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MMT Board of Directors:
Abe Gabor is a long-time educator and theater nerd. He has taught elementary school for over 20 years in both Wisconsin and now in Minnesota. His passion for theater started in 8th grade and has grown ever since. Over the past 30 years Abe has experimented with many parts of the world that is technical theater, but nowadays you’ll most commonly see him designing or running sound. Abe started working with MMT during “Happy Days – A New Musical” back in 2014, those were the days. He has also worked on boards for art festivals, small music festivals, and other theater organizations. www.abegabor.com
Joe Hendren served as Artistic Director of MMT from 2018-2023. During his tenure, MMT produced a number of critical and audience favorites, such as “Daddy Long Legs,” “Be More Chill,” “Hands on a Hardbody,” and “Othello: The Remix.” Prior to filling MMT’s Artistic Director role, he was a part of such MMT hits as “Evil Dead: The Musical,” “Gilligan’s Island: The Musical,” and “Happy Days – A New Musical.” Joe has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Hamline University and has been active in the Twin Cities theatre community for more than 20 years as a director, actor, playwright, producer, and designer. He is also the founding Producer and Artistic Director of TheatreX. Joe joined the MMT Board in 2023 following his decision to step down as Artistic Director.
Chris Hoppe – Bio to come!
Christy Johnson (Vice Chair) joined the board in October 2022, and she is a local actor, singer, and freelance sound designer. She has performed companies across the twin cities. Some of her favorite roles included “Hands on a Hardbody (MMT), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Lyric Arts), “46 First Ladies (Theatre Pro Rata), “Little Mermaid” (4 Community Theatre), “Flight” (Minnesota Opera), “Big River” “Clue” (Lakeshore Players), “Burial at Thebes” (Guthrie Theatre), among many others. She received her MBA in Digital Marketing Experience from the University of St Thomas.
Daniel Lundin – Bio to come!
Russ Rubin joined the board in February 2021. He has been attending MMT productions for years and often dreamed about serving on the board. Previously Russ served on the board of Theatre de la Jeune Lune for 6 years and on the board of Impossible Salt for 5 years. Russ was born and raised in Connecticut and saw his first Broadway musical at the age of 8 at his parents’ insistence. Russ got his B.S. and M.S. at Carnegie-Mellon University where he saw a fair share of theater. Before retiring, Russ worked at General Mills as the Head of International Consumer Insights. Russ and his wife, Karen, love to travel. Russ is closing in on 80 countries visited.
Kathryn Slusher joined the board in the spring of 2019, after attending an impressive performance of “Be More Chill.” She is a producer at Minnesota Public Radio, where she currently leads the production team at the nationally-broadcast classical music program “Performance Today.” She had previously worked for the radio programs “Live From Here,” “A Prairie Home Companion,” and “Pop Vultures,” and spent several years at Open Eye Theatre, where she managed the Driveway Tour – the theatre’s community-building travelling puppet show tour. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Kathryn was educated in music, theatre and modern dance at Winona State University and holds a Master’s degree in music performance from the University of Minnesota.
William P. Studer – Since returning to the theatre in 2007 after more than 40 years as a litigation attorney, he has appeared in about 50 plays in theatres in MN. His favorite roles include Scrooge (“A Christmas Carol” – Lyric Arts); Norman (“On Golden Pond“– Gallery); Jack (“The Weir” – Pioneer Place); Looseleaf Harper (“Happy Birthday, Wanda June” – Nimbus); Simms (“Sympatico” – Theatre in the Round); Old Man Brunner (“Old Man Brunner Country” – Jon Hassler Theatre) and Grandpa Vanderhof (“You Can’t Take It With You” – Lyric Arts and Gallery). He has also appeared in about 40 films including a supporting role in the film, “The Current,” which played in movie theatres nationally and internationally and a lead in “The Polar Bear Club,” which won the audience favorite award at the Twin Cities Film Fest.
Christine Sweet became a Board member in 2022, following a career in radio broadcasting as an on-air host and producer. She spent a total of 25 years at Minnesota Public Radio and shorter stints at stations in Chicago and her native Boston, where she also trained as an actor. After being away from theatre for many years, she resumed auditioning in 2011 and has since performed roles in productions by Freshwater Theatre, Theatre in the Round, 20% Theatre, and other Twin Cities companies. Christine graduated from Goucher College with a B.A. in music history and performance.
Daniel R. Tenenbaum (Board Chair) is the Chair of the Entrepreneurial Services Group at the Lathrop GPM law firm. He completed his undergraduate study at Brandeis University, cum laude, in 1987 and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1990. When he’s not helping entrepreneurs build businesses, he can often be found seeing musicals (he’s seen over 650 unique musicals) and has even written a children’s musical, “Pickle-Chiffon Pie: The Musical,” based on the 60’s book by Jolly Roger Bradfield (www.picklechiffonpie.com). He is also on the Board of the Hennepin Theatre Trust.
Andrew Newman (Executive Director) is a local singer and actor in the Twin Cities. He has performed with many companies, including Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Park Square, Artistry, Theatre in the Round and more. Some of his favorite MMT experiences include performing in “Daddy Long Legs,” “Happy Days,” “Evil Dead: The Musical,” “Big River” and “Zanna, Don’t!” Additionally, he assistant directed “Bare” in 2011 and directed “Songs for a New World” in 2016. By day, he works in development at the Minnesota Children’s Museum. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Journalism, and his writing has appeared in City Pages and the Star Tribune, among other places.