| Richard Jay-Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 24, 1953 Solvay, New York, United States |
| Education | State University of New York at Oswego - 1974 |
| Occupation | Broadway Producer, Director |
| Parents | Frank Fernandez |
Richard Jay-Alexander (born May 24, 1953)[1] has been part of the stage world for over 30 years. He was a dancer, singer and actor in two minor roles on Broadway and later branched into stage management. He was executive director of the New York office of producer Cameron Mackintosh. Cameron Mackintosh is known for productions including Les Misérables, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon Jay-Alexander ran Mackintosh's North American operations for ten years.[2]
His recent directorial credits include the concert versions of Les Miz in 2008 and Guys and Dolls in August 2009, both at the Hollywood Bowl. He has also staged concert productions for performers such as Bernadette Peters, Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler.[2]
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Richard Jay-Alexander was born in Solvay,[3] a suburb of Syracuse, New York and is the son of Frank Fernandez, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).[4] His love for theatre began in elementary school when he witnessed a local production of Bye Bye Birdie in a school auditorium. He graduated from Solvay High School in 1971[5] and State University of New York at Oswego in 1974,[5] where he majored in theatre. After college, he moved to New York City and shortly after he relocated to San Francisco for a year.[2]
In the late 1970s, he returned to New York where he honed his singing, dancing and acting skills. He soon found stage work and obtained his Actor's Equity card on a tour of the musical The Me Nobody Knows.[2]
Jay-Alexander began his theatrical career in 1977 in the original cast of the Broadway play Zoot Suit.[6] In 1981, he was cast in Universal Pictures production of Zoot Suit. He also played a minor role in the original Broadway cast of Amadeus which was directed by Sir Peter Hall.[5] During that period he became acquainted with Tommy Tune who was playing in the production of My One and Only. Tune later encouraged Jay-Alexander to focus his career on "working behind the scenes."[2]
During the production of Amadeus, Jay-Alexander was asked to be associate director of the Amadeus national tour by Broadway producer, Cameron Mackintosh, who had originally hired him to write stage reviews. During the 1984 Broadway revival of Oliver!, he was assistant stage manager and dance captain. By 1985, he was a stage manager for Song and Dance on Broadway with actress Bernadette Peters. Both were Mackintosh productions.[2]
Jay-Alexander was associate director and executive producer of original Broadway, touring and Canadian companies of Les Misérables and he staged more than a dozen productions for the show[7] around the world. He was executive producer for Mackintosh's next "smash-hit" Broadway musical, Miss Saigon, as well as the executive producer of the Grammy-nominated Five Guys Named Moe original cast recording.[2]
He was executive director of the New York office of producer, Cameron Mackintosh, where he ran Mackintosh's North American operations for a decade.[2]
In recent years, Jay-Alexander has produced recordings for Bernadette Peters, Johnny Mathis and Mary Cleere Haran, as well as staging concert productions for performers like Peters, Barbra Streisand,[2] Ricky Martin, Russell Watson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Salonga, Il Divo and Bette Midler.[6]
He has traveled the world and worked on stages from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. He also has performed at Feinstein's at Loew's Regency Hotel in New York and The Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan. He has directed many one-person shows.[6]
Jay-Alexander has also performed in events for several charitable organizations, including BC/EFA, the Actors Fund, the Motion Picture and Television Fund and Make-A-Wish Foundation.[6]
In 2006, he directed Amy Irving in an off-Broadway production of A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop. That same year, he was on the board of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and managed Barbra Streisand's tour which opened in October 2006, in Philadelphia.[2]
Jay-Alexander directed From Pelham to Park Avenue with the Nunziata Brothers which opened on April 20, 2010, with musical direction by Ben Toth. Toth was also featured as pianist with Jered Egan on bass.[7]
His recent directorial credits include the concert versions of Les Miz in 2008 at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.[8] In August 2009, he directed a concert version of Guys and Dolls also at the Hollywood Bowl[9] starring Scott Bakula (Nathan Detroit), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Sky Masterson), Ellen Greene (Miss Adelaide) and Jessica Biel (Sarah Brown).[10]
In December 2010, Jay-Alexander directed From Broadway With Love at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, starring Kaye Ballard, Donna McKechnie and Liliane Montevecchi.[11]