Christopher Massimine

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Massimine and Nia Franklin at the 2019 United Nations Civil Society Conference

Christopher Massimine (born 1985/1986)[1] is an American theater producer and the former CEO of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. In 2019, he was appointed managing director of the Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah, but he resigned in August 2021, citing mental illness, in response to reports that he fabricated large portions of his résumé.[1][2]

Biography[]

Born in New Jersey, Massimine was raised in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.[3] He attended New York University, where he received a bachelor's degree, though he falsely claimed to have also received a master's degree from the university.[3]

In 2016, Massimine was appointed chief executive officer of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.[3] Massimine was the executive producer of the 2015 KulturfestNYC, an international Jewish performing arts festival.[4][5] Later that year, Massimine co-produced a tribute concert for Theodore Bikel who had recently died.[6]

Massimine was an executive producer at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene when the theatre was an associate producer of the 2017 Broadway production of Indecent,[7] which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In December 2018, Massimine was executive producer of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's U.S. premiere of Fidler Afn Dakh, a Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof which was directed by Joel Grey.[8][9]

In February 2019, Massimine was named managing director of the Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah, succeeding Chris Lino who retired effective June 2019.[10] Massimine's tenure began in July 2019.

In May 2021, Massimine went on personal leave from the university pending an investigation after reports by Fox 13 and The Salt Lake Tribune that he falsified information on his resume. He claimed to have worked on various films,[11][12] video games,[13] television productions, and advertising campaigns[14] which he was not actually involved with; paid to have laudatory articles published about him online; and claimed to have received a medal from an arts organization which did not actually exist, which involved charging the university $800 in travel expenses to receive the "award."[3][15][16] Additionally, despite claiming to have received Tony Award nominations for his work on American Idiot and Indecent, the Tony Awards confirmed that Massimine was not actually nominated.[16] Massimine resigned in August 2021, after a report by The New York Times corroborated those reports.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "University of Utah exec resigns after FOX 13 exposes a series of extravagant lies". Fox13now. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Pioneer Theatre's managing director resigns, months after questions about bogus credits on his resumé". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Theater Director With Exaggerated Résumé Quits, Citing Mental Illness". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Jewish performing arts festival, Kulturfest, will highlight importance and vitality of Yiddish culture". NY Daily News. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "KulturfestNYC, the very-inclusive first-ever international Jewish performing arts festival, begins June 11th". Downtown Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Broadway Will Celebrate Theodore Bikel with Tribute Concert". Playbill. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Indecent". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Yiddish-Language 'Fiddler on the Roof' Is Coming to New York". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Sorokoff, Stephen. "Photos: Inside Opening Night of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF in Yiddish". BroadwayWorld.com.
  10. ^ "Tony-nominated producer Christopher Massimine picked as new managing director of Utah's Pioneer Theatre Company". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "Contributor Christopher Massimine". TheatreArtLIfe.
  12. ^ "Claims on Pioneer Theatre managing director's resumé seem to be bogus". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  13. ^ "Interview: Talking Games, Industry and more with Chris Massimine". Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "Contributor Christopher Massimine". TheatreArtLife.
  15. ^ "Claims on Pioneer Theatre managing director's resumé seem to be bogus". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "FOX 13 Investigates: High-paid University of Utah executive lied on resume, published fake articles". KSTU. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
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