BOOK AND LYRICS

ROGER ALLERS is the director of one of the most successful films of all time, “The Lion King”. Following that he wrote the Tony-nominated book for the Broadway adaption of his film. During his 16 years at Disney, Roger developed story for such films as “Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin”. He has also directed the feature films “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” as well as “Open Season” for Sony. Roger earned an Academy Award nomination for his direction of the Disney short “The Little Match Girl”. He returns to Broadway as lyricist and writer with his original musical “The Grasshopper”.

MUSIC

GENARO PEREIRA is a concert pianist and composer, born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa. As a young man he performed for President Nelson Mandela and simultaneously set the “Guinness Book of Records” record for the world’s highest piano performance atop Cathkin Peak. He composes in various styles for films such as those in the “Re:voir” catalogue and as an inter-disciplinary artist also for his own films that were shown at the “Cannes Film Festival” Shorts Corner. During his 15 years in Paris he worked at among other places the prestigious “Schola Cantorum” and also created and performed in various original theatre pieces such as at the “Avignon Theatre Festival”. As a soloist he performs the virtuoso piano repertoire regularly on three continents, although he has the special privilege of sharing his music with Zimbabwe. He is based in Los Angeles and Lisbon and is cross-fertilizing his Baroque music influences with his dramatic and lyrical sensibilities to create a new sound for the Broadway stage in “The Grasshopper”.

MATTHEW RIMMER - With over 30 years in the business, Matthew’s experience straddles the worlds of Broadway, non-profit and spectacle. A professional pipe organist at the age of six, he pursued a degree in music before segueing into Arts Administration, where he found purpose in supporting art by working to help make it financially sustainable. By the age of 25 he was the Associate Company Manager of the Broadway company of The Phantom of the Opera and went on to manage Miss Saigon and Mamma Mia! to name a few. He became an Associate General Manager at NAMCO for Chicago and Pricilla Queen of the Desert, and then a General Manager at the Tony Award winning production and management company Martian Entertainment. Matthew used his skills as a communicator in the touring spectacular Walking With Dinosaurs where he was the International Spokesperson and Advance Promo Unit Manager, traveling throughout North America, England and China. He respects the transformative power of live performance and sees his role as the present Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit BroadStage in Santa Monica as finding actionable solutions today to ensure a home for artists in the future.