Michael most recently served as the Producing Artistic Director for the Cape Playhouse, where he was celebrated for leading the organization through a significant renaissance. His diverse career in the arts has afforded him positions such as an Artistic Director for Cirque du Soleil, Broadway Liaison and Arts Education Consultant to the New York City Department of Education and Director of Entertainment for Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.
During Rader’s tenure with The Cape Playhouse, the organization flourished through a remarkable period of growth and advancement, culminating in the launch of a significant master plan initiative and capital campaign. The Cape Playhouse exists today as one of the great surviving icons of the American summer theater.
Select additional highlights as a director, producer or associate include: A Christmas Story; The Musical (National Tour), Stalking The Bogeyman (NYTimes Critics Pick, Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Varekai (Cirque Du Soleil), The Testament of Mary, A Christmas Carol (National Tour), Mandela! with Norm Lewis, You are Not Alone with Betty Buckley and Lea DeLaria, and productions with Sacramento Music Circus, The ZACH Theatre, The York Theatre Company, The Actors Studio Repertory Theatre, The Human Race Theatre, The Dramatist Guild, The Huron Playhouse, The Forestburgh Playhouse, Joe’s Pub and the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway benefit production of William Finn’s Elegies: A Song Cycle.
Rader is a graduate of Wright State University, the Actors Studio MFA Directing Program, an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and a proud member of SDC.