John Dietrich has had a career immersed in musical theatre storytelling working as a professional Director, Choreographer, Writer and Educator. This has included a 17-year relationship with Radio City Entertainment, where he was the Director/ Choreographer for the world-famous Rockettes, for Rockette Special Events, as well as for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Other work includes hundreds of shows in a vast range of entertainment genres: from television to Off-Broadway & regional theatre, from industrial shows to ice shows. He has created and written for Walt Disney Entertainment, as well as for Dolly Parton & Dollywood Entertainment. He was the creative director for Niles Creative Group, a film production company specializing in large scale theatrically based film and video productions worldwide.  He wrote the book & lyrics for the musical THINGS AS THEY ARE, based on the life of documentary photographer Dorothea Lange. It was a Next Link selection for the New York Musical Theatre Festival and received the “Best of Fest” Award for most popular show. It was also twice nominated for the prestigious Fred Ebb Award. ONLY ANNE, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, written with composer Will Buck, received development at the Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat, was produced at the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, and had selections from the show performed by the Chelsea Symphony and orchestrated by the legendary Bill Brohn at the Musical Theatre Factory’s New Orchestration Gala in New York.  LAUTREC AT THE ST. JAMES, written with composer Julianne Wick-Davis, has been selected to be produced at the 2019 NAMT conference. Other shows in development are I, ME, A BEAUTIFUL MAN ALONE – THE NUREYEV PROJECT with composer Will Buck, and THE LAST WAR with composer Julianne Wick Davis. 

 

John currently does teaching in the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, for the Dramatists Guild Institute, and was on the Adjunct Faculty at Marymount College of Manhattan teaching a course in Musical Theatre Performance. He received his MFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, in Musical Theatre Writing, and his MA from New York University Gallatin School in Musical Theatre Structure & Directing Theory. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin. John is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild of America.