Directors’ Bios
BARBARA HINRICHSEN, Founder and Director
For the past 20+ years Barbara has been directing musicals for elementary schools and theatres in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Pasadena. Most recently she has produced and directed Once on This Island and Into the Woods along with the members of Broadway Experience. In addition she has directed The Sound of Music, The Pajama Game, Once Upon A Mattress, Bye, Bye Birdie, Music Man and Cinderella with the City of Rancho Cucamonga. She has also written and directed two children’s shows, The Mix-up Adventures of Jack and Jill and The Many Adventures of Snow White (which recently returned from a national tour) as well as Special Step to Hollywood which won a Drama Logue award. Barbara has performed in over 40 musicals, and most recently she starred as Anna in Performance Riverside’s performance of The King and I and as Mama Rose in the Candlelight Pavilion’s production of Gypsy. She has also been seen as Rita in Lucky Stiff, Princess Puffer in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly and Ida in the West Coast Premiere of the new musical Honk. Barbara and her husband Greg are the owner’s of The Theatre Company in Upland, California.
MELANIE ALPERT, Musical Director
Melanie Alpert has won acclaim and awards for her singing throughout Southern California. She has been a frequent soloist with area concert bands, choirs and symphony orchestras as well as performing in operatic leading roles and recitals. Some of her favorite roles are Violetta in La Traviata, Rosalinda and Adele in Der Fledermaus, Norina in Don Pasquale, Laetitia in The Old Maid in the Thief, Carmen Ghia in The Stoned Guest and Isabellle/Madeline in the west coast premier of Henry Malicone’s opera, The Face on the Bar Room Floor. She has been the featured soprano soloist in such works as the Bruckner Te Deum, Pergolesi and Bach Magnificats, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Regina Coeli and Solemn Vespers, Debussy’s The Blessed Damoiselle, Poulenc Gloria, Brahms Requiem, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony. Among her awards, Melanie has received the first place prize in the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions.
Though Melanie still enjoys performing, she now dedicates most of her time to teaching. Melanie now brings music to over 2000 students a year in the Alta Loma School District where she conceived and implemented the choral music program. More recently she has donned a new hat as a Music Director; in the last 12 months she has music directed five Broadway musicals. She is currently the music director for the performing troupe Broadway Experience. Melanie continues to enjoy a busy private vocal studio. Her students have been winners or finalists in several prestigious local and regional vocal competitions, including the prestigious Los Angeles County Music Center Spotlight Awards. She is a proud member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Janet Renslow, Choreographer
Janet currently works at Disneyland as a choreographer maintaining most of the shows and parades at the resort. She has performed for Musical Theater West in Children of Eden, My Fair Lady and Brigadoon. She has been seen on stage in theatres across the country, in Europe, on cruise ships and has also performed on TV, in film and video. She received a BFA in Ballet and favorite credits include: Crazy for You, Cabaret, and Good News!
Tammy Blackwell, Choreographer
A graduate of Cal State Long Beach and a 3 year member of the Nationally Ranked Songleading and Dance Team. Tammy is a former U.S.A. Songleading and Dance instructor, as well as an instructor for U.S. Spiritleaders . She has performed at the Japan Bowl All-Stars game in Yokohama, Japan. Tammy has taught dance in the Inland Empire for 20 years at various local studios, including her own studio The Dance Connection. She has also worked at many of the high schools in the Chaffey Joint Unified District as a dance team and show choir choreographer, as well a dance team judge. Tammy enjoys teaching students the fundamentals of dance as it lays the foundation for a well-rounded dancer and performer.
