JASMINE
FORSBERG is
thrilled to be making her Goodspeed debut! Off-Broadway:
Broadway Bounty
Hunter (Joe Iconis). Regional:
Love in Hate Nation (World Premiere,
Two River Theater),
Wild Fire (World Premiere, Denver Center for the
Performing Arts). Other:
The Lucky Boy (Premiere, Kristen Childs). Film:
One December Night (Hallmark). BFA Penn State ’21. In 2018, she co-wrote
Results Will Vary*. Love and thanks to her family, friends, mentors, and
A3 for their unwavering support. Follow along
@Jasmine_Forsberg and
www.JasmineForsberg.com
DARIUS HARPER A New Hampshire native, Darius could not be more
thrilled to make his Goodspeed debut in scenic New England. Darius would attend
the American Musical and Dramatic Academy NY (04/05) before a 3 year journey
with the Disney Company (Tokyo, Cruiselines). Credits include: The Merry Go
Round Playhouse (Grease), The Fulton
(Kinky Boots), Ogunquit Playhouse
& The Gateway (Priscilla QOTD) to
name a few. He originated both the Book
of Mormon and Kinky Boots 1st
National Tours, most recently he originated and starred as the Emcee/Vocalist
in Cirque Du Soleil’s VOLTA. Thank
you to nana, my wonderful HAA Family, and to this wonderful cast and crew for
welcoming me with open arms! Shove with love guys.
OMAR LOPEZ-CEPERO is honored to be making his Goodspeed debut and
to join this incredible cast. He was most recently seen as Emilio Estefan in
On Your Feet! opposite his wife, Arianna
Rosario, as Gloria (The Muny, KC Starlight). Upcoming: The Broadway-bound World
Premiere of
The Notebook (Chicago
Shakes). Broadway:
On Your Feet!
(OBC),
American Idiot (OBC).
Off-Broadway:
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
(Vincenzo, Transport Group),
The Capeman
(Public Theater Delacorte). Regional/tour credits:
Paint Your Wagon (Armando, The Muny),
The Flamingo Kid (Alejandro, Hartford Stage),
Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson, TUTS),
Evita as Che (National Tour, Fulton Theatre) and as Peron (Bay Street
Theater). TV credits:
Blue Bloods
(CBS),
The Detour (TBS),
Vegas(CBS). Endless love to Arianna.
www.omarlopezcepero.com
@omarlopezcepero
MAMIE PARRIS last appeared at
Goodspeed as Rosabella in
The Most Happy Fella. On Broadway: the recent
revival of
Cats (as Grizabella, singing the iconic “Memory”),
School
of Rock,
On The 20th Century,
Ragtime,
The Drowsy
Chaperone, and
110 in the Shade. On Tour:
Wicked (Elphaba),
9
To 5 (Judy). Regionally: Paper Mill Playhouse, Arena Stage, The Old Globe.
Film & TV:
A Standup Guy,
State of Affairs,
The Blacklist.
Visit
www.mamieparris.com for upcoming concert
dates and other goings-on! Thanks to the marvelous Rob Ruggiero. Love to my
wonderful husband, Johnathan. I can’t imagine spending a year in lockdown with
anyone else and not being guilty of homicide. Welcome back to live theatre!
DIANE PHELAN Broadway/National/International:
School of Rock (Wintergarden), West Side Story (Maria, Paris Chatelet),
The King and I (Lincoln Center +
tours/ Tuptim). Off-Bway: Here Lies
Love (Public), Bernarda Alba
(LCT). Other favorites: Julie Jordan in Carousel
(NAAP), Mabel in Pirates of Penzance
(CT Rep), Laurie in Oklahoma!
(Berkshire Theatre Group), Cinderella in Cinderella
(Papermill). Film: Sherri in Marry Harry on Amazon Prime Video. Diane recently played Sibella in A
Gentlemen’s Guide To Love and Murder, a benefit for StopAAPIHate (Broadway
on Demand), for which she was also an Executive Producer raising over $25,000.
Founder of #RacismIsAVirus. @dianicaphelan.
KATHRYN BOSWELL (Standby for Jasmine, Mamie & Diane) is thrilled to be
making her Goodspeed debut! Most recently, Kathryn played Cynthia in the national
tour of Beautiful: The Carole King
Musical. Broadway: Anastasia, Gigi.
Select TV/Film: Bluebloods (CBS), Tales of the City (Netflix), High Maintenance (HBO), The Hating Game (BCDF Pictures).
Regional: Aida (Amneris, PCLO), Follies (Young Phyllis, Repertory
Theatre St. Louis), Les Misérables (Cosette,
Music Theater Wichita), First Daughter
Suite (Susan Ford, Sundance Institute), Gigi
(Kennedy Center). Proud CCM Bearcat. Much gratitude to everyone here at
Goodspeed, Rob, and Paul Hardt. All my love to Matt and the fam.
@kathryn_boswell
KEVIN SCHUERING (
Standby for Mauricio & Jesse)
is excited to be a part of this amazing team and company’s efforts to help
reimagine these classic R&H tunes. His hopes are we continue to
explore and expand the different lenses in which we tell these
stories. National Tour:
The King and I
(Lincoln Center Theatre), NY/Off-Bway:
On
This Side Of The World,
Wearing Black
(NMYF),
Carousel (NAAP),
Lost in Shanghai (Pan-Asian). Regional:
Remembering Tomorrow (Zeider's Theater)
Miss Saigon (Ogunquit Playhouse),
Disney's
Aladdin (Chicago
Shakespeare), Disney's
When You Wish
(Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma). Thank you to Lanie, Rob, Paul and the team. Love
to Smalls, the three amigos, and the fam. For More:
www.kevinschuering.com, IG: @daschuerthing
ROB RUGGIERO (Director) is thrilled to be returning to Goodspeed for his twelfth season, after
directing past productions of Oliver!, Rags, La Cage aux Folles, Fiddler
on the Roof, The Most Happy Fella,
Carousel, Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, Camelot,
Big River, and 1776. Rob has won multiple
Connecticut Critic’s Circle Awards for Best Direction, including a
highly-celebrated production of Next
to Normal at TheaterWorks Hartford, where he is the Producing Artistic
Director. His Broadway credits include High (starring Kathleen Turner) and Looped (starring Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated
performance). Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed the original musical
revue entitled Make Me a Song: The
Music of William Finn. The production received nominations for both the
Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Rob has earned national
recognition for his work on both plays and musicals. Regionally, he has
directed a number of critically-acclaimed musicals including Evita, Gypsy (with Tony-winner Beth
Leavel for The Muny’s 100th season) Follies;
Oklahoma!; Hello, Dolly!; South Pacific;
The King & I; and Sunday in the Park with George; among
others. In addition, he conceived and directed the highly-successful Ella (Kevin Kline and Joseph
Jefferson Awards) at TheaterWorks. His work has been seen at many
major regional theaters around the country, including Actor’s Theater of
Louisville, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage Company, Cincinnati Playhouse
in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Northlight
Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis,
among others. He is so happy to be returning to live theater here at Goodspeed.
LAINIE
SAKAKURA (Choreographer) 2015 Joe A. Callaway
Award for Outstanding Choreography, 2002 Joseph Jefferson Award Best
Choreography. Dance Reconstruction Fosse, 1999 Tony Award Best
Musical. Broadway performing career 23 years, all original casts. NYC-
based writer, director, choreographer. 2020 Goodspeed Musicals Johnny Mercer
Writers Grove. Most recently directed 5th Ave Theatre's NYC reading of Corner
of Bitter and Sweet, book by Sakakura, music & lyrics by Paul Fujimoto;
choreographed Once at Pioneer Theatre; wrote/co-conceived
BCEFA Red Bucket Follies 60th Anniversary of Flower Drum Song Celebrating Asian Americans on Broadway. Co-founder/Co-chair Rockettes of Color Alumnae. LSakakura.com
ADAM SOUZA (
Music Director) Broadway credits include
Wicked, Kinky Boots. National Tours:
Wicked (2
nd National, Original
MD/Conductor),
Kinky Boots (Original MD/Conductor),
Spamalot (1
st
National as MD/Conductor),
The Midtown Men, and
Les
Misérables. Adam also served as Associate Music Supervisor for
the international mountings of
Wicked in
São Paolo, Brazil (in Portuguese) and Mexico
City (in Spanish). His regional credits include
Next to
Normal (Hartford TheaterWorks), North Shore Music Theatre, and
over 15 productions with Goodspeed, including
Because of Winn Dixie,
The Great
American Mousical with Julie Andrews,
Snapshots by
Stephen Schwartz,
Roar of the Greasepaint...,
George M!,
Brigadoon,
Very Good
Eddie,
Rags,
Great Expectations, and
The Road to
Hollywood. Adam serves as Associate Artistic Director and Music
Supervisor for
Destination Broadway (
destinationbroadway.org) and has served on
faculty for the Boston Conservatory at Berklee as an Associate Professor of
Musical Theatre, of which he is also an alumn.
BRIAN PRATHER (
Scenic Designer) is happy to return to Goodspeed having previously designed
A
Wonderful Life and
The Fabulous Lipitones. Recent Off-Broadway
designs include:
Caesar and Cleopatra (GTG),
Daniels’s Husband
(Primary Stages),
Widower’s Houses
(TACT/Gingold),
A Christmas Carol (St.
Clement’s)
, Becoming Dr. Ruth (Westside),
Freud’s Last Session (New World
Stages), and
The Burnt Part Boys (Playwrights
Horizons). International: Chung-mu Art Hall
(South Korea). Regional: Alley Theatre, Asolo Rep, TheaterWorks Hartford,
Barrington Stage Co., Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Capitol Rep., among
many others. Jeff Award winner (Chicago), Emmy nomination (New England) for
“The Kate” on Public Television, twice Berkshire Theatre Critics Assoc. Awards
winner, Resident Designer at TheaterWorks Hartford, Associate Artist at
Barrington Stage Co. and member of USA Local 829. See Brian’s work at
brianprather.com.
ALEJO VIETTI (Costume Designer) An
Argentine native, he immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1990s. He has
designed for Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as for Roundabout Theatre,
Manhattan Theatre Club, Radio City Rockettes, NYC Center Encores!, Atlantic
Theatre Company, NYC Opera, Primary Stages, The Irish Rep, MCC, and Ensemble
Studio Theatre, among other New York companies. He
has also extensively designed for Regional Theatres across the U.S.,
commercial projects, operas, ballets and for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus. He is an Olivier and Drama Desk nominee and the recipient
of the 2010 TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award. At Goodspeed: Irving Berlin's Holiday
Inn, Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, Camelot, Big
River, 1776, and Meet John Doe.
ALAN C. EDWARDS’ (Lighting Design) work Off-Broadway includes the world premiere of Harry
Clarke at The Vineyard, for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award; the
world premiere of Kill Move Paradise at the National Black Theatre,
which received a Drama Desk nomination;, and Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in
the Mirror at the Signature Theatre, which also received a Lucille Lortel
nomination. Regionally, he’s had the pleasure of designing three plays by
Dominique Morisseau: Pipeline, Skeleton Crew (Actors Theatre of
Louisville), and Detroit ’67 (Chautauqua Theatre Co.); Twisted
Melodies, a new musical about Donny Hathaway at Center Stage Baltimore; and
the new musical Lights Out: Nat King Cole at the Geffen Playhouse in Los
Angeles, as well as its world premiere production at People’s Light &
Theatre Co. in Malvern, PA in 2017. Additional credits include The Hot Wing
King by Katori Hall at Signature Theatre; American Moor (Red Bull); Native
Son (The Acting Company); Bluebird Memories featuring rap-artist
Common (Audible Theatre); productions of Dutchman, Antigone, and Macbeth
for the Classical Theatre of Harlem; and a special collaboration between CTH and
The Apollo Theatre in New York, the new musical The First Noel by Lelund
Durond Thompson and Jason Michael Webb. On Broadway he was the associate to
Jennifer Tipton on The Testament of Mary. He is a graduate of Yale
School of Drama, where in 2016 he became a member of the lighting faculty.
JAY
HILTON (Sound
Design) is pleased to continue his long association with Goodspeed
Musicals and is so happy to be back in this beautiful theatre after nearly two
years of pandemic shutdown. He is also happy to once again be working with
director and friend Rob Ruggiero. Other Goodspeed productions with Mr.
Ruggiero include 1776, Show Boat, Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux
Folles, Rags and Oliver!. Jay has designed countless other
productions at both The Goodspeed and The Terris Theatre in Chester and
recently created sound design and mixed Goodspeed’s successful re-entry
programming Goodspeed by the River. 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 serves as their Audio Supervisor
and has spent much of his time during the pandemic recording, mixing and
mastering musical theatre content for streaming platforms including Goodspeed’s
2020 Gala Shakin’ the Blues Away. He
and his wife, Goodspeed Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton, make their home
(and garden) in Hadlyme, Connecticut with Cookie and Macy.