An Open Letter

I love creating something from a kernel of an idea—finding new, innovative ways to tell diverse stories that shine a light on those who are sometimes hidden in shadows. Developing the tone, voice, characters, mise-en-scene of a piece, etc. There’s a deep satisfaction in watching your work in a skilled actor’s hands; a mutual trust of the material. There is nothing like it.

That said, decency and a fiduciary responsibility are key elements to this moving and transformative work. The success lies in the process - always asking a thousand questions to clarify the vision and create innovation from page to stage and screen.

Diversity is very important to me. I would like to collaborate with theatremakers and difference-makers in the black diaspora and LGBTQ+ communities.

-Tegan

  • Tegan Summer is a member of the Broadway League and Society of London Theatre (SOLT), CEO of Tegan Summer Theatricals & Timeless Stage & Screen, and an NAACP and Ovation award-recipient. He is a 2024 recipient of the Political and Public Life Arts & Culture award, presented to him by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, at the House of Commons.

    He is also on the selection committee for the National Alliance For Musical Theatre (NAMT), the worldwide stage theatrical rights owner for the properties of James Dean, Bettie Page, The Nicholas Brothers, and Amelia Earhart, and holds the life rights for stage musicals for Malcolm X and Harvey Milk.

    He is Co-Lead Producer on Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's new musical, Little Dancer, directed by Susan Stroman, and was a Producer on Andrew Lloyd Webber and Nimax Theatre's 2023 revival of Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre, also in London's West End. Summer is a Producer on For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy for Nimax Theatres and The Royal Court in London.

    Current and Credited: Producer, Librettist, and or Lyricist of the following: Mozart: Her Story - The New Musical (Carnegie Hall 2023 & The Lyric Theatre 2024); Rebel - The James Dean Musical; The Nicholas Brothers Musical with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company (Jamil Jude Artistic Director); “You’ve Gotta Give ‘Em Hope” - The Harvey Milk Musical; Bettie Page, Queen of Pin-Ups - The Icon * The Musical; Amelia - A Musical Tale of Bravery & Mystery; and the golden era musical, The Dolly Sisters: Icons of the Jazz Age, based on the biography by Gary Chapman.

    He is Lead Producer on the Broadway-bound Stormy Weather - The Lena Horne Musical. Summer also produced the world premiere of Marilyn! - The New Musical (Ogunquit Playhouse | Caesars Entertainment).

    Summer is a judge on Birmingham Rep's Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize (in partnership with The Victoria Wood Foundation), the former Board President of Amas Musical Theatre, former President and current Board member of the Foundation for New American Musicals, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. He remains a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild and Equity.