John McDonnell Tierney, aka “Jack,” is a composer and playwright with an Off-Broadway Track-Record currently working on his seventh full-length work for theater and his first non-musical titled “Keepers of The Secret. Jack is the composer, lyricist and book writer for The Humanity’s Child Musicals, a four part saga that follows the development of a single character (“Humanity’s Child”) from adolescence to adulthood. The first in the quartet, titled “Humanity’s Child: The Dream,” premiered Hartford, CT in 2016 to standing ovations. The second, titled “Humanity’s Child: A Musical for Today,” premiered at the 2019 New York Theater Festival where it was nominated for best musical and best direction, and then ran for four weeks at the Players Theater Off-Broadway, August-September, 2019. The third musical in the series, titled “Humanity’s Child: More Than a Musical,” premiered as an “Audio-Musical” in May 2020 and was featured on the prestigious Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival through May 2021. The fourth musical in the series, titled; “Extraordinary Hero,” premiered on-line for “Virtual Theater” and played to over 250 people in February 2022 and will be streaming on the Rogue Theatre Festival June 30-July 3, 2022. Jack holds advanced degrees in his field (Bachelor's & Master’s: UMASS; PhD: UCONN) and has conducted and/or directed more than two-dozen musicals with School, College, Community, and Professional companies. He is also a performer in his own right. Most recently, Jack has been active as an actor/director with several ZOOM-based collaborations.