is the winner of an 1978 Emmy Award and a Best of the West award for his score to the television puppet musical, Cinderabbit on PBS (the Cinderella story with animal characters/puppets). He has been writing, producing, directing and choreographing professional and amateur shows since his late teens. Other “Best Musical” awards have been given to his Fauntleroy! and his Anne with an E: The Green Gables Musical, as well as Entertaining Mark Twain, Jedediah, and Curses, Foiled Again! His An Enchanted April - The Musical played Off-Broadway in 2019 to great reviews, but its forward motion was cut short by Covid-19, 4 months later. His first commissioned work was in 1972 at the age of 18. The musical was written over the next 6 months and produced for a City Festival that ran for the month of August in 1974 near Chicago. He received another commission from a 2001 Olympics venue to create a new musical, How the West Was Done with Elizabeth Hansen (his Enchanted April partner) which played for 8 weeks during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. He has written a total of nearly 75 shows, 40 of which have been produced/published, not mentioned by title here. His musicals have been produced across the USA and Canada, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe, South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. His musicals Pollyanna, and The Shadow Dancers, The Saga of Sasquatch C’lone (with Coni Koepfinger) have had industry readings, along with a version of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, (with George and Gayanne King). Their Star Of Israel, Coming Home, and Heidi have also had recent workshop productions. He is currently involved in creating the score to Pinocchia (a female cousin to Pinocchio) and Imaginary Boy (with June Rachelson-Ospa), Twelve Dancing Princesses (with George and Gayanne King). Sara Crewe: Little Princess and Tinkertown! (with Coni Koepfinger) are also in the works. Adaptations of Tempest: The Musical, Great Expectations and Little Men (based on the sequel to “Little Women”) are gathering interest. He has taught college courses in adjunct and also spent 13 years teaching Theatre Arts in high school where his program became prominent and award-winning, also being honored as Teacher of the Year in the State. Michael is very excited to join the team at Next Stage Press with Gene Kato premiering the non-musical version of Pollyanna.