Christmas in Connecticut Cast and Creative Team

JOSH BRECKENRIDGE (Jefferson Jones) Goodspeed Debut! Broadway: Come From Away, The Scottsboro Boys, The Ritz. Off-Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys, Saved. Nat’l Tour: The Book of Mormon. Reg’l includes: Dave (Arena Stage), Sunday…George (Huntington), The Whipping Man (KC Rep), Tales of the City (A.C.T.), Memphis (La Jolla/5^th Ave). Film: Spirited, Finding Me: Truth. TV: American Rust, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, FBI, Finding Me: The Series. BFA: CCM. Recording artist: J. Breckenridge/Debut album: Monotony. www.j-breckenridge.com

AUDREY CARDWELL (Liz Sandor) is thrilled to be making her Goodspeed debut! Audrey made her Broadway debut this year in The Music Man, appearing in the ensemble and understudying the role of Marian Paroo. National Tours: Falsettos (Cordelia), Bright Star (Alice Murphy), Cinderella (Ella), Anything Goes, Elf. Regional: The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory Theatre, The MUNY, North Shore Music Theatre, Houston TUTS. BFA from Penn State University. Endless love to my family (biological and chosen) and DGRW. Happy holidays, y’all! @akatcard

JAMES JUDY (Felix Bassenak) Broadway: Into the Woods, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Jeckyll & Hyde. National Tours: Newsies, Deaf West’s Big River, South Pacific. Off-Broadway: Tin Pan Alley Rag (Roundabout Theatre Company), La Boheme (NY Shakespeare Festival), Fiorello (City Center Encores), 1-2-3-4-5 (Manhattan Theatre Club), Catch Me If I Fall (The Promenade Theatre). Goodspeed: The Gig, Finian’s Rainbow, Half A Sixpence, Damn Yankees, Drowsy Chaperone. Film/TV: Disney’s Newsies, Boardwalk Empire, Cosby. James would like thank Kathy and Audrey for endless love and support.

RAYMOND J. LEE (Dudley Beecham) is excited to make his Goodspeed debut! Ray was most recently in the company of Aladdin on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Anything Goes, Groundhog Day, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Mamma Mia! NY credits include Soft Power (The Public), Mack & Mabel (Encores!), The Wild Party (Encores!), Two Gentlemen of Verona (The Public). Regional credits include the world premieres of Trading Places and Once Upon A One More Time. Film/TV credits include Marriage Story, Fire Island, The Greatest Showman, Succession, Billions, and Smash. Thanks Nicolosi, STG, and this incredible cast & team. Love to Robbi & Ella. Go U Northwestern! Follow @raymondjlee and visit www.raymondjlee.com

TINA STAFFORD (Norah O’Connor) is a New York-based actress, so happy to be back with the Goodspeed family where she was seen in Can-Can, Sweeney Todd, Dorian, and Lizzie Borden. Tours: Once (2 years First National); Jolson, the Musical (First National); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. New York: The Mint, The York, New York Classical (artistic associate), 59 E. 59th, Prospect Theater Company, Soho Rep. Regional: Arena Stage; Paper Mill, Cleveland, the Cincinnati, Westport, Buck’s County, and La Jolla Playhouses; Barrington Stage Company; Asolo Rep; Milwaukee Rep; Kansas City Rep; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Geva Theatre Center; Denver Center; Hangar Theatre; CATF. Proud AEA Member.

MELVIN TUNSTALL III (Alexander Yardley) is thrilled to make his Goodspeed debut under the direction of his favorite director and singing the score of his Beautiful: the Carole King Musical musical director Jason Howland! Special thanks to my agents at TKO for their never ending support.

MATTHEW CURIANO (Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Goodspeed where last he was last seen playing Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! Other favorite credits: Nostradamus in Something Rotten!, Thénardier in Les Miserables, and Lady Enid in The Mystery of Irma Vep. Matthew is also the co-creator of The HomoSapien Experience, a queer-themed sketch comedy platform that operates on Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok @thehomosapienexperience_ All of my love to Dad, Mom, and Jen!

RACHEL FOBBS (Ensemble) is blessed to join the Goodspeed family! Inaugural Broadway Guest Artist of the Disney Wish 2022; Marley in Escape to Margaritaville (Broadway 1st Nat'I Tour), World Premiere Actor-Musician production of Godspell (St Michael's Playhouse), Jane in Pride & Prejudice (VA Stage Co). Follow her adventures on IG: fobbsy

JULIE KAVANAGH (Ensemble) Goodspeed Debut! National Tours: Hello, Dolly!; La Cage Aux Folles. Selected Regional: Dames at Sea (Bucks County Playhouse); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Maltz Jupiter Theatre); Chicago, Guys and Dolls and Little Shop of Horrors (Theatre Aspen); The Drowsy Chaperone (The Cape Playhouse); Holiday Inn (The Rev/Paper Mill Playhouse); and Guys and Dolls (Asolo Rep/The Old Globe). CCM Grad. Special thanks to Amy, Marjorie, and everyone at Goodspeed! Love to DGRW, Mom, Dad, and Bryan! @julzkavs

EMILY LARGER (Ensemble) is overjoyed to be back in East Haddam so soon after being a part of both Cabaret and Billy Elliot here at Goodspeed. She has also been seen in the National Tours of Elf (Kennedy Center, Madison Square Garden), The 39 Steps, and Cabaret. Other recent credits include: A Chorus Line (Cassie, BCCPA), State Fair (The REV), A Merry Little Christmas Concert (Bucks County Playhouse), and Calamity Jane (NY Premier). Love to Danny and her family, and Happy Holidays to all! emilylarger.com TikTok: @emilyndannylivetogether

BRENDAN McGRADY (Ensemble) Regional: Red, Long Day's Journey Into Night (Oldcastle Theatre); Tranquil (Luna Stage); Orphans (Lake Dillion Theatre); Love's Labour's Lost (DTLA Shakespeare). Voiceover: Marvel Comics Declassified, Eternals #1, and You Don’t Know Daredevil?. Brendan is also a UCB trained improviser, and master impressionist. Thank you to my brilliant coach Deborah Abramson, to my mother for being the best role model, and to my wife Amanda, to whom I owe everything. www.brendanmcgrady.com

DENNIS O’BANNION (Ensemble) is thrilled to be making his Goodspeed debut and joining this wonderful company and brand new show! Previously he was an associate choreographer at Goodspeed for The Will Rogers Follies. Broadway: White Christmas. Most recent credits: Something Rotten; Kiss Me, Kate (Broadway At Music Circus). Other credits: Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Scuttle, Tuacahn Amphitheater); show supervisor “Cantaré” (the Holland American Line); Hello, Dolly! (Paper Mill Playhouse, choreographed by Mia Michaels). Carbonell nomination: The Music Man (Marcellus Washburn, Maltz Jupiter Theatre). Thank you to Amy, Marjorie and Donna Lynn for making this happen. Special thanks to LDC. “For Gpa, Tita Lena and Tita Carmen.” Happy Holidays! Instagram: @dennob84

TY-GABRIEL JONES (Swing) [he/she/they] is an actor/playwright represented by Gray Talent Group with recent appearances as Prince Eric and Sebastian in Disney Cruise Line’s The Little Mermaid, and Westcoast Black Theatre’s production of EUBIE!. Ty-Gabriel’s LGBTQ+ themed play, Down With The Most Beautiful of The Flock premieres at Theatre Latea October 2022. Ty is grateful to make their Goodspeed debut as the Jefferson Understudy and swing for Christmas In Connecticut.

JAMIE ZEIDMAN (Swing) [she/her] is a New York City-based singer, actor, and nerd. Previous credits include Kristin Chenoweth: For The Girls (Tour), Josh Groban (NY Vocalist), Hunchback of Notre Dame (WPPAC), Christmas Carol (NSMT), and countless shows and cabarets across the US and abroad. She is so grateful to Goodspeed for the opportunity to make some new theater and join “Swing Nation”! Love to the most supportive family, friends, and her Nature Boy, James. @jamiezeidman

PATRICK PACHECO (Book) is an Emmy-winning commentator and journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Esquire.com, and other periodicals. He wrote the 2009 Disney documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty, produced by Peter Schneider and Don Hahn. In 2010, he co-wrote, with Maria Cassi, My Life with Men…and other animals, directed by Schneider which premiered at the Spoleto Arts Festival, Umbria. In 2013, his revisal of Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey premiered at the Arkansas Rep. He is the writer of American Theatre Wing, An Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 100 Million Miracles and has collaborated with Chita Rivera on Chita, A Memoir, to be published by HarperCollins this Spring. He now hosts CUNY-TV’s THEATER: All the Moving Parts, which features in-depth interviews with theater artists, in front of the curtain and behind the scenes.

ERIK FORREST JACKSON (Book) is the author of the award-winning Like a Billion Likes and its upcoming musical adaptation, Misty Makes It Better (lyrics by Jill Abramovitz, music by Brad Alexander). He adapted the beloved TV comedy Cheers for a live stage event, and his musical Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (co-written with Ben Winters, featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka arranged by Tom Kitt) has been performed worldwide. For Theatre Couture, Erik wrote four Off-Broadway premieres, including a comic adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie and the thriller Tell-Tale (GLAAD Best Play nominee). His novels include the Muppets Meet the Classics humor series for Disney, which cast the iconic characters in great works of literature. Erik is the grateful recipient of fellowships from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts, Chulitna Lodge, and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals. In the magazine world, Erik spent more than a decade as an executive editor at Entertainment Weekly and InStyle.

JASON HOWLAND (Music) is an honors graduate of Williams College, is a Grammy Award-winning producer, Emmy Award-winning arranger, and Tony-nominated producer. Composer: the Tony-nominated Little Women – The Musical, Paradise Square (world premiere, Berkeley Rep), Ikiru for Horipro Productions (world premiere, Tokyo), Last Days of Summer (Kansas City Rep, George St. Playhouse) and the streaming hit, A Killer Party. Upcoming: Captain Nemo in Seoul, Tokyo Love Story in Tokyo. Howland won an Emmy in 2007 for “Handel’s Messiah Rocks” for PBS. He was nominated for a Tony in 1999 for co-producing The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh. He won a Grammy in 2015 for producing the Original Cast Album of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He is the Arranger and Music Supervisor for Beautiful (Broadway, West End, US National Tour, Tokyo, Australian National Tour, UK National Tour). As musical supervisor/director/conductor and arranger: Broadway’s Bonnie and Clyde, Wonderland, Jekyll & Hyde, Les Miserables, The Civil War, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Boy George’s Taboo and guest conductor for Bono and The Edge’s Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. He has worked around the world as Music Supervisor, Orchestrator and Arranger for Death Note (Horipro/Tokyo), Mata Hari and The Man Who Laughs for EMK in Seoul, Your Lie in April for Toho Japan, Fist of the North Star (Horipro) and Casanova for Vienna’s VBW. Recording projects also include: Japanese star May’n’s latest album, Megumi Hamada’s solo CD Attitude (Producer, arranger, conductor); the Grammy-nominated cast album of Jekyll & Hyde (Musical Director/Conductor/Vocal Arranger); The Dreams in You for the September 11th Fund (Producer, Composer); The Scarlet Pimpernel (OBC; Associate Producer/Additional Arrangements); Atlantic Records' release of The Civil War (Choral Conductor, Arranger); Jekyll & Hyde: The Complete Work (Vocal Arranger); the solo album for acclaimed international harpist Jung Kwak (Conductor); and Linda Eder’s albums Christmas Stays the Same and It’s Time (Arranger/Pianist/Vocal Arranger).

AMANDA YESNOWITZ (Lyrics) Winner of the Kleban Prize, Jonathan Larson Award, Dottie Burman Award, Jamie deRoy Award, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, Berklee Outstanding Alumni Award, and 8 MAC nominations, all for excellence in lyric writing. Selected musicals: Christmas in Connecticut (Broadway Licensing commission), Somewhere in Time (Portland Center Stage world premiere), Do No Harm (Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat), May/December (Oldcastle Theatre), By The Numbers (Goodspeed Mercer Grove, ASCAP workshop), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Hangar Theatre), The History of War (NYMF invited selection). Featured lyricist: Notes From Now (59e59), ASCAP Centennial at the Kennedy Center, Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, NAMT Songwriter Showcase, “Gotta Start Small” (Stephanie J. Block; PS Classics, PBS/Live from Lincoln Center). Amanda is also a writing professor at NYU, a professional parodist, and a NY Times crossword puzzle constructor.

AMY ANDERS CORCORAN (Director) is currently directing a brand new adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid for the Disney Wish, and is heading to Scotland to work on Edinburgh 7, a new musical about the first female MDs in the UK. She was the associate director of Escape to Margaritaville for Christopher Ashley on Broadway and directed the national tour. Amy helmed the NYC off-Broadway and London premieres of Unexpected Joy and received the SDC Noël Coward Fellowship for Comedic Direction. A proud member of SDC, Amy has worked at Asolo Rep, ACT in San Francisco, The Guthrie, Goodspeed, Cal Shakes, and often with Aria Entertainment in London. Amy holds a B.A. in Psychology with Honors from the University of Kansas and an M.F.A. in Directing from Penn State.

MARJORIE FAILONI (Choreographer) is a New York-based choreographer, performer, and educator. She is thrilled to make her Goodspeed Debut! Choreographer: Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Disney Wish), The MUNY Variety Hour Ep. 3 “Bach To The Future” (The MUNY). Associate Choreographer: 9 to 5 (US tour), UK tour of Disney’s High School Musical 2, PBS A Capitol Fourth 2019, A Christmas Story (Tuacahn), Gettin’ the Band Back Together (George Street Playhouse), Jesus Christ Superstar (Music Theatre of Wichita), Godspell (the MUNY). Associate Dir/Chor: Guys and Dolls (Axelrod Performing Arts Center), Christmas with the Symphony (Omaha Symphony). As a performer: Broadway: Escape to Margaritaville (Dance Captain). Tours: 9 to 5, Disney’s High School Musical. Favorite credits include The MUNY, La Jolla Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Ogunquit Playhouse, Tuacahn, Pioneer Theatre. Faculty at Broadway Dance Center. BFA University of Michigan. Thanks to everyone at Goodspeed, Amy, CTG, and my family! marjoriefailoni.com @mfailoni

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 42^nd Street, Cabaret, A Grand Night for Singing, 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.

LAWRENCE E. MOTEN III (Scenic Designer) [he/him/his] Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits (Circle In The Square), What The Constitution Means to Me (Broadway & Tour Associate). Regional: Patience (2ST Uptown); The Last Supper (SOPAC); Much Ado About Nothing (Commonwealth Shakespeare); The Brothers Size (American Players); How I Learned What I Learned (Playmakers Rep); it’s not a trip, it’s a journey (Round House); We Declare You A Terrorist… (Round House); Gem of The Ocean (Portland Center Stage); Trouble In Mind (The Old Globe); The Sound Inside (TheaterWorks Hartford); Hype Man (ART & Company One); Gloria (ACT); STEW (Page 73); Hi, Are You Single? (Woolly Mammoth); Native Son (Playmakers Rep); House of Joy (CalShakes); Behind The Sheet (Ensemble Studio Theatre). Lecturer: Princeton & Queens College. Member: USA 829. www.motendesigns.com; IG: @motendesigns

RUI RITA (Lighting Designer) Selected Broadway: Skeleton Crew, Velocity of Autumn, Trip to Bountiful, Present Laughter, Dividing the Estate. Off-Broadway premieres: A Sherlock Carol (New World Stages), Paradise Blue (Signature), Horton Foote's Old Friends & Orphans' Home Cycle (Hewes Award, Signature), Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage), Just Jim Dale (Roundabout), Carpetbagger's Children, Far East (Lincoln Center Theater). Off Broadway revivals: The Piano Lesson (Signature), Talley's Folly (Roundabout), and Engaged (Obie Award, TFANA). Recent regional credits include Alley, Center Theatre Group, Dallas Theater Center, Ford's, Guthrie, Huntington, Oregon Shakespeare, Old Globe.  www.designbyrui.com

JAY HILTON (Sound Designer) is pleased to continue his long association with Goodspeed Musicals and is happy to be back in this beautiful theatre after the nearly two years of pandemic shutdown. Jay has designed countless productions at both The Goodspeed and The Terris Theatre in Chester and recently created sound design for Goodspeed’s successful re-entry programming Goodspeed by the River and A Grand Night for Singing. 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.

JASON P. HAYES (Wig, Hair & Make-Up Designer) is a 2016 & 2017 Drama Desk Award Nominee for Outstanding Wig & Hair Design for his work on The Legend of Georgia McBride & The View Upstairs. Hayes was the Hair Supervisor for The Present, starring Cate Blanchett. His Broadway Theatrical design credits include Casa Valentina, The Realistic Jones's, Spring Awakening, Blithe Spirit, 13 The Musical & The Radio City Christmas Spectacular for 10 years. His Film & TV credits include Imordecai, The Rise of Hollywood, The Mysteries of Laura, Smash, Hostages, 30 Rock, Mercy, Gossip Girl, SNL and his film credits include Transamerica, Camp, The Savages, & Party Monster to name only a few. His Celebrity clients include Cate Blanchett, RuPaul, Angelica Huston, Debra Messing, Toni Colette, Dylan McDermott, Felicity Huffman, Jennifer Hudson, Liza Minelli, Sean Hayes, Josh Lucas, Megan Fox, Antonio Banderas, Mary Stuart Masterson, Cherry Jones, Angela Lansbury, Laura Linney, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Macauley Culkin, Marilyn Manson, Harvey Fierstein, Paul Rudd, Patrick Stewart, T.R Knight.

kim scharnberg (Orchestrator) Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, Scarlet Pimpernel, Civil War, Little Women (Drama Desk Award nomination), Wonderland, Jekyll & Hyde revival. International: Carmen, Rudolf, Monte Cristo, Phantom (Yeston/Kopit), Ragtime (MTI 9-piece orchestration), Ragtime (symphonic concert version), Rocktopia (music supervisor). Film: A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, Fly Away Home, The Net. Television: Dallas, Knot's Landing, Party of Five. Other: Handel's Messiah Rocks, Linda Eder, Boston Pops, Atlanta Symphony. From Broadway with Love (Sandy Hook, Orlando, Parkland), Associate Artist at Ford's Theatre (Washington, DC), Composer/Arranger for the Pageant of the Masters (Laguna Beach, CA). Much more at www.KimScharnberg.com

ADAM J. RINEER (Assistant Music Director)

BRADLEY G. SPACHMAN* (Production Stage Manager) After our “Pandemic Pause,” Brad is very happy to be back in our beloved Opera House—his artistic home for over 25 years! Some of his favorite productions include Redhead, George M!, Show Boat, and A Connecticut Christmas Carol. He sends a heartfelt “Thank You!” to everyone who made our productions this season (and who make them happen every night). Although his time away from the Opera House was productively spent baking and building, he has yet to appear on any flavor of Law & Order. Finally, a very special thanks to Kim, without whose patience none of this would be possible.

NICOLE WIEGERT* (Assistant Stage Manager) Goodspeed: Anne of Green Gables, Passing Through. Regional: Hartford Stage, Theaterworks Hartford, Long Wharf, CT Rep, Mountain Playhouse, Ivoryton Playhouse, Theater by the Sea, First Stage Milwaukee, Renaissance Theatreworks, Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Public Theater, Milwaukee Chamber Theater. Television: House Hunters, Extreme Cheapskates, Biggest Loser. Other: Love to LC, WW and CW.

PAUL HARDT (Casting) is happy to continue this 18-year relationship with Goodspeed. Broadway/National Tours of West Side Story, Come Fly Away, August: Osage County, Hot Feet, On Golden Pond, Legends, Whistle Down The Wind, A Bronx Tale, Dirty Dancing, The Bodyguard, the current tours of Cats and Annie plus the upcoming Broadway musical Once Upon A One More Time.  Other Regional theatre credits include Delaware Theatre Company, Bucks County Playhouse, TUTS, Pasadena Playhouse, Alley Theatre, Arena Stage and Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC.