Justin Payne
MUSIC and LYRICS
Justin Payne is a classically-trained tenor, composer, and playwright from Omaha, Nebraska. In addition to collaborating with Dani Cleveland on Heaven Come Home and Little Brown Boy, Justin composed music for The Draft with playwright Lisa Harrison Jackson. One of Justin’s newest creations is Belle Terre the Musical, a whimsical story that sends an adolescent young woman on a journey to self-discovery with music inspired by the New Orleans brass band style. Justin previously sang as the tenor soloist for Handel’s Messiah with the Voices of Omaha, in addition to singing on stages in Germany, Austria, Italy, and China. Some of his favorite operatic roles include Sam Kaplan in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene and Ruggero Lastouc in Puccini’s La Rondine. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Nebraska Omaha and a Master of Music from Michigan State University.
Dani Cleveland
BOOK
Dani Cleveland is a singer, songwriter, and actor from Omaha, Nebraska. In addition to her work on Heaven Come Home, she and composer Justin Payne collaborated on Little Brown Boy, a musical about gentrification. She is also on the writing team for Pursuing Legacy, an immersive theater project at the Union of Contemporary Art. Dubbed Omaha’s First Lady of R&B by Hear Nebraska, Dani was nominated for both “Artist of the Year” and “Best R&B Artist” at the Omaha Entertainment Awards. She is currently singing in ExpoSonix, the official band of Expo 2020 in Dubai. As an actress, Dani appeared in productions of The Diary of Anne Frank (The Rose Theater), Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive The Bus (The Rose Theater), and Caroline or Change (Omaha Community Playhouse).
Megan Ann Rasmussen
PRODUCER
For 20+ years, Megan Ann Rasmussen has served as an Award-Winning Producer, Director, and Educator, impacting multigenerational audiences. As President of MAR Productions, she is committed to creating theatre that uplifts and strengthens each of us, building engaged communities. As a Producer she brought FREE PLAY: Open Source Scripts Towards an Antiracist Tomorrow to The TheaterMakers Studio’s Reading Series. Additionally, Megan Ann is developing Heaven Come Home by TheaterMakers Studio Member Justin Payne, which features the moving “One More Day,” a musical number where families and their deceased loved ones yearn for one more day to be together. Composer and lyricist Justin Payne says of Megan Ann’s contributions to the production, “To have Megan Ann produce this show has been monumental!”. Megan Ann is Co-Producer of Joy: The Musical, a new Broadway show with Tony award-winning producer, Ken Davenport.