience in leveraging the psychology of audiences to scale organizations and brands. With a dynamic combination of empathetic organic content, unique paid strategies, and logistically creative operations management, Evante destroys branding blindspots with disruptive creative energy to elevate operations, optimize conversions, and generate new leads.

Beyond marketing, Evante is an expert in movement programming for social impact, having built a diverse set of community-oriented initiatives, including food banks, education support, DEI program training, and social change policies. With a passion for brands and organizations that strive to do good, Evante has worked with agencies, startups, nonprofit organizations, SMBs, and more.

GARY STANFORD, JR. • Director of Education

Gary is a Bay Area native (born in SF) and has lived on the Bay Area peninsula and south bay for his entire life. He graduated from San Jose State in Computer Engineering and has worked for and done High Tech, Communications, Sports Gaming, Retail and Online Business Companies in the Bay Area and Nation. His 20 year career was resolved in 2019 where he retired and took his software development, QA automaton, Project Management and Process Management skills into the performing arts sector. As a performing artist he has been involved with singing, dancing, and acting since a young child he spent his youth with P. S. Performance, a bay area performing arts company that primarily performed for senior/retirement homes and hospitals as well as competed in State Talent Competitions. As an adult performer he has been heavily involved in Bay Area Musical Theater and appeared in over 80 musicals with various theater companies.  Since 2019 he has been running his own theater company, North California Arts Collective and is on the Board of Directors for Z-Space theater (San Francisco), Woodside Community Theater and Hillbarn Theater (Foster City).

In 2020 he became deeply involved in education/mentoring and contracting in regards to social justice awareness (such as racism, colorism and emotional intelligence). He has his own radio podcast show, Planet Bay Area that is also dedicated to social justice, decolonization principles, self care and empowerment. Recent productions include Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr (2021) (Director, choreographer, music director) with Woodside Elementary School, 2020 Once On This Island (2020) (Director, choreographer) with Sunnyvale Players, Into The Woods (2019) (Rapunzel’s Prince) with Woodminster Summer Theater.

TIANA PAULDING • Patron Services Manager

Tiana is the Patron Services Manager at 42nd Street Moon and could not be happier to bring her skills and voice to the company. Though new to the administrative side of theatre, this Bay Area native has been involved in the arts for over 13 years. She has trained in acting, dance, and singing with various teachers and professors throughout the Bay Area. Besides working on the stage, Tiana has been known to help build a set, and choreograph a dance number or two. She has been in productions of Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, and Tarzan (to name a few). Tiana is very thrilled to be apart of the 42nd Street Moon team and looks forward to interacting with the patrons at each show.

GRACIE BRAKEMAN • Production Manager

Gracie (she/they/all pronouns) is a theatre-maker and creative producer based in Oakland. Favorite theater credits include Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Production Manager, Shotgun Players); Coming Soon (Associate Producer & Casting Director); Collective Rage (Director); The Donkey Show (Co-Director and Choreographer). Gracie has worked with American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater, Shotgun Players, Z Space, Atlantic Theater Company, Victory Gardens, and her alma mater Northwestern University. Gracie manages musicians, events, and productions through Reciprocal Arts Management. In her free time, Gracie loves partner acrobatics, contact improv dance, and community organizing.

JOANA GRAY • Rentals Coordinator

JoAna Gray, coordinator for our cabaret program, has attended shows at Moon since “the script-in-hand” days and ushered since 2006. A native Northern Californian, she moved to San Francisco from Santa Cruz after completing her MBA at Santa Clara University. She worked in marketing, product and project management in tech and financial services, eventually opening her own successful consulting practice. She began studying singing in 2001. She loves the combination of story-telling and singing that is cabaret – her most recent show was Defying Expectations, Defining Dreams, at The Duplex, NY and Martuni's, SF, directed by Tony Award winner Faith Prince/MD Christopher Denny. Other shows include her SF solo debut, Shades of JoAna Gray with MD Barry Lloyd at Society Cabaret, where she has participated in several shows, including all five Anniversary Celebrations, and monthly open mics. Her first solo cabaret show, Shades of Gray (before those books came out), was at the Larkspur Café. She has appeared in the musicals Anything Goes and The Pied Piper of Hamelin Town in Marin and multiple plays at the Fringe of Marin One Act Festival and Ross Valley Player's RAW Festival. JoAna has performed locally at Savannah Jazz, Octavia Lounge, The Marsh, Oasis and Phoenix Theatre.

For three years, JoAna attended the St. Louis Cabaret Conference and worked with Broadway/Cabaret stars Faith Prince, Marilyn Maye, Billy Stritch, Ann Hampton Callaway and Jason Graae, among others. She currently studies with Bobby Weinapple (Acting for Singers) and Mindy Lym (voice). She is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Manhattan Association of Cabarets and served on the Cabrillo Music Festival board in Santa Cruz.

NICK ISHIMARU • Casting Associate

Nick Ishimaru is so excited to be joining the 42nd Street Moon team! Nick is a co-founder and administrator of Kunoichi Productions, a Bay Area-based collective dedicated to the artistry of the Japanese-American community.  Prior to working with Kunoichi, he served as the Artistic Director of Theatre of Yugen from 2016 to 2020. He has trained in traditional Japanese noh drama and kyōgen satire for over 10 years with Theatre of Yugen, and for five years with Theatre Nohgaku and the Kita school noh master Oshima Teruhisa in Tokyo.  Nick is currently studying nihon buyo (traditional Japanese dance) with Bando Hirohichiro, and has also studied kabuki and jingju (Beijing Opera).

As Artistic Director of Theatre of Yugen, Nick directed several productions including The Red Demon (2016), A Noh Christmas Carol (2017, 2018, 2019), and Seen/By Everyone (2018).  He was most recently on stage in Puppets & Poe (2019), A Noh Christmas Carol (2019), and in the digital streaming production of The True Tale of Princess Kaguya (2020).

DAVE DOBRUSKY • Resident Music Director

Dave Dobrusky has long been a 42nd Street Moon mainstay, delighting audiences with his instinctive and intuitive feel for the music of the golden age of Broadway. Dave has been the music director for over 90 of Moon's productions over the last quarter-century. His past favorites include Zorba, Three Sisters, Strike up the Band, Babes in Arms, Call Me Madam, High Spirits, Finian's Rainbow, Paint Your Wagon (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award), and Leave It to Me! (recorded). Other Bay Area credits include Road Show; Marry Me a Little; Tick, Tick, Boom! (Theatre Rhino); I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; The Full Monty (both for Ray of Light); Camelot; My Fair Lady; Man of La Mancha (BATCC Award); Putting It Together (all for SF Playhouse); and Connie Champagne as Judy Garland at the Rrazz Room. Dave has appeared with Emily Skinner, Cady Huffman, Karen Ziemba, Rebecca Luker, Donna McKechnie, Noah Racey, Faith Prince, Andrea McArdle, and the late Celeste Holm, all at 42nd Street Moon. Dave holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory.

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J. PATTERSON MCBAINE • Chair, Board of Directors

In addition to chairing 42nd Street Moon’s board, Pat has been actively involved in San Francisco’s cultural scene for decades as a board member of SF Opera, former board member and chair of SFFilm, donor to SF Performances, Bay Area Cabaret and Sing for America and performer in numerous musical theatre productions in the Bay Area. An alumnus of Harvard (where he was President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals) and Johns Hopkins SAIS, he served on Henry Kissinger’s staff at the National Security Council before returning home to begin a career in finance. A partner at investment bank Hambrecht & Quist from 1972-1987 and then founder/managing member of Gruber & McBaine Capital Management until 2016, Pat is now a managing member of his family firm, AlDiLa Investments LLC. He never ceases to marvel at the ability of talented Moonie performers who can sing, dance and act…often at the same time!

PETER H. SORENSEN • Treasurer, Board of Directors

Pete has spent his professional career in the investment and retirement services sectors with roles in management, system and business design, sales, consulting and relationship management, and with firms including Barclays Global Investors (Blackrock) as Managing Director, Wells Fargo, VP National Accounts and Financial Engines, Dir. of Client Services. He is currently the Managing Member of his family investment firm Casa Marin LLC. Pete has been active in Bay Area theatre and music for the past 30 years, both as performer and board member, most recently serving as board president of the Mountain Play and performing in nine of its shows. He received his B. A. magna cum laude from Dartmouth and MBA with a finance specialization from UC Berkeley.

MONICA TURNER HOWARD • Secretary, Board of Directors

Monica is thrilled to join the board of 42nd Street Moon! She has over a decade of experience working in technology at Google on various platforms such as Doubleclick, Google Analytics and most recently, Google Cloud Platform. She is an active theater-goer and has performed all across the bay, working with companies such as Berkeley Playhouse, Ray of Light, Foothill Music Theatre and Cabrillo Stage. Past volunteer positions have included President of the Bay Area chapter of CSU, Chico Alumni Association, Program Manager for the Women@Analytics chapter at Google and Publicity Officer for the International Students Association at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. She received a Bachelors in Musical Theatre and in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing & International Business from California State University, Chico. Monica is a proud Bay Area native, originally from San Jose and currently residing in San Francisco with her husband, Dan.

DORIS BUMPUS • Member, Board of Directors

Doris has over 25 years experience with Kaiser Permanente as a Service Unit Manager for the Regional Imaging Float Pool operations in Northern California. As a change agent, Doris' work on developing policies and streamlining systems has saved the company over two million dollars and resulted in improved customer satisfaction and utilization.

Doris participated in a few of her high school productions and was a part of her high schools’ competition concert choir, but it wasn’t until 22 years later where she found her passion, purpose and what excites her in a little town called Fairfield where she was cast as Dorothy Gale in her favorite childhood musical, The Wiz! It was there when were she fell in love with all things theatre. Doris has participated in several Bay Area productions, including Dreamgirls, A Raisin in the Sun, Mountain Top, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. As a recording artist, she has two recordings: 2019's “Doris Bumpus, Paying Tribute to Billie Holiday” and 2011's “He will Take Care of You”. Doris can be found using her gift of singing, as a special guest artist, event performer, and other various musical venues.  She is signed with NYLO Talent Agency, Walnut Creek, CA. To find out more feel free to visit: https://www.dorisbumpus.com/

Doris and her husband have three children and two granddaughters….her family reminds her that, “When all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family, and friends." -Barbara Bush

H. HUNT BURDICK • Member, Board of Directors

Hunt graduated with a BFA from the UCLA Department of Theatre, Film and Television. Since then he has been fortunate enough to make his living mainly in the entertainment field. Hunt started out as a mediocre actor who quickly realized that it was easier to find somewhat more steady work on the production end of the business. In the early 1990s, after working on numerous projects for various studios including: Tri-Star Pictures, Orion Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, and Showtime, Hunt happily fell into the one of the greatest jobs in the world when he became a Production Manager and Producer for the Sony Pictures High Definition Center, located at the Sony Studios in Culver City.

Hunt acted as the SPHDC Producer on two features, Rainbow, and, Habitat, and one NBC mini-series, WWII: When Lions Roared. Mr. Burdick is the founder and CEO for TopGallant Productions, LLC., and Wildcat Productions, both independent film companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His recent short film, The White Bull, has won numerous awards from several Film Festivals, including those for Best Short Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Director. Throughout his career, Hunt has continued to work as a theatre director, and was recently bestowed the honor of receiving the prestigious “Bravo” award from the Hillbarn Theatre.

ASHLEY DALZELL • Member, Board of Directors

Ashley's love of performing arts began as a child growing up in Delray Beach, Florida. Live theatre was one of her father's passions and he took Ashley and her siblings to every play and musical that came to South Florida. Her family also traveled to New York every Thanksgiving to see the latest shows on Broadway. A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Thoroughly Modern Millie were among her favorites. Ashley attended Smith College and received her Master's degree in SOcial Work (MSW) from Catholic University. Most recently Ashley served on the board of the San Francisco Midweeklies Inc for 4 years and co-president for the last 2 years of her term. Ashley was proud to be a part of growing the Midweeklies program with over 600 children participating in it.

Ashley is also a member of the Golden Gate Chapter of the national Charity League and is the philanthropy liaison for Bayview Mission. She has also been involved with the Colon Cancer Alliance since 2016. Ashley and her husband Paul have two daughters, Kaelin and Chloe, who are both passionate about theatre and perform on stage at every opportunity. They have participated in MoonSchool's summer camps for the past 6 years and have also been in 42nd Street Moon's main stage productions of Titanic and Scrooge in Love. Ashley  is so impressed by 42nd Street Moon's productions and youth programs and is thrilled to be a part of the board.

VICTORIA STEWART DAVIS • Member, Board of Directors

Victoria Stewart Davis is a top producing San Francisco real estate agent with Pacific Union and Christie’s International Real Estate with over 15 years of experience in residential and development sales. She recently served on the advisory board of the Young Professionals Network of the San Francisco Association of Realtors. Victoria’s love for musical theater developed in the South Bay at the Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, where she was a frequent performer over many years. She went on to study vocal performance at the University of Oregon School of Music, and has been honored to perform on the 42nd Street Moon stage. Her volunteer work has included running a “Read Aloud” program in San Francisco public schools; membership in Symphonix, an organization supporting the San Francisco Symphony; and work for the Epiphany Center and various San Francisco performing arts organizations. Victoria and her husband Erik are proud San Francisco residents and enjoy raising their two young children in the city.

BRANDON JOHN HARRINGTON • Member, Board of Directors

Brandon John Harrington currently works in Talent Acquisition for YouTube, specializing in content recruiting. He previously spent three years working alongside senior leadership at Google. Prior to joining Google, Brandon spent five years working in film and theatrical development for DreamWorks Animation. An avid supporter of the theatrical arts, Brandon has worked with theatre companies in Los Angeles, Chicago, on Broadway and in the West End. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Northwestern University and is a proud Bay Area native.

DYNA MENDOZA • Member, Board of Directors

Dyna is thrilled to join the board of 42nd Street Moon, a perfect home for her lifelong affinity for the creative arts and the importance she places on community and inclusion. She graduated with a BFA in graphic design from California Institute of the Arts and has spent most of her career in the design and tech world. Most recently she was the Creative Director for Bleacher Report. In 2014, Dyna was invited to attend the “Leading with Power and Authenticity” Women in Telecommunications Conference.

She had a brief stint on stage, singing with a 16-piece jazz funk band that performed at venues including Bimbo’s 365 in North Beach and the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. When not designing on-screen, Dyna turns to other forms of visual art such as painting, drawing, photography, and jewelry making. She lives in Pacifica with her husband and their twin boys.

JOANNA LEIGHTON NEVESNY • Member, Board of Directors

Most recently, Joanna Leighton Nevesny was a member of the Board of Directors of the Art Deco Society of California, where she was Events Director for four years and Secretary for two years. Before her work with the Art Deco Society, she served as a presiding Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the National Association of Securities Dealers. She has been an associate attorney in a civil litigation practice and an associate with a law firm specializing in wine industry matters. She is a graduate of the Law School at Golden Gate University and passed the bar in 1987. Before law school, she practiced nursing for 20 years at the San Francisco Veterans Medical Center, where she held staff positions in the OR, ICU, and CCU. She was also in charge of the open heart surgery service, developed and taught two peri-operative nursing courses for San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco, and administered a neuro-oncology research protocol.

SUZY OBERLIN • Member, Board of Directors

My first live on-Broadway production was an epic one-Mary Martin, flying off the stage in Peter Pan!  It made me a fan forever. While I lived in Connecticut, I never missed a single performance when I was out for school holidays. I was a singer, in choirs, glee club and close harmony groups all through my educational years.  Fast forward to the 21st century, our son Miller revealed his talents as early as 6th grade when taking part in a performance of Beowolf; quite an undertaking on behalf of that theater/teacher director.  A passion for theatre must run in the family!

I am a theater junkie, taking every opportunity to see local and Manhattan productions, as well as any other place I happen to be, whenever possible.  It goes without saying that Moon is one of my favorite venues and has been since Pat introduced me to the company in the early aughts.  It is with great pride that I take a seat on the Moonboard and continue to be an active participant in its future!

ROBERT A. PODESTA • Member, Board of Directors

Robert Podesta is an Investment and Merchant Banker and Principal of Podesta & Co., based in Chicago. His career spans more than forty years in many facets of the Investment business, particularly the Capital, Commodity and Derivative Markets. He was a founding member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Robert is also the founder and President of Bar Animal Productions, with many private, community and public theatrical and musical credits to his name. In Chicago, he served on the boards of Steppenwolf Theatre and the Grant Park Symphony Society.

STEPHANIE RHOADS • Co-Founder/Member, Board of Directors

Stephanie Rhoads is a co-founder of Innovative Marketing, a promotional merchandise marketing firm for which she serves a vice president. An accomplished singer and actress, she has performed throughout Asia with the U.S.O., throughout Alaska and the Caribbean on the Princess and Viking Cruise Lines, and in the national touring company of Some Like it Cole. Other credits include A…My Name is Alice, Side by Side by Sondheim, Threepenny Opera, Anything Goes, The Mikado, Company, The Student Prince, Once Upon a Mattress, and two years in Beach Blanket Babylon Goes Bananas. In 1993, she co-founded 42nd Street Moon with Greg MacKellan. With 42nd Street Moon, her credits include Venus in One Touch of Venus, Ninotchka in Silk Stockings, Adeline in Sweet Adeline, and Elvira in High Spirits.

MARAH SOTELO • Member, Board of Directors