Million Dollar Quartet Christmas 2021

Grantors

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Sponsors

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Sponsors

Donors

Tributes

Performers

Dan Middleditch

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Standby Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash / Music Captain

Hunter Semrau

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Standby Jerry Lee Lewis

Brynn Smith-Jenkins

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Standby Dyanne

Brandon Fillette

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Jerry Lee Lewis

Kurt Jenkins

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Carl Perkins

Kathleen Macari

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Dyanne

Matthew Mucha

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Sam Phillips

Sean Preece

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Fluke

Bill Scott Sheets

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Johnny Cash

Alex Swindle

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Elvis

Nathan Yates

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Brother Jay

Male Understudy - Trevor Dorner

Male Understudy - Dan Middleditch

Dyanne Understudy - Chandler Reeves

Setting

Sun Records Studio, Memphis, Tennessee. December 4, 1956

Songs & Scenes

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" – Company

Music by Walter Kent, Lyrics by Kim Gannon and Buck Ram This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" - Elvis & Company

Music and Lyrics by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Mele Kalikimaka" – Dyanne & Company

Music and Lyrics by R. Alex Anderson This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" – Johnny Cash & Company

This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Jingle Bells" – Jerry Lee Lewis & Company

Music and Lyrics by James Lord Pierpont This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Run, Rudolph, Run" – Carl Perkins & Company

Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marks and Marvin Lee Brodie This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Home for the Holidays" – Company

Music by Robert Allenand, Lyrics Al Stillman This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Santa Claus is Back in Town" – Company

Music and Lyrics by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"O, Christmas Tree" – Dyanne & Carl Perkins

Music and Lyrics by Ernst Anschütz This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved

"Don't Be Cruel" – Elvis Presley

Music and Lyrics by Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved

"Blue Christmas" – Company

Music and Lyrics by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Cotton Top" – Carl Perkins

Music and Lyrics by Carl Perkins This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Go Tell It On the Mountain" / "I Shall Not Be Moved" – Company

This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Chantilly Lace" – Jerry Lee Lewis

Music and Lyrics by Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Santa Baby" – Dyanne

Music and Lyrics by Joan Javits and Philip Springer This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Que Sera, Sera" / "Let the Good Times Roll" / "Hot Diggity" / "Tutti Frutti" – Company

"Que Sera, Sera" Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans; "Let the Good Times Roll" Music and Lyrics by Shirley Goodman and Leonard Lee; "Hot Diggity" Music and Lyrics by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning; "Tutti Frutti" Music and Lyrics by Little Richard and Dorothy LaBostrie These Compositions are used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Ring of Fire" – Johnny Cash

Music and Lyrics by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" – Company

Music and Lyrics by Leon T. René This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Bad Kid" – Jerry Lee Lewis

Music and Lyrics by Doug Corcoran, Jonathan David McPherson, and James E. Sutton This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Silent Night" – Company

Music by Franz Xaver Gruber, Lyrics by Joseph Mohr This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" / "Jingle Bell Rock" – Company

"Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree" Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marks; "Jingle Bell Rock" Music and Lyrics by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe This Composition is used by permission of the Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Production Staff

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Venue Staff

School Administration Staff

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Musicians

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Board Members

Student Advisory Board

Credits

Lighting equipment from PRG Lighting, sound equipment from Sound Associates, rehearsed at The Public Theater’s Rehearsal Studios. Developed as part of Irons in the Fire at Fault Line Theatre in New York City.

Special Thanks

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

“Actors’ Equity Association (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an International organization of performing arts unions. www.actorsequity.org

United Scenic Artists ● Local USA 829 of the I.A.T.S.E represents the Designers & Scenic Artists for the American Theatre

ATPAM, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers (IATSE Local 18032), represents the Press Agents, Company Managers, and Theatre Managers employed on this production.

Meet the Cast

Dan Middleditch

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Standby Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash / Music Captain

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Dan Middleditch is so excited to be a part of the MDQX family! Past credits include Elvis Presley (Million Dollar Quartet, Norwegian Cruise Line) and Buddy Holly (The Buddy Holly Story). He is also an original music artist, and feel free to follow his social media.

Hunter Semrau

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Standby Jerry Lee Lewis

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Hunter Semrau is a Canadian actor/musician and is stoked to be making his National Tour debut! He is a recent graduate of Oklahoma City University with a BM in Musical Theatre where he performed in shows such as Spring Awakening (Moritz Stiefel) and A Little Night Music (Henrik Egerman), amongst others. Hunter’s recent professional credits include New West Theatre Co.’s Million Dollar Quartet (Jerry Lee Lewis), and Okoboji Summer Theatre’s Pump Boys and Dinettes (L.M.).

Brynn Smith-Jenkins

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Standby Dyanne

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Brynn Smith-Jenkins is thrilled to be spending the Holiday season with her husband, Kurt, and the rest of the incredible Million Dollar Quartet Christmas team. Brynn has previously been seen on the national tour of Mamma Mia! (U/S Sophie), as well as with Norwegian Cruise Line in Swing! The Musical (Lead Female Vocalist), Million Dollar Quartet (Dyanne), Burn the Floor (Female Vocalist) and Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Swing, U/S Marion). Special thanks to Scott and Chuck. Much love to Mom and Dad, Jim and Diane, and Nan and Phil for all their support.

Brandon Fillette

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Jerry Lee Lewis

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Brandon Fillette has been working in theatre for the better part of two decades. He has worked as an actor/musician, toured (Pump Boys and Dinettes, Million Dollar Quartet), and spent two years playing for Holland America Cruiselines as a dueling pianist (Billboard Onboard). He holds a B.F.A in Musical Theatre Performance from East Carolina University and recently graduated from BerkleeNYC in the inaugural class with a Masters in Writing Design for Musical Theater. Thanks to family and friends for helping him pursue his dream of back-up singing and playing keys 2 for Billy Joel!

Kurt Jenkins

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Carl Perkins

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Kurt Jenkins has been involved with Million Dollar Quartet since 2013; first in the original Chicago production, then on the high seas with Norwegian Cruise Line. Now, Kurt is grateful to be performing in this amazing sequel with such a talented cast! When Kurt isn’t on stage, he documents his journey on social media. Follow @kurtjenkins on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and watch as he builds the future. Past credits include: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Bat Boy, and Godspell. Enjoy the show!

Kathleen Macari

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Dyanne

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Kathleen Macari is so excited to be back performing Million Dollar Quartet Christmas after our amazing run last year! Kathleen resides in New York City and got her BFA in Performing Arts from Niagara University. She has previously been seen as Dyanne (Million Dollar Quartet), Millie Dillmount (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Trenna (Ring of Fire), Suzy Hendricks (Wait Until Dark) among others. Thank you to the Macari/O’Brien family and friends for your love and support!

Matthew Mucha

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Sam Phillips

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Matthew Mucha is excited to be back for another year of MDQX! Off-Broadway: Harmony (NYTF), National Tour: Million Dollar Quartet, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (World Premiere, First National), Bandstand (Broadway First National). Selected Regional: Memphis (CFRT), The Sound of Music (ASF), Tuck Everlasting (SSTI). Matthew is also the co-creator and co-host of the Broadway web series, Second Act Snacks, which is currently streaming on broad.stream. He is also the co-founder of Snack Time Studios LLC, which produces Second Act Snacks (@secondactsnacks) and the podcast, Mutha. Endless thanks to his team at ATB Talent, and big love to his family and Jaime.

Sean Preece

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Fluke

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Sean Preece is a Nashville based multi-instrumentalist musician/songwriter. He has performed all over the world and has performed with Million Dollar Quartet on the Norwegian Cruise Line. Over the years, He has performed and recorded with artists such as Mike Gordon (Phish), Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello), Shannon McNally and Joshua Panda (America’s Got Talent). You can listen to his original music and see his tour schedule on his website.

Bill Scott Sheets

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Johnny Cash

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Musical theatre credits include: Million Dollar Quartet (Norwegian Cruise Line, Paramount Theatre/Chicago, The Phoenix Theatre Company, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, PCPA) and Ring of Fire (Capital Repertory Theatre). Bill’s performed as a guest entertainer in December of ’63 (TAD Management). Bill was born and raised in Owasso, OK. He received his Bachelor's in Music Education at Oklahoma State University. Bill would like to thank his wife, family, and dog for their love and support.

Alex Swindle

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Elvis

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Alex Swindle is a 28-year-old singer, musician, National Grand Champion and 2015 Ultimate Elvis Top Ten World Finalist from Birmingham, Alabama. Growing up in a household of musicians, Alex discovered his passion for performing at a very young age. After twelve years of performing as an Elvis tribute artist, Alex brings to the stage the thrill and charged atmosphere that’s reminiscent of young Elvis in his Sun Record days of 1945. A genuine southern gentleman, Alex presents to his audience a raw talent and compelling charm much like Elvis at the beginning of his career.

Nathan Yates

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Brother Jay

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Nathan Yates is a NYC-based Actor who’s appeared in numerous productions throughout the US and beyond. You can follow his work as a recording artist on all streaming platforms.

Meet the Team

Scott Weinstein

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Director

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Scott Weinstein is an award-winning Director and Writer based in New York City. His work as a director has been seen at major regional theaters around the country and he recently won the Joseph Jefferson award for his Actor-Musician, chamber style re-conception of Ragtime with Griffin Theatre, where he is an ensemble member. Scott was the Associate and Resident Director for the Broadway National Tour, Las Vegas and Chicago productions of the hit musical Million Dollar Quartet. He has developed new work at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Pittsburgh CLO, The American Music Theatre Project, The Marriott Theatre, Route 66 Theatre, The Rev, Norwegian Creative Studios and others. Graduate of Northwestern University and proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He is represented by William Morris Endeavor.

Chuck Mead

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Music Supervision, Arrangements, and Orchestrations

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Chuck Mead is best known for being one of the founding members of three time Grammy nominated, Country Music Association Award winning country music group BR5-49. Between 1996 and 2005 the band released seven successful records before disbanding. In 2006 he started work as Music Supervisor/Director of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical “Million Dollar Quartet.” A member of the original creative team, he shaped the music for the Chicago, Broadway, West End, Las Vegas, and National Tour productions of MDQ all the while touring the world with his band and releasing four critically acclaimed solo albums. In 2017, Mead oversaw the music for the CMT television series “Sun Records” and in 2021 worked as Music Supervisor for the upcoming feature film “Neon Highway.”

Jonny Baird

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Associate Music Supervisor

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Jonny Baird is excited to be a part of the Million Dollar Quartet family as the associate music director and co-music arranger. For the past 5 years he has been Music Supervisor for Norwegian Cruise Line. Shows includes Million Dollar Quartet, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, After Midnight, Winelovers the Musical. Broadway: Annie Revival. Tours: Bring It On, Sister Act. Jonny also orchestrates and arranges music throughout New York City. He was an orchestrator for the Virginia Symphony. Favorite shows he has music directed: Jersey Boys, Ragtime, Bat Boy, The Who’s Tommy, Les Miserables, Double Threat Trio. He holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at Shenandoah Conservatory. He would like to thank everyone at the Phoenix Theatre Company and Madison Wells Live for having him. He’d also like to thank his family and friends for the countless support.

Tasha Spear

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Associate Director

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Tasha Spear is thrilled to be back working on Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. She was a part of the World Premiere team last year, as well. Tasha is a New York based director and choreographer. She holds a BA in Critical Theory & Social Justice and an MFA in Theatre Directing. Some credits include Death Deadlines (Director), Miss Julie (Director), Grímnismál (Or, the Magpie Play) (Director), Polyphemus (Director and Co-Developer), Grease (Assistant Director), Cabaret (Assistant Director), and Footloose (Choreographer).

dots

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Scenic Designer

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dots is a design collective based in New York City specializing in designing environments for narratives, experiences and performances. Hailing from Colombia, South Africa and Japan, we are Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Andrew Moerdyk&Kimie Nishikawa. We approach every project with diversity of thought and burning curiosity and, above all, we believe in the value of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Izumi Inaba

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Costume Designer

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Izumi Inaba is so excited to be working on this production with Scott after such a long wait! She is originally from Tokyo, Japan, and now based in Chicago, where she has designed over a couple hundred projects. In recent years, she also enjoys working on regional productions that she gets to collaborate with new artists. In 2019, she was chosen to exhibit at Prague Quadrennial as one of the featured designers of the United States. Upcoming projects include Dishwasher Dreams at Writers Theatre and Nightwatch at Goodman Theatre.

Ryan J O'Gara

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Lighting Designer

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Broadway- Thoughts of a Colored Man. National Tour: Juke Box Hero, A Night with Janis Joplin, Vocalocity and The Little Prince. Various productions for Cirque du Soleil, Norwegian Cruise Line, Tokyo Disney Sea, New York City Opera, Paper Mill Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre, Drury Lane- Chicago (2019 Jeff Nomination), TUTS, Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, North Carolina Theatre, Bucks County Playhouse, Signature Theatre DC, Laguna Playhouse, New Victory Theatre, Lincoln Center Festival, Capital Repertory Theatre and Bristol Riverside Theatre (2016 Barrymore Award). Associate Lighting Designer for over 25 Broadway productions, currently: Aint’ too Proud, Come from Away, and Hamilton. O’Gara graduated from NCSA.

Ryan J Stofa

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Associate Lighting Designer

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Ryan J. Stofa is New York based Lighting Designer, but his hometown is Newark, DE! His recent credits include: Lighting Design: Till it Stops, Culture Lab BIC; This is About My Mother, New York Winterfest; The Gifts of the Magi, The Walnut Street Theatre. Associate Lighting Design: Blippi Live! National Tour; The Fre, The Flea Theater. Ryan is a graduate of The University of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology. He would like to thank his Mother, Father, and fiancé, Cara, for their endless support. Thanks again to OG and HB.

Kat C Zhou

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Assistant Lighting Designer

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Kat C. Zhou is a lighting designer for theatre, dance, and opera, currently based in New York City. Her designs have been seen at the American Modern Opera Company, Company ONE, Speakeasy Stage, the Greater Boston Stage Company, and the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. She is also the inaugural recipient of the Howell Binkley Fellowship (2021). Formerly, she served as the artist-in-residence at the Signet Society (2018-2020), and was the president/managing director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Players (2013-2017). She holds an MFA in lighting design from Boston University and an AB in mathematics from Harvard College.

Jonah Camiel

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Moving Light Programmer

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Jonah Camiel is a New York City based Moving Light Programmer from Boston, MA. Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man, King Lear, True West. Off-Broadway: Cambodian Rock Band, Octet, Twelfth Night, Miss You Like Hell, Kings. Regional: The Sound of Music (Asolo Rep), Next to Normal (Bristol Riverside), What the Constitution Means to Me (The Kennedy Center), Show Boat (Shubert Theatre Boston). Cruise Lines: Virgin Voyages & Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Chris Steckel

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Production Coordinator

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Chris Steckel manages stages and designs lighting. Select credits: Penelope, Cheek to Cheek, Anything Can Happen in the Theater, Enter Laughing, and Lonesome Blues, A Charlie Brown Christmas (US Tour), Crackskull Row (Irish Rep), Counting Sheep (Recklinghausen Festival), and Spamilton. Non-favorite credits include everything else.

Douglas Clarke

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Props Designer

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NYC: Project Theater, Fallen Swallow/Laughing Pigeon, The Juilliard School & Playwright Horizons. Regionally: Adventure Theatre, Round House Theatre, Kennedy Center Family Theater, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Ford’s Theatre, Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre, Muhlenberg Summer Musical Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Town Hall Arts Center, Vintage Theatre, Lincoln Community Playhouse, Childsplay, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company & The Phoenix Theatre Company. He also presented Dead Man’s Cell Phone as part of the World Stage Design exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan. Douglas is a member of the United Scenic Artists local 829. MFA – University of Maryland, College Park.

Hannah K Davis

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Associate Costume Designer

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Hannah Davis is a freelance costume coordinator and wardrobe supervisor who lives in Northern Maine with their partner Bryant and pup Presley, The Production Pup. Most recently Hannah was the Costume Shop Manager at The Barnstormers and The Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Hannah's other theatre credits include We Are The Tigers (off Broadway), A Charlie Brown Christmas, Live on Stage, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. Hannah dedicated this performance and every performance here on out to Jim. Thanks for putting a paintbrush in my hand. Much love to Bryant and Presley who continue to welcome me home with open arms and puppy kisses.

Kendra Arado

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Company Manager

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Kendra Arado is from Las Vegas and thrilled to be spending this holiday season travelling colder parts of these United States with Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. She has previously worked as a stage manager with Blue Man Group at Luxor and Jabbawockeez and MGM Grand. Most recently she was aboard the Scarlet Lady with Virgin Voyages running exciting productions at sea. If you have made it this far, she appreciates your dedication to reading the program. Enjoy the show.

Evan Bernardin Productions

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General Management

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Evan Bernardin Productions is a full-service theatrical management company that provides general and production management for productions and immersive experiences. Select credits include: Fairycakes,Seven Deadly Sins, Million Dollar Quartet (Tour), Charlie Brown Christmas (Tour), Afterglow, and We Are The Tigers. Additional collaborative projects have included performances at Lincoln Center, The United Nations, The Harvard Club, The White House, Cornell University, Georgetown's Gaston Hall, The Culture Project, The Ohio Theatre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Media

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2021 National Touring Cast

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While You Wait

With the help of our friends at Theatrely.com, Marquee Digital has you covered with exclusive content while you wait for the curtain to rise.

OWNING MANHATTAN’s Chloe Tucker Caine and Stephanie Jae Park To Join SIX On Broadway This August

Kobi Kassal

July 7, 2026

For anyone who watched Owning Manhattan Season Two on Netflix, this announcement feels very special. Real Estate agent Chloe Tucker Caine (who I profiled last year) will make her Broadway debut in Six as Anne Boleyn beginning August 17 2026. Stephanie Jae Park who starred as Eliza in Hamilton will join the company as Catherine Parr.

They both join the company through February 14, 2027 at the Lena Horne Theatre.

The current cast of SIX features Khaila Wilcoxon (Broadway and National Tour of SIX, Redwood, Hadestown) who plays Catherine of Aragon, Kirstin Maldonado (member of the vocal sensation Pentatonix) who plays Anne Boleyn through August 9, Jasmine Forsberg (Broadway and National Tour of SIX, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends) who plays Jane Seymour, Olivia Donalson (Broadway and National Tour of SIX, the Dolly Parton musical) who plays Anna of Cleves, Grammy® Award-winner Abigail Barlow (The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album, Disney’s Moana 2) who plays Katherine Howard, and Aiyana Smash (Broadway debut, National Tour of Rent) who plays Catherine Parr. The cast also includes Lauryn Adams, Aryn Bohannon, Maggie Likcani, and Taylor Pearlstein as alternates.

From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the Six wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over!

DOLLY: A TRUE ORIGINAL MUSICAL To Play Broadway’s St. James Theatre This Winter

Kobi Kassal

July 7, 2026

From one Diva to the next, the St. James is staying booked! Today, it was announced that Dolly: A True Original Musical, a remarkable journey through the life of this trailblazing woman, will come to Broadway this winter with tickets going on pre-sale starting tomorrow, July 8 at 10am ET at dollymusical.com

Previews are set to begin Monday, December 7 at the St. James Theatre on West 44th Street before an official opening night which will take place on Dolly’s 81st Birthday on Tuesday, January 19, 2027.

Casting and other details will be announced at a later date.

Dolly: A True Original Musical features music by Parton that includes some of her iconic hits as well as new songs she has written especially for the musical, a book by Parton and two-time Emmy Award winner Maria S. Schlatter, and is directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher.

Parton’s career is nothing short of extraordinary. Still topping the charts well into her sixth decade of success, Dolly has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, is an inductee in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and is Billboard’s #1 Country Artist of All Time. With over 3,000 songs written and an inductee in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly has firmly cemented her place in music history. But how did this “Backwoods Barbie” rise to become a living legend?

Dolly: A True Original Musical is the story only Dolly Parton could tell, in her own words and through the songs that shaped her life. From the top of the Smoky Mountains to the top of the world, DOLLY captures how she dreamed, dared, stumbled, and soared. Featuring beloved hits including “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5,” DOLLY: A True Original Musical takes you inside her life in the spotlight and the music that carried her there.

The creative team for Dolly: A True Original Musical includes Emmy Award winner Mandy Moore (choreography), Tony Award winner Derek McLane (scenic design), Tony Award nominee Jennifer Moeller (costume design), Tony Award winner Donald Holder (lighting design), Tony Award winner Peter Hylenski (sound design), Olivier Award nominee Nathan Amzi and Olivier Award nominee Joe Ransom (video design), Robert Pickens (hair design), Studio Pickens (makeup design), Michael J. Passaro (production stage manager), and Jim Carnahan and Carrie Gardner (casting directors).

A Wild BIG FEELINGS Brings Us Back To First Grade — Review

Kobi Kassal

July 3, 2026

As you enter Ms. Joy’s first grade classroom, you are greeted with a big hello and asked if you want a first bump or a high five. I opted for the high five. After putting my bag in my assigned cubby, I sat down at Clarke’s desk [I was assigned him at the door] and began my morning work. “Draw a picture: When was a moment where you lost control? What did you do?”

I did as instructed.

Once we are all signed in and situated, Ms. Joy (a fantastic Julia Greer) lets the class know that it will be her last day teaching first grade — from that moment we hit the ground running with Ryan Drake’s Big Feelings which opened tonight at The Cell’s Gallery Space on 23rd Street.

The joy of this 85 minute solo piece is not quite knowing where we are headed next. Drake, who I have been following since his lovely Off-Broadway run of you don’t have to do anything back in 2024 has now teamed up with director Sammy Zeisel and created this delicious new work that I haven’t stopped thinking about since leaving the theatre.

Why did Ms. Joy go to a soccer game of a girl she doesn’t know? Why won’t she be in class tomorrow? I won’t say more but Drake has crafted a remarkably unsettling comedic piece of theatre that I already know will be one of my favorite plays of the year.

__wf_reserved_inherit — Photo: Mari Eimas-Dietrich

Zeisel, who recently directed Gooey’s Toxic Aquatic Adventure at the Bushwick Starr, delicately balances letting the naturalistic comedy breathe while never losing sight of the darker shadows creeping in around us. It’s a tonal high-wire act that Greer carries out triumpahntly — she’s equal parts Miss Honey and Amy Dunne (I think it's time for a Gone Girl rewatch with Rosamund Pike headed to Broadway.)

In Silin Chen’s stunning hyper realistic scenic design of Ms. Joy’s classroom, you are fully immersed but fear not, as the production website calls it “audience-integrated”, for all those anti-participation audience members, you will be fine. Joyce Ciesel deft sound design — almost imperceptibly — lives underneath the production, quietly shaping the evening with shifts in mood that the audience might not even register.

Big Feelings is a production worth celebrating and I encourage you to get tickets as it's quickly becoming the show of the summer and at just 20 seats a night, many performances are already sold out. And I mean, tell me every piece of theatre wouldn’t be vastly improved with a snack break.

Big Feelings is now in performance at the cell on West 23rd Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

Theatrely News

EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon

Theatrely News

READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT

Theatrely News

"Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes"

EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon

By: Maia Penzer

14 July 2023

Finally, summer has arrived, which can only mean one thing: it's time for camp! Theater Camp, that is. Theatrely has a sneak peak at the new film which hits select theaters today.

The new original comedy starring Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon we guarantee will have you laughing non-stop. The AdirondACTS, a run-down theater camp in upstate New York, is attended by theater-loving children who must work hard to keep their beloved theater camp afloat after the founder, Joan, falls into a coma.

The film stars Ben Platt and Molly Gordon as Amos Klobuchar and Rebecca-Diane, respectively, as well as Noah Galvin as Glenn Wintrop, Jimmy Tatro as Troy Rubinsky, Patti Harrison as Caroline Krauss, Nathan Lee Graham as Clive DeWitt, Ayo Edebiri as Janet Walch, Owen Thiele as Gigi Charbonier, Caroline Aaron as Rita Cohen, Amy Sedaris as Joan Rubinsky, and Alan Kim as Alan Park.

Theater Camp was directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and written by Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman & Ben Platt. Music is by James McAlister and Mark Sonnenblick. On January 21, 2023, Theater Camp had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

You can purchase tickets to the new film from our friends at Hollywood.com here.

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READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT

By: Kobi Kassal

29 May 2023

Actor Sean Hayes is what we in the biz call booked and blessed. On top of his Tony-nominated performance as Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar, Hayes has partnered with Todd Milliner and Carlyn Greenwald for the release of their new YA novel Time Out.

Heralded by many as Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights, Time Out follows hometown basketball hero Barclay Elliot who decides to use a pep rally to come out to his school. When the response is not what he had hoped and the hostility continually growing, he turns to his best friend Amy who brings him to her voting rights group at school. There he finds Christopher and… you will just have to grab a copy and find out what happens next. Luckily for you, Time Out hits shelves on May 30 and to hold you over until then we have a special except from the book just for Theatrely:

The good thing about not being on the team the past two weeks has been that I’ve had time to start picking up shifts again at Beau’s diner and save up a little for college now that my scholarship dreams are over.

The bad part is it’s the perfect place to see how my actions at the pep rally have rotted the townspeople’s brains too.

During Amy’s very intense musical theater phase in middle school, her parents took her to New York City. And of course she came back home buzzing about Broadway and how beautiful the piss smell was and everything artsy people say about New York. But she also vividly described some diner she waited three hours to get into where the waitstaff would all perform songs for the customers as a way to practice for auditions. The regulars would have favorite staff members and stan them the way Amy stans all her emo musicians.

Working at Beau’s used to feel kind of like that, like I was part of a performance team I didn’t know I signed up for. The job started off pretty basic over the summer—I wanted to save up for basketball supplies, and Amy worked there and said it was boring ever since her e-girl coworker friend graduated. But I couldn’t get through a single lunch rush table without someone calling me over and wanting the inside scoop on the Wildcats and how we were preparing for the home opener, wanting me to sign an article in the paper or take a photo. Every friendly face just made the resolve grow inside me. People love and support the Wildcats; they would do the same for me.

Yeah, right.

Now just like school, customers have been glaring at me, making comments about letting everyone down, about being selfish, about my actions being “unfortunate,” and the tips have been essentially nonexistent. The Wildcats have been obliterated in half their games since I quit, carrying a 2–3 record when last year we were 5–0, and the comments make my feet feel like lead weights I have to drag through every shift.

Today is no different. It’s Thursday, the usual dinner rush at Beau’s, and I try to stay focused on the stress of balancing seven milkshakes on one platter. A group of regulars, some construction workers, keep loudly wondering why I won’t come back to the team while I refuse proper eye contact.

One of the guys looks up at me as I drop the bill off. “So, what’s the deal? Does being queer keep ya from physically being able to play?”

They all snicker as they pull out crumpled bills. I stuff my hands into my pockets, holding my tongue.

When they leave, I hold my breath as I take their bill.

Sure enough, no tip.

“What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath.

“Language,” Amy says as she glides past me, imitating the way Richard says it to her every shift, and adds, “even though they are dicks.” At least Amy’s been ranting about it every free chance she gets. It was one thing when the student body was being shitty about me leaving the team, but the town being like this is even more infuriating. She doesn’t understand how these fully grown adults can really care that much about high school basketball and thinks they need a new fucking hobby. I finally agree with her.

[She’s wearing red lipstick to go with her raccoon-adjacent eyeliner as she rushes off to prepare milkshakes for a pack of middle schoolers. I catch her mid–death glare as all three of the kids rotate in their chairs, making the old things squeal. My anger fades a bit as I can’t help but chuckle; Amy’s pissed-off reaction to Richard telling her to smile more was said raccoon makeup, and her tolerance for buffoonery has been at a negative five to start and declining fast.

I rest my arms on the counter and try not to look as exhausted as I feel.

“Excuse me!” an old lady screeches, making me jump.

Amy covers up a laugh as I head to the old lady and her husband’s table. They’ve got finished plates, full waters. Not sure what the problem is. Or I do, which is worse.

“Yes?” I say trying to suppress my annoyance.

“Could you be bothered to serve us?”

Only five more hours on shift. I have a break in three minutes. I’ll be with Devin at Georgia Tech tomorrow. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” I say, so careful to keep my words even, but I can feel my hands balling into fists. “What would you—?”

And suddenly Amy swoops in, dropping two mugs of coffee down. “Sorry about that, you two,” she says, her voice extra high. “The machine was conking out on us, but it’s fine now.”

Once the coffee is down, she hooks onto a chunk of my shirt, steering us back to the bar.

“Thanks,” I mutter, embarrassed to have forgotten something so basic. Again.

“Just keep it together, man,” she says. “Maybe you’d be better off with that creepy night shift where all the truckers and serial killers come in.”

Honestly, at least the serial killers wouldn’t care about my jump shot.

It’s a few minutes before my break, but clearly I need it. “I’ll be in the back room.”

Right before I can head that way though, someone straight-up bursts into the diner and rushes over to me at the bar. It’s a middle-aged dad type, sunburned skin, beer belly, and stained T-shirt.

“Pickup order?” I ask.

“You should be ashamed,” he sneers at me. He has a really strong Southern accent, but it’s not Georgian. “Think you’re so high and mighty, that nothing’ll ever affect you? My kid’ll never go to college because of you and your lifestyle. Fuck you, Barclay Ell—”

And before this man can finish cursing my name, Pat of all people runs in, wide-eyed in humiliation. “Jesus, Dad, please don’t—”

I pin my gaze on him, remembering how he cowered on the bench as Ostrowski went off, how he didn’t even try to approach me. “Don’t even bother,” I snap.

I shove a to-go bag into his dad’s arms, relieved it’s prepaid, and storm off to the break room.]

Amy finds me head in my arms a minute or two later. I look up, rubbing my eyes. “Please spare me the pity.”

She snorts and hands me a milkshake. Mint chocolate chip. “Wouldn’t dare.” She takes a seat and rolls her shoulders and neck, cracks sounding through the tiny room. “Do you want a distraction or a shoulder to cry on?”

For more information, and to purchase your copy of Time Out, click here.

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Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes

By: Kaitlyn Riggio

5 July 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States in March 2020, Broadway veteran stage manager Richard Hester watched the nation’s anxiety unfold on social media.

“No one knew what the virus was going to do,” Hester said. Some people were “losing their minds in abject terror, and then there were some people who were completely denying the whole thing.”

For Hester, the reaction at times felt like something out of a movie. “It was like the Black Plague,” he said. “Some people thought it was going to be like that Monty Python sketch: ‘bring out your dead, bring out your dead.’”

While Hester was also unsure about how the virus would unfold, he felt that his “job as a stage manager is to naturally defuse drama.” Hester brought this approach off the stage and onto social media in the wake of the pandemic.

“I just sort of synthesized everything that was happening into what I thought was a manageable bite, so people could get it,” Hester said. This became a daily exercise for a year. Over two years after the beginning of the pandemic, Hester’s accounts are compiled in the book, Hold Please: Stage Managing A Pandemic. Released earlier this year, the book documents the events of the past two years, filtering national events and day-to-day occurrences through a stage manager’s eyes and storytelling.

When Hester started this project, he had no intention of writing a book. He was originally writing every day because there was nothing else to do. “I am somebody who needs a job or needs a structure,” Hester said.

Surprised to find that people began expecting his daily posts, he began publishing his daily writing to his followers through a Substack newsletter. As his following grew, Hester had to get used to writing for an audience. “I started second guessing myself a lot of the time,” Hester said. “It just sort of put a weird pressure on it.”

Hester said he got especially nervous before publishing posts in which he wrote about more personal topics. For example, some of his posts focused on his experiences growing up in South Africa while others centered on potentially divisive topics, such as the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Despite some of this discomfort, Hester’s more personal posts were often the ones that got the most response. The experience offered him a writing lesson. “I stopped worrying about the audience and just wrote what I wanted to write about,” Hester said. “All of that pressure that I think as artists we put on ourselves, I got used to it.”

One of Hester’s favorite anecdotes featured in the book centers on a woman who dances in Washington Square Park on a canvas, rain or shine. He said he was “mesmerized by her,” which inspired him to write about her. “It was literally snowing and she was barefoot on her canvas dancing, and that seems to me just a spectacularly beautiful metaphor for everything that we all try and do, and she was living that to the fullest.”

During the creation of Hold Please, Hester got the unique opportunity to reflect in-depth on the first year of the pandemic by looking back at his accounts. He realized that post people would not remember the details of the lockdown; people would “remember it as a gap in their lives, but they weren’t going to remember it beat by beat.”

“Reliving each of those moments made me realize just how full a year it was, even though none of us were doing anything outside,” he adds. “We were all on our couches.” Readers will use the book as a way to relive moments of the pandemic’s first year “without having to wallow in the misery of it,” he hopes.

“I talk about the misery of it, but that’s not the focus of what I wrote... it was about hope and moving forward,” Hester said. “In these times when everything is so difficult, we will figure out a way to get through and we will move forward.”

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