Michael Licata is a director with a distinguished career in musical theater and plays. After 25 years as an actor—appearing on Broadway in Evita and Sweet Charity, serving as the thirty-fifth Narrator in the long-running Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks, and performing internationally with the Hamburg State Opera, Vienna Volksoper, and Bregenzer Festspiele—he transitioned to directing.

 

Since then, he has helmed nearly seventy productions, including Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Chicago, My Fair Lady, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Aida, Mamma Mia, The Producers, Mary Poppins, La Cage aux Folles, and Man of La Mancha, as well as numerous acclaimed plays.

 

Having attended the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, Michael has directed and taught at Wright State University, Ohio Northern University, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.He also served as Artistic Director of The West Virginia Theatre.

 

He is currently developing a new musical, Surviving the Moonlight, with book and lyrics by Rick Gore and music and lyrics by David Spangler. 

 

He considers himself incredibly blessed to have worked, as an actor, with some of the industry's legendary directors-Bob Fosse, Harold Prince,Albert Marre,and Jon Neumeier. Their passion and insight inspired him to embark on this journey.

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My mission as a director

I begin with the story. Every choice honors character and truth. Theater, at its best, reveals how deeply we are bound to one another.