McDaniel succeeds Michael Bush, who announced in September that he would exit his role as artistic director of the conference after eight years.

"I have been deeply fond of the Cabaret art form ever since my father took me to Bobby Short's performance at the Café Carlyle when I was in school. I was instantly hooked!" McDaniel said in a statement. "I look forward to jumping into the sandbox at the O’Neill, creating a vibrant and compelling season for next summer."

McDaniel is known to wider television audiences for his work on "The Rosie O’Donnell Show." He musical-directed and arranged the acclaimed solo show Patti LuPone On Broadway and served as musical director for the 1994 revival of Grease, as well as recent musicals Bonnie & Clyde, Catch Me If You Can and Brooklyn.

The Cabaret Junior Fellows program will continue under music director Brad Simmons (Lysistrata Jones). Junior Fellows develops cabaret performance skills of teenagers, integrating their curriculum into the broader Cabaret and Performance Conference.

The 2013 Cabaret & Performance Conference will take place July 31-Aug. 10, 2013, in Waterford, CT. Numerous performers, including Penny Fuller, Barry Kleinbort, Joel Silberman, Leslie Uggams, Amanda McBroom, Lillias White, Marilyn Maye and Jonathan Brielle, have showcased work during the Cabaret and Performance Conference. Among the works to be developed there are [title of show], The Story of My Life and Now. Here. This.

For more information, visit www.theoneill.org.

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The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was founded in 1964 and is based in Waterford, CT. Programs at the Center include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute. The Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home, is also owned and operated by the group.