General Director and Founder
“Our job is not about artists; it’s about audiences.”
Gianmario Longoni is widely regarded as one of the most influential and visionary entrepreneurs in the live entertainment industry in Italy. His career began with the management and relaunch of the Teatro Smeraldo in Milan, where he pioneered the introduction of major international musicals to Italy. Since 1987, he has brought to the Italian stage iconic productions such as Evita, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Cats, David Copperfield, Shirley MacLaine, Stomp, Woody Allen with the New Orleans Jazz Band, Momix, Hair, and The Rocky Horror Show. Over the years, he has served as artistic director of some of Italy’s most prestigious theatres: Teatro Nazionale di Milano (since 1996), Teatro Ciak di Milano (since 1999), and Teatro Sistina in Rome, where he also became co-owner and served as president until 2020. In 2012, he founded Show Bees, a production and distribution company for internationally acclaimed shows such as Swan Lake Reloaded, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as successful Italian productions including Peter Pan the Musical, Pinocchio Reloaded, and Ghost the Musical (also staged in Madrid). In 2014, he inaugurated Italy’s largest theatre marquee, the new Teatro Ciak, with over 3,000 seats, hosting large-scale events, concerts, and musicals such as Notre Dame de Paris and Romeo and Juliet, alongside performances by renowned artists like Ben Harper, Caetano Veloso, Anastacia, Art Garfunkel, Fiorello, and Dario Fo. The venue also hosted the TV show X Factor. At the Arena di Verona, he produced the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet starring Sergei Polunin and presented major productions like Dirty Dancing and Saturday Night Fever. A pioneer in edutainment in Italy, he has produced large-scale exhibitions such as Titanic – The Artifact Exhibition, Harry Potter The Exhibition, Claude Monet – The Immersive Experience, Unknown – Street Art Exhibition, and the only Italian stop of Tim Burton’s Labyrinth (Milan, Fabbrica del Vapore, 2024-2025). Since March 2020, he has served as Artistic Director of TAM Teatro Arcimboldi Milano, Italy’s largest theatre, transforming it into a vibrant cultural hub where theatre, music, art, and education converge. The Arcimboldi hosts a wide range of top-tier shows and concerts, as well as the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra and the School of Musical Theatre. Since 2021, under his leadership, the theatre has also become a production centre focused on promoting emerging talent and creating high-quality productions that captivate and inspire diverse audiences in Italy and abroad.
