John Owens Dietrich

John has had an extensive career as a professional Director/Choreographer/Writer that includes a 17-year relationship with Radio City Entertainment, where he was the Director/ Choreographer for the world-famous Rockettes, for Rockette Special Events (including numerous Macy’s Parade and Today Show appearances, the Presidential Inauguration, and the NBC Gala Re-Opening of Radio City), as well as being the director/choreographer for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Other work includes hundreds of shows in a vast range of entertainment genres: from television to Off-Broadway & regional theatre, from industrial shows to ice shows. Some highlights include: National/International Tours of The Wizard of Oz, Beauty & the Beast, and Singin’ in the Rain, Disney On Ice The Little Mermaid, A&E Television Special Gershwin on Ice, Mack & Mabel in Concert at Lincoln Center, and 7 years directing ABC Daytime Salutes Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. He has directed and written for Walt Disney Entertainment. He has a long relationship with Dolly Parton & Dollywood Entertainment having created and worked on dozens of productions most recently writing, directing and choreographing From the Heart: The Life & Music of Dolly Parton which opened in Spring 2024 and won the International Amusement Park Entertainment Golden Ticket Award for Best New Show. He was the creative director for Niles Creative Group, a film production company specializing in large scale theatrically based film and video productions worldwide.  

Specifically as a writer he has written the book & lyrics for the musical THINGS AS THEY ARE, based on the life of documentary photographer Dorothea Lange. It was a Next Link selection for the New York Musical Theatre Festival and received the “Best of Fest” Award for most popular show. It was also twice nominated for the prestigious Fred Ebb Award. ONLY ANNE, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, written with composer Will Buck, received development at the Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat, was produced at the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, and had selections from the show performed by the Chelsea Symphony and orchestrated by the legendary Bill Brohn at the Musical Theatre Factory’s New Orchestration Gala in New York. LAUTREC AT THE ST. JAMES with composer Julianne Wick Davis was selected to be presented and produced at the 2019 NAMT conference and chosen for the inaugural Applause Concert Series at the Olney Theatre Center in 2022, performed with a 12-piece orchestra. Other shows in development are I, ME, A BEAUTIFUL MAN ALONE – THE NUREYEV PROJECT with composer Will Buck, and THE LAST WAR with composer Julianne Wick Davis. 

He teaches for the Dramatists Guild Institute, the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and NYU Tisch Open Arts. He has also taught for Marymount College of Manhattan and Berklee School of Music. He received his MFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, in Musical Theatre Writing, and his MA from New York University Gallatin School in Musical Theatre Structure & Directing Theory. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin.  He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.