PRODUCER & INVESTOR PITCH DECK

A New Comedy By Tawni O’Dell
Directed by Sheldon Epps

It’s the night before Christmas and one of the world’s most famous power couples is caught in a conflict that all couples have experienced. After 373 years of marriage and a heated argument with a husband who is getting ready to “work late,” Mrs. Claus takes flight in a sleigh with two youthful reindeer-in-training. Will the man who spreads love to all decide that the woman he loves should come first? Adding to Santa’s conundrum is the appearance of a suave stranger of equal fame who brings a new level of drama to the festivities.

THE NAUGHTY LIST is a breezy yet moving three-character play about the reconnection between mature sweethearts. It’s full of big laughs, smart insights, and plenty of holiday spirit. THE NAUGHTY LIST features select songs from “The Classic Christmas Library” and a new original song by You Tube sensation Sam Tsui.

CREATIVES

TAWNI O’DELL (Author)

  • Critically acclaimed novelist

  • Author of multiple New York Times bestsellers including Back Roads, which was adapted for the screen by Ms. O'Dell

  • She was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her prestigious Book Club.

  • Her plays, When It Happens to You, Windows, and Pay the Writer, received rave reviews in London and New York.

  • Her work has been published in over 40 countries.

SHELDON EPPS (Director)

  • Director of seven Broadway productions, including the Tony and Olivier-nominated Blues in the Night and Play On!.

  • Director of more than 150 television episodes including Friends, Frasier, and Everybody Loves Raymond.

  • Director of multiple Netflix series. His long-standing relationship with Netflix continues with the current hit series, The Upshaws, starring Wanda Sykes.

  • Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse for more than twenty years and now Artistic Director Emeritus.

  • Senior Artistic Advisor at Ford’s Theatre.

INCLUDED MUSIC

Music & Lyrics by SAM TSUI and CASEY BREVES

Sam Tsui and Casey Breves are a married singing and songwriting duo who live in Los Angeles with their daughter. Sam has been hailed as an internet singing sensation, and was among the first musicians to establish a popular music channel on YouTube, inspiring an international fan base that call themselves the #Samily. Casey performs as both a pop and classical vocalist. He sang for three years with the GRAMMY Award‐winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer. They are both graduates of Yale University where they met singing a cappella, and together, their original songs and covers have received billions of views on Youtube and hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify, and multiple popular series on Tiktok. They recently published their debut children’s book “Why Do We Sing?” with Harper Collins, and their original musical “Eight Immortals” is a 2025 pipeline award winner.

Four favorite Christmas classics and introducing the new song “& to All a Good Night” by Sam Tsui and Casey Breves.

WORKSHOP
DECEMBER 10, 2025

Crafting the play’s journey to Broadway for the holidays in 2026.

Our workshop production will bring together our esteemed director, cast, author and music arranger for a deep-dive into the script of this production. We will present the play without scenery and with only a hint of costume elements, allowing for this universal story to shine on its own.

The two presentations of the workshop will be filmed for archival and fundraising purposes (a “sizzle reel”). This sizzle reel will serve as our calling card to prospective collaborators and partners, introducing the vision and energy of our A-List production team as we bring the show to life on Broadway and beyond.

WORKSHOP CAST

DANIEL BREAKER (Plush McGee) BROADWAY: Hadestown, Once Upon a Mattress, Hamilton, Book of Mormon, The Performers, Shrek: The Musical (Drama Desk Nomination), Passing Strange (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Nomination, Theatre World Award, Audelco Award) Cymbeline, Well. OFF-BROADWAY: Loves Labour’s Lost, (Shakespeare in the Park) By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage), Passing Strange (The Public Theater), Fabulation (Playwrights Horizons), Pericles (Red Bull, Culture Project). LONDON: How to Act Around Cops (SoHo Theatre). REGIONAL: Judgment Day (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Intiman Theatre), Life is a Dream (South Coast Rep), The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare Theatre Company; Helen Hayes Nomination), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (SCR), The Tempest (STC; Helen Hayes nomination), A Midsummer Night's Dream (STC), The Rivals (STC), The Silent Woman (STC), H.M.S. Pinafore (Berkshire Theater Festival), Black Sheep (Barrington Stage), Sundance Theater Lab, 2005. FILM: Sisters (with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler), Limitless (with Bradley Cooper & Robert De Niro), He’s Way More Famous Than You, Redhook Summer (dir. Spike Lee), Passing Strange (Spike Lee). TELEVISION: Billions, Girls 5Eva, The Good Fight, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mozart in the Jungle, Unforgettable, Law & Order: Criminal Intent. TRAINING: The Juilliard School

NORBERT LEO BUTZ (Santa) BROADWAY: Two-time Tony Award winner for Best Actor in a Musical and is one of only nine actors in history to have won the award twice as lead actor. He first won for his work in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and then for Catch Me if You Can. He was additionally Tony nominated for Thou Shalt Not and My Fair Lady. The star of 11 Broadway shows, a five-time Drama Desk nominee, and two-time winner, amongst other stage accolades. FILM: Butz played opposite Timothée Chalamet in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN and in THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, in which he starred opposite Leslie Odom, Jr. Other credits include Peter Hedges' DAN IN REAL LIFE, Sony's HIGHER GROUND, Craig Zisk's THE ENGLISH TEACHER, BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY, 2020 Sundance pic LUCE, and on Disney+ in BETTER NATE THAN EVER. TELEVISION: Most recently portraying the iconic New England Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, on the Ryan Murphy series, AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: AARON HERNANDEZ and in FX/Hulu’s JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL, alongside Timothy Olyphant. Butz also starred on Hulu’s limited drama series, THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE, opposite Elle Fanning.Other credits include David Zabel and Ridley Scott's MERCY STREET on PBS, BLOODLINE on Netflix, as "Paddy Chayefsky" on FOSSE/VERDON for F/X, and as one of the stars of NBC's DEBRIS.

MICHELLE FEDERER (Mrs. C) BROADWAY: The Cottage, Three Days of Rain, Original Broadway Cast Wicked (Nessarose). OFF BROADWAY: A Man of No Importance (LCT), Anon (The Atlantic), Boys Life and In The Absence of Spring (2nd Stage). SELECT TV: 3 Seasons of New Amsterdam (Millie), Archive 81, Hit and Run and The Defenders (Netflix). SELECT FILM: Better Nate Than Ever (Disney+), Rachel Getting Married and Kinsey. BFA Musical Theatre (Ithaca College).

THE HOLIDAY MARKETPLACE

The theatrical landscape offers abundant family fare to buyers, with classics like “A Christmas Carol”, “A Christmas Story”, “White Christmas”, and “Elf”.

But where do you go for fun holiday entertainment when you don’t necessarily want to share an evening out with the kids or grandma?

THE NAUGHTY LIST fills this void in the holiday offerings. Rich in complexities, relevant themes, and abundant humor, THE NAUGHTY LIST is a wonderful gift that leaves audiences saying, “Now that was just what I wanted!”

THE NAUGHTY LIST is planned as a cost-effective show that will push against the spiraling cost of Broadway production making remounting more feasible.

As a three character play, its costumes and scenic elements can be freshened and reused each year as a gift to its commercial investors.

Costs will also be mitigated through non- recoupable corporate sponsorship revenues. The production will also have some spectacular merchandise opportunities, for gifts on everyone’s Naughty and Nice lists!

WORLDWIDE APPEAL

Spreading joy to audiences around the globe!

THE NAUGHTY LIST can appear on Broadway each holiday season, refreshed with new casting options or new theatre venues annually.

Licensed productions will begin immediately, thus building familiarity and creating and evergreen brand that tourists will recognize by title.

Touring and licensing will also transition THE NAUGHTY LIST to an old favorite in local communities and the thing to see on Broadway with that television star you love.

Film rights and international stage licensing rights come through the mother company, and allow for global expansion of THE NAUGHTY LIST brand.

PRODUCING TEAM

MITCHELL MAXWELL (Producer)

  • Producer, Director, Author, Entrepreneur

  • Pulitzer Prize Winner

  • His productions have been nominated for multiple Tonys, Oliviers, Drama Desk Awards, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

  • He has won such honors in every iteration.

  • Produced over fifty Broadway / off-Broadway and West End shows, including regional, domestic, and international touring productions.

  • Author of acclaimed novel, “Little Did I Know”

LAURA JANIK CRONIN (Producer/General Manager) is a producer and general manager with over 30 years of experience in theater management. She has worked on more than 45 productions across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national tours, including The Lion King, Chicago, August: Osage County, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, CAGNEY, When Elvis Met The Beatles, Fuerza Bruta, and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live, among others.

A co-founder of Brierpatch Productions, which she led for 17 years, Laura is now the founder of Catalyst Theatricals, a company that champions unusual, inspired, and passionate creative voices through management and small business services.

Laura is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and The Yale School of Drama. www.catalysttheatricals.com

WILLETTE KLAUSNER (Producer) Willette Klausner, Founder and President, WMK Productions.

 Productions include “Hadestown,” “MJ the Musical,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Ragtime,” “Chess,” “Oedipus,” “Just in Time,” “Queen of Versailles,” “Waiting for Godot,” “Maybe Happy Ending,” “Operation Mincemeat,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” ”Stereophonic,” “Othello,” “Sunset Blvd,” In addition to her shows appearing on both Broadway and London’s West End, her productions have collectively received over 65 Tony Award nominations.

As Vice President, Marketing and Marketing Research for MCA Universal Studios, Klausner was involved with the successful marketing campaigns of JAWS, ANIMAL HOUSE, THE WIZ, THE DEER HUNTER, THE JERK and THE BLUES BROTHERS among others.  Klausner led the research team to determine the economic viability of Universal Studios Florida.

Klausner serves on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA), the American Cinema Foundation and has served on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center, the Women in Film Foundation, the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theatre and the Constitutional Rights Foundation.  She is also a member of The Women’s Trusteeship, New York Women in Film and Television and the National Women’s

COME PLAY WITH US

Investment opportunties available, offering most favorable terms for early involvement in this journey. We look forward to welcoming you on board our sleighride!

For more information, contact us at:

Mitchell Maxwell mm@mmaxwellmedia.com
Laura J Cronin laura@catalysttheatricals.com
thenaughtylistplay@gmail.com