
Don Frantz is President of Town Square Productions, a theatrical management and creative development enterprise with interests in Broadway and off-Broadway productions A Class Act, Summer of '42, Pirates of Penzance, Swango, Spirit - The Seventh Fire). For themed attractions, Don developed and produced KaTonga for Busch Gardens, Tampa which won the industry's Best Show award. Don is currently Producer/Creative Director for "BELIEVE" a significant re-imagining of Seaworld's killer whale show in the Florida, Texas and California parks for the Anheuser-Busch Companies.
For the theater, Don is managing Peter Buffett's "SPIRIT - THE SEVENTH FIRE" with an anticipated European tour in 2007, as well as Jill Santoriello's Broadway bound "A TALE OF TWO CITIES", Rupert Holmes' production of SWANGO, and Henry G. Miller's one-man production of "ALL TOO HUMAN" a play based on Clarence Darrow.
Don is an eight-year veteran of the Walt Disney Company where he was instrumental in creating Walt Disney Theatrical Productions and served as the Associate Producer of Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Prior to these assignments he produced and directed productions at Walt Disney World, including the continuing spectacle "SpectroMagic."
A three-time winner of the Guinness Record for the World's Largest Maze, Don developed a new, outdoor, family game called the "Amazing Maize Maze®." His American Maze Company has built over 100 such projects in the United States and the United Kingdom, entertained over 3,000,000 players, and instigated a maze fad around the world. Don regularly gives seminars on teamwork and decision-making to corporate clients based on his observations at the maze.
Don received an MFA in Theater Management from UCLA and then served on the faculty of the Department of Theater, Film and Television. For Hyperion Press he authored the book A Celebration of the Broadway Musical, Beauty and the Beast.
Elliott
Forrest
is in his eleventh year with the A&E Television
Network as host of Breakfast with the Arts (Sunday mornings
at 8am-10am/ET). "Breakfast" features performances
and interviews with artists from the worlds of classical
music, jazz, rock, ballet, opera, theater and film.
Elliott was nominated for an Emmy in 2003 and is the
recipient of broadcasting's highest honor: The Peabody
Award.
Elliott
started Forrest Productions, LLC, his own production
company. The first venture was to acquire the radio
rights to A&E's signature series, Biography®.
Biography® for Radio can now be heard across the
US and Canada.
Elliott
has directed and produced plays, musicals and theater
pieces from Texas to New York. And along with Partner
Don Frantz, Elliott has created several theatrical events,
the latest is Walkin' Broadway.
A
popular voice-over artist, he has recorded national
and regional commercials, documentaries, industrials
and several onboard airline programs. Elliott was the
"voice" of many of the programs and specials
on CNN. He was chosen to voice the opening segments
on CNN for the 2000 Presidential debates, Vice Presidential
debates, Election Night Coverage and the Bush Inauguration,
IMPACT, NEWSSTAND and CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT.
Also
on television, he's reported entertainment news for
Showtime, The Movie Channel and FLIX and has produced
field pieces for E! Entertainment Television's The E!
True Hollywood Story and Celebrity Profile.
Elliott
has worked on and off radio since high school and can
now be heard on WQXR, 96.3FM in New York and on WQXR.com.
During 1995 Elliott co-hosted the nationally syndicated
talk show, The Late Late Radio Show with Tom Snyder
and Elliott Forrest, for the CBS Radio Network.