VOS USO
About the Team
Gerald Sternbach
Musical Director
Gerald Sternbach, presently and proudly serving as the musical director for the Valley Outreach Synagogue. has done three shows on Broadway and Los Angeles premieres of such shows as Les Miserablés. He has accompanied and worked with Marilyn Horne, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Fisher, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Carol Burnett, Adam Lambert, Nancy Wilson, John Lithgow and Judith Light. For Mel Brooks, he played his Live at the Geffen show (filmed for HBO), And made his London debut doing a one off of the same show at the Prince of Wales Theater. Jerry also accompanies Frank Ferrante in extended runs of An Evening With Groucho all over the country, and streaming on a PBS station near you!
Witnesses, a new original musical based on five surviving diaries of teenagers who were victims of the Holocaust, has some of his songs written in collaboration with Jordan Beck , featured with four other songwriting teams, and a book by Tony award winner, Robert Freedman. It had its world premiere the summer of 2022 and is slated for further productions 2023. He also did all of the arrangements and orchestrations for this important musical called “a triumph” by the San Diego Union Tribune.
David Way
Co-Director
David Way is both a new member of VOS (2nd year) and somewhat recent retiree (2021) from the LAUSD after 36 years of service as a bilingual elementary school teacher and arts and secondary school administrator. He holds a BA in Drama from UC Irvine with honors in Musical Theatre Performance (1984), an MA in Teaching and Learning from National University (1991) and an MS in Administration from Pepperdine University (2001). David recently resumed musical theatre performance in last spring’s VOS production of “Broadway 1965.” Other roles have included Pirelli (Sweeney Todd), Street Singer (the Threepenny Opera), Luis (the Gondoliers), Matt - the boy (The Fantasticks), Ziegfeld Tenor (Funny Girl), Frederick (The Pirates of Penzance), David (Faces on the Wall), Amahl (Amahl and the Night Visitors - as a 12 yo boy Soprano), and been featured in Pippin, The Robber Bridegroom, West Side Story (Arab), Identical Twins from Baltimore (with Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Cabaret (w/ Arte Johnson) among others. David can be seen monthly on the Bima @ VOS as a member of the choir and has sung with the Gwen Wyatt Chorale/WLA Spiritual Chorus for many years and with them sung at Carnegie Hall (2005/2010/spr 2025). He has studied Voice/Singing with Cantor Nate Lam, (the late) Rebecca Somberg and most notably has completed nearly 25 years of semi-private academic Voice Science study with Joel Ewing, PhD DMA with whom he continues his voice studies. David teaches Voice and Singing privately (since 2007)and is very excited to have not only a role in VOS-USO (Director), but also to serve as Co-producer and Co- Director for this production.
Bronwen Li-Paz
Co-Director
Bronwen Li-Paz, Rebbetzin of Valley Outreach Synagogue, studied musical theatre in London. She sang, danced, and acted in numerous shows in London’s West End and in major European cities for nearly two decades before emigrating to the US. She has taught theatre in London and Los Angeles and communicated her passion for musical theatre by teaching dance and music to young children, and writing, producing, directing and choreographing children's musical shows. Bronwen sings as Cantorial Soloist at VOS and performs in VOS concerts. The VOS Players, founded in 2016, offers Bronwen the opportunity to direct adults and children in full-length shows. She is delighted to collaborate with musical theater luminary, Gerald Sternbach, at VOS and to bring BROADWAY 1965 to the stage in 2023.
Bronwen will always cherish her close friendship and collaboration with the late Warren Berlinger, after whom, VOS Players - Berlinger Performing Arts Program is named.
Hannah Li-Paz
Co-Director
Hannah Li-Paz is thrilled to be co-directing, co-choreographing, assistant stage managing, and participating in VOS Players’1965 Broadway Revue. After acting for many years, she began experimenting with the behind the scenes work of theatre and has loved each aspect. She has Stage Managed summer productions, Assistant Stage Managed VOS Players’ Oliver, Agoura High School’s Pippin, and worked on the tech crew for many productions. She has been dancing since childhood and is thrilled to have been able to choreograph with the amazing Morgan Lavin. She would like to thank Bronwen Li-Paz for all her never ending, hard work, Jerry Sternbach for his incredible musical talents and creativity, and the amazing cast for making this such a great show to be a part of.
Eric Menyuk
Writer
Prior to his career in law, Eric Menyuk, native Bostonian, had acted on stage, in film and television for over 20 years, appearing in films like “The Air Up There” with Kevin Bacon and “Fearless” with Jeff Bridges. He also appeared in many television shows landing such memorable roles as “The Traveler” on Star Trek: The Next Generation (He is one of the few lawyers with his own “action figure.”) And he guest starred and appeared multiple times on such shows as “Matlock” with Andy Griffith, “Married With Children,” and “Diagnosis Murder” with Dick Van Dyke. His first love, however, was always the theater. He played Fagan in Oliver in 6th grade, and reprised the role for V.O.S. in 2019. One of his treasured roles however was when he was able to play Tevye in a production of “Fiddler on the Roof” in which appeared his two (now adult) children, Max and Maddie. Eric has enjoyed many collaborations with V.O.S. writing material for talent shows, and two productions of “A Jewish Home Companion” in which he created the memorable Chaim Hermective: Jewish Detective. He adores working with, over and under both Ron and Bronwen Li-Paz, and it triply blessed in this collaboration in meeting a truly amazingly talented musical director, Jerry Sternbach.