(AGENPARL) – mer 05 febbraio 2025 A blue text on a white background
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 5, 2025
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Lively McCabe Entertainment
Appoints Allison Bressi to President & Producer
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(New York, NY) Allison Bressi has been named President of Lively McCabe Entertainment, the global theatrical production and management company behind theatrical titles Clue and Mystic Pizza, among others. Kristi Hess also joins the Lively McCabe team as Creative Development and Management Coordinator.
Michael Barra, Founder & Chairman, said “Allison has been an integral part of Lively McCabe’s success since joining us in 2019, and I am happy to announce her well-deserved promotion to President & Producer. I look forward to working with Allison and her expanding team as Lively McCabe continues to develop and promote stage properties for productions around the world.”
This news follows Mystic Pizza’s acclaimed opening night at Paper Mill Playhouse on Sunday, February 2. Mystic Pizza marked Allison Bressi’s first production with Lively McCabe in 2021 and now marks Kristi Hess’ first production with the company in 2025. Mystic Pizza is “a bona fide blast” and “dance-in-the-aisles fun,” says NJ.com. TheaterMania raves this “delicious adaptation of the beloved rom-com dances right off the stage and into your heart” and “delights with a zesty ‘80s score and a stellar cast.”
With fifteen years of experience in creative producing and general management, Allison Bressi joined Lively McCabe in 2019. As Vice President of Theater, she directly oversaw development of the musicals May We All (developed with Florida Georgia Line), Mystic Pizza (currently playing at Paper Mill Playhouse), Joe Iconis’ Punk Rock Girl!, and What A Wonderful World. Currently, she is developing a project slate with Primary Wave, which includes musical adaptations of the films Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Can’t Hardly Wait. Prior to working for Lively McCabe, Allison worked for Signature Theatre, Octopus Theatricals, New York Stage and Film, and Foresight Theatricals. Favorite past creative producing credits include Songbird off-Broadway starring Kate Baldwin, This Is Reading, conceived by Lynn Nottage, Tony Gerber, and Kate Whoriskey, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Theatre for One, Tell Them I’m Still Young starring Andre Braugher, The Strangest, Tyrants, and Blood/Love. Allison was the 2018 Recipient of the Prince Fellowship (formally the T Fellowship) founded by Harold Prince and Columbia University. Outside (and sometimes inside) of the theatre, Allison enjoys spoiling her French bulldogs, June and Muriel.
Kristi Hess (Creative Development & Management Coordinator) was previously the Management Associate at DR Theatrical Management under Adam Hess and Daryl Roth. Prior to DRTM, she was the Artistic Producer of Arizona Theatre Company for three seasons. She spent 8 years as a Stage Manager, developing her passion for artists and being intertwined with bringing shows to life. Some of her proudest stage manager credits include: Broadway: The Humans; Hello, Dolly!; The Audience. Off-Broadway: Something Clean, Too Heavy For Your Pocket (Roundabout), Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (NYTW), The White Chip (59E59), Discord (Primary Stages). TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Dialogue Tracker). She has also worked in administration for Signature Theatre Company and the American Theatre Wing.
Michael Barra (Founder & Chairman / Executive Producer) founded Lively McCabe Entertainment in 2017 where he currently serves as Chairman overseeing the operating team responsible for new project development and the management platform. An MBA and former executive at The Walt Disney Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and The Araca Group, Michael is currently the CEO of ILP Theatrical, the leading global theatrical copyright acquisitions and management company based in New York and London. For LME, Michael conceived and developed the stage adaptation of Clue and Clue 2, now among the most-produced plays in the world, as well as the jukebox musicals Mystic Pizza, May We All, and Punk Rock Girl. He’s negotiated slate financing partnerships with music companies including Primary Wave and BMG, rights agreements with IP owners such as Hasbro, Paramount, MGM, and Sony Pictures, and has brokered productions of LME portfolio titles in over two dozen countries to date. He previously founded production company Stageworks Media (now part of the Broadway Licensing Brand Family) which he successfully sold to private equity firm Rebel Rebel Capital in 2014. At Disney Theatricals, Michael was part of the leadership team overseeing development of Newsies, Aladdin, and Peter and the Starcatcher, as well as setting global strategy for existing titles such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Disney on Ice.
ABOUT LIVELY MCCABE ENTERTAINMENT
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Boneau/Bryan-Brown, PO Box 684, New York, NY 10108-0684 United States