Creative Team

Brian Belding (he/him), Book Writer and Lyricist

San Francisco and NYC-based playwright and lyricist Brian Belding combined his love of musical theatre and resistance movements to create White Rose: The Musical. After successful industry presentations in May 2022 and October 2022, the musical is currently being developed in NYC with a Broadway creative and production team. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Belding taught high school history in the San Francisco Bay Area for twenty years before becoming a full-time writer for the theatre.

“The true story of the White Rose has inspired me for years. These students were the privileged few who benefited from unjust laws and discrimination and yet they were the ones who ultimately stood up for those who no longer had a voice. They chose to use their privilege for good, risking everything while doing so. I created White Rose: The Musical so this amazing story might inspire those struggling to find their own way to take action where they see injustice.” -Brian Belding

Natalie Brice (she/her), Composer

Natalie is a musician with the tenacity for bringing original works to life. She recently music directed the new musical Happily Even After with performances in California and a run at Don’t Tell Mama NYC. In 2020, Natalie music directed Hell on Earth, a new musical performed at 54 Below featuring Laurie Metcalf and Anthony Rosenthal. She was the music director and pianist on Asher Child, an original musical in California. She wrote, composed, and co-directed the musical film Go With Me in 2019. For White Rose: The Musical, she is committed to musically encapsulate the camaraderie, youth, adrenaline, celebration, and heart of the resistance group.

“It’s been an honor to use music to illuminate the poetry and capture the intention of the White Rose resistance group. This is a story of people who lived and loved during wartime. They had faith in what the world could be, and felt deep down that change was possible as long as there was an idea of it. They kept their hope strong and shared their voice, even when unsure of the outcome. I’m over the moon to make their feelings and desires sing out loud and strong.” -NATALIE BRICE

Vaibu Mohan (she/her), Writer (additional words and lyrics)

Vaibu is a multi-faceted, Indian-American artist from Phoenix, AZ (via Montreal, Canada). She was born into a family of artists who surrounded her with music, dance, and theatre from before she was born. Vaibu made her stage debut as “The Cat '' at age 3 in her father’s play. She began learning Bharatnatyam from her mother at age five and they have been working together ever since. Vaibu received her BM from Arizona State University in musical theater performance and her MFA in musical theater writing from New York University with an emphasis on bookwriting and lyric writing. As a producer, Vaibu specialize in the development of production of new work and began a series called Work in Progress at 54 Below with Molly Heller to showcase new writers and give them a space to workshop material in front of a live audience. Vaibu is developing her own musical, Sati: Goddess Incarnate, with Zachary Catron and released her first EP, Pure Brown Noise, in March 2023.

"Resistance is the cornerstone of democracy and is the needle that moves society forward. Without dissenters, there is no change. I am honored to tell the story of the White Rose and expose a whole new generation to this story of the power of passive resistance. All of us have the power to create great change." -Vaibu Mohan

Sheela Ramesh (she/her), Music Director, Arranger

Sheela Ramesh is a music director, arranger, and composer with a passion for stories and sounds that have traditionally been marginalized, and a mission to use art as a force for social justice. Professional highlights include Broadway (Six, Moulin Rouge, Almost Famous); Off-Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along at New York Theatre Workshop, Vanities at The York Theatre Company, Millennials Are Killing Musicals); TV (NBC's Annie Live!); concert (Jessica Vosk, My Golden Age, Carnegie Hall); regional theater (Group!, a Passage Theatre world premiere); and works in development (The Karate Kid, Bliss, Center Theatre Group's A Transparent Musical, Lincoln Center Theater's The Lunchbox, Fiasco Theater's Diamond Alice, Jeanette: The Musical, and more). Sheela received undergraduate and graduate degrees in vocal performance at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and the Royal College of Music. She also holds degrees in psychology/cognitive science (BS, Carnegie Mellon; MSc, University College London) and law (JD, Yale Law School), and has spent her nonmusical professional life working to ensure that youth who’ve experienced trauma have opportunities to thrive. sheelarameshmusic.com.

Jordan Ryder (she/her), Choreographer

Jordan Ryder is a choreographer, movement director and dancer. She is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts where she holds a BFA in Dance and a double minor in Sociology and Entertainment Business. Jordan is the Artistic Director of RyderDance, a contemporary dance company, where her work has been presented at notable venues across the tri-state area, Atlanta, and Chicago, and has reached a global audience virtually. Most recently, Jordan choreographed and directed her first sold-out RyderDance season and is the choreographer for Singfeld! A Musical About Nothing!, an Off-Broadway production that is currently running at the Jerry Orbach Theater. Choreographic commissions include Eryc Taylor Dance Company, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Rogue Wave Dance | Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Bromance Web Series, Melange Dance Company, and One Day Dance, among others. @ryderdance | ryderdance.com

Will Nunziata (he/him), Director

Will Nunziata is a NYC-based award-winning director, writer, and creator of theatre, concerts, and film.
Film: The Old Guitarist (Writer, Director). Awards: London Movie Award (Best Short Film, Best Director), New York Movie Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short), Paris Film Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short).
Screenplay: Lillith (Winner of Best Original Screenplay, 2023 Hollywood Blood Horror Festival).
Theatre: White Rose: The Musical (Director), Poupelle of Chimney Town: The Musical (Director), Figaro: A New Musical (Director, Co-Book Writer), Faygele: A New Play (Director), The Betty Kiss: A New Dark Comedy (Director), Little Black Book: A New Musical (Co-Creator). Miss Peggy Lee (Director, Writer, Co-Conceiver) starring Tony Award winner Cady Huffman. Award: Broadway World Best Director.
Other Theatre: Our Guy Cy: The Songs of Cy Coleman starring Tony Award winners Randy Graff, Cady Huffman, Judy Kaye, and Lillias White (Director, Conceiver). Over Here! starring Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte (Director, Adapter).
For twenty years Will performed professionally, singing across the country and around the world with his twin brother, singer-songwriter Anthony Nunziata, culminating in co-headlining Carnegie Hall with the NY Pops Symphony Orchestra as well as a dozen other top orchestras.
For more, please visit @willnunzofficial on Instagram or www.WillNunziata.com.

“This true story of young resisters who fought with faith and fortitude against injustice is needed to be told now more than ever. Brian and Natalie have created a beautiful patchwork of lyric, libretto, and music that is universal and relatable. The material is filled with amazing opportunities to create a world of 1940s Germany that feels both period and today - a world that will remind audiences across the country and around the world of the power of not remaining silent to evil.” -Will Nunziata

LDK Productions, General Management
Lisa Dozier Shacket, Executive Producer

LDK Productions is a theatrical general management and producing firm based in New York City, founded by Lisa Dozier Shacket in 2004. Lisa has managed more than one hundred professional productions, and has been on staff at the New 42nd Street, Manhattan Theatre Club, Symphony Space, American Repertory Theatre and New York Stage & Film. She is also on faculty at the University of Florida, served as the BFA Theatre Management program director at the University of Miami from 2013-2018, and was the founding producing director for Miami New Drama, a new regional theatre that produces and manages the 400 seat historic Colony Theatre on Miami Beach. Lisa served as the resident general manager for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals from 2008-2018.

Eisenberg / Beans, Casting Director

Daryl Eisenberg, CSA and Ally Beans, CSA

Broadway: Gettin’ the Band Back Together. NY Theatre: Bedlam, Love & Science, Baghdaddy, Superhero, Powerhouse, WP Theater, DVRF, Cherry Lane. Regional/Other: Dallas Theater Center, May We All, Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Folger Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Norwegian Cruise Line, Arizona Theatre Company. Film: The Cathedral (Sundance), The Miseducation of Bindu (Peacock), Menorah in the Middle (Hulu), Angry Neighbors, Hey Vicktor (Tribeca), Shadows (HBO). Audio: Limetown, Shipworm, The Callisto Protocol, City of Ghosts. @EBCastingCo. www.ebcastingco.com

Ken Davenport (he/him), Executive Consultant

Ken Davenport (Executive Consultant) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and writer whose credits include Harmony: A New Musical written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Once On This Island (Tony Award), Gettin’ the Band Back Together, The Play that Goes Wrong, Groundhog Day (Tony nomination), Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening (Tony nomination), It’s Only a Play, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell, Kinky Boots (Tony Award), and more, including multiple Off-Broadway productions such as Altar Boyz, The Awesome 80s Prom and more.  Ken’s shows have been produced internationally in over 25 countries around the world. He is the founder of TheaterMakersStudio.com, a one-of-a-kind "masterclass" community that provides training and inspiration from Broadway's best to writers, directors, producers and more.  Ken created the best-selling board game, Be A Broadway Star, one of the highest-ranking Broadway gifts on Amazon.com.  Ken was also the Executive Producer for North America for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and is the Theatrical Consultant for Primary Wave, a music management and publishing company.  Ken’s unique production and marketing style has garnered him international attention in numerous publications, including Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Upcoming projects include The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation, JOY the Musical, The Ten and a musical based on the life of Harry Belafonte. www.KenDavenport.com.

"I'm thrilled to join this team of passionate theatermakers in helping get this important story on a stage and out into the world.  It needs to be seen, now more than ever."  -Ken Davenport