Muse Machine
Muse Machine is an American arts education organization based in Dayton, Ohio, serving 77,000 students and 600 teachers across 13 different southwestern Ohio counties. Founded in 1982 by Suzanne Murray Bassani, the organization has produced many annual musicals and summer concerts, where students participate on stage, backstage, and in the orchestra. Bassani, a stage actress and festival organizer who had lived 18 years in Italy, established the organization after moving to Dayton, with help from locals Jean Woodhull and Frances Sullivan.
Muse Machine's first stage production was the play Once in a Lifetime, put on by Mountview Theatre School students who transported their production from London to the Victory Theater in Dayton.
A 501 non-profit, in tax year 2022, Muse Machine had total revenues of $1.2 million and program service expenses of over $660,000, and net assets of nearly $6 million, under executive director, Ruth Reveal. The approach of the organization is to engage students through arts-integrated classroom instruction, interactive workshops, and professional development for teachers.
Stage productions
1985: West Side Story1986: Fiddler On The Roof
1987: Carousel
1988: Guys And Dolls
1989: The Wiz
1991: Oklahoma!
1992: South Pacific
1993: Oliver!
1994: Peter Pan
1995: The Music Man
1996: The Wizard Of Oz
1997: Me And My Girl
1998: Mame
1999: Damn Yankees
2000: My Favorite Year
2001: My Fair Lady
2002: The Pajama Game
2003: Guys And Dolls
2004: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
2005: On The Town
2006: Beauty And The Beast
2007: Thoroughly Modern Millie
2008: Peter Pan
2009: Me And My Girl
2010: Singin' In The Rain
2011: Into The Woods
2012: The Wizard Of Oz
2013: Crazy For You
2014: Seussical
2015: Oliver!
2016: Mary Poppins
2017: Hairspray
2018: Hello, Dolly!
2019: Mamma Mia!
2020: In The Heights
2021: no show
2022: The Addams Family
2023: The Little Mermaid
2024: 9 to 5
2025: Cats
2026: ''Frozen''