Vivacity Media Group

a boutique public relations agency

specializing in theater

and live entertainment

we are vivacity media group, a boutique public relations agency founded upon – and named for – our team’s core principle of infusing every facet of a press campaign or partnership with verve and vitality. Based in the media capital of the world, New York City, our company’s dynamic team of publicists have a passion for creative storytelling through layered press campaigns, strengthened by decades of industry knowledge and media relationships.

our work

past work

Edit Template

MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT & CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

PRODUCTION OF PUBLICITY TOOLS & MATERIALS

PRESS OUTREACH & PROCUREMENT

PLANNING AND EXPEDITING OF PRESS APPEARANCES

PRESS EVENT & RED CARPET MANAGEMENT

GENERAL PUBLICITY CONSULTING

our team

leslie papa

partner & co-founder

leslie papa

partner & co-founder

Veteran press agent Leslie Papa has represented over seventy productions in her career as a theatrical publicist. Her work heading PR campaigns for Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Tour productions includes the Tony-winning productions Alex Edelman: Just For Us, The Great Gatsby, Jagged Little Pill, American Idiot and Evita (2012 revival); the Tony-nominated POTUS, Rock of Ages, On Your Feet!, Bring It On, and Legally Blonde; and the multiple award-winning Off-Broadway hits Little Shop of Horrors and Titanique. Select additional theater credits include Chicken & Biscuits, Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center, Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself, Accidentally Brave, Cruel Intentions, Heathers: The Musical, Slava’s Snowshow, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Ironbound, Disenchanted!, Catch Me If You Can, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Wintuk by Cirque Du Soleil, 13, Cyrano de Bergerac starring Kevin Kline & Jennifer Garner, Company, Movin’ Out, Grease (2007 Revival), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays and Sweeney Todd starring Patti LuPone & Michael Cerveris. Outside the scope of theatre production PR, Leslie has managed campaigns for television shows & specials, notable performers, philanthropic enterprises and cultural institutions. TV credits include the NBC series “SMASH,” MTV’s Legally Blonde special and reality show “The Search for Elle Woods,” and NBC reality series “Grease: You’re the One That I Want.” Prior to forming Vivacity, Leslie worked as a Senior Account Executive at The Hartman Group (formerly Barlow-Hartman). A graduate of Columbia University, Leslie began her career at Carol Fineman Publicity, representing the Public Theater as well as various other Off-Broadway productions including the multi-award winning production of The Exonerated, Modern Orthodox and Hank Williams: Lost Highway.

Edit Template

whitney holden gore

partner & co-founder

whitney holden gore

partner & co-founder

Whitney’s career as a publicist in the theater and music industries spans eighteen years, most of which has been spent representing Broadway & Off-Broadway productions alongside Leslie, including the current productions Titanique, Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), The Great Gatsby, Little Shop of Horrors, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the upcoming Every Brilliant Thing starring Daniel Radcliffe. Other recent highlights include Once Upon A Mattress starring Sutton Foster, the hit holiday musical Elf, Call Me Izzy, Alex Edelman’s Tony Award-winning Just For Us, Mike Birbiglia’s The Old Man & The Pool, Jeff Ross’s Take A Banana For The Ride, Ginger Twinsies, How To Dance in Ohio, Once Upon A One More Time, POTUS, Jagged Little Pill, Rock of Ages, Melissa Etheridge: My Window, Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself, On Your Feet!, Heathers: The Musical, Cruel Intentions, and dozens of plays for the Obie & Lortel Award-winning WP Theater.

Before Vivacity, Whitney was a press agent at the publicity firm The Hartman Group, where she repped such shows as Rock of Ages, Bring It On: The Musical, Jekyll & Hyde, Evita starring Ricky Martin & Elena Roger, Romeo & Juliet starring Orlando Bloom & Condola Rashad, and NBC’s “Smash”. Her work prior to landing on Broadway was as a Senior Publicist at Cohn Dutcher Associates, representing performing arts institutions like The New York Pops and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Caramoor International Music Festival, and Chicago’s acclaimed Ravinia Festival. Whitney hails from Connecticut and earned a B.A. in Public Relations from Miami University. When not speed-walking through the theater district, she can usually be found wandering local parks with her dog Penny, loitering in the history section of bookstores, or leisurely honing her skills as an amateur sommelier.

Edit Template

caitlin brightman

publicity manager

caitlin brightman

publicity manager

Caitlin’s passion for entrepreneurship, creative marketing, and performing arts led her to the business of Broadway. Her mission is finding innovative ways to bring new audiences into the performing arts: whether through directing theater education programs, making viral TikToks, or coordinating with press to get shows national media attention. Prior to joining Vivacity, Caitlin’s experience in the industry included roles at Jujamcyn Theatres and 101 Productions, assisting in the general management, ticketing analysis, producing, and strategic marketing of Broadway shows including Funny Girl, Hadestown, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Some Like It Hot, Once Upon A One More Time, Into the Woods, and Dear Evan Hansen. Her work in NYC has also included the social media campaign for The Pyramid: A Dance Moms Parody Musical, and producing cabaret shows at 54 Below. Originally from MA, Caitlin graduated from UMass Amherst where she studied Marketing and Arts Management.

Edit Template

danaley
silan

publicity assistant

danaley silan

publicity assistant

Danaley is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Pace University with degrees in Advertising & Integrated Marketing Communications and Arts & Entertainment Management. Originally from Orange County, California, she has always loved immersing herself in the theatre scene, whether that be onstage, backstage, front of house, or now, in the world of public relations. In the past, she has held internship positions that have helped her sharpen her skills in arts administration, social media marketing, and media planning and buying. Driven by a passion for storytelling and inclusivity, Danaley is passionate about helping artists reach the audiences that they want to and fostering innovation and diversity in the arts.

Edit Template

shea mcgovern

publicity assistant

shea mcgovern

publicity assistant

Shea is proud to be part of the Vivacity team. After seeing a touring production of Wicked in her hometown of Los Angeles, CA, she fell in love with theater and hasn’t looked back since. Earning her BA in Media Arts Production from Emerson College, Shea is dedicated to supporting work that challenges, connects, and resonates with audiences. Previously working at DKC/O&M, she assisted on many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Othello; Operation Mincemeat; John Proctor is the Villain; The Wiz; Good Night, and Good Luck; Swept Away; Hold on to Me Darling; My First Ex-Husband; and Pre-Existing Condition.

Edit Template

elizabeth erb

events & media assistant

elizabeth erb

events & media assistant

Elizabeth began her career in theatrical publicity as an intern at Polk & Co, before joining the Vivacity team in 2024. Her prior experience spans both the theatre and journalism industries, including roles at Kansas City's NPR station KCUR 89.3. Her work as an actor has taken her across the country. She has performed at the Shakespeare Theatre Company D.C., Chautauqua Theater Company, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Hangar Theatre Company, and the Guthrie Theater, among others. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater and a Master of Science from Columbia University's Journalism School.

Edit Template

juliana hannett

press agent

juliana hannett

press agent

Juliana began her career as a stage manager but found her calling as a theatrical press agent in 2001. She has had the pleasure of working on many Broadway productions over the years in an agency setting with Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Barlow-Hartman/The Hartman Group, Philip Rinaldi Publicity, and Polk & Co. including the Tony-winning Best Plays Take Me Out and The History Boys; Best Musicals Billy Elliot and Memphis; as well as other notable productions including Beauty and the Beast; 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winner Topdog/Underdog (original Broadway production); the 2010 and 2012 productions of the hit musical Elf; the Broadway revival of David Hare's Skylight (2015 Tony winner for Best Revival); Larry David's Broadway debut as playwright and star of Fish in the Dark; and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Flick, by Annie Baker. She also had the pleasure of representing the acclaimed revivals of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and The Crucible, both directed by Tony winner Ivo van Hove, celebrating Arthur Miller’s centennial in the 2015-16 season. In the 2016-17 season, Juliana represented the hit comedy Oh, Hello on Broadway starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, as well as the stage adaptation of the beloved animated film Anastasia. She then joined the team at Disney Theatrical Productions as publicist for The Lion King, overseeing the campaign for its 20th anniversary on Broadway, as well as the 4th anniversary campaign for Aladdin. In April 2018, Juliana became a Vice President at Rubenstein, representing a variety of entertainment clients, including the Broadway productions of The Cher Show, Derren Brown: Secret, A Christmas Carol and Girl from the North Country, a new musical featuring the catalog of Bob Dylan which was the last show to open on Broadway prior to the beginning of quarantine in March 2020. Due to the circumstances of the pandemic, Juliana struck out on her own, forming a consultancy that ultimately led to four wonderful years as the General Press Representative for Lincoln Center Theater, where she had the honor of seeing the institution through its 40th Anniversary and the retirement of legendary Producing Artistic Director André Bishop. Juliana is thrilled to be a part of Team Vivacity!

Edit Template

nicholas buchholz

press associate

nicholas buchholz

press associate

Nicholas has been a press agent in New York for nearly a decade. He spent most of his career, thus far, representing over 60 award-winning Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as concerts and galas at Lincoln Center Theater, seeing out the end of the illustrious tenure of Artistic Director André Bishop. Past productions include the Tony Award-winning revival of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady and Camelot; Oslo by J.T. Rogers (Tony Award for Best Play); To Kill a Mockingbird by Aaron Sorkin; JUNK and McNeal (marking the Broadway debut of Robert Downey Jr.) by Ayad Akhtar; Steve Carell in Uncle Vanya; Flying Over Sunset by James Lapine, Tom Kitt and Michael Korie; Pipeline by Dominque Morisseau; The Gardens of Anuncia by Michael John LaChiusa; Flex by Candrice Jones; The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe; the opera adaption of Intimate Apparel by Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage; and a new version of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts with Lily Rabe, Billy Crudup and Hamish Linklater. Nicholas has also represented new works by Sir Tom Stoppard, John Guare, Samuel D. Hunter, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Sarah Ruhl, Bryna Turner, Aya Ogawa, Katori Hall, Zoe Kazan and Antoinette Chinoyne Nwandu; and has worked with such directors as Bartlett Sher, James Lapine, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Graciele Daniele, Jerry Zaks, Tyne Rafaeli, Lila Neugebauer and Danya Taymor. He is thrilled to join the Vivacity team!

Edit Template