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LEADERSHIP & STAFF
Frank Licato
Artistic Director
Frank Licato has been working for over 40 years as an actor, director, producer and teacher.. He is a Tanne Award Winner for continued Artistic Excellence. He currently Artistic Director of Hudson Theatre Works, a professional theatre located in Weehawken, NJ.
He has collaborated with such theatre luminaries as Joseph Chaiken and Peter Brook and he was named best actor in Boston for his performance as Lt. Vukov in the American premiere of Barry Collin’s Judgment. He was nominated for an Obie award for his performance in “Deathwatch” by Jean Genet, which the New York Times called a ‘performance on another plane’.
Regionally he has worked at the American Repertory Theatre, the Delaware Theatre Company and the Boston Shakespeare Company. He has appeared on TV in Third Watch, Sidney Lumet’s 100 Centre Street and with Frank Sinatra in First Deadly Sin.
His directing career has been just as varied. Beside directing various plays at Hudson Theatre Works, his production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things was selected as a regional finalist in the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival and his production of Robert Clem’s “Fever,” won the audience choice award at the NY Fringe Festival.
Other credits include an Off-Broadway production of Lamppost Reunion and On the Waterfront, and Michael Puzzo’s “Spirits of Exit Eleven. Others are: Neil La Bute’s Fat Pig and My Italy Story at 12 Miles West, Tannhauser: The Play at the Ice Factory Festival, Clifford Odet's Rocket to the Moon at Soho Rep and Golden Boy at the Raw Space. He staged the Off-Broadway hit revival of Rod Serling's Requiem For A Heavyweight and the award winning Off-Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's Seduced.
Additionally he directed the musical concert Sounds of a Better World at the 92nd Street Y with Geoffrey Holder, Odetta and the Boys Choir of Harlem. He directed Richard Vetere's Rockaway Boulevard and Gangster Apparel for the Belmont Italian-American Playhouse, as well as Mr. Vetere’s The Engagement at the Hudson Theater in Los Angeles. His production of Grapes of Wrath won the Perry Award for best direction and best play at Chatham Playhouse and his production of John Patrick Shanley’s Defiance was nominated for best play at Summit Playhouse. His production of David Mamet's American Buffalo ran to critical acclaim and a four-month run at the Elyze Theater in Athens, Greece.
Other New York shows include: Impasto by Michael Puzzo, The Barbershop by Jenny Siedelman both at Nylon Fusion, White Noise by Gino DiIorio, La Compagnie by Oren Safdie at LaMama as part of the Series Canada, Asylum by Steven Sater at the Greenwich Street Theater, The Nest by Franz Xaver Kroetz at the Galleria, Sam Shepard's Action and the American premiere of Sarah Daniel's Masterpieces at the Cherry Lane Theater.
Frank Licato has been working for over 40 years as an actor, director, producer and teacher.. He is a Tanne Award Winner for continued Artistic Excellence. He currently Artistic Director of Hudson Theatre Works, a professional theatre located in Weehawken, NJ.
He has collaborated with such theatre luminaries as Joseph Chaiken and Peter Brook and he was named best actor in Boston for his performance as Lt. Vukov in the American premiere of Barry Collin’s Judgment. He was nominated for an Obie award for his performance in “Deathwatch” by Jean Genet, which the New York Times called a ‘performance on another plane’.
Regionally he has worked at the American Repertory Theatre, the Delaware Theatre Company and the Boston Shakespeare Company. He has appeared on TV in Third Watch, Sidney Lumet’s 100 Centre Street and with Frank Sinatra in First Deadly Sin.
His directing career has been just as varied. Beside directing various plays at Hudson Theatre Works, his production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things was selected as a regional finalist in the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival and his production of Robert Clem’s “Fever,” won the audience choice award at the NY Fringe Festival.
Other credits include an Off-Broadway production of Lamppost Reunion and On the Waterfront, and Michael Puzzo’s “Spirits of Exit Eleven. Others are: Neil La Bute’s Fat Pig and My Italy Story at 12 Miles West, Tannhauser: The Play at the Ice Factory Festival, Clifford Odet's Rocket to the Moon at Soho Rep and Golden Boy at the Raw Space. He staged the Off-Broadway hit revival of Rod Serling's Requiem For A Heavyweight and the award winning Off-Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's Seduced.
Additionally he directed the musical concert Sounds of a Better World at the 92nd Street Y with Geoffrey Holder, Odetta and the Boys Choir of Harlem. He directed Richard Vetere's Rockaway Boulevard and Gangster Apparel for the Belmont Italian-American Playhouse, as well as Mr. Vetere’s The Engagement at the Hudson Theater in Los Angeles. His production of Grapes of Wrath won the Perry Award for best direction and best play at Chatham Playhouse and his production of John Patrick Shanley’s Defiance was nominated for best play at Summit Playhouse. His production of David Mamet's American Buffalo ran to critical acclaim and a four-month run at the Elyze Theater in Athens, Greece.
Other New York shows include: Impasto by Michael Puzzo, The Barbershop by Jenny Siedelman both at Nylon Fusion, White Noise by Gino DiIorio, La Compagnie by Oren Safdie at LaMama as part of the Series Canada, Asylum by Steven Sater at the Greenwich Street Theater, The Nest by Franz Xaver Kroetz at the Galleria, Sam Shepard's Action and the American premiere of Sarah Daniel's Masterpieces at the Cherry Lane Theater.
Gregory Erbach
Producing Director
Gregory Erbach is a Co- Founder and Producing Director of Hudson Theatre Works. He has produced every Main Stage production since HTW’s inception. Currently the Assistant Electrical Construction Boss at the Metropolitan Opera House, he has been an actor, stage manager, producer, carpenter, electrician and technical director for hundreds of productions at venues such as the American Place Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Weston Playhouse, The American Jewish Theatre, The John Houseman and The Equity Library Theatre. He was the technical director for John Leguizamo’s first two Broadway Video productions Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama for HBO. On stage at HTW, he was most recently seen as Paul Watson in The Body of an American, Pocky in Uncle Vanya, Scenes from a Jersey Life in Four Acts, Lennie Smalls in Of Mice And Men, and Joey in A Steady Rain, which was selected by the Star Ledger as one of the top 10 NJ theatre productions of 2016.
Gregory Erbach is a Co- Founder and Producing Director of Hudson Theatre Works. He has produced every Main Stage production since HTW’s inception. Currently the Assistant Electrical Construction Boss at the Metropolitan Opera House, he has been an actor, stage manager, producer, carpenter, electrician and technical director for hundreds of productions at venues such as the American Place Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Weston Playhouse, The American Jewish Theatre, The John Houseman and The Equity Library Theatre. He was the technical director for John Leguizamo’s first two Broadway Video productions Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama for HBO. On stage at HTW, he was most recently seen as Paul Watson in The Body of an American, Pocky in Uncle Vanya, Scenes from a Jersey Life in Four Acts, Lennie Smalls in Of Mice And Men, and Joey in A Steady Rain, which was selected by the Star Ledger as one of the top 10 NJ theatre productions of 2016.
Adrian Wattenmaker
Associate Artistic Director
Adrian Wattenmaker is an actor, director, dramaturg, and educator. Growing up with one foot in the United States, and the other in Western Europe, he developed a deep passion for the dramatic arts and its ability to express the richness, the absurdity, and the diversity of human experience. He brings this passion to all of his endeavors.
As Associate Artistic Director of Hudson Theatre Works, Adrian's recent credits include Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (actor), the world premiere of Elliot & Me (producer), the world premiere of Neil LaBute’s A Good Thing (director), and the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s A Wake (producer). He is Associate Director for the Broadway production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize winning play Between Riverside and Crazy. As a member of Cooper Square Workshop, Adrian contributed to Off-Broadway productions of Requiem For a Heavyweight and the award winning production of Sam Shepard's Seduced. At Baltimore's Center Stage, he was an associate dramaturg and assistant-directed David Schweizer's critically acclaimed production of Crumbs From the Table of Joy (chosen by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best theatre productions of the year).
Among his many theatre and film credits, Adrian has worked in association with Studio USA/Universal, NBC (Law & Order and SNL), Greg Stump Productions/Delamo Films, Setton Sun Productions, Four Act Films, Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Amoralists Theatre Company, HB Playwrights Foundation, Theatre Row, and 59E59. He has taught at Brooklyn College, Lafayette College, Kean University, University of Nevada-Reno, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, and Life Academy High School for Film and Music. From 2009 to 2012, Adrian was director of the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA), Los Angeles campus. He was the founding director of the acting program at New York Film Academy. Adrian earned his BA in Theatre Arts from Towson University and his MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College.
Adrian is a member of The Actors Studio Playwrights / Directors Unit, Actors' Equity Association (AEA), and Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG - AFTRA). He served on the Drama Desk Awards Nominating Committee and is a recipient of the Joel Zwick Scholarship in Directing, Friars Foundation Scholarship in Performing Arts, and Steve Yeager Theatre Fund Scholarship.
Adrian Wattenmaker is an actor, director, dramaturg, and educator. Growing up with one foot in the United States, and the other in Western Europe, he developed a deep passion for the dramatic arts and its ability to express the richness, the absurdity, and the diversity of human experience. He brings this passion to all of his endeavors.
As Associate Artistic Director of Hudson Theatre Works, Adrian's recent credits include Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (actor), the world premiere of Elliot & Me (producer), the world premiere of Neil LaBute’s A Good Thing (director), and the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s A Wake (producer). He is Associate Director for the Broadway production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize winning play Between Riverside and Crazy. As a member of Cooper Square Workshop, Adrian contributed to Off-Broadway productions of Requiem For a Heavyweight and the award winning production of Sam Shepard's Seduced. At Baltimore's Center Stage, he was an associate dramaturg and assistant-directed David Schweizer's critically acclaimed production of Crumbs From the Table of Joy (chosen by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best theatre productions of the year).
Among his many theatre and film credits, Adrian has worked in association with Studio USA/Universal, NBC (Law & Order and SNL), Greg Stump Productions/Delamo Films, Setton Sun Productions, Four Act Films, Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Amoralists Theatre Company, HB Playwrights Foundation, Theatre Row, and 59E59. He has taught at Brooklyn College, Lafayette College, Kean University, University of Nevada-Reno, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, and Life Academy High School for Film and Music. From 2009 to 2012, Adrian was director of the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA), Los Angeles campus. He was the founding director of the acting program at New York Film Academy. Adrian earned his BA in Theatre Arts from Towson University and his MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College.
Adrian is a member of The Actors Studio Playwrights / Directors Unit, Actors' Equity Association (AEA), and Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG - AFTRA). He served on the Drama Desk Awards Nominating Committee and is a recipient of the Joel Zwick Scholarship in Directing, Friars Foundation Scholarship in Performing Arts, and Steve Yeager Theatre Fund Scholarship.
Beatriz Esteban
Director of Children's Stage Project
Beatriz was an arts educator and high school principal for 40 years. Since retiring in 2011, she has worked on over 50 shows both on and off stage. In 2018, she received an NJACT Perry Award for direction of an original play, Pets & Their Humans. Additionally, she has been nominated for “best featured actress” in Moon Over Buffalo & To Kill a Mockingbird, and for directing 'Night Mother. Beatriz is president of Teaneck New Theatre, a board member with Nutley Little Theatre and Hudson Theatre Works where she also runs the Children's Stage Project.
Beatriz was an arts educator and high school principal for 40 years. Since retiring in 2011, she has worked on over 50 shows both on and off stage. In 2018, she received an NJACT Perry Award for direction of an original play, Pets & Their Humans. Additionally, she has been nominated for “best featured actress” in Moon Over Buffalo & To Kill a Mockingbird, and for directing 'Night Mother. Beatriz is president of Teaneck New Theatre, a board member with Nutley Little Theatre and Hudson Theatre Works where she also runs the Children's Stage Project.
Dawn D'Arrigo
Company Manager
Michael Bias
The Forge Co-Director
Bess Miller
The Forge Co-Director
Bess Miller is thrilled to be working with this wonderful group of artists. Recent credits include Brett and Ashley (Ashley) at New Perspectives Theatre Company, Richard III (Buckingham) at Dramatists United as well as productions of Bunnies (Kekkie) and Hamlet (Hamlet) at Hudson Theatre Works - both of which were also directed by Frank Licato! (Other projects with members of this team have included a virtual production of the play Closing Times with Nick Hardin, Directed by Adrian Wattenmaker, and a pre-covid Richard III directed by/performed in and co-produced with Rachel Matusewiczc.)
Bess Miller is thrilled to be working with this wonderful group of artists. Recent credits include Brett and Ashley (Ashley) at New Perspectives Theatre Company, Richard III (Buckingham) at Dramatists United as well as productions of Bunnies (Kekkie) and Hamlet (Hamlet) at Hudson Theatre Works - both of which were also directed by Frank Licato! (Other projects with members of this team have included a virtual production of the play Closing Times with Nick Hardin, Directed by Adrian Wattenmaker, and a pre-covid Richard III directed by/performed in and co-produced with Rachel Matusewiczc.)
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