ERIC QUANG GELB

My name is Eric Quang Gelb, and I’m a NYC-based director! 

 

I infuse the same diversity and thoughtfulness one would for Shakespeare to my work - commercial musicals, live branded entertainment & theatre for young audiences. Their appeal gets audiences in seats, when underneath is real depth. It does what all good art does: change hearts, minds and humanity. Make us smarter, stronger and more empathetic. As a gay, asian, jewish artist, I reject the “type” of work I’m assumed to create. This work's social responsibility - whether on Broadway or a cruise ship - inspires a life-long love of the arts to all walks of life. It creates once a year (even once in a lifetime) memories, just as impactful as academia & “high art”.

 

As a guest director, I've visited Vanguard Theatre Company (Mean Girls), The Dr. Phillips Center (Mean Girls, Matilda), Fordham University (Footloose), Round Barn Theatre (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory), Virginia Children’s Theatre (James & The Giant Peach), LEGOLAND NY. Recently, I was an SDCF Shadow at HAMILTON on Broadway under Resident Director Hannah Ryan.

 

As part of the 5 person Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’s Creative Producing team, I cast + direct 80+ characters, SAG dancers + vocalists to accompany celebrities and floats. We develop AND produce creative for all 12 bands, 12 performance groups, and 4 Broadway shows. I am committed to showing our 31 mill+ viewers that diverse artists can exist in stories not just about hardship, but whimsy and fantasy. My career highlight (so far)? Leading Sheryl Lee Ralph’s historic turn as the first Black Mrs. Claus. 

 

When I visit an organization, I’m usually the only Asian person (and the youngest) they’ve ever hired. So my margin for error is nonexistent, and as such, prioritize specificity and flexibility. My goal is to create the clarity needed to demand excellence (not perfection), without sacrificing respect and humanity. I learned this early in my career when I walked through every door, even non-creative ones, that opened. I made my Broadway debut at 19 years old as a co-producer on Head Over Heels in 2018, and am still on Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway, for which I raised capital from private investors (read: not my family!). 

 

I graduated from New York University Steinhardt's Program in Educational Theatre, where I was the Artistic Director of the TYA organization Lamplighters. I converted lecture halls to theatres (hanging backdrops on command hooks) without compromising quality (inclusive of lace wigs and automated props) - all to pack, cart and store it in a dorm nightly. I co-founded a program, the Musical Theatre Collective, that matched NYU student mentors with youth. NYU culminated in a self-produced, site-specific production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

 

Though creative is my primary discipline, learning is everywhere. In 2021, was selected to join two inaugural cohorts - Baseline Theatrical’s Beyond the Stagedoor and Broadway for Racial Justice’s Casting Initiative. From company managing for 2nd Stage and Norwegian Cruise Line (SIX, Burn the Floor), bringing characters to life at Walt Disney World & SeaWorld Orlando, interning at WICKED - these experiences make me a more informed creative. 

 

Whether it’s on Broadway or high school... my mantra is "full out, no marking!"