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Grantors

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Sponsors

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Donors

Donors

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Meet Our Donors

Tributes

Tributes

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Our Tributes

Performers

Trisha Patyas

*

Star

Amber Ardolino

*

Leading Player

Morgan Bryant

*

Ensemble

Joshua Dawson

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Ensemble

Beau Harmon

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Ensemble

Lena Matthews

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Ensemble

Jimena Flores Sanchez

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Ensemble

Michael Santomassimo

*

Ensemble

Setting

All net proceeds from Trisha Paytas' Big Broadway Dream will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund.

Songs & Scenes

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Production Staff

Benson Drive Productions
George Strus, CEO
Producer
Kobi Kassal
Press Representative
DKC/O&M: Rick Miramontez Kendal Edwards
Production Manangement
Juniper Street Productions: Hillary Blanken Victoria Bullard Guy Kwan Ana Rose Greene Ross Leonard Sadie Alisa Hannah Wilson Abby Filiaggi Carolyn Bonaccorsi Chris Childs Burkett Horrigan Laura Zamsky Z Zurovitch Kara Kennedy
Production Counsel
Loeb & Loeb LLP: David Manella, Esq
Production Stage Manager
Fatimah Amill
Assistant Stage Manager
John Carpentier
Associate Director
Maya Quetzali Gonzalez
Assistant Choreographer
Michael Milkanin
Props
Propstar LLC
Assistant Scenic Designer
Bridget Lindsay
Assistant Sound Designer
Len DeNio
Associate Projection Designer
Sydney Dye
Assistant Projection Designer
Stefania Bulbarella Taylor Gordon
Associate Costume Designer
Martín Lara Avila
Projection Programmer
Cheyenne Doczi
Costume Assistant
Emma Pollet
Production Design Intern
Jourdan Alexander
Moving Light Programmer
Jonah Camiel
Key Art
Carianne Older
Graphic Designer
Eric Emch
Fiscal Sponsor
Producer Hub
Music Coordinator
M2 Music/Michael Aarons
Sunset BLVD Production Manangement
Hudson Scenic
Social Media
Austin Spero
Influencer Strategy
Our Time Influence
Ticketing Consultant
Alan Koolik
Production Assistants
George Massood Alex Dash
Accounting
WithumSmith+Brown Robert Fried, CPA Karen Kowgios, CPA Anthony W. Moore, CPA Scott Bartolf, CPA
Bookkeeping
STT Line Items
Banking
City National Bank Rita Marie Pelosi Roberto Larrinaga-Yocom
Insurance
Aon Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services Claudia Kaufman
Merchandising
Creative Goods
Videographer
Andrew Patino
Digital Program
Marquee Digital
Showtown Theatricals
Founder & CEO
Nathan Gehan
Creative Producer & Partner
Jamison Scott
General Managers
Samuel Dallas Rebecca Crigler
Director of Operations
Michael Fiske
Finance Manager
Matthew Sycle
Associate General Manager
Jessica Morrow Matthew Sycle
Contracts Manager
Ryan Logue
Finance & Operations Assistant
Alexander Friedland
General Management Fellow
Tatiana Montes

Venue Staff

School Administration Staff

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Musicians

Conductor/Keyboard
Patrick Sulken
Guitars
Nate Brown
Bass
Yuka Tadano
Drums
Dan Weiner
Violin
MJ Stilip
Reeds
Noelle Rueschman

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

Production Resource Group, The Producers and Crew of SUNSET BLVD, Henry Tisch & Sean Walsh, Ali Edwards, James Silverstein, Rishka Mehra, Jordanna Brody, David J. Lynch, Instagram, Kevin Sikorski, Emily Dunetz, Travis Eller, Lydia Fotiadou, Jamie Kaye-Phillips, Michelle Palm Martin, Corey Steinfast, Anna Speer, Brandon Ranalli, Nick Nazzaro, The Wicked Movie, Big Gay Jamboree, and Megan Hilty’s bio in Death Becomes Her, Lisa Zinni and Bad Monkey Props LLC. 

TRISHA PAYTAS’ BIG BROADWAY DREAM rehearsed at Roundabout Theatre Studios.

"I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles
Written by Jerry Herman
Courtesy of Jerryco Music Co. (ASCAP)

"What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line 
Written by Edward Kleban, Marvin Hamlisch
Courtesy of Wren Music Co., A Division Of MPL Music Publishing, Inc. (BMI)

"Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent
Words and Music by JONATHAN D. LARSON
(c) UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND FINSTER & LUCY MUSIC LTD. CO. (ASCAP) / 100% interest for the Territory

*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.

Cast
Creatives

Meet the Cast

Trisha Patyas

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Star
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Pronouns:

Since the mid-2000s, Paytas has played a pivotal role in shaping the social media landscape for content creators while amassing well over 20 million loyal followers across her socials and garnering over 2 billion views on YouTube alone. From lifestyle vlogs to ASMR content to cosplay videos, Paytas has consistently demonstrated her versatility and creativity across all platforms. Beyond her digital presence, Paytas has expanded her reach by guest-starring in 50+ television shows and films (Most notably The Tonight Show, America’s Got Talent, Modern Family, and Celebrity Big Brother), as well as delving into the music and podcast spaces. Celebrated for her distinctively offbeat sense of humor and unapologetic nature, Paytas has navigated through adversities in her career to emerge as a beacon of resilience and inspiration working with brands like Elf Cosmetics, Living Proof, Liquid Death, SeatGeek, and many more. Embracing monumental life milestones including sobriety, marriage, and motherhood, she has cultivated a newfound sense of purpose and garnered a following of adoring fans. Today, while continuing to produce her signature blend of comedic and unconventional content, Trisha Paytas prioritizes her personal well-being and family. Through her candid humor, vulnerability, and unwavering commitment to self-expression, she serves as an emblem of mental health advocacy and authenticity, resonating profoundly with multiple generations of audiences.

Amber Ardolino

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Leading Player
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Pronouns:

Last seen starring as Marcia Murphey in A Beautiful Noise on Broadway. Previous Broadway credits include the Original Broadway Casts of Back to the Future, Funny Girl, Moulin Rouge and Head Over Heels. You may have also seen Amber in the Broadway or Original Chicago Company of Hamilton. TV/Film credits include “Elsbeth,” “Law and Order,” In The Heights and “Fosse/Verdon.”

Morgan Bryant

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Ensemble
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Pronouns:

Previously seen as Karen in the Mean Girls 1st National Tour, Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors Off-Bway, and Samantha in My Best Friends Wedding Ogunquit World Premiere. Thrilled to spread joy with this amazing cast. Thank you to all of the family, teachers and friends who told me ‘you can.’ I love you.

Joshua Dawson

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Ensemble
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Joshua is thrilled to be making his Broadway debut tonight. Credits: MJ the Musical (Tour), Jelly’s Last Jam, NBC Upfronts. BFA Pace Commercial Dance. Special thanks to his Mom and Dad, Mrs. Treshawn, MSA, Calli Company

Beau Harmon

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Ensemble
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Pronouns:

Broadway Debut! TV/Film: “SYTYCD” (Season 17, Top 6), “IF”, “SNL”. Stage: Death Becomes Her (Cadillac Palace), Crazy For You (Asolo Rep), NBC Upfront (Radio City). BFA, TXST MT. Love and thanks to Bloc and his family, given and chosen.

Lena Matthews

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Ensemble
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Lena is thrilled to join Trisha on stage tonight! Off-Broadway: A Sign of the Times. Tour: Jesus Christ Superstar. Regional: Carousel, Newsies, All Shook Up. Special thank you to Bob Matthews and Sarah Meahl!

Jimena Flores Sanchez

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Ensemble
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First National tour: Moulin Rouge! The Musical (u/s Babydoll). TV: “Girls5Eva” (Netflix). Regional: Ariel in Footloose, Diana Morales in A Chorus Line, Sweet Charity, Evita, May We All. Previous professional ballerina. Grateful for family, D. Michael Heath and CESD!

Michael Santomassimo

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Ensemble
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Pronouns:

Broadway Debut! Pace University B.F.A. Commercial Dance and LaGuardia High School (Concert Dance). Credits: 42nd Street (Broadway Music Circus), The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, BATB (The Muny), Guys and Dolls (Maltz Jupiter) “Upfronts” (NBCUniversal), Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Ensemble).

Meet the Team

Skylar Fox

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Director
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Pronouns:

Skylar is an Obie Award-winning director, writer, and designer, and the co-artistic director of Nightdrive, where he has directed, designed, and co-written The Grown-Ups, Alien Nation, Providence, RI, Thank You Sorry, and Apathy Boy. He also creates magic for theatre. Broadway: Once Upon A Mattress, Fat Ham; associate designer for Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, Back to the Future, and A Beautiful Noise. Off-Broadway/International: Cats: The Jellicle Ball (PAC), The Preacher’s Wife (Alliance), The Comeuppance (Signature, Almeida), You Will Get Sick (Roundabout), Wicked, Matilda (São Paulo) and Damn Yankees (Shaw Festival). He still can’t believe he’s doing this. www.nightdrive.org

Sarah Meahl

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Choreographer
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Pronouns:
she/her

Broadway choreographic debut! New York: IP-ASOY LIVE 2023, STEPS Professional Performance, 2023 Easter Bonnet Competition (dir./chor). Other: Hersheypark 2024 Season (dir/chor), Virgin Voyages. Sarah Teaches her “Meahl In Heels” class at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. Faculty at The Joffrey School, IAMT, BAA (Dance Director). Broadway: currently Death Becomes Her (OBC); Hello, Dolly!; Kiss Me, Kate!; Bad Cinderella (OBC); Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour. Regional credits for days! TV/Film: Isn’t It Romantic?, Macys Parades, Tony Awards, The Today Show. Laduca shoes recently released a shoe in Sarah’s honor: “The Showstopper”.

Patrick Sulken

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Music Supervision, Arrangements, and Orchestrations
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Pronouns:

Patrick was most recently the music director of Teeth at New World Stages. Broadway: Pretty Woman (MD), & Juliet, Once Upon A Mattress, Beetlejuice, Mean Girls, Kinky Boots, Anastasia, Something Rotten!, Gigi. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors, We Are The Tigers, Gigantic. Regional: Double Helix (Bay Street), Fly (La Jolla Playhouse). National Tour: Peter and the Starcatcher. He is the arranger and orchestrator of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. and Dare to Dream, Jr. for Disney Theatrical.

Michael Aarons

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Music Coordinator
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Pronouns:

Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Broadway: All In; Sunset Blvd; & Juliet; Moulin Rouge!; Hamilton; Aladdin. Upcoming Broadway: Boop!; Smash; Old Friends; Pirates of Penzance; Real Women Have Curves. Off- Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors. Current tours: Hamilton; & Juliet; Mamma Mia!; Moulin Rouge!; The Wiz.

Fatimah Amill

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Production Stage Manager
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Pronouns:

Broadway/Regional: Tammy Faye, Merrily We Roll Along, Fat Ham, The Devil Wears Prada, Trouble in Mind, The Rose Tattoo. Select Off Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along (New York Theatre Workshop); Confederates, Fires in the Mirror (Signature); Something Clean, Apologia (Roundabout); Twelfth Night (Public Theater Delacorte). National Tour: Hamilton (And Peggy Company). Graduate of the University of Arizona. For Blanca.

Caitlin Berg

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Co-Producer
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Pronouns:

Caitlin fell in love with Broadway after being banned from cat shows in 2009. Co-producing and associate producer credits: Suffs (Tony® nomination), Sunset BLVD., Romeo + Juliet, All In, Cellino v. BarnesDear Everything. Upcoming: Sherlock Holmes.

Sarafina Bush

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Costume Design
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Pronouns:

Broadway: The Outsiders, The Who’s Tommy, How to Dance in Ohio, For Colored Girls... (Tony Award Nominee), Pass Over. Off-Broadway: Shit. Meet. Fan. (MCC), Oliver! (City Center Encores), Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (The New Group), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Obie Award: Playwrights Horizons), Broadway Bounty Hunter (Greenwich House). Regional: The Preacher’s Wife (Alliance Theatre), Peter Pan (Tour), Life After (Goodman Theatre). Education: BA, Adelphi University.

Kelsey Fox

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Additional Material
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Kelsey is an LA-based writer, who most recently worked with Amazon (script-coordinator, “Criminal”), Sony, Playstation, and The Orchard Project (development fellowship). This is their Broadway Debut and hopefully not their Broadway finale. Thank you Skylar, Molly, Mom, Dad, Cosmo, Teddy, their LA community, and LAFD.

Carson Gleberman

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Co-Producer
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Pronouns:

Broadway co-producer: The Kite Runner, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Bright Star (Tony nomination), and Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Award). Investor in Broadway and West End. Board member of Page 73 Productions, which supports early career playwrights toward their first New York City productions.

Simon Henriques

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Additional Material
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Simon is an actor, writer, and co-artistic director of the theatre company Nightdrive. He co-wrote the play The Grown-Ups, which was one of Time Out New York’s top ten productions of the year and is published by Concord Theatricals. He has been a resident artist at Ars Nova and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and a semifinalist for the Relentless Award. He currently works as a member of the acting company at the Mercury Store, and his comedy writing has been published by The New Yorker and McSweeney’s. Tonight is his Broadway debut…Trisha vibes basically.

Caite Hevner

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Production Design
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Pronouns:

Broadway: Derren Brown: SECRET; In Transit; Harry Connick Jr., A Celebration of Cole Porter. Select New York: Between the Lines (Drama Desk nomination); Sweatshop Overlord, (Lortel nomination); MTC; MCC; Primary Stages; Roundabout; Manhattan Concert Productions/Lincoln Center. Hundreds of productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Video Coordinator for BC/EFA’s Broadway Bares since 2018. Local USA 829, IATSE: Eastern Regional Board, Member Representative, and Respectful Workplace co-chair.

Kobi Kassal

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Producer
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Pronouns:

Kobi is thrilled to be working on what has turned into the wildest project of his life. From writing a silly April Fool’s Day article on Theatrely 308 days ago to sitting here tonight, he couldn’t be more proud. In his normal life, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Theatrely, a Gen-Z focused digital media company spotlighting Broadway & beyond. He would like to thank Trisha for jumping into this crazy idea, his producing partner-in-crime George who is the best producer around, and everyone who made this show happen. Much love to Mom, Dad, Kapiolani, Alex, Alan, Leana and all his besties.

Joriah Kwamé

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Opening Composer
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Pronouns:

Joriah is a musical theater writer known for the viral song “Little Miss Perfect,” which he is developing into a musical coming to stages in 2025. He co-wrote “Top of the World” with Pasek and Paul, performed by Shawn Mendes in Sony Picture’s Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. He is the songwriter for DreamWorks’ Trolls stage adaptation. With numerous musicals in development, both adaptations and originals, he is a 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project alum and a 2022-23 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow. Joriah thanks Alex Gold, his friends and family, and anyone who supported his journey to the Broadway stage.

Cory Pattak

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Lighting Design
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Pronouns:

Broadway: The Great Gatsby, A Wonderful World, Spamalot. Off-Broadway: The Lucky Star, Final Follies, Stalking the Bogeyman, Handle with Care, Unlock’d. Regional: 12 Broadway Center Stage shows for the Kennedy Center, Barrington Stage Company, Paper Mill Playhouse, Old Globe, Weston Playhouse, Portland Stage, Ordway Theatre, Goodspeed, Kansas City Rep, Everyman Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, Alabama Shakespeare, Tuacahn, Ogunquit Playhouse, Miami New Drama. International: Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, Pretty Woman (Brazil).

Benson Drive Productions

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Producer
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Pronouns:

Benson Drive Productions is an NY-based production company developing projects from the mind of George Strus (they/them), who grew up on Benson Drive dreaming of making theatre. Upcoming productions include Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs (Off-West End, May 2025). Projects in development include Amber Ruffin’s Bigfoot, Jake Brasch’s Trip Around the Sun, and others to be announced. George’s co-producing credits include Illinoise (Tony nomination), Oh Mary!, Romeo + Juliet, The Roommate, and All In. George founded the Obie Award-winning Breaking the Binary Theatre and is the latest recipient of the prestigious Prince Fellowship. Most importantly, George is a proud, lifelong blndsundoll4mj stan.

Juniper Street Productions

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Producer
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Pronouns:

Juniper Street Productions formed in 1998, JSP has managed more than 100 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national tours. This season: All In, Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Elf, Good Night and Good Luck, John Proctor is the Villain, Just in Time, Picture of Dorian Gray, Real Women Have Curves, Romeo & Juliet, Swept Away, The Last Five Years, The Roommate.

Joshua D. Reid

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Sound Design
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Pronouns:
he/him

Joshua is a sound and systems designer, based in New York City; and has worked extensively on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional and International Productions, National Tours and Sound System Installations. Recent design selections include: The Preacher’s Wife (Alliance Theatre), RENT (Stratford Festival), A Christmas Carol (Broadway: w/ Jefferson Mays, Tony Nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award), Ragtime (Calgary Philharmonic), Million Dollar Quartet (Theatre Calgary), A Little Night Music (Arizona Opera), Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (National Tours), The Color Purple (National Tour), Girlfriend (TheatreWorks Hartford, CT Critics Circle Award), Jerry Springer: The Opera (Signature Theatre), A Time Like This (Carnegie Hall).

Showtown Theatricals

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General Manager
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Pronouns:

Broadway/Tour: Oh Mary!, Job, How To Dance In Ohio, Parade (Broadway/ Tour), Just For Us, Into the Woods (Broadway/ Tour), A Christmas Carol (Broadway/Tour), In Residence on Broadway, The Jimmy Awards, Notre Dame de Paris (Lincoln Center) OB: Mind Mangler, A Sherlock Carol. Upcoming: Galileo, Anne of Green Gables, and Romy & Michele.

Media

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2021 National Touring Cast

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THE SWAMP DWELLERS & Kosky’s THREEPENNY OPERA — Review Roundup
Juan A. Ramirez
April 18, 2025

In a rare treat of African theater in New York, director Awoye Timpo stages the pitch-perfect off-Broadway debut of Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka’s 1958 play, The Swamp Dwellers at the Theatre for a New Audience. It’s a production sharply attuned to the work’s mysterious rhythms, built, like its stilt house set, atop a delicate and inevitable flow of deliberately paced revelations.

The 70-minute piece begins with a rural barber, Makuri (Leon Addison Brown), and his wife, Alu (Jenny Jules), awaiting the return of one of their twin sons, Igwezu, who followed his unseen brother to the big city but has returned to check on some nearby crops he owns during the flooding season. As they wait, a blind man (Joshua Echebiri) born to a nearby “village of beggars” appears. Through their welcoming interactions, details about each of their beliefs, and how they apply or not to the region’s ruling systems, are revealed; he is Muslim, they follow the Yoruba faith. Eventually Igwezu (Ato Blankson-Wood) appears, though he is preceded by Kadiye (Chiké Okonkwo), a local, powerful holy man, and two attendants (Jason Maina and Olawale Oyenola). The politician-priest boasts of his power and demands a shave, completely at odds with an Igwezu who has seen life beyond the township and knows of devastation to come.

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The Swamp Dwellers | Photo: Hollis King

Jason Ardizzone-West’s set renders the skeleton of the couple’s house just above the audience, whose feet touch a lacquered black floor which evokes moving water, as does Rena Anakwe’s sound design. Qween Jean’s costumes are typically excellent, especially for Jules. Though Brown and Jules’ amiable banter provides a recognizable human backbone to the proceedings, it becomes clear Alu was not written to be a leading player in this otherwise all-male world, and it is to Jules and Timpo’s credit that her housewife feels like a matriarch.

The work, and this production, are haunting: the type of theatre that washes over you with the smooth surf of uneventfulness but leaves a memorable psychic dent in its wake. Each character begins as a stand-in for something – the stranger’s blindness conjures clairvoyance, and the son’s standoffishness hints at modernity –  although for just what is never simplified, and is only complicated by their actions. Small details, such as when the beggar chooses to open, or keep closed, his clouded eyes, or the way the central couple react in slightly skewed synchronicity, are tough to parse but even harder to forget. Timpo ties their enigmatic power to the play’s own cryptic disquietude for an unshakeable, if at times puzzling, effect.

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As for what played across the street at BAM’s Opera House for a few dates earlier this month, what could I possibly add to the heaps of praise already lavished on Barry Kosky’s staging of The Threepenny Opera? Somehow the Berliner Ensemble current director’s first New York premiere, it arrived with maxed-out anticipation (I’d never seen the lobby abuzz like that) and managed to exceed expectations. The cast was uniformly but distinctly perfect, though I’ll shout out Laura Balzar’s Lucy, who emerged as the story's emotional backbone in a way that neither disrupted its distancing effect nor called attention to itself, despite her gorgeous renditions of “Pirate Jenny” and “Barbara Song.” And that was essentially the production’s overall tone: a taught tightrope between enjoyable talent and social excoriation that fit an era where everyone performs luxury. Set on a jungle gym-like scaffolding set on which the characters reconfigured themselves, in ways inventive in their inevitability, it presented the 1928 story (by Bertolt Brecht, from the original John Gay, with music by Kurt Weill) with a showbiz panache both Vegas sleazy and top-of-the-line. Perhaps the sparkly curtains that sometimes covered it are Kosky’s nod to Chicago’s “Hot Honey Rag,” whose cynical razzle-dazzle was itself a throwback to Brecht’s ‘20s, and which he staged in 2023. Whatever the case, he’s welcome back anytime.

The Swamp Dwellers is in performance through April 27, 2025 at Theatre for a New Audience on Ashland Place in Brooklyn, New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

GINGER TWINSIES Parent Trap Parody Opening This Summer At The Orpheum Theatre
Alan Koolik
April 18, 2025

One of America’s most beloved films is coming to New York…kinda. Today, producers announced that Ginger Twinsies, a hilarious send-up of the beloved 1998 film The Parent Trap, will play a limited engagement at the downtown Orpheum Theatre beginning July 10, 2025. Directed and written by Kevin Zak, an official opening is set for July 10 for a 16-week run through October 26.

You want the 411? In the summer of 1998, a pair of long lost, red-headed twin girls unexpectedly meet at sleep-away camp and hatch a plan to reunite their estranged parents. Sound familiar? Shut up, no it doesn't! Welcome to Ginger Twinsies – a loving, outlandish, and wildly inappropriate send up of the Lindsay Lohan/Nancy Meyers classic that made us all believe that Oreos go great with peanut butter, wedding gowns deserve top hats, and being young and beautiful is not a crime. So, pack your bags! Kevin Zak (no credits) invites you to enjoy this 80-minute Parent Trap parody stacked with nostalgia, camp (literally, they go camping), and some unexpected twists.

Casting and creative team members will be announced at a later date. 

Madcap and Joyous: TWO SISTERS FIND A BOX OF LESBIAN EROTICA IN THE WOODS — Review
Andrew Martini
April 16, 2025

In the vein of the lesbian theatre makers in the downtown New York tradition that came before them, Bailey Williams and Emma Horwitz have written a delirious and joyful performance piece that mines, among a dizzying array of other things, lesbian erotica to explore everything from the surprisingly titillating dynamics of a library visit to alien abduction. 

Billed as a “burlesque of fiction and reality,” Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods, a Rattlestick Theater and New Georges co-production, defies easy summarizing or description. While it’s driven by its own sort of zany dream logic, any attempt to encapsulate what the show is about will ultimately fall short. At the risk of generalizing, it’s about so many things. 

In a series of madcap vignettes and quick sketches, Williams and Horwitz inhabit characters at breakneck speed—at once a babysitter and a yearning lesbian widow, then a set of psychic sisters. It’s clear from their facility with the bonkers text and the ease with which they embody each character that no one could master these performances quite like Williams and Horwitz. As real life partners, they are in tune with each other in rare ways, which creates a space for impeccable comedy.  Throughout the show’s 69 (wink, wink) minutes, their energy levels never flag. With sly, devilish grins, Williams and Horwitz, along with director Tara Elliot, invite the audience to participate in this hilarious and heartfelt fantasia of erotic, queer joy.

Williams and Horwitz are surrounded by cheekily-labeled bankers boxers (examples: “Butch Heiresses”, “Titty Titty Bang Bang”, “Microplastics made me gay?”), which contain an awe-inspiring amount of props and surprises. (Normandy Sherwood is credited with set, costume, and props design). Combined with Josiah Davis’ lighting and Johnny Gasper’s sound design, the result is a never-ending playground of theatrical delight. Two Sisters…’ DIY ethos provides a space for play and the kind of clever, unbridled creativity that has been missing from the more traditional theatrical programming in this city. 

Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods is at the HERE Arts Center through April 26th. Ticket information here.

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

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.

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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