James Rocco [1] is currently the Vice President and Producing Artistic Director at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts[2] and is responsible for producing, presenting and booking theatrical rogramming on the Main Stage and the adjacent McKnight Theatre. He is a member of The Broadway League [3], Elephant Eye Theatricals [4], Five Cent Productions [5] and the Independent Producers' Network [6], where he has participated as a producing partner on Legally Blonde, The Color Purple, Curtains and Edward Scissorhands.
His new CD "It's Between Us" is available at amazon.com, CD Baby, and ITunes.
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Rocco serves on the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's [7] New Works committee and commissioned the holiday musical A Country Christmas Carol as well as participating in the creation of the off-Broadway cult hits Nite Club Confidential and Streakin'!
Rocco was the Executive Producer and Co-Director of the Regional Emmy-nominated documentary, The World We Create and directed the television and video Musical, Born of a Dream.
In Tokyo, for Mitsubishi/ArtSphere [8], he created the stage and television spectacular, Galaxy Express 999. Based on the popular manga, which features a train that flies through outer space, the show played a successful run in Tokyo followed by a televised broadcast to millions of viewers throughout Japan.
Prior to arriving at Ordway Center, Rocco was Producing Artistic Director of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma [9], where he initiated and assisted in a three-year re-organization plan for Lyric's financial recovery and in planning a move to larger and more prominent facility. While at Lyric he produced Broadway Sings for the Heartland, the first benefit to support victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. Broadway Sings starred Ed Harris, Sandy Duncan, Ben Vereen and 100 theatre stars from across the United States.
From 2000 through 2005 Rocco worked extensively as a freelance consultant to organizations including The University of Central Florida (Dr. Roberta Sloan, Dean) and the US Air Force (Retired General John Brooks.) He advised in all aspects of long-range planning, budgeting, marketing, producing and shepherded the Air Force extravaganza Born of A Dream, from conception to the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and later to DVD.
Rocco produced and directed his first show in NYC (a revival of Bob Merrill's Henry, Sweet Henry) at The Lambs Theatre. He has since worked at the finest venues around the world e.g. Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Art Sphere Tokyo, Nissay Theatre Tokyo, Nakano Sun Plaza, Théâtre du Châtelet, The 5th Avenue, The Houston Grand Opera, The National Theatre in both theatricals and concerts with the likes of Ed Harris, Roseanne, Eartha Kitt, Mickey Rooney, Barbara Cook, Herbie Hancock, The Duke Ellington Band, Dee Dee Bridgewater and many others. Some additional credits include: Broadway: The Wizard of Oz (Musical Staging and Choreography), Cats (playing Rum Tum Tugger); Jesus Christ Superstar (playing Judas), White Christmas, Yankee Doodle (world premiere), What A Glorious Feeling (world premiere), The Bad Seed, As Bees In Honey Drown, A Little Night Music, Smokey Joe's Cafe (multiple awards) Guys & Dolls (multiple awards), The Rocky Horror Show, On The Town, Violet, and 50 more. Rocco has also appeared in films, including 1972's Child's Play, based on the Tony Award winning play of the same name.
In addition to numerous musical theatre performances, before becoming a full time producer/director, Rocco sang with The Duke Ellington Band and Herbie Hancock and can be heard on numerous recordings including as a background vocalist on the Frank Sinatra album "Watertown".