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 depth we've uncovered. 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. The social responsibility of this work - whether on Broadway or a cruise ship - inspires a life-long love of the arts to all walks of life. I believe in creating once a year (even once in a lifetime) memories. It’s just as impactful as academia & “high art”.​

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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). Recently, I was an SDCF Shadow at HAMILTON on Broadway under Resident Director Hannah Ryan.

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As part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’s Creative Producing team, I cast and direct 80+ characters, SAG dancers and vocalists to accompany our celebrities and floats. Our small team creatively develops AND produces all overarching and thematic creative, plus 12 marching bands, 12 performance groups, and 4 Broadway shows. I am committed to showing our 31 million+ viewers that diverse artists can exist in stories not about hardship or trauma but whimsy and fantasy. I led Sheryl Lee Ralph’s historic turn as the first Black Mrs. Claus. I've directed for LEGOLAND NY, overseen entertainment for Norwegian Cruise Line (SIX, Burn the Floor) and brought characters to life at Walt Disney World & SeaWorld Orlando.  

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My tenacity to be an informed creative led to co-producing, for which I made my Broadway debut at 19 years old on Head Over Heels in 2018, and am on Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway, for which I raised capital from private investors (read: not my family). I love learning - in 2021, was selected to join two inaugural cohorts - Baseline Theatrical’s Beyond the Stagedoor and Broadway for Racial Justice’s Casting Initiative. 

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I received my Bachelors of Science in 2020 for Educational Theatre at NYU Steinhardt. It culminated in a self-produced, site-specific production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I was the Artistic Director of the organization Lamplighters - passionate about quality, pre-professional MT & TYA, I converted lecture halls to theatres (hanging backdrops on command hooks with automated props) only to pack and cart it to a dorm nightly. I co-founded a program, the Musical Theatre Collective, that matched NYU student mentor with NYC youth.
 

Stylistically, I sit at the intersection of specificity and flexibility. It creates the clarity needed to demand artistic excellence (not perfection), without sacrificing respect and humanity. Even with millions at stake and a ticking clock - I push out an exceptional product. From ensuring that wig lace is tinted the correct shade to every formation, whether on Broadway or high school... my ethos is "full out, no marking!"