CREATIVE TEAM & Consultants

John Allen Watts

Music

A native New Yorker, John, has decades of experience composing, performing and producing music in a wide variety of popular musical styles, including pop, rock, blues, r&b, reggae and Brazilian jazz. His deep passion for songwriting eventually led him back to the world of musical theatre. After completing his first musical and two subsequent 29-hour AEA readings, John enrolled at the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU’s TISCH School for the Arts where he graduated in 2017. John is a theatrical composer and musical director at The Lucy Moses School in NYC. ASCAP, CTI, and Dramatists Guild.

Jason Huza

Book & Lyrics

From musical theater to film to novels, Jason enjoys writing in any form. His novels Delirium Tremens and Emma and Adam were published in 2017, Jason did co-book and additional lyrics for the musical It Happened in Key West which premiered on London’s West End in 2018. His play, Dante’s Omission was a Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Conference semi-finalist. An untitled pilot (co-written with Victor Colicchio - Summer of Sam)and a feature, The Ourang Medan, are both in early development. When Jason isn’t writing, you can find him in Manhattan earning his well-deserved reputation as the Greatest Husband and Father in the World.

Misti Wills

Director

Misti is an award winning theatre director and educator working regionally and in New York City. Select directing credits include; Off-Broadway: Brilliant (Theatre Row), My Real Mother (New York Musical Festival, Outstanding Lead Performance Award), Tempest at La MaMa Etc. (Assistant Director)  Regional:  A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Greenville Theatre, SC), Sister Act (5 Star Theatricals, Ovation Recommended, Best Director Award for 5 Star Theatricals Subscriber Awards, L.A. Scenie Award Best Director for Larger Musical),  Hunchback of Notre Dame (5 Star Theatricals, L.A. Scenie Award Best Director of Larger Musical), My Fair Lady (Forestburgh Playhouse). Misti has assistant directed Karin Coonrod, Gabriel Barre and Scott Schwartz.  Misti holds a Master of Arts degree in Theater Education from Emerson College and is a certified K-12 performing arts teacher.  She has trained with Anne Bogart, Michael Mayer, David Mamet and Kristin Linklater.  She has been on the acting faculties of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the New York Film Academy and Long Island University in Brooklyn.   Misti is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.  

Terri Seggio

Concert Director / Education Lead

Terri Seggio has been teaching literacy, directing, and choreographing for over 35 years. Mrs. Seggio holds a Masters Degree in Education and has given many workshops on enhancing the literacy classroom through the arts to help teachers make literacy come alive in the classroom. She created the curriculum for the Little Toy Inventors Program which is part of the Toy Museum of NY. Currently she is the Chairperson of the Franklin Township Cultural Arts Council and is on the Board of Directors for Project Broadway in NYC. Mrs. Seggio has been recognized by Somerset County as Woman of the Year in Arts & Entertainment, in 2018, and with the Excellence in Arts Education Award, in 2017. She continues to coach students privately for auditions, and has had students on Broadway, National Tours, and recently a Tony Award winner!!

She is so proud of the over 50 shows that she has directed and choreographed in her career, and firmly believes “Arts education is vital and builds confidence on and off the stage!"

Roger S. Williams

Legacy Outreach, Consultant, Non-profit Producing Partner

Roger S. Williams is the State Historian for the New Jersey Society, Sons of the American Revolution. He is the co-founder of TenCrucialDays.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the sites and venues of the Trenton and Princeton campaigns – from December 25th 1776, to January 3rd, 1777. He is a member of the American Battlefield Trust, the National Council on Public History, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Friends of Washington Crossing Historic Park, and the Princeton Battlefield Society. Professionally, Roger is literary agent and publisher specializing in American History focused on British America, the American War for Independence, and the Early Republic. He is a member of the Company and Military Historians, the Society of Military History, and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.Doreen Healy

DOREEN HEALY

Classroom Outreach Coordinator

After retiring from AT&T as a certified Process and Project Manager, Doreen continued to pursue her passion for the performing arts. She became a producer of children’s musical theater productions at her children’s schools and local community theater in Franklin Township, New Jersey, working alongside Terri Seggio. Doreen has been involved in community theater since the age of 14. Throughout her theatrical career, she has taken on a variety of roles both on and off the stage, including performing, stage management, and props creation. Her lifelong love of theater, combined with her connection to The Crossing, inspired her to become part of this amazing team. She is excited to bring her experience, creativity, and passion for theater to The Crossing.

William “Larry” Kidder

Historical Consultant

Larry has taught history for 40 years. He has been an active member of the Association for Living History, Farm, and Agricultural Museums and has served on the New Jersey Living History Advisory Council. He has been writer and editor for the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area program Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors and has been an active member in organizations such as the Hopewell (NJ) Valley Historical Society, the Ewing (NJ) Historic Preservation Society, the Princeton Battlefield Society, the Washington Crossing American Revolution Round Table, and TenCrucialDays.org. In addition to periodical articles and other short pieces, he is the author of several books on colonial history and the early republic including, Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton, 1774-1783 (2017), and Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds (2018), Revolutionary Princeton 1774 - 1783(2020), and The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man: Jacob Francis 1754-1836.