Meet the Creative Team
Video: Opening Night America's Regina Dowling interviews Once Upon A Rhyme's creative team Ronvé O'Daniel, Jevares C. Myrick and J Kyle Manzay
Ronvé O’Daniel wears many hats for Once Upon a Rhyme. He is a songwriter, lyricist, composer, playwright, rapper, and the inspiration for the show. His work on the show has developed through TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Residency at Goodspeed Theater, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) as well as NYU Tisch School for the Arts. He was the recipient of Eugene O’Neill National Music Theater Conference’s Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award, and was recently featured in the Letters to the President concert at New York City’s historical Great Hall. His other works include: BAPS (Music and Lyrics for National Tour), Greenwood (Musical Theatre Factory), The New Girl (Concord Theatricals) and We Love (NAMT 15-minute musical). You can keep up with him at ronveodaniel.com.
Ronvé O'Daniel
Book, Lyrics and Music
Jevares C. Myrick has collaborated on the musical score for Once Upon a Rhyme with Ronve O’Daniel. He is a New York-based Producer, Composer, Singer, Actor, Dancer, and Choreographer. He is currently in his 7th year in the Broadway production of The Book of Mormon. Regional Theatre Credits: Smokey Joes Café, All Night Strut, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Ragtime, Sweet Charity, Aint Misbehavin’, and Sophisticated Ladies. Jevares was a choreographer for "The Originals" TV series. He is a two time Suzi Bass Award winner. He is also an Ovation Award recipient. Recent compositions include: The Earth Remembers (Virginia Stage Company) BAPS (Music and Ochestrations for National Tour), Greenwood (Music/Orchestrations for Musical Theatre Factory), The New Girl (Concord Theatricals) and We Love (NAMT 15-minute musical). Jevares has also been featured on BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill.com.
Jevares C. Myrick
Music
J Kyle Manzay, Once Upon a Rhyme’s playwright, received his MFA from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and his BFA from Howard University. As director of earlier productions of the show, J Kyle oversaw its performance at the New York Musical Festival and the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference. He has also written and directed national touring productions of Redemption of a Dogg (starring Snoop Dogg) and Set it Off - Live (starring Da Brat). Regionally he’s directed Noodling and Crackin’ Up at Soul Rep Theatre Company, as well as produced, written, and directed productions of Selling Out and the Off Broadway production of Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life & Mind of Jim Jones. An accomplished actor, J Kyle has starred in Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and played the title role in the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s critically acclaimed Hamlet. He’s alo received 5 AUDELCO award nominations and an Obie Award. His film work includes playing opposite Denzel Washington in the box office hit "American Gangster."