Lively McCabe is a global theatrical production and management company founded in 2017 and based in Ridgewood, New Jersey within the New York Metro area.
Our core business is the development and management of theatrical copyrights. Our team works closely with partners in all key markets to maximize the exploitation of those copyrights across all theatrical and cross-media distribution windows.
The Lively McCabe Model:
We partner with IP owners including dramatists and their estates, as well as film studios, music publishers and other underlying rights holders to develop derivative copyrights for live stage exploitation.
We are active sponsors of key theatrical consortia such as the Educational Theater Association (EdTA), the Association of American Community Theatre (AACT), the National Alliance for Musical Theater (NAMT), among others to market our titles directly to their constituents.
We maintain direct relationships with major Regional Theaters, Touring Companies, Commercial Producers and other producers globally to directly place our catalog on as many stages around the world as possible.
We self-produce our titles under the right circumstances.
We partner with agencies, management companies, music labels, merchandisers and others to explore as many ways to share our stories across screens, retail, recorded music, and brand licensing as possible.
Our Team
Michael Barra
Founder & Chairman / Executive Producer
Michael founded Lively McCabe Entertainment in 2017 where he currently serves as Chairman overseeing the operating team responsible for new project development and the management platform. An MBA and former executive at The Walt Disney Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and The Araca Group, Michael is currently the CEO of ILP Theatrical, the leading global theatrical copyright acquisitions and management company based in New York and London. For LME, Michael conceived and developed the stage adaptation of Clue and Clue 2, now among the most-produced plays in the world, as well as the jukebox musicals Mystic Pizza, May We All, and Punk Rock Girl. He's negotiated slate financing partnerships with music companies including Primary Wave and BMG, rights agreements with IP owners such as Hasbro, Paramount, MGM, and Sony Pictures, and has brokered productions of LME portfolio titles in over two dozen countries to date. He previously founded production company Stageworks Media (now part of the Broadway Licensing Brand Family) which he successfully sold to private equity firm Rebel Rebel Capital in 2014. At Disney Theatricals, Michael was part of the leadership team overseeing development of Newsies, Aladdin, and Peter and the Starcatcher, as well as setting global strategy for existing titles such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Disney on Ice.
Allison Bressi
President
Allison joined Lively McCabe in 2019 and oversees all theatrical development and licensing activities. She directly oversaw development of musicals Punk Rock Girl and May We All, and is currently developing project slates with both BMG and Primary Wave. Allison, joined Lively McCabe from Signature Theater in New York where she worked for ten years, and prior to Signature worked for Octopus Theatricals, New York Stage and Film, and Foresight Theatricals, and she was the 2018 Recipient of the T Fellowship founded by Harold Prince and Columbia University.
KRISTI HESS
Creative Development and Management Coordinator
Kristi was previously the Management Associate at DR Theatrical Management under Adam Hess and Daryl Roth. Prior to DRTM, she was the Artistic Producer of Arizona Theatre Company for three seasons. She spent 8 years as a Stage Manager, developing her passion for artists and being intertwined with bringing shows to life. Some of her proudest stage manager credits include: Broadway: The Humans, Hello, Dolly!, The Audience. Off-Broadway: Something Clean, Too Heavy For Your Pocket (Roundabout), Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (NYTW), The White Chip (59E59), Discord (Primary Stages). TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Dialogue Tracker). She has also worked in administration for Signature Theatre Company and the American Theatre Wing.
JACQUELINE SUSSMAN
Music Licensing Consultant
Jacqueline joined Lively McCabe as Music Licensing Consultant in 2021, where she handles the licensing process for all Lively McCabe productions, from requesting approvals to execution of final licenses. Before joining Lively McCabe, Jacqueline held various music business affairs positions, including Senior Manager of Music Strategy at Paramount Global (formerly Viacom) and VP Business & Legal Affairs for independent record label TVT Records, where she was responsible for a variety of music agreements. She holds a JD from Boston University School of Law and a BA from Binghamton University (formerly The State University of New York at Binghamton).