Emcee and Judges
Emcee
Bob Herzog
Bob Herzog joined the Local 12 team at the end of 2005. He anchors Good Morning Cincinnati with John Lomax and Sheila Gray.
Bob is a Cincinnati guy. More specifically, he’s a proud West Side guy. As a hometown boy, he takes special pride in getting involved in community events. Bob is always inspired to see neighbors helping neighbors and friends helping friends.
He graduated from Oak Hills High School and Xavier University. Bob also obtained a law degree from Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.
Bob loves all kinds of music and movies and has a passion for basketball, but his number one hobby is spending time with his wife and four children.
Judge
Roderick Justice
Roderick Justice is a proud member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and has been producing theatre for nearly two decades. He is an award-winning choreographer, actor, director, costume designer, playwright, adjudicator, and mentor to hundreds of young performers. Originally hailing from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Roderick has trained and worked in cities all over the United States, in Canada and Europe, but now proudly calls Cincinnati his home.
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati welcomed Roderick in 2008 as the company’s first full-time Associate Artistic Director, where he directed, choreographed, and designed for the MainStage Season. Later, he became the Program Director of The STAR Program, the highly-acclaimed musical theatre training program for young performers ages 9 to 18. Over the years, he has spearheaded many new TCT artistic and educational programs such as the Resident Artist Company, the stARTs Program (now STAR Red Bank), and the STAR Cabaret Program (now STAR All-Stars). Many of his STAR alums have gone on to great success on Broadway, TV, and film.
Roderick’s tenure has been driven by his passion for live theatre-for-youth, the impact the arts have on early childhood development, and harnessing the power of storytelling to change the world for the next generation. Since becoming the Producing Artistic Director in 2015, he has commissioned and produced over a dozen new musicals, plays, and world-premiere adaptations.
He often works as a free-lance guest artist, designer, director, and choreographer for other arts organizations, including as his alma mater, Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (SOTA), The School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), the award-winning Commonwealth Theatre Company, the Carnegie, and The Lincoln Amphitheater in Lincoln City, Indiana.
Judge
Emilie Larosa
Emilie received a BA in Dance Management from the acclaimed Oklahoma City University’s School of Dance and Arts Management. Upon receiving her degree, she moved to New York where she studied at Broadway Dance Center. She danced with several companies including Peggy Spina Tap Company, Tap Fusion, and the New Jersey Tap Ensemble where she served as managing director. She is a founding member of Cincinnati Taps Inc, a nonprofit dance company.
Judge
Emily Luther
New England born and raised, Luther started a career in music at the age of nine. By the age of eleven, she had already started working in professional theatre and taking private vocal instruction. Even at a young age she fell in love with performing and studied with various coaches specializing in voice performance. After high school, she attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music majoring in Vocal Performance & Music Therapy. Her career then blossomed as a professional singer, model, and actress.
Luther's career while at Berklee did not go unnoticed. At the age of 19, she released a cover of Adele's, "Someone Like You" with fellow Berklee Alumni, Charlie Puth. After becoming a viral hit, talk show mogul Ellen Degeneres invited the singers to perform on her syndicated TV show. After a surprise signing to her record label, eleveneleven, Luther also signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group.
Luther is best known for versatility as a contemporary vocalist. Her vocal tone and powerhouse vocal abilities have given her the ability to cross genres effortlessly. She has shared the stage with vocal greats like Dionne Warwick, Yolanda Adams, and has even offered vocals for the Grammy Foundation.
After taking time away from mainstream music, Luther decided to experiment with a Contemporary Pop/Jazz sound and audition for the NBC hit, "The Voice." After a soulful performance of the classic, "Summertime," Luther managed to get a three-chair turn and began her journey with Team Adam Levine.
Her success on the show has given Luther to opportunity to continue sharing her unique sound and has created an enthusiastic buzz worldwide as an artist moving her way down a "classic, sophisticated, yet fresh sound."
Judge
D. Lynn Meyers
As Producing Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, D. Lynn Meyers has directed more than 100 world and regional premieres, including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hands on a Hardbody, Detroit ’67, I Am My Own Wife, and Next to Normal. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and has directed Off-Broadway at the York Theatre as well as extensively throughout the US and Canada. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
As a member of the Casting Society of America, Ms. Meyers has cast for PBS, CBS, BBC, HBO, Paramount, and MGM. Her recent feature credits include Carol, Miles Ahead, The Goat, The Old Man & the Gun, and The Public; she also served as the Location Casting Director for The Shawshank Redemption. She was named a finalist for the Zelda Fichandler National Award in 2011, is a past recipient of the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award, and received the 2018 Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize for her regional arts impact and leadership.
Preliminary Round Judge and Performer
Ron Bohmer
In a career spanning over twenty-five years in Broadway productions and with symphony orchestras worldwide, Ron Bohmer most recently starred as the Prophet Joseph Smith in the mega-hit The Book of Mormon. On stage, he has starred as the Phantom in The Phantom Of The Opera, Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (Jefferson Award nomination), Alex in Aspects Of Love (LA Robby award), Enjolras in Les Misérables, Coach Bolton in the cultural phenomenon Disney’s High School Musical, Sir Percival Glyde in The Woman in White, and as the title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel (National Broadway Theatre Award nomination). His most recent Broadway roles include Father in the Tony-nominated revival of Ragtime and Frid in the Tony-nominated revival of A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.
As a recording artist and singer/songwriter, Ron’s work includes his 2019 release Legacy, everyman, and another life, now available on all digital platforms.
Additional recordings include The Thing About Men, Forbidden Broadway-S.V.U., Broadway by the Year-1929, Broadway Unplugged 2, and Songs from RAGTIME (original 2009 cast).
As a concert soloist, Ron has appeared at Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, New York City’s Town Hall, and as a frequent guest artist with conductors, symphonies and pops orchestras worldwide.
As an acting coach, Ron’s method The Practice has helped professionals land roles in some of the biggest hit shows of the last decade.
Ron is the father of 2 daughters, Cassidy and Austen. He is married to record-breaking Broadway actor, speaker, and author Sandra Joseph. They now reside in San Diego, California.
