Episode 2: Steve Fessler
Steve has appeared professionally in 8 countries, 45 states, 208 cities, and 245 concert halls and theaters internationally. He is a member in good standing of American Guild of Musical Artists, Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild. Steve started his career in NYC as the tenor soloist with the famed Norman Luboff Choir for 3 years. He received excellent reviews in the New York Times and the New York Daily News for his portrayal of Roger in the Broadway musical “Grease” and the Public Theatre production of “Pirates of Penzance” both in the NY production and in 3 national and international tours. Steve has worked on and off stage as a singer and/or actor for almost 4 decades with such stars as Andy Griffith,Sid Caesar, Elliott Gould, Shelley Winters, Dom DeLuise, William “Bill” Katt, Kaye Ballard, Gavin MacLeod, Gary Sinese, Art Garfunkel, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Robbie Benson, Phylicia Rashad, Eartha Kitt, Ben Vereen, Danny Glover, Mario Lopez, Andy Garcia, Louis Gossett Jr., John Stamos, Betty Buckley, Sandi Patti, David Ogden Stiers, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jim Caviezel, Cicely Tyson, Burt Reynolds and dozens more. In 1982 Steve was hired by the Barnum and Bailey Circus to be their singing ringmaster but chose to return to New York to continue his professional theatre career instead.
After deciding to get off the road as a performer, Steve came back to Florida with his now husband (then, life partner) of 38 years to attend graduate school in Choral and Instrumental Conducting at the University of Florida while Randy attended law school. Steve had already completed his BFA in Applied Voice in 1977 from the University of South Florida where he and his husband are now the largest donor to the College of the Arts. Steve then took a job as a Choral Director in the Hillsborough County Schools. Later he was hired by the Pinellas County Performing Arts High School to teach Musical Theatre and private voice along with being an Adjunct Professor in Musical Theatre at University of South Florida. Steve continued his career as a musical director and conductor for musical theatre productions around the country before joining Valdosta State University, conducting their summer musical productions in Jekyll Island, GA.
In 1996, Randy took a position as in-house lawyer for the Walt Disney World Co., and Steve began his journey as the Entertainment Manager of IllumiNations, Epcot’s Laser and Fireworks show. In 1998-99, Steve served on the design team for the new IllumiNations; Reflections of Earth and joined the Special Events Team in Entertainment as a production stage manager and production manager for the Millennium launch. He was also the production stage manager for the Candlelight Processional from 1996-98 and then again from 2001-2005, handling all aspects of the production and calling the cues nightly for over 800 performances. From late 1999-2000, Steve left Walt Disney World Co. to return to Tampa, where he joined the Advancement team at the Straz Center as their Director of Special Events, where he produced large-scale fundraising events and also produced events for the Tampa Museum of Art, Busch Gardens, First Night Tampa Bay, and later for Ronald McDonald House.
Randy and Steve then decided to take a year sabbatical and hiked the Swiss Alps and drove all over America. After the year of travel, he returned back to Walt Disney World Co. in Orlando, where he rejoined the Entertainment team, once again production stage managing Candlelight, the Castle Shows, IllumiNations, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Wishes, and a ton of Special Events throughout property until his retirement in 2006.
