BANDSTAND brings the swing-fueled, against-all-odds story of singer/songwriter Donny Novitski and his band of mismatched fellow vets brilliantly to the stage.
When a national contest to find America’s next music sensation offers a chance at fame and Hollywood fortune, Donny must whip his boys into fighting shape. Teaming up with a beautiful young war widow as their singer, and playing for every voiceless underdog in a world that has left them behind, they will risk everything to redefine the meaning of victory and sing truth to power.
Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award® winner Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, In the Heights), starring two-time Tony nominee Laura Osnes (Cinderella, Bonnie and Clyde), Broadway sensation Corey Cott (Newsies), and Tony winner Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone), and featuring an explosive original score, BANDSTAND is a truly American celebration of the men and women whose personal bravery defined a nation.
Got Your 6 launched the 6 Certified initiative in early 2015 as a way to challenge industry executives and content creators to craft more thoughtful narratives around veterans and military families. Through this initiative, Got Your 6 highlights projects that portray veterans accurately and responsibly.
Got Your 6 and Bandstand are proud to call themselves partners on a shared mission: To highlight the experiences, talents, and heart of America’s veterans through compelling and truthful portrayals in the performing arts.
JOE CARROLL originated the role of Johnny Simpson at The Paper Mill Playhouse. Broadway: Cinderella opposite Carly Rae Jepsen and Keke Palmer (Prince Topher), Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad (Balthazar, Romeo u/s), Once (Tony Award Best Musical). Selected Regional: Million Dollar Quartet, Avenue Q, The Full Monty. NYC Readings include Bandstand, August Rush, An Incident at Vichy, Michael John LaChuisa and Graciela Daniele’s The Nine Fathers of Ariel, Fly By Night. Film: Romeo and Juliet: Live on Broadway. Television: “The Carrie Diaries,” “All My Children.” Training: The University of Michigan and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Joe also plays lead guitar in Common Jack, a folk-rock band based in New York City.
Broadway: Company, Once. West End: Once (Bank Manager). Off-Broadway: Missed Connections, Of Mice and Men, Balls…The Musical?, Song Moments: Daniel Maté In Concert. Regional: Casa Manana, Buck’s County Playhouse, The Paper Mill Playhouse, Virginia Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Barrington stage, and others. Television/Film: “30 Rock;” “Vinyl;” “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” (CBS); “The Naked Brothers Band;” The Onion, The Callback, She Wolf Rising. BFA in Acting from UNCG.
The mission of Contract Professionals, Inc. is to be the premier source of technical professionals serving major and emerging industries.
A highly driven, world class senior executive, Jim Cowper has more than 30 years in the staffing business, with an unparalleled ability to create repeatable customer retention and demonstrated success. He has produced top line revenue in excess of $2 billion and EBITDA greater than $190 million in the human capital technical services industry.
Aptly, Jim began his career in the staffing industry at Contract Professionals, Inc. (CPI) in 1983-1986, laying the groundwork for the success the company enjoys today. With more than $50 million in revenue last year alone, CPI is poised for significant growth in 2016-2017. Jim returned to CPI in the last quarter of 2014, with a sincere determination to be a lightening rod for revitalization, after making his own significant contributions to the staffing industry.
Specializing in bringing new life to organizations, Jim is at his best when he is developing and executing challenging business strategies. After his initial tenure at CPI, Jim went on to a long career at TAC Worldwide Companies, launching the $125 millon TAC Automotive Group. He was responsible for leading the $250 million engineering services business, in the United States and United Kingdom. While he was at TAC, he was responsible for managing 19 offices and 180 staff members.
A Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40 recipient, Jim is best known for turning uncertainty into order, while looking for ways to elevate those around him. As a leader, he is keenly aware of the responsibility he has to help others improve and grow. He has been recognized for his business innovation by being inducted into the TAC Worldwide Companies President’s Club and by receiving the Top Revenue and EBITDA awards.
With a continuous sense of urgency and incredible stamina, Jim was responsible for helping TAC Worldwide receive some of its’ highest honors including Corp. Magazine’s 101 Best Places to Work, Ford Q1 Award, ISO 9000, Crain’s Cool Places to Work and Corp. Magazine’s Top Diversity Corporation.
Jim has always been one to give back to the communities where he lives and works. Jim is currently a member of the Advisory Council for the Josephine Ford Cancer Institute. He is the Director and Treasurer of the Board, DFCU Financial Credit Union, and he is a member of the University Club at MSU and the Huntsman Hunt Club.
A past sponsor of PAL/THINK Detroit and the March of Dimes, Jim’s previous associations also include the Engineering Society of Detroit, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Michigan Minority Business Development Council.
A life long Michigander, Jim proudly graduated from Wayne State University, Detroit, with a BA in 1982.
Kayla is a business advisor for military spouse entrepreneurs and the creator of The Work from Anywhere Business Academy. She helps her clients create purpose driven businesses that allow them the freedom to work from any duty station. Since 2005, Kayla Roof, MBA, has been helping companies generate sales by combining the power of traditional media with the force of the internet and social media. Kayla’s marketing plans have been emulated across the country. In 2012, she started her own marketing firm and quickly built that business into a successful advertising agency. In 2014, she launched The Navy Mom and turned her blog into a local television show in Jacksonville, Florida, focused on helping military spouses get dialed into their new city. Now, she advises spouses on how to build thriving, PCS Proof, businesses through classes, programs, and online trainings at KaylaRoof.com
Scott Mann is a master at building relationships in high-stakes, competitive environments. As a Green Beret in the United States Army, he forged bonds and solved problems using values and leadership skills that moved people around the world to stand up for themselves. His secret? He was able to restore trust and create human connections in places where that didn’t seem possible. He is now bringing those same principles to corporate boardrooms and conference rooms, where trusted leadership is more valuable—and more vulnerable—than ever.
Scott Mann spent 23 years in the United States Army, 18 of that as a Green Beret, where he specialized in unconventional, high-impact missions all over the world including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan..
Scott’s problem-solving abilities were honed during long deployments in places where trust was absent, conflict rampant and he had seconds to make real connections with local communities using his head, his heart, and when threats closed in against these communities, his hands. Using those leadership skills, Scott now helps organizations gain a better understanding of its internal culture, while exposing the potential for conflict that exists when trust has deteriorated. In the same way he empowered local tribes in Iraq and Afghanistan to make transformative decisions, using very few resources, Scott teaches corporate leaders and their teams the relationship-building techniques that drive so many of his successful combat operations.
Scott appears frequently on CNN, Bloomberg, Fox and Friends, Fox Business News, News Max and dozens of syndicated radio shows including National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, Fox News Radio and the Jim Bohannon Show. His op-eds have appeared in The Tampa Tribune, Washington Post and the Small Wars Journal.