Software engineer turned Tony-nominated Broadway producer finds community behind the curtain

While growing up in China, Harry Cheng ’15 never expected to end up at an American liberal arts college. Nor did he expect to excel at computer science instead of pursuing a chemistry major. Even more unexpected was his path to Broadway. Just eight years after seeing his first live musical, Cheng is a Tony-nominated producer with a love for the theatre and the community that comes with it. Here’s how he turned problem solving and people skills gained at The College of Wooster into both a software engineering career and a “side gig” producing Broadway shows.

Cheng planned to stay in China after high school, but with his family’s encouragement, he ventured to the U.S. for a completely different educational environment. “We thought a liberal arts college could be a good fit with more of a community experience that focuses on building a person instead of just technical training,” said Cheng.

At Wooster, Cheng enjoyed exploring different disciplines and ultimately declared a major in computer science. He put practical skills to work as an Applied Methods and Research Experience (AMRE) consultant for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). As part of a three-student team, Cheng helped build a graphical user interface to connect R programming language with the center’s Galaxy application to simplify data analysis and expand accessibility.

Cheng also completed an internship with local software start up, Cureo, and demonstrated his programming skills with an Independent Study where he built a software prototype for Wooster High School to manage student academic and behavioral data. The project gave the school a proof of concept to seek additional funding, and it gave Cheng confirmation that he wanted to pursue similar career work.

“Many classmates wanted to go and get a Ph.D. and do academic research, but I wanted to build software and solve problems,” said Cheng. “My I.S. mentor, Dr. Simon Gray helped me along that route. AMRE and the internship also helped me build professional skills in the industry.”

A few years later, during a stressful season in graduate school, Cheng needed a distraction. As an avid South Park fan, he bought a ticket to a touring production of The Book of Mormon, without expecting to enjoy it. Though he earned a minor in music at Wooster, he said he hated movie-musicals for bursting into song. He saw them as overly dramatic and artificial in nature. “The show ended up changing my life,” said Cheng. “I didn’t know how visceral the live musical experience could be.” The abstract stage design and storytelling made sense in this format. “It’s like something tribal or primal where people gather around to listen to a story and be entertained.”

After moving to California for a position at Amazon, Cheng saw every theatre production he could in San Jose and San Francisco. Still, a tech-focused Bay Area felt barren for culture. He transferred his role to NYC in 2021 to be as close as possible to America’s theatre hub, where he spammed the ticket lotteries to see shows on the regular. Cheng connected with Chinese peers and like-minded groups of theatre friends like his producing partner, Jiani Bai. They shared an interest in getting into the industry. His problem-solving skills and her finance background made them both a great fit for the business side of theatre. Strategic networking led the pair to a conversation with two-time Tony Award-winning producer, Brian Spector. He was a co-producer on Suffs, which was working to transfer from an off-Broadway run.

Harry Cheng ’15 (right) poses with his mentor, Brian Spector (left) and producing partner, Jiani Bai in front of the marquee of their Tony-nominated production, The Hills of California.

They eagerly invested in the show and learned the business of Broadway through Spector’s mentorship. “You can go to school for stage management, acting, or writing, but that’s not the case for producing or fundraising for shows,” explained Cheng. When Spector became the lead producer of the 2024 Broadway transfer of The Hills of California (a play from London’s West End), he invited Cheng and Bai to co-produce. The show ran on Broadway from September to December that year, and earned seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, in 2025.

“I never imagined I would be at the Tony Awards with a credit or have a reason to go at all,” said Cheng. “It was kind of like a commencement because I got to see my colleagues and theatre friends and celebrate our hard work of the past year.” Though they didn’t win Best Play, Cheng was thrilled to be in the wings to witness an actor he looks up to, Francis Jue, win Best Featured Actor in a Play for Yellow Face.

Today Cheng works as a software engineer for Bloomberg and enjoys producing as his side career. He and Bai co-produced Redwood starring Idina Menzel in spring 2025 and continue to collaborate with Spector on Wild About You (still in development). They’re also co-producers for the Suffs North American tour, which marches into Cleveland’s Playhouse Square in February 2026.

Cheng says many other producers have other full-time jobs like he does. “It’s a surprisingly small community. The business model isn’t hard, but it requires a lot of people skills and networking,” he said. He’s grateful to have initially built these skills at Wooster and for an “eye-opening” liberal arts curriculum that let him explore outside his major. “It prevents tunnel vision in one direction, so you won’t lose sight of what the whole world has to offer.”

Featured image: Harry Cheng ’15 attended the 78th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 8, 2025.

Posted in Alumni, Homepage Featured on December 15, 2025.