| Producer | Allan Sandler |
| Associate Producer | Roger Peace |
| Associate Producer | Larry Wexler |
| Associate Producer | Sidney Aptacker |
| Associate Producer | Guy Cloutier |
| General Manager | Marvin A. Krauss |
| Director | Martin Charnin |
| Bookwriter/Lyricist | Vincent de Tourdonnet |
| Composer | Peter Sipos |
| French translator | Antonine Maillet |
| Musical Director/Vocal Arranger | Albin Konopka |
| Orchestrator | Douglas Besterman |
| Costume Designer | Jean Blanchette |
| Set Designer | Ming Cho Lee |
| Lighting Designer | Ken Billington |
| Assistant Director | François Racine |
| Assistant Associate Producer | Claudine Bachand |
| Assistant to Martin Charnin | Micheline Richard |
| Casting: Elite Productions | Vera Miller, Nadia Rona, Rosina Bucci |
| Marketing Director and Publicist | Nathalie Courville |
| Communications Courville marketing assistant | Anabelle Dupont-Hébert |
| Press Agent | Bouba Slim |
| Web Page Creation/Design | Marty Kattleman |
| Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1950, Peter Sipos has been a professional musician since the age of 17. He was the founder and member of one of Hungary's top pop-rock bands, "Hungaria", touring Eastern and Western Europe and the Soviet Union for over 13 years. By the age of 21, he was one of the best known composers and arrangers in Hungary. In 1979, he defected from then Communist Hungary and immigrated to Canada. Among his many credits are the musical direction and arrangements for the 1983 production of the "Jazz Singer", presented by the Yiddish Theatre of the Saydie Bronfman Centre of the Arts. One of his songs, "Pour Vous", was featured on Celine Dion's 1985 album, "C'est pour toi". In early 1993, Peter started work on the large-scale musical "Jeanne" with Vincent de Tourdonnet, based on the story of Joan of Arc. He is especially grateful to his wife Kira for her continous support and inspiration. |
| Author of the book and lyrics for "Jeanne la Pucelle" Vincent de Tourdonnet has won critical acclaim across Canada for his scripts and lyrics. His McGill honours thesis, an adaptation of "The Threepenny Opera", was produced by A.P.A. in Montreal and by Touchstone Theatre in Vancouver. For the Caravan Farm Theatre in British Columbia, he wrote the lyrics for "The Good Woman of Saskatchewan", and with composer Allan Cole, he wrote the book and lyrics for "Strange Medicine". De Tourdonnet also wrote and directed the cabaret revue, "Yip", for the Tapestry Music Theatre in Toronto. He lived in New York for several years, where he taught musical theatre writing at Long Island University and where he was a member of the BMI Musical Theatre Writers Workshop. He has also worked extensively as an actor. Vincent is very grateful to have the opportunity to work with the music of Peter Sipos, the story of Jeanne la Pucelle, and the exciting team of people growing around this production. |
| Martin Charnin was director, lyricist, composer, librettist, or a combination of the aforementionned for "Annie", the 10th longest running Broadway musical in history, also "Annie" in London as well as five national companies, "Annie Warbucks", "In Persons", "Hot Spot", "Zenda", "Put it in Writing", "Kaleidoscope", "Mata Hari", "Ballad for a Firing Squad", "La Strada", "Nash at 9", "Two by Two", "The National Lampoon Show", "Bar Mitzvah Boy" (London), "I Remember Mama", "Upstairs at O'Neals", "Lena Horne : The Lady and Her Music", "The First", "A Little Family Business", "On the Swing Shift", "Mike", "Cafe Crown", "Laughing Matters", "Carnal Knowledge", "The Flowering Peach", "Loose Lips", "Starcrossed" at Goodspeed at Chester/The Norma Terris Theatre and the newly revised version of Cole Porter's "Can-Can". His awards include four Tony nominations, a Tony award, three Grammy nominations, two Grammy awards, three Gold Records, two Platinum Records, six Drama Desk Awards and the Peabody Award for Broadcasting. On Broadway he originated the role of Big Deal in "West Side Story". In January 1996, his new production of "Mata hari" opened at the New York Theatre in Manhattan. He and his wife Jade Hobson Charnin, the fashion director of New York Magazine have two children, Randy and Sasha and their beloved dog Cole. Martin is also working on the 20th anniversary production of "Annie" due on Broadway in 1997 and on the release of his new album of previously unrecorded songs entitled "Hopelessly Romantic". "Jeanne la Pucelle" will be his 51st theatrical production. |
| Snapshot Productions producer Allan Sandler has been associated with many successful productions in Montreal, Toronto and New York. These productions include "A Tribute to Broadway" and "Nunsense II : The Sequel", which ran both in Montreal and Toronto ; "Piaf : Love Conquers All", starring Patsy Gallant at Place des Arts ; "Beau Jest", "The Sisters Rosensweig" and "Jeanne", last season's big box office hits at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Performing Arts; and "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" at the Centaur Theatre. Allan's first New York production, "The Cover of Life", starring E.N.G.'s Sara Botsford, opened October 27 1994, at the American Place Theatre. He is working on many new musical productions for the Montreal market which will surprise and delight Québec audiences. Allan is also working on a brand new musical which will hopefully follow "Jeanne" to New York. He is the founding chairman of "Friends for AIDS" and is being appointed as the first ambassador for the Ophthalmology Department of the Montreal General Hospital. |
| Albin Konopka has enjoyed a long and successful international career. Besides working on Broadway in his hometown New York, he was producer, musical director/supervisor or arranger of musicals in 24 countries on 6 continents. Some of the shows he has conducted: TOMMY, CATS, A CHORUS LINE, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - just to name a few. He also worked with Liza Minelli for two years on her Far East and European tours. He is fluent in five languages and has a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Albin has also written two musicals: AMBRA (in Italian) and SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER. Next year he plans to take a year’s vacation and spend all of his 843,657 frequent flyer mileage credit points. |
| A graduate of the University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music, Douglas has worked on over twenty productions of new musicals since 1986, and is represented on over a dozen albums. Broadway orchestration credits include : "Big" (Drama Desk Nomination), the 1994 revival of "Damn Yankees" (Drama Desk Nomination), "A Christmas Carol" (Paramount Theatre), and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Off Broadway : "Weird Performance" (WPA Theatre), "Jack's Holiday" (Playwrights Horizons), "Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller" (Lambs Theatre). Regional : "Captain Courageous" (Ford's Theatre), "Opal" (George Street Playhouse), and "The Prince and the Pauper" (Peninsula Civic Light Opera). For film/television : "Lincoln" (Alan Menken, music), "Kathie Lee Gifford-A Celebration of Motherhood", and "Pocahontas" ; "Anastasia" (Fox Family Film), and "The Legend of Mulan" (Walt Disney Feature Animation). In addition to numerous cast albums, Doug's arrangements can be heard on recordings featuring Jerry Hadley, Mandy Patinkin, and Toni Braxton. Upcoming projects include the musical "King David". He resides in West Orange, New Jersey with his wife Marty and son Max. |
| Antonine Maillet achieved her doctorate in literature at the University of Laval in Québec. She has taught literature and theatre in numerous North American schools, colleges and universities. She is the author of more than 33 novels and publications, 18 plays and at least 9 translations. Furthermore, she obtained more than 13 awards including the "Prix Goncourt" for her novel "Pélagie-la-charette", the Chalmers Canadian Play Award for "La SAGOUINE" and the translation prize for "La Nuit des Rois" from the Québec association of Theatre Critics. She obtained over 20 honorary degrees from Canadian and American universities, and various official honours including the Officer of the Order of Canada. |
| Guy Cloutier is one of the top producers in Québec. He started his career in 1964 by creating his position as the first promotional record agent in the Québec music industry. By 1967 he was well established in the milieu promoting Québec's most popular artists. In 1971 he met a young 9 year old kid, by the name of René Simard, who had been invited to sing at his wedding ceremony. Completely astonished by René's amazing potential, Guy Cloutier decided to direct his career and become his agent. The rest is history. He also signed up artists Nathalie Simard and Joanne Blouin, as well as many others who have greatly benefited from his talent as an agent. In 25 years, Guy Cloutier has produced 3,000 shows, 200 albums and over 1,000 television shows. In television, his credits include "Laser", "Les mini-stars de Nathalie", "Journal Intime", "Salut" and "Star d'un Soir". Last but not least, Guy Cloutier has entirely renovated and marketed the Théâtre Capitole in Québec City. In 1989 he formed the production company "Les Productions de la Capitale" and created a year later, "La Société du Théâtre Capitole". The theatre is a fully equipped high-tech auditorium with 1300 seats, featuring top international performers and is connected to a hotel with 40 rooms. |
| Three-time Los Angeles Drama-Logue Critics Award-winner, two-time Gemaux Award nominee and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner, multi-talented costume designer, director and author Jean Blanchette has designed costumes for numerous theatres, opera, musicals, film and television productions in both Canada and the United States. Born in Trois-Riviéres, Jean has enjoyed a long and illustrous career in the arts, his talents widely recognized and awarded. Among his many costume design credits are "Showboat" with Madeleine Kahn for Sacramento Music Circus, "Dear Antoine" and "Little Mary Sunshine" (both Drama-Logue Award winners for Best Costume design) and "Pol" for Théâtre de Quat'Sous; "H.M.S. Pinafore" for the CBS television network, "The Story of Paul and Isabelle Duchesnay" for Communications Claude Heroux-Cipango; and "Chat Boume", "Faim de Loup" for the Canal Famille Television Network. Last year he designed the costumes for Communications Guy Cloutier's production of "Elvis Story", Snapshot production's "Jeanne : the Joan of Arc Musical drama" and the highly successful musical "Crazy For You". His directing credits include: the 1982 Drama-Logue Critics Award for Best Direction of "King John" for the Globe Playhouse in Los Angeles, "Madame Butterfly", "The King and I" and "Romeo and Juliet" (the opera) for the Redlands Music Festival, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" for the L.A. Music Repertory Theatre and the French version of the musical "I DO ! I DO !". As author-director, his credits include: "An Operatic Orgy With Prince Orlofsky" for the Los Angeles Lyric Association, "Chacun son ciel" with France Castel at Montreal's Nouvel Hôtel and "Les Follies à la Russe" with Patsy Gallant at Théâtre du Domaine St-Laurent. |
| Ken Billington has over 65 Broadway productions to his credit including this seasons "Inherit the Wind", "Moon Over Buffalo" and "Hello Dolly!". Also on Broadway "Meet Me in St-Louis", "On the Twentieth Century", "Side by Side by Sondheim", "Lettice And Lovage", "Tru" and "Sweeney Todd". Numerous Off-Broadway productions include "Sylvia", "Lips Together, Teeth Apart", "What the Butler Saw", to name a few. For the past 4 years he has designed the tour of "Stars on Ice" starring Kurt Browning and Brian Orser in Canada and the USA as well as the CBC television special of the show. Since 1979, Ken Billington has been the principal lighting designer for Radio City Music Hall. Other projects include everything from "Turandot" at the Vienna State Opera to nightclub acts for headliners such as Ann-Margret, Shirley McLaine and Liberace. His architectural designs can be seen in prominent restaurants and clubs from New York to Asia. He has been nominated for five Tony awards, received the Lumen Award for his architectural work and has won the Ace Award for his television designs. |
| Growing up in the heart of Montreal, just below the eastern slopes of Mont-Royal, Larry Wexler is an individual who has always been able to combine his business concerns with strong sense of community involvement. Executive vice-president of Pantorama Industries, which he helped to found in 1970, Larry is a most respected member of the larger Montreal community. As one of Canada's leading entrepreneurs, he is widely known for his kindness, generosity and charitable works. "Jeanne la Pucelle" is his first involvement in the arts and he is eager to help bring this work to Montreal. For him, "Jeanne la Pucelle" offers wonderful insight into the human condition and he has every intention of continuing his involvement with this musical right up until its Broadway opening and beyond. |
| The winner of a Tony Award as executive producer of "La Cage aux Folles", Marvin A. Krauss co-produced "Grand Hotel" and produced "Death of a Salesman" starring Dustin Hoffman. He was also the producer of "Merlin", "Teibele and Her Demon", "Legs Diamond", and "The Poison Tree", "West Side Story" (presented in Japan) and the touring company of "Elvis"; as well as co-producer of the tours of "Dreamgirls" and "The Little Shop of Horrors". He has managed the Broadway productions and tours of "Dreamgirls", "Woman of the Year", "Dancin'", "The Magic Show", "Godspell", "Beatlemania", "Gipsy", "The Will Rogers Follies", "Passion", the "Camelot" tour starring Robert Goulet, and the Broadway production and tour of "Passion". He is currently preparing the 20th anniversary production of "Annie" opening on Broadway in 1997. |
| Ming Cho Lee is one of the foremost set designers in America today. His extensive credits include work in opera dance and theatre. Born in Shanghai, Mr. Lee attended Occidental College and UCLA. He has worked with many leading dance companies, including Martha Graham's American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Eliot Feld Ballet, Jose Limon and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. From 1962 through 1973, he was the principal designer for Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. He has designed sets for several opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera. He has also designed for regional theatre including the Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Guthrie Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Manhattan Theatre Club, as well as for Broadway. Internationally, Mr. Lee has designed productions for Covent Garden, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Colon, Royal Danish Ballet, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Taipei) and the Hong Kong Cultural Center. His numerous awards and distinctions include a Tony Award, New York Drama Desk Award and New York and Los Angeles Outer Circle Critics Awards, three honorary doctorates, awards for the long-term achievement from 6 major theatre and opera organizations, and the Mayor's Award for Arts and Culture from New York City. Last spring his work was shown in retrospective at the New York Public Library for the Peforming Arts. Mr. Lee holds the Donald Oenslager Chair in Design, and is the Chair of the Design Department at the Yale University School of Drama. |
| An entertainer since the age of six, Snapshot Productions artistic director Roger Peace has appeared in London's West End in several productions, including "Call Me Madam". Later, he became well-known to North American audiences through his TV and nightclub appearances all over North America, including appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and in night clubs with such stars as Maurice Chevalier, Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Marlene Dietrich. His movie credits include : "Hotel New Hampshire", "Ford : Man and Machine", "Barnum", "Zelda" and "Hart to Hart" with Stephanie Powers, Robert Wagner and Joan Collins. His over 100 stage productions as director/writer/choreographer/producer/actor include : "Mame", "Shear Madness", "Ain't Misbehavin", "Nunsense I and II", "A Tribute to Broadway", "Beau Jest", the Canadian premiere of "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill", starring Ranee Lee; and last season's smash hit "The Sisters Rosensweig", starring Gavin MacLeod. Roger directed "Jeanne: The Joan of Arc Musical" at the Saidye Bronfman Centre last season. His TV screen plays include : "White Gardenia" and "Here's To The Ladies". |
| Snapshot Productions is a theatrical production company owned and operated by Allan Sandler, Producer, and Roger Peace, Artistic Director, based in Montreal. For three years, Snapshot Productions was the resident theatre company at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Performing Arts, where several of their productions broke all of the theatres box office records as well as setting box office records for theatre in Montreal. To date some of their productions have included : "Nunsense I", "A Tribute to Broadway" (Montreal and Toronto), "Piaf : l'amour triomphe de tout" (Montreal's Place des Arts and Toronto), the award winning "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill", starring Ranee Lee, "Nunsense II... The Sequel" (Toronto Bayview Playhouse and Montreal Centaur's Theatre), as well as record breaking runs of "Beau Jest" and "The Sisters Rosensweig" (Canadian Premiere) starring Gavin MacLeod. Snapshot Productions "The Sister's Rosensweig" holds the record for selling the most number of tickets for any Montreal Production. In the spring of 1995, Snapshot Productions presented a highly successful new musical "Jeanne: The Joan of Arc Musical" which is now being prepared for bilingual production at the Theatre Maisonneuve in Montreal. "Jeanne la Pucelle" is also being translated into French for the 1997 production in Montreal and Quebec City. CBC TV produced a one half hour special "The Making of Jeanne" which covered the production from its beginning until opening night in Montreal, and it was shown across Canada. Also presented was a highly successful French language production and Québec tour of "Les Nonnes II... la suite" and "Crazy For you". A French language production of "Nunsense III... Sister Amnesia's Country Western Nashville Jamboree" was presented in the summer of '96 and is to be followed by a Québec tour. In New York, Snapshot Productions was co-producer of the Off Broadway play "The Cover of Life" featuring E.N.G. TV star Sara Botsford. For TV, Snapshot Productions has co-produced with CTV/CFCF TV one hour specials, "Here's To The Ladies" involving TV adaptations of their stage productions of the Sophie Tucker, Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf stories and a new Billie Holiday musical tele-play "White Gardenia". In New York, Snapshot Productions is represented by Marvin Krauss who acts as its general manager. Snapshot Productions is a member of the League of Off Broadway Producers and as such has on hand several new scripts for both plays and musicals which the Company has been asked to either produce or co-produce in New York, several of these scripts have been optioned for future development. |
| As a native Montrealer, Sydney Aptacker spent his teenage years living in the South Bronx of New York. During that time, he developed a strong interest in theatre and would often frequent Broadway playhouses. Twenty-five years ago, he helped to establish Pantorama Industries, of which he continues to be President. Sydney has retained the excitement of theatre that he knew as a teenager, often returning to New York to catch Broadway's latest offerings. He is thrilled to be part of the production of "Jeanne la Pucelle" and is very happy that his first business venture into the arts as a producer is with a play that examines one of history's most interesting and controversial political figures. |
