The Cultural Arts Playhouse

Founded in 1995 by owner Bruce Grossman, the Cultural Arts Playhouse (CAP) in Syosset, and now in Merrick, is a year-round regional theater known for its off-off Broadway style productions. Over the years, CAP has produced more than 500 shows, including educational and touring performances, earning it a reputation as one of Long Island’s Best Live Theaters, as named by the Long Island Press.

Serving over 20,000 people annually, CAP offers a wide range of professional adult productions, children’s theater performances, and theater education classes for ages 7-18. Through its Musical Theater and Acting Academy (MTAA) and Young People’s Theater (YPT), more than 5,000 students have had the opportunity to learn from some of the finest instructors in the New York area.

With over 150 years of combined experience among its staff, many of CAP’s students and performers have gone on to pursue careers in professional theater, recordings, television, and film, applying the skills and talents they developed at CAP.

Bruce Grossman

Owner, Artistic Director

Bruce is so proud of the accomplishments of the Cultural Arts Playhouse over the last two decades. As owner and artistic director since its inception in 1995, Bruce and his staff have been bringing joy and laughter to Long Island families and audiences for twenty years and counting!! Bruce started his career as a performer, which allowed him to understand the needs of actors on stage and how to get the most out of them. But even at an early age, and while getting his Bachelors and masters from Stony Brook University in theater and education, he always had a desire to direct. During his college days , he produced a production of Hair which was voted the show of the decade by Newsday! Bruce has a wealth of performing credits in commercials and film and tours. Some of his credits include the European tours of West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar and  the national tour of the Emmy award winning None for the Road, a show preaching the evils of drinking and driving. As a performer, he has been received favorably by Long Island audiences and Newsday as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street and Josh Baskin in Big. Other credits include Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Father in Ragtime, Pseudolus in Forum and Captain Walker in Tommy to name a few. Bruce is pleased to have produced and or directed Long Island premieres of Big, Parade, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carrie, Assassins, Altar Boyz and Spring Awakening to name a few. Cap has always been known for doing shows that  are cutting edge and that other theaters  don't do. Bruce has been featured on the nationally syndicated Twilight Zone radio series starring Jim Caviesel and Jason Alexander to name a few of the actors in the series.  Bruce has taught at the collegiate and high school level over the years and currently is on staff at several elementary schools and high schools on Long Island.  But for all of these accomplishments, Bruce is most proud of his children! Not just his daughter Brooke and son Jared, both flourishing at Universities and who grew up at the playhouse and made countless friends and memories, but the thousands of kids he has come into direct contact with as a director and teacher and mentor. To see the pride on a kids face as they excel in front of Cap audiences and the joy it brings to parents and family! There is nothing more rewarding than that.  Growing the confidence and self esteem of a child is what Cap stands for! We also take pride in  training our students for professional careers. Over 30 of Bruce's students and actors have made it to Broadway and film and tours and commercials. Some of the Cap alumni include Jamie Lynn Sigler of Soprano and Beauty and the Beast fame, Marissa McGowan as Eponine in Les MIs on Broadway . Bonnie and Clyde and A Little Night Music with Katherine Zeta Jones, Dan Domenech in Rock of Ages, Al Calderone in 13 and Law  and Order, Brian D'addario from Les Mis and Little Mermaid and Danny Quadrino from Bye Bye Birdie and Newsies to name just a few!!! No theater can boast as many success stories! Twenty years and counting!! We must be doing something right!!

Tony Frangipane

Artistic Director/general manager

Tony Frangipane serves as the Artistic and Resident Director/General Manager at the Cultural Arts Playhouse (CAP), where he has helmed numerous acclaimed productions. Tony’s CAP credits include the Long Island premieres of SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical, Miss Saigon, Aida, Side Show, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, A New Brain, and the regional premiere of the cult classic Carrie. His versatile directing portfolio also includes audience favorites like The Addams Family, Bye Bye Birdie, The Sound of Music, Ragtime, Falsettos, Honk, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Next to Normal, Les Misérables, and Chess.

As both a director and performer, Tony has worked alongside esteemed industry legends, including Charles Strouse (Annie), Casey Nicholaw, Nathan Lane, Colleen Dewhurst, Kathleen Turner, Treat Williams, and Boyd Gaines.

Tony’s acting career has spanned numerous prestigious venues, including Theater Works USA, American Family Theater, Dallas Musical Theater Workshop, The Shubert Theater New Haven, The Yale Rep, and Long Wharf Theater. His Off-Broadway credits include Valley of the Dolls and Boyfriend for the Holidays, in addition to appearances in national tours and regional productions across the country.

In leadership roles, Tony founded FARCE INC, serving as Artistic Director for six successful seasons, and directed celebrated productions with Summer Stage of Leonia, The Players Guild of Leonia, and Hills on Stage. His standout works include Peter Pan, Honk, The Wizard of Oz, Free to Be You and Me, and Cinderella.

Above all, Tony cherishes his work with children and young performers through the Musical Acting Academy at CAP, inspiring the next generation of artists while creating magical theatrical experiences for audiences.

Taneisha Corbin

YOUNG PEOPLE’S THEATER COORDINATOR AND DIRECTOR

Taneisha joined the CAP family when her camp group came to a production of Suessical, next thing she knew she was performing in that very same production two weeks later! This ‘CAP regular’ has graced the stage in a multitude of CAP productions, most notably Mrs Phelps (Matilda), Paulette (Legally Blonde), Mother Ginger (Nutcracker), & Eddie/Dr. Scott (Rocky Horror Picture Show). Taneisha, leads our Young People’s Theater program bringing her wit and patience to all the kids she works with. Taneisha looks forward every day when she can spend time with her students and sharing her love of theater with them.

Jared Glazer

Musical Director /Teacher

Jared joined the CAP family in 2013, and since then you may have seen him on stage, music directing a YPT or children’s theater show, or said hi to him in the box office. Jared is so happy to be added to the faculty list. Jared received his undergraduate degree in classical vocal performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music and then his masters in music education from New York University. In addition to music directing at CAP, Jared has directed a number of shows at the University of Miami and NYU.  Jared has had a love of theater since he was kid, and started performing in the 6th grade. Some of Jared’s favorite roles include; Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Willard in Footloose and Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown just to name a few.  On top of his performances at the CAP stage, Jared is also a proud member of Essential Voices USA, having shared the stage at Carnegie Hall with the NY Pops and some amazing guest soloists. Jared can’t wait to keep inspiring your children to reach their dreams in theater.

Samantha Jo Eagle

Director

Sam has been performing since she was a Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz at 7 years old. Since then, she’s gone on to act in over 30 plays, musicals, and cabarets. She studied acting, music, and dance through her childhood in Washington state. She attended the Tacoma School of the Arts for high school and majored in Vocal Music. This is also where Sam started directing, and teaching. She then moved to New York to attend the CAP21 Musical Theater Conservatory program through Molloy College, studying a combination of theater arts and liberal arts, with plans to go on to earn her Masters degree in education. Some of her favorite shows she’s done at CAP are Hair (Jeanie), Pippin (Catherine), and Matilda (Miss Honey). She has recently started directing and stage managing again at CAP, and has been reminded of how much she loves that side of the theatrical process. She also teaches a number of the MTAA classes at cap, which are, no joke, the best part of every week.

Danielle Coutieri

Choreographer

Danielle has been dancing since the age of 2 1/2. Almost immediately her parents (and practically everyone else) learned that she was born to perform! She was in her first play at age 7 and the rest is history. Danielle has studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, Irish step, hip hop, contemporary and lyrical throughout her life. By day, she works with special needs children and immediately after, she’s off to teach and choreograph at schools and theaters around Long Island. Danielle has choreographed well over 100 shows and plans on extending her resume for as long as she can.

Sydnee LaBuda

Director / stage manager/ social media

Sydnee has been performing in musicals for over a decade (ew) and performing/working at CAP for the past 3 years! Currently a student at Marymount Manhattan College, she is studying Theatre Performance and Digital Media. Here she develops her performing skills as well as media and marketing techniques. Aside from performing on the Main Stage and working on some YPT productions, she primarily runs the Social Media for CAP. Other social media marketing experience for Sydnee includes Broadway Licensing and The Social Hour LLC. While performing is her passion, there is no better space to work than CAP, it’s more than a theatre for most people, it becomes a second home. 💗

AlySSA CARACCIOLO-decicco

Director/Choreographer/WIG DESIGNER

Alyssa Caracciolo-DeCicco has been teaching theater and dance across Long Island since 2007, and loves sharing her passion for performing with the CAP students. Along with teaching, Alyssa has also been seen onstage performing in various shows all over Long Island, choreographing and designing wigs for different productions, and singing in cabarets in New York City. Favorite credits include: Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Chris Hargensen (the regional premiere of Carrie: The Musical), Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), Sandy (Grease), Wednesday (The Addams Family), Heather (American Idiot), Penny (Hairspray), Eponine (Les Miserables), Natalie (Next To Normal), Lucy (Jekyll and Hyde), Learn Your Lessons Well (Godspell), Sister Mary Robert (Sister Act), and Sheila (Hair). In addition to theater, Alyssa is working on her degree to become a high school English and Drama teacher. She looks forward to continuing spending time in her second home here at CAP, no matter what role she plays or hat she wears.

DIANE MARMANN
Director, Legal Counsel

An attorney in Mineola by profession, but has been directing YPT and Children's Theater shows at CAP for over ten years. In addition to directing and stage managing, Diane has been in too many CAP productions to mention.  She is the mother of two young adults, both of whom benefited greatly from the MTAA program and family atmosphere at CAP over the years. 

MTAA Instructors

Bruce Grossman

Tony Frangipane

Taneisha Corbin

Sam Eagle

Legal Counsel

Diane Marmann

Musical Directors

Jon Riss- Artist in Residence

Jared Glazer

Rich Giordano

Shiloh Bennet

Wig Designer

Alyssa Caracciolo

Social Media Director

Sydnee Labuta

Technical Director

Thomas J McKenna

Scenic Designer

Danny Amy

Thomas McKenna

Lighting DESIGNER

Tony Frangipane

Josh Amy

Resident Costume Designer

Carmela Newman