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History of the Company

42nd St. Moon is one of a handful of companies in the world devoted to staging "lost" or "forgotten musicals," and founders Stephanie Rhoads and Greg MacKellan take their jobs as protectors of culture very seriously.

"The preservation of the American musical began with the original Broadway cast recording of 'Oklahoma!' -- but there was a whole world before that," says Greg. "Just remember that Rodgers and Hart in 1926 alone had seven different shows running in New York and London. All of them have disappeared. Things are different in opera; the repertory is cherished. But we have let musicals go."

"Musicals are this country's most important contribution to world culture," adds Stephanie. "We can't afford to lose them." If the folks at 42nd St. Moon have anything to do with it, we won't. Uncountable hours are spent researching forgotten musicals in the Library of Congress and the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Collection as well as in the private libraries of past giants such as Cole Porter.

42nd St. Moon (named after a 1920's song about the lights on Broadway) is a collaboration that began in 1993. So far, 42nd St. Moon has presented nine seasons of Lost Musicals staged as concert-readings. Past shows included: "One Touch of Venus," "Fifty Million Frenchmen," "Peggy-Ann," "Hollywood Pinafore," "Once in a Blue Moon," "I Married an Angel," and the U.S. premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Three Sisters"

Co-Founders and Co-Producers Stephanie Rhoads and Greg MacKellan bring years of theater experience to this venture. Rhoads, a long-time performer on the Bay Area scene, has been seen in the national tour of Some Like it Cole and in San Francisco's long-running Beach Blanket Babylon. Actor/director MacKellan has produced six compact discs of forgotten show tunes on the Shadowland Record Label.