Theater Wing Board
Merryn Johns
Co-Chair
Merryn Johns is an avid theatre-goer and co-chair of GALECA (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) Theater Wing. She is based in Manhattan where she edits Curve and publishes Vacationer. She is a graduate of Australia's National Institute for the Dramatic Arts and a former theater and film professor.
Sam Eckmann
Co-Chair
Sam Eckmann has served as the chief theater contributor at Gold Derby since 2016, where he provides insight and analysis of the annual Tony Awards race. He has conducted hundreds of on-camera interviews which explore the artistry of the industry's top creative talents.
Cary Wong
Off-Broadway Lead
Cary Wong writes film and theater reviews for The Interested Bystander and is a columnist and reviewer for Film Score Monthly. He is also on the nominating committee for The Theatre World Awards and occasionally a playwright.
Frank J. Avella
Theater Representatives Liaison
a proud Senior Staff Writer for The Contending and member of NYFCO, GALECA (studio liaison) & NJFCC. He’s also an award-winning playwright (VATICAN FALLS, LURED) and screenwriter (CONSENT, FIG JAM).
Jose Solís
Diversity Lead
Jose Solís is a cultural critic and founder of the BIPOC Critics Lab. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, Backstage, and The Toronto Star.
Brantley Bardin
Historian
Brantley has made a career of chatting up a veritable army of celebs for a roll call of international publications and websites. After getting his start at Paper, he has been a contributing editor at inStyle, Elle, Playboy, and the UK's Red. Now penning CBS Watch! Magazine's 'Upfront' column, the native Louisianian keeps shooting for the stars from his hillside home in Los Angeles.