CenterStage Board of Directors

The following people represent the Board of Directors for CenterStage Productions. It is through their individual and collective contributions, vision, and efforts that CenterStage is able to continue to entertain and delight its fans, both young & old, and old & new.


Photograph: Melissa BaileyMelissa Bailey -   President
Melissa Bailey has been involved with CenterStage since the beginning. She has directed and choreographed over 15 productions with CenterStage and performed in just as many. Not only has she worked with CenterStage, she has worked with Town and Gown Theatre, Summerfest, Theatre LJCC, Virginia Samford Theatre, Dane Peterson's Theatre Series and Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre. Melissa has directed numerous CenterStage musicals, including Cabaret, Cinderella, 42nd Street, Me And My Girl, Chicago, The Sound Of Music, and Annie. As a choreographer, her credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Mame, My Fair Lady, Gilligan's Island:The Musical, and Bye Bye Birdie among others. She has also been seen onstage in a wide variety of roles, including Bebe in A Chorus Line, Lily St. Regis in Annie, Cha-Cha in Grease, and Liane D'Exelemans in Gigi. Melissa holds two undergraduate degrees from UAB, and is currently working on a Master's Degree in Education.
Photograph: Hal WordHal Word -   Vice President
A native of Scottsboro, Hal Word's past roles include Edward Rutledge in 1776, Nathan Anderson in Shenandoah and Reuben in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Hal is employed by Crest Cadillac Hummer in Hoover and lives on Southside with his three schnauzers Olivia, Maude and Claude.
Photograph: Chuck EvansChuck Evans -   Secretary
Chuck Evans has appeared in eight CenterStage productions: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ching Ho), Hair (Woof), Little Shop of Horrors (Skip Snip), Jekyll & Hyde (Sir Archibald Proops), Me and My Girl (Heathersett), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, A Christmas Carol and The Phantom of the Opry. He also has performed with many other theater companies in Birmingham: El Grande de Coca-Cola with TNT; Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens with Birmingham Festival Theatre; Torchsong Trilogy with Theatre Downtown; The Diary of Anne Frank, My Favorite Year, High School Musical 2 and Off Broadway with Theatre LJCC; Twelfth Night with The Park Players; Babes in Toyland with South City Theatre; and The Music Man with the Leeds Arts Council. The Jefferson County native also has performed with the Opera Birmingham Chorus in Rossini's La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville and Puccini's Turandot. Chuck holds a degree in mass communications from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After working in the newspaper business for several years, his career path finally led him into the digital realm. He currently works for a local company that specializes in Internet advertising/marketing and other digital services.
Photograph: Lee FowlerLee Fowler -   Treasurer
Lee Fowler is usually seen onstage as a performer with CenterStage, but is trying his hand behind the scenes now. Previous credits include Into the Woods (Wolf), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ensemble), Cabaret (Ernst), Guys and Dolls (Brandy Bottle Bates), and Fiddler on the Roof (constable). Lee works by day as a Trainer and Instructional Designer for Jack Henry & Associates.
Photograph: Paul McCrackenPaul McCracken -   Former President
Paul McCracken has been seen onstage in CenterStage's A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol (The Ghost of Christmas Present), Kiss Me Kate (Harry/Baptista), The King and I (The Kralahome), Peter Pan (Pirate), Jekyll and Hyde (Lord Savage), My Fair Lady, and The Secret Garden (Albert Lennox). He has also been seen in Annie Get Your Gun (Sitting Bull), Give My Regards to Broadway (Dick Foster), Side By Side By Sondheim, and Godspell. When not working with a show, Paul is the Associate Dean of the Jerusalem Institute for Biblical Exploration. He has three children and is married to the delightful Nancy McCracken.
Photograph: Frank ThompsonFrank Thompson -   Artistic Director
Frank Thompson's most recent directoral offerings have been BCT's Rapunzel, and CenterStage's The Music Man (in which he appeared as Harold Hill), and he was last seen onstage upstairs in the MMS Studio Theatre as Michael in I Do! I Do!. Frank also recently appeared as part of VST's "Best Of Broadway" performing ensemble in the inaugural performance at The Club, and looks forward to upcoming projects at VST, in roles including Clifton Feddington in The 1940's Radio Hour, Merlin in Camelot, and Henry Higgins in CenterStage's My Fair Lady. His other performance credits include Thurston Howell, III in Gilligan's Island:The Musical, Julian Marsh in 42nd Street, Bill Snibson in Me And My Girl, Mr.MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, Man #2 in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Fagin in Oliver!, and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes.
Photograph: Holly DikemanHolly Dikeman -   Member-at-Large
Holly Dikeman's CenterStage credits include A Christmas Story (Mother), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Cora), Cabaret (Rosie), Guys & Dolls, Little Shop Of Horrors (Chiffon), The King & I (Topsy), Cinderella (Portia), The Phantom Of The Opry (Carly), 42nd Street (Anytime Annie), and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (Angel). She teaches dance at Corky Bell Dance Studio, and is a Human Resource Professional for a local television network in real life.