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The Roar of the Greasepaint... Cast and Creative Team

The Roar of the Greasepaint... Cast and Creative Team

Meet the Cast       Meet the Creative Team

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CAST

Michelle Aravena
 MICHELLE ARAVENA* (The Kid) was born and raised in Connecticut and is thrilled to finally be making her debut at The Terris Theatre. Broadway: Rocky (OBC Angie), Jersey Boys, A Chorus Line (OBC revival). National Tours: West Side Story (Anita, LA Critics nomination) directed by the late Arthur Laurents, Jersey Boys (1st National, Vegas, Chicago), Les Misérables (Fantine us); Mamma Mia! (1st National, Sophie), Steel Pier (1st National, Bette). Other: Bye Bye Birdie (Rosie) and West Side Story (Anita, Jeff award recipient) at Drury Lane, The World Goes Round (Woman 2, directed by Don Stephenson) at Bucks County Playhouse, A Chorus Line (Cassie) at Olney Theater, Peter Pan (Tiger Lily) at Actors Theater of Louisville. Also, world premiere of First Wives Club at Old Globe, West Side Story at La Scala Opera House in Milan, and the original workshop of Broadway-bound A Bronx Tale directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks.
   
Caesar Samayoa
 CAESAR SAMAYOA* (Cocky) Goodspeed: Hysterium in The Great American Mousical. Most recently originated the role of Camilo in Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical, directed by Moisés Kaufman for the Tectonic Theater Project. Broadway: Sister Act, The Pee Wee Herman Show. Credits include leading roles in Film, TV, Broadway, Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre Companies around the country, including The Public Theater-Shakespeare in the Park, Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Huntington Theatre, Barrington Stage, Le Freres Corbusier, Primary Stages, and Sundance Theater Lab. This fall, he will reprise the role of Colin 2 in the pre-Broadway engagement of Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre, following sold-out runs in Seattle and San Diego. Caesar has also appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and in various National and International concert tours. BFA, Ithaca College.
   
Tony Sheldon
TONY SHELDON* (Sir) won the Connecticut Critics' Award for his performance as Horace Vandergelder in Goodspeed's Hello, Dolly!. Sheldon played the role of Bernadette in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert for 1750 performances in Australia, New Zealand, London (Olivier nomination), Toronto (DORA Award), and on Broadway, winning the Theatre World Award and nominations for the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award, the Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. In Australia Tony starred in Man Of La Mancha, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Producers, Private Lives, Noises Off, Torch Song Trilogy, I Hate Hamlet, and Into the Woods. In New York, he played Julius Caesar in Charles Busch's Cleopatra and starred with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Tracey Ullman in The Bandwagon at Encores/City Center. Regionally, he appeared in Empire (La Mirada), Amélie (Berkeley Rep), My Fair Lady (Guthrie Theatre), Ever After (Paper Mill), Victor/Victoria (Houston TUTS), and Camelot (Kennedy Centre).
   
Gregory Treco

GREGORY TRECO* (The Stranger) is originally from Nassau, Bahamas. Most recently, he was seen as Simon the Zealot in the Denver Center's world premiere of Robert Schenkkan and Neil Berg's rock musical THE 12. NYC credits include Boy George's Producer in Taboo on Broadway; Zanna, Don't, where he created the role of Zanna Off-Broadway; and Moroto in Miracle Brothers at the Vineyard Theater. TV: Popstars 2—where he was a finalist—and Whoopi, starring Whoopi Goldberg. BFA: Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. gregorytreco.com

   
Brittany Bohn

BRITTANY BOHN* (Understudy) is excited to be returning to East Haddam! She was last seen at Goodspeed in Mame, where she swung on for 56 out of 96 shows, playing Gloria and all seven female tracks. Favorite regional credits include My Fair Lady (Ensemble, Eliza Doolittle cover) at Westchester Broadway Theatre; Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby (Curly the Lost Boy) at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera; The Little Theatre on the Square in Cats (Sillibub); Footloose (Urleen); Kiss Me, Kate at Barrington Stage Company. Proud member of Actors Equity. Love to Clear Talent Group, along with her family. Excited to join the 1st National tour of An American in Paris starting in the Fall!

 

 

Wade Dooley
WADE DOOLEY* (Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to the Goodspeed family after appearing in La Cage aux Folles last summer! Film: The Last Five Years. Off-Broadway: NEWSical The Musical, The Awesome 80s Prom. Tour: The Trip to Bountiful with Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Web: PZAZZ 101. Wade is also a playwright, currently working on a new play, Learning to Deal, with director Michael Wilson.  Wade is a summa cum laude graduate of Bradley University with a BS in Business Administration. Thanks to Donna Lynn, Whole Artist Management, the creative team, and my family. For Phoebe.
 

CREATIVE TEAM

Don Stephenson
DON STEPHENSON (Director) directed Titanic at Lincoln Center; Of Mice and Manhattan for the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center; The Other Place at The Alley Theatre; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Lend Me a Tenor at Paper Mill Playhouse; Guys and Dolls at Goodspeed; Buyer and Cellar and Noises Off at Pittsburgh Public Theatre; Sister Act at the Marriott Theatre; The Cottage at Theatre Aspen; I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers at Theatreworks/Hartford; Lend Me a Tenor at Bay Street Theatre (Broadway World nomination, Best Director of a Play); Titanic at The MUNY, the Hangar Theatre (Broadway World nomination, Best Director of a Musical), and Westchester Broadway Theatre; Deathtrap, Noises Off, and The 39 Steps at the Flat Rock Playhouse; The Mystery of King Tut and Skippyjon Jones for Theatreworks/USA; and The Great Unknown for The New York Theatre Festival. He directed the critically-acclaimed productions of Oleanna, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and the hit musical comedy Doctors and Diseases at the historic Barter Theatre. Other New York directing credits include A Charles Dickens Christmas (Urban Stages), Buck Simple (Garrick Gaities), When Pigs Fly (Kaufman Theatre), Golden Voices (Symphony Space), Old Flames (Theatre Studio Inc.), and the workshop production of My Time of Day: The Letters, Lyrics, and Music of Frank Loesser. He has directed productions of The Desperate Hours and Through All Kinds of Weather both at the Clarence Brown Theatre, and Sleeping Beauty at American Stage Festival. Don played the D’ysquith family in the Tony Award-winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and starred as Leo Bloom in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of The Producers. His other Broadway credits include Rock of Ages, Private Lives, Dracula, Titanic, Parade, By Jeeves, The Bandwagon, Pardon My English, and Wonderful Town. A native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, he holds a BA from the University of Tennessee.
   
Liza Gennaro

LIZA GENNARO (Choreographer) has choreographed on Broadway: The Most Happy Fella, Once Upon A Mattres; Off-Broadway and Regionally: Roundabout Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Actor’s Theatre Of Louisville, The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, Guthrie Theater, The Goodspeed, Pioneer Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pittsburgh CLO, The St. Louis “Muny” Opera, and the current National Tour of Annie. Liza has written for The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical and The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Theater, and is currently on faculty at Indiana University in the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance. She is a member of the Executive Board of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

   
Michael O'Flaherty MICHAEL O'FLAHERTY (Music Supervisor) is in his 25th season as Goodspeed's Resident Music Director. Broadway: By Jeeves, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, A Streetcar Named Desire. Also: Paper Mill Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Ford's Theatre, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and the Smithsonian Institution. Musical Supervisor and Cabaret Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival for 11 years. His original musical, Genesius, for which he wrote music and lyrics, was recently showcased in NYC.
   

ADAM SOUZA (Music Director) is happy to be back home at Goodspeed. Broadway: Wicked, Kinky Boots; National Tours: Wicked 2nd National (MD/Conductor), Kinky Boots (MD/Conductor) Spamalot 1st National (MD/Conductor), The Midtown Men, and Les Misérables. Adam also served as Associate Music Supervisor of the international mountings of Wicked in São Paolo, Brazil and Mexico City. Regional: North Shore Music Theatre and over 15 productions at Goodspeed, including The Great American Mousical with Julie Andrews, Snapshots, George M!, Brigadoon, Very Good Eddie, Great Expectations, and The Road to Hollywood. This is for you, MOF. Boston Conservatory.

   

WALT SPANGLER (Scenic Design) Designs for theater, opera, and dance in New York, across the nation, and around the world. Broadway credits include the recent world premiere of Tuck Everlasting directed by Casey Nicholaw, Scandalous The Musical, Desire Under The Elms, A Christmas Story The Musical, and Hollywood Arms directed by Harold Prince. Recent Off Broadway: Hold On To Me Darling directed by Neil Pepe and Between Riverside and Crazy directed by Austin Pendleton. Walt is graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Website: waltspangler.com
 

 

 

JESS GOLDSTEIN (Costume Design) New York credits include Jersey Boys, Newsies, On the Town, The Rivals (2005 Tony Award), The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino (Tony nomination), Henry IV with Kevin Kline (Tony nomination), Proof, The Apple Tree with Kristin Chenoweth, Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Take Me Out, Enchanted April, Tintypes, The Most Happy Fella (which originated at Goodspeed), Buried Child, How I Learned to Drive, Stuff Happens, Sight Unseen, Dinner With Friends, The Mineola Twins (Lortel and Hewes Awards). He was recently the recipient of the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award. Jess is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and has taught there since 1990.

   

STEPHEN TERRY (Lighting Design) Regional: Goodspeed Musicals: Guys and Dolls; Paper Mill Playhouse: Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, Lend Me A Tenor; Pittsburgh Public: Buyer and Cellar; Alley Theatre: The Other Place; The Hangar Theatre: Titanic; Flat Rock Playhouse: 20+ productions including Chasing Rainbows (world premiere), Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Evita, Zelda, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Hairspray, The Buddy Holly Story. Other Regional work: La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera, Mark Taper Forum. Concerts: Titanic in Concert at Lincoln Center, The Rock Tenor, and Jekyll and Hyde Concert Tour US and Korea. Broadway (Associate): Glengarry Glen Ross, The People in the Picture, Sixteen Wounded. Dance Tours: Twyla Tharp, Carmen de Lavallade, Ririe Woodbury, Repertory Dance Theatre. Las Vegas: Mat Franco: Magic Reinvented Nightly, Frankie Moreno: Under the Influence, Paul Zerdin: Mouthing Off, and Henson Alternative’s Puppet Up!.
   
  JAY HILTON (Sound Design) is pleased to continue his long association with Goodspeed Musicals. Jay has designed countless productions at both The Terris Theatre and The Goodspeed in East Haddam. His work has also been heard on Broadway, National Tours, and at Regional Theatres from coast to coast. In addition to being Goodspeed’s Resident Sound Designer, Jay also serves as their Audio Supervisor. He and his wife, Goodspeed Line Producer Donna Lynn Hilton, make their home (and garden) in Hadlyme, Connecticut.
 


*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.