The Boy From Oz with (in alphabetical order) Andrew Bongiorno, Michayla Brown, Marcus S. Daniel, Michael Taylor Gray*, Erica Hanrahan-Ball*, Kelly Lester*, Chelsea Martin, Michael Mittman, Nathan Mohebbi, Bess Motta, Jessica Pennington*, Shanta’ Marie Robinson in association with Nicholas Caprio, Michael C. Kricfalusi, Todd Milliner, and Jack Morrissey present Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen Book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright Scenic Designer Yuri Okahana Lighting Designer Derrick McDaniel Costume Designer Michael Mullen Sound Designer Eric Snodgrass Properties Designer Michael O’Hara Marketing/PR David Elzer/DEMAND PR Casting Jami Rudofsky Production Stage Manager Jennifer Leigh Sears* Graphic Designer Huntley Woods Photographers Casey Kringlen and Kevin McIntyre Directed by Michael A. Shepperd Produced by Andrew Carlberg Associate Producer Mark Giberson Assistant Director Kyle Cooper Hair and Wig Designer Byron Batista Assistant Choreographer Michael Quiett Musical Direction by Bryan Blaskie Choreographed by Janet Roston *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Original Production by Ben Gannon and Robert Fox by arrangement with David Spicer Productions www.davidspicer.com.au and Bruce W. Zisterer
Transcript
The Boy From Oz
with (in alphabetical order)Andrew Bongiorno, Michayla Brown, Marcus S. Daniel, Michael Taylor Gray*,
Erica Hanrahan-Ball*, Kelly Lester*, Chelsea Martin, Michael Mittman, Nathan Mohebbi, Bess Motta, Jessica Pennington*, Shanta’ Marie Robinson
in association with
Nicholas Caprio, Michael C. Kricfalusi, Todd Milliner, and Jack Morrissey
present
Music and Lyrics by Peter AllenBook by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright
Scenic DesignerYuri Okahana
Lighting DesignerDerrick McDaniel
Costume DesignerMichael Mullen
Sound DesignerEric Snodgrass
Properties DesignerMichael O’Hara
Marketing/PRDavid Elzer/DEMAND PR
CastingJami Rudofsky
Production Stage ManagerJennifer Leigh Sears*
Graphic DesignerHuntley Woods
PhotographersCasey Kringlen
and Kevin McIntyre
Directed by
Michael A. Shepperd
Produced by
Andrew Carlberg
Associate ProducerMark Giberson
Assistant DirectorKyle Cooper
Hair and Wig DesignerByron Batista
Assistant ChoreographerMichael Quiett
Musical Direction by
Bryan BlaskieChoreographed by
Janet Roston
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Original Production by Ben Gannon and Robert Foxby arrangement with David Spicer Productions www.davidspicer.com.au
and Bruce W. Zisterer
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*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
MUSICIANS
CAST (Alphabetical)ANDREW BONGIORNOMICHAYLA BROWNMARCUS S. DANIELMICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY*ERICA HANRAHAN-BALL*KELLY LESTER*CHELSEA MARTINMICHAEL MITTMANNATHAN MOHEBBIBESS MOTTAJESSICA PENNINGTON*SHANTA’ MARIE ROBINSON
Peter AllenYoung Peter AllenChris and OthersDee and Others
Karen and OthersMarion WoolnoughLinelle and Others
ACT I“All The Lives of Me” (Peter Allen)“When I Get My Name in Lights” (Peter Allen)“When I Get My Name in Lights (Reprise)” (Peter Allen)“Love Crazy” (Peter Allen/Adrienne Anderson)“Waltzing Matilda (in Mandarin)” (Peter Allen)“All I Wanted Was the Dream” (Peter Allen)“Only an Older Woman” (Peter Allen)“Best That You Can Do” (Peter Allen/Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager/Christopher Cross)“Don’t Wish Too Hard” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“Come Save Me” (Peter Allen)“Continental American” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“She Loves to Hear the Music” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“Quiet Please, There’s a Lady On Stage” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“Not the Boy Next Door” (Peter Allen/Dean Pitchford)
SONG LIST
SHOW INFORMATIONThe perfromance runs approximate 2 hours and 20 minutes
with one 10 minute intermission.
Act One takes place in various locations in Australia, Hong Kong, and New York City spanning the 1950s-1960s.
Act Two takes place in various locations in New York and Australia spanning the 1960s-1990s.
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PRODUCTION TEAMPETER ALLENMARTIN SHERMAN and NICK ENRIGHTMICHAEL A. SHEPPERDKYLE COOPERJANET ROSTONMICHAEL QUIETTBRYAN BLASKIEJENNIFER LEIGH SEARS*JILLIAN MAYOKYRIE TITTLEYURI OKAHANADERRICK McDANIELMICHAEL MULLENERIC SNODGRASSMICHAEL O’HARABYRON BATISTAARCHER ALTSTAETTERBRUCE W. ZISTERERNICHOLAS CAPRIOTODD MILLINERJACK MORRISSEYMICHAEL C. KRICFALUSIMICHAEL MATTHEWS MICHAEL A. SHEPPERD MICHAEL O’HARAREBECCA EISENBERGNATHAN FRIZZELLANDREW CARLBERGMARK GIBERSONJAMI RUDOFSKYDAVID ELZER/DEMAND PRMARCUS S. DANIELSTEVE ZEEHUNTLEY WOODSCASEY KRINGLENKEVIN McINTYREAARON LYONS
ACT II“Bi-Coastal” (Peter Allen/David Foster/Tom Keane)“If You Were Wondering” (Peter Allen)“Sure Thing Baby” (Peter Allen)“Everything Old is New Again” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“Everything Old is New Again (Reprise)” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“Love Don’t Need a Reason” (Peter Allen/Michael Callen/Marsha Malamet)“I Honestly Love You” (Peter Allen/Jeff Barry)“You and Me” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“I Still Call Australia Home” (Peter Allen)“Don’t Cry Out Loud” (Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)“I Go to Rio” (Peter Allen/Adrienne Anderson)“Once Before I Go” (Peter Allen)
SONG LIST
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
A MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHAEL C. KRICFALUSI
SPECIAL THANKSCelebration Theatre would like to thank the following
for their contributions to the production:Our Subscribers, Membership Holders and patrons; Our Company Members; Jon Imparato, Patricia, Cody and Mike and the LGBT Center; Jason Weiss; Theatre of Arts; Kevin McIntyre; Jay Donohue and Joy Rinaldi; Aaron Lyons; John Money; Theatre of NOTE; Matthew Brian Denman; Archer Altstaetter; Cindy Shapiro and Jack Wall; Lindsay Norris; Matt Orduña
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Thank you all for coming to see this performance of The Boy From Oz. We are so excited to have this show close out our 33rd season. I saw this show on Broadway when it opened and then again the week it closed. To
say it was one of those mo-ments you know everyone will be talking about for years is an understatement. To be able to bring it to you now on our stage is a personal delight. This show aside, we hope you come to see all our productions, readings and other events we put on. These are as much labors of love on our part as they are entertaining, informative or even educating to you our audience.
My major responsibilities here at Cel-ebration Theatre besides overseeing our incredible creative/management team of Michael Matthews, Michael A. Shepperd, Michael O’Hara, Nathan Frizzell and Re-becca Eisenberg, is to be a representative for Celebration Theatre in our theatrical community, our audience community and our corporate/public grantors/supporters. As well as all that, there’s the planning ahead for what we want to do as a theatre company and how outside organizations or people can impact us. The largest re-sponsibility I have though has to be fiscal. Monies for the arts is at an incredible low right now and California falls at the bottom of all states in what it gives to the arts. The bulk of what does get given out goes to the larger theatres, museums and other cultural organizations, so that there’s not much left of what wasn’t much to begin with for theatres of Celebration’s size. This is why I reach out to all of you to encourage you to donate what you can if you enjoy what we do. Ticket sales are never enough to cover all our costs. Some of you may like to help
“produce” a show we do and see your name on our marketing materials, press releases, etc. for an individual production. Some of you may only be able to support us by purchasing that ticket. Whatever it is you can do, please know that all of us at Celebration applaud you and thank you for being part of our family.
A big part of my outside work on behalf of Celebration Theatre is as our representa-tive member of the Theatrical Producers League-Los Angeles: Intimate Theatre (a nice way of saying we operate in theatres with less than 99 seats). Through this organization and personally my role as current Board President, we are working to create a better experience for you our patrons as well as the actors and design-ers we work with. The goal is to make sure our patrons, actors, designers, crew etc. are treated with respect and given an enjoyable place to create and watch what goes up at our theatre. We’re also working to create and implement a definable set of standards for producers so that any time you see the words “Theatrical Producers League-Los Angeles: Intimate” or even just TPLLA, you’ll feel confident that your experience in coming to see one of our shows is a positive one. You may not find a production to your taste but we want you to feel welcome and come back the next time. This very young organization still has its own work to do but I’m encouraged that there are a large number of theatre compa-nies here that hold to the same goals and standards and want you to know that.
If this is your first or fiftieth time here, wel-come and we hope you enjoy the show. If you have any questions or want to know how you can support us further, my email address is [email protected] and I look forward to hearing from you.
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PRODUCTION SPONSORS
CAST
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
MichaylaBrown
Marcus S.Daniel
AndrewBongiorno
KellyLester*
ChelseaMartin
EricaHanrahan-Ball*
BessMotta
JessicaPennington*
NathanMohebbi
Michael TaylorGray*
MichaelMittman
Shanta’ MarieRobinson
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CAST BIOS (Alphabetical Order)ANDREW BONGIORNO (Peter Allen) Studying the same 3 year acting degree as Hugh Jackman & taught by the late Oscar nominee writer of The Boy From Oz - Nick Enright, then working on Sam Mendes’ production of Cabaret with Todd McKenney (the original Boy), Andrew feels drawn to this role & is honored to pay tribute to Enright through it. After 4 years of USA TV/film credits, including NCIS, Mistresses & Ben Affleck’s latest Warner feature Live By Night, Andrew is delighted to call this his USA theatre debut.
MICHAYLA BROWN (Young Peter Allen) Michayla is pleased to debut at Celebra-tion in TBFO. Other roles: “10 Year Old Tommy” in East West Players’ The Who’s Tommy; “Jasmine” in Aladdin Jr and the “Dancing Spoon” in Beauty & the Beast Jr at Encore Theatre Group. Michayla has sung at House of Blues and is a Perform-ing Company member and competes for Center Stage Dance. She’s in Honors Humanities at Walter Reed Middle School next fall. Thanks to the cast, crew, Shep, Steve, Janet, Bryan and Mama & Daddy.
MARCUS S. DANIEL (Chris and Others/Dance Captain) Award winning Actor, Di-rector, and Choreographer. Theatre credits include: Les Mis & Mary Poppins (Sierra Rep Theatre), Forum (Cabrillo MT), H2$ & Young Frankenstein (Performance River-side), RENT (Everywhere), OC premieres of The Producers (Carmen Ghia) and The Wedding Singer (George). Cast member of the Imagination Machine. Single (at time of print, but feel free to ask). “If you’re ever sad, remember that the world is 4.543 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as Britney Spears.” Thanks to Matt Merchant, All at the CT, Dave, and love to my folks! www.wix.com/MSDANIEL/Official
MICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY (Dee and Others) Michael is thrilled to be back on the Celebration Theatre stage! His journey with CT started 10 years ago with Judy at The Stonewall Inn and continued with The Bacchae, Sissystrata, two productions of A Christmas Carol, the very first late night winner of America’s Next Top Bottom and a cabaret performance with his best galpal, Amanda Gari, in Two Too Much. There truly is no place like home.
ERICA HANRAHAN-BALL (Karen and Others) Recent theatre credits include: “Bunny” in Babes In Arms (Rubicon), “Heather” in I’m Still Getting My Act To-gether... (Laguna Playhouse), “Mrs. Liddell” in The Missing Pages of Lewis Carroll (Boston Court), “Vera” in Pal Joey (Arkansas Rep.), “Woman #3” in And the World Goes ‘Round (NoHo Arts), “Sally Bowles” in Cabaret (Beef & Boards), “Sheila” in Hair (Forestburgh Playhouse), and “Mary Magdalene” in Jesus Christ Superstar (Mill Mountain). TV/Film: The Office, Rules of Engagement, How I Met Your Mother, Body of Proof, ‘Til Death, Alone, and A Leading Man. www.iamericaball.com
KELLY LESTER (Marion Woolnough) LA Theater: Ionescopade at The Odyssey, as “The Adult Woman” in Spring Awakening, Stage Scene LA award winner for her performance as Mrs. Zero in Adding Machine - A Musical. TV: The Haunted Hathaways, Criminal Minds, Notes from the Underbelly, The Young and the Rest-less. FILM: Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, and the upcoming Mr. Church, starring Eddie Murphy. Kelly is the creator and CEO of EasyLunchboxes® - the best selling lunch containers on the internet. www.KellyLester.com
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CAST BIOS (cont’d)CHELSEA MARTIN (Linelle and Others) Chelsea is excited to make her debut at Celebration Theatre! Credits: Little Shop of Horrors, The Wizard of Wonderland, Honk!, Working, Reefer Madness, The Lesson, Women of the World, various musi-cal reviews, and award winning short films. She has performed alongside Tony Award winner, Alice Ripley. Later, Ripley directed The Women and cast Chelsea as leading role, Sylvia. She practices improvisation at the Groundlings in LA. Enjoy The Boy From Oz! (IG) @shellseam
MICHAEL MITTMAN (Greg and Others) Celebration Theatre debut. Regional stage credits: Ragtime (SDMT), Damn Yankees (Cabrillo Music Theatre), The Barn Stage Company’s Urinetown (ITL Nomination), Theater Latte Da’s Evita (The Ordway), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Jungle Theater), Sweeney Todd (WPPAC), Rocky Horror Show (Cardinal Theatricals), Bent (Candid Theater Company), Spring of Freedom, Summer of Fear (Lowry Lab). Michael is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
NATHAN MOHEBBI (Mark and Others) Nathan is happy to return to Celebration Theatre, after appearing as Ben in the production of Wolves . He has also been seen in LA’s Queerclassics as Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew and Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest. Regional Credits: Funny Girl (Renaldi), Damn Yankees (Henry), Hairspray (Fender). Film/TV Credits: Ellen More or Less (NBC) Chasing Life (ABC Family) , Child of God (dir. James Franco), Neighbors (Universal Studios).
BESS MOTTA (Judy Garland) Bess starred in the San Francisco and London productions of The Great American Backstage Musical and has also appeared as Charity in Sweet Charity, Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress, and Annie in Annie Get Your Gun. She won a Drama-Logue Award for her performance as Bettina Barnes in Psycho Beach Party, and rave reviews as Leeza Garlinelli in Highballs Ahoy. James Cameron cast her as Sara Connor’s doomed roommate, Ginger in The Terminator.
JESSICA PENNINGTON (Liza Minnelli) Theatre includes: Into the Woods (Stag-eSceneLA Scenie - The Witch), Cabaret (Garland Award - Sally Bowles), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Suzanne), As You Like It (Rosalind), See Bob Run (NY Premiere) and Winds of Angkor (The Kingdom of Cambodia). VO Actor by day. Lead Singer: The UnderCoverGirls. Carnegie Mellon Drama. Thank you, Mr. Shepperd, for the great big X on my bucket list! Love & gratitude to Team OZ, my nearest & dearest and the extraordinary soul who married me, Kevin Quinn.
SHANTA’ MARIE ROBINSON (Shena and Others) Shanta’ is originally from Wilm-ington, North Carolina. She has traveled the world as a Dancer on Disney Cruise-line, and performed in multiple musicals from NC to LA playing roles such as Mimi in Rent (recently nominated for Inland Empire Theatre League Award), Dorothy in The Wiz, Dancer in The All Night Strut (Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre). For the past two years she was the Magic Carpet in Disney’s Aladdin: The Musical Spectacular. Thank you to the creative team for this amazing opportunity and to my Momma Faye, and Agent Anthony Boyer for believing in me!
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BAND BIOSBRYAN BLASKIE (Piano/Music Director) See Page 10.
OMAR D. BRANCATO (Bass/Guitar) Omar composed the music/lyrics to the NCTF award winning Beauty & the Beast (Best Score, Best Musical), The Boys Next Door (incidental music, Chicago revival), The Talking Dead (Holiday Park, Haßloch, Germany). Scores include: Out Of Luck, Hollywood Gamble, The Mi-chelle Show (Best Score nomination, Austin WebFest), Monster Heroes (additional music). He is a Cubs fan (which proves his loyalty) and a Bears fan (which proves his stubbornness). Thanks to GHS, Rocktron, Risson Amps and JH Audio.
NOELLE FABIAN (Saxophone/Clarinet) Noelle is a saxophone/woodwind player and is making a splash in LA as one of the newest members of the Disneyland Band. A recent transplant from Dallas, Texas, she holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas. In Texas, Noelle worked heavily as an educator and performed actively with the Dallas Wind Symphony, Ft. Worth Symphony and Dallas Summer Musicals. She moved out to Los Angeles fol-lowing a run on the national tour of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Reed 1) and is enjoying all the new performance opportunities that this city has to offer. When not playing music, Noelle works as a voice-over artist/actress and enjoys making quirky musical comedy and educational videos for YouTube with her group “The Little Black Dress Horns”. www.noellefabian.com
JEREMY LAPPITT (Saxophone/Clarinet) Saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist Jer-emy Lappitt is from Tucson, Arizona. He achieved his Bachelors Degree in Jazz Performance from Arizona State University. Lappitt was selected as Lead Alto in the 2010 Disneyland All-American College Band. He had the pleasure of playing vari-ous woodwinds in multiple musicals. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Jeremy has performed and recorded for movie and television productions including Minions, Jersey Boys, THE VOICE, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Lappitt currently plays lead alto in the Disneyland Band.
ROB SHEPPARD (Saxophone/Clarinet) Rob is happy to be a part of this produc-tion.
BRIAN CANNADY (Drums) Brian is an LA based drummer/percussionist with a highly diverse background. Upon graduating CSU Fullerton with a bachelors in Percussion, he has been involved with many musical productions including LA’s award winning The Color Purple. Brian has also played with such artists as Bill Cunliffe, Natalie Cole, Vince Guaraldi, and Jeff Hamilton. He will be pursuing a MM at Boston University while auditioning for professional orchestras across the U.S.
STEPHEN DIZON (Drums) Stephen is an award-winning drummer/percussionist based in Fontana, CA. Graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Jazz Performance, Stephen performs with various groups around Southern California.
JESSICA RAGSDALE (Drums) Jessica is happy to be a part of this production.
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BAND BIOS (cont’d)ALEX STICKELS (Drums) Alex is a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur. He was born in Omaha, NE and grew up in Rochester, NY and Dallas, TX. After attending TCU and Berklee College of Music, he moved to Los Angeles were he has played with Sandra Bernhard, Casey Abrams, and Recycled Percussion among many others.
SAM WEBSTER (Drums) Sam Webster is a Los Angeles based drummer and percus-sionist. His performance credits include Disneyland’s Five and Dime, The Long Beach Symphony, Dean Mora, and many more. He has also recorded for numerous including Jersey Boys (2014), Grandfathered (2015), La La Land (2016) and much more. Sam earned degrees in Jazz Studies and Classical Percussion from California State University, Fullerton.
CREW BIOSPETER ALLEN (Music and Lyrics) Peter Allen was a songwriter and exuberant cabaret-style performer who had his greatest fame in the 1970s and 1980s. He was “discovered” in 1964 by Judy Garland, who hired him to perform with her and introduced him to her daughter Liza Minnelli. Allen and Minnelli were married in 1967, but separated in 1970. Later, Peter Allen co-wrote the pop hits “Don’t Cry Out Loud” for Melissa Manchester and “I Honestly Love You” for Olivia Newton John, and won an Academy Award for his contribution to the theme from Arthur, Minnelli’s hit 1981 movie. (His co-writers on that tune were Burt Bacharach, Car-ole Bayer Sager and singer Christopher Cross.) Peter Allen’s own albums included Tenterfield Saddler (1972), Bi-Coastal (1980) and Not the Boy Next Door (1982). Allen also composed the short-lived Broadway musical Legs Diamond. He died in 1992 from AIDS after giving his final concerts in Sydney, Australia.
MARTIN SHERMAN (Book) Martin Sherman was born in Philadelphia, educated at Boston University and now lives in London. His early plays include Passing By, Cracks and Rio Grande, all originally presented by Playwrights Horizons in New York. Bent premiered at the Royal Court in 1979, transferred to the Criterion Theatre and was then presented on Broadway, where it received a Tony nomina-tion for Best Play and won the Dramatist Guild’s Hull-Warriner Award. Bent has been produced in over forty-five countries, and has been turned into a ballet in Brazil, and, in 1989, was revived at the National Theatre. It has been voted one of the NT2000 One Hundred Plays of the Century. His next plays were Messiah (Hampstead and Aldwych Theatres, 1983), When She Danced (King’s Head, 1988; Gielgud, 1991), A Madhouse in Goa (Lyric Hammersmith and Apollo, 1989), Some Sunny Day (Hampstead, 1996) and Rose (National Theatre, 1999). Rose received an Olivier nomination for Best Play and transferred to Broadway the following season. Sherman has written an adaptation of E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India for Shared Experience (Riverside Studios, 2002; Lyric Hammersmith, 2004) and a new version of a Luigi Pirandello play, Absolutely! (Perhaps) (Wyndhams, 2003) He has also written the book for the musical The Boy From Oz which opened on Broad-way in 2003. His screenplays include The Clothes in the Wardrobe (US title: The Summer House), Alive and Kicking, Bent, Callas Forever and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. Martin Sherman Plays: One was published by Methuen Drama in 2004.
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CREW BIOS (cont’d)NICK ENRIGHT (Book) Nick Enright (1950-2003) trained for the theatre at New York University School of Arts after early experience in Australia including with Nimrod and MTC. He was an actor, director and teacher as well as a writer. His plays include On the Wallaby, Daylight Saving, St James Infirmary, Mongrels, A Property of the Clan, The Quartet from Rigoletto, Blackrock, Good Works, Spur-board and A Man with Five Children. With Justin Monjo he adapted Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet for the stage. He has also written for film and television, including co-writing with George Miller the screenplay for Lorenzo’s Oil which was nomi-nated for an Oscar. He has written a number of musicals including The Venetian Twins and Summer Rain with composer Terence Clarke. He wrote the book for the Australian production of The Boy From Oz. Among many awards were two Green Room Awards for Best Play, and four Gold AWGIE Awards, the 1998 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and the NSW Premiers’ Special Award. As well as being a prolific writer, Nick was a noted acting teacher, particularly at NIDA and WAAPA.
MICHAEL A. SHEPPERD (Director/Co-Artistic Director/Executive Producer) Mi-chael is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Los Angeles’ multiple award-winning Celebration Theatre (CT). CT producing credits include: The Boy From Oz, The Color Purple, Four, The Women of Brewster Place, Take Me Out, The Next Fairy Tale, Coffee Will Make You Black, [title of show] and numerous others in his 11 year career at the Celebration. Directing credits include: The Boy From Oz, The Next Fairy Tale, [title of show], Missionary Position. As an actor in LA, featured roles include Fences (Troy; Ovation, LADCC Nominations, Lead Actor), Booty-candy (Man 3; LADCC, Stage Raw Nominations, Supporting Actor), The Color Purple (Mister; Ovation Nom, Lead Actor), Steel (John Henry, Ovation Award, Lead Actor), Master Harold and the Boys (Sam, NAACP nom, Lead Actor), Intimate Ap-parel (George, NAACP Theatre Award, Supporting Actor), Choir Boy (Headmaster, NAACP Theatre nom, Supporting Actor). Broadway/Off-Broadway/Regional credits include: Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan (Starkey), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey Two), Caroline, or Change (Bus/Dryer), 5 Guys Named Moe (Big Moe), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Fred) and The Whipping Man (Simon) TV credits include Soul Man, Hot In Cleveland, Adoptable, Wizards of Waverly Place, Monk, Criminal Minds, NCIS.
JANET ROSTON (Choreographer) Choreography: The Color Purple, Celebration Theatre (Ovation Award, NAACP Award, LA Weekly/LADCC Nominations); Justin Love, Celebration Theatre (LADCC Nomination), Once On this Island, International City Theater (NAACP Nomination); Avenue X, Odyssey Theater (Ovation Award Nomination); Failure, A Love Story, Coeurage Theatre (Ovation Nomination); The Who’s Tommy, East West Players; Psyche: A Rock Opera, Greenway Court. As Director/Choreographer; Striking 12, Laguna Playhouse, Tonya and Nancy, The Rock Opera, Boston’s American Repertory Theater; Midsummer Night, Texas and Tennessee Musical Theater Festivals; CarnEvil, Sacred Fools; shAme, King King; The Wanting, Highways Performance Space.
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BRYAN BLASKIE (Music Director) Music direction: 110 in the Shade (Ovation Award Best Musical Intimate Theatre), The Max Factor Factor, Tonya Harding: The Musical. He is a co-founder and music director of A Little New Music. Composer: Assistants (StageScene Best World Premiere Musical, NYMF Finalist), iWish, Victo-rian Courting & Zombies. He graduated from Denison University and has studied with the Academy for New Musical Theatre. He currently serves on the voice faculty for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
KYLE COOPER (Assistant Director) Kyle is a Los Angeles based director and screenwriter. Most recent credits include directing Waiting for Godot at the Road Theatre and Blasted at the Secret Rose; and writing on the upcoming feature film The Late Bloomer, starring JK Simmons and Brittany Snow. He is an MFA Directing candidate at Cal State Fullerton. Thanks to Shep, Janet and Ryan. Love to Katie.
MICHAEL QUIETT (Assistant Choreographer) Michael is super excited to work on his first production with Celebration Theatre! Michael’s past shows as assistant cho-reographer to Janet Roston include: Psyche (Greenway Court Theatre), The Who’s Tommy (East West Players), Tonya and Nancy (King King).
JENNIFER LEIGH SEARS (Production Stage Manager) Jennifer is excited to join Celebration Theatre for The Boy From Oz. Previous Credits include: Lamb’s Players Theatre, Knoxville Opera, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, San Di-ego Repertory Theatre, Long Beach Opera, Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival and Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Associa-tion. She graduated from the University of Iowa with an MFA in Theatre Arts.
JILLIAN MAYO (Assistant Stage Manager) Jillian first stage managed Stonehill Col-lege’s Aspects of Love and Trojan Women. Other credits include Cannon Theatre’s Blithe Spirit in her home state of Massachusetts, and Nash Theatre’s The Fall of the House of Usher in Queensland, Australia. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2013, Jil-lian has been part of the production team for Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Moth-ers, The Homosexuals, and Sons of the Prophet. Congratulations to the cast & crew!
KYREE TITTLE (Sound Technician) Kyree came to Hollywood at 23. He has oper-ated sound for several theatre, live music, and television events like Psyche: A Modern Rock Opera, The Who’s: Tommy, FX’s Son’s of Anarchy: Hogs for Heart, and more. Kyree spent his earlier years in North Carolina. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gave Kyree the Club Hollywood scholarship in 2014 that set him on his journey into major post-production internships at Smart Post Sound and Skip Saylor’s Recording Studio. With support of Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) and Tricia Buchanan-Benson (The Simpsons animator) Kyree has cre-ated a The Simpsons inspired Code Switch EP to capture his new experiences. As a sound engineer Kyree manages to put his passion into giving every audience the best quality of sound.
CREW BIOS (cont’d)
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CREW BIOS (cont’d)YURI OKAHANA (Scenic Designer) Yuri is a scenic designer based in Los Angeles who is originally from Tokyo, Japan. Her scenic design credits include Darkside (U.S. Premiere), Pinkmilk (West Coast Premiere), Sans Merci at The Garage Theater, Revival at Acting Arts Theater, Waiting For Lefty: Seeing Red at California Repertory Theater. Her other works could be seen at www.yuriokahana.com and she holds an MFA in Scenic Design from CSU at Long Beach.
DERRICK McDANIEL (Lighting Designer) Derrick has been lighting live theater for 20 years. A few of Derrick’s lighting credits include, “The Vortex” at the Malibu Playhouse, “Blood Brothers” at the Whitefire Theater, “My Sister” at the Odyssey Theater, “Broken Fences ” at the Road Theater on Magnolia - and many others. Derrick won the LA Weekly 2012 award for lighting “The Mercy Seat” at the Inside the Ford Theater. He has also been nominated for several awards which includes three Ovations Awards nominations. Recently, he was featured in the Artist Profile section of @ThisStage Magazine. Thank you for supporting live theater. Enjoy!
ERIC SNODGRASS (Sound Designer) An Ovation and Garland Award winner, Eric is very happy to be back at Celebration Theatre, working with his longtime friend, director Michael Shepperd, as well as with this entire impressive cast and crew. He is humbled to have been given the chance to contribute to this wonderful creative endeavor.
MICHAEL MULLEN (Costume Designer) Michael is very excited to be working on this show! For his past work, he’s garnered such honors as an Ovation Award (2 nominations), LADCC Award, NAACP. Theatre Award, L.A. Weekly Theatre Award, Ticket Holder Award, several Scenie Awards including “Costume Designer Extraor-dinaire” recognition, Broadway World Award (6 nominations), and a Stage Raw Award nomination. He thanks everyone involved with Oz, mmmkay!! :)
MICHAEL O’HARA (Properties Designer/Managing Director/Executive Producer) Michael saw his first show at Celebration Theatre in 2001 and never left. He has been Resident Properties Designer since 2005. He has been Managing Director since January 2013. Recent design credits include: A Singular They (Blank The-atre), Dream Boy (Celebration Theatre), Rio Hondo (Theatre of NOTE), Bootycandy (Celebration Theatre). Michael has also worked as a Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager, Sound Mixer, and Actor around Los Angeles. Many thanks to the cast, crew, and Celebration family. Thank you for supporting Celebration Theatre.
BYRON BATISTA (Wig and Hair Designer) Hair (Hollywood Bowl) Hairspray (Hol-lywood Bowl, Moonlight Amphitheatre, First National Tour, MTW), Chicago (Hol-lywood Bowl), Les Miserables (Hollywood Bowl), I Love Lucy, Live! (Greenway Court), Jekyll and Hyde (Sturgis Center), Baby, It’s You, Stormy Weather (Pasadena Playhouse), Radio Girl, James and the Giant Peach (Goodspeed Musicals), Hello, Dolly!, Cabaret, Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, The Producers (Ogunquit Playhouse), Sweeney Todd (El Camino College). Red Hot Pa-triot with Kathleen Turner, Born to Rock with Jake Simpson, Men of Broadway with Brandon Victor Dixon, Ace Young, David Burnham and Frenchie Davis.
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CREW BIOS (cont’d)ARCHER ALTSTAETTER (Scenic Designer - Mural Painter) Archer has been design-ing and building stages, sets and interiors since high school. Installations have run the gamut from community theaters to mega nightclubs to jungle eco-resorts to his own dance studios with a design and production facility. An adventurous and entrepreneurial spirit keeps Archer engaged in new and ever-evolving projects. This is his first production with Celebration Theatre and he looks forward to many more.
BRUCE W. ZISTERER (Executive Producer) Bruce has produced The Color Purple, The Musical, which took home six Ovation awards including Best Production of a Musical in Intimate Theatre; the world premiere of Pinafore! at Celebration (LA Weekly Award, Musical of the Year, Garland Award, Best Production), Cool My Tongue; Gaveston, Favourite of the King; Judy at the Stonewall Inn; Altar Boyz; and the West Coast/LA Premieres of Autumn Canticle and The Homosexuals. This is his ninth collaboration with Celebration Theatre. Thank you for supporting Celebration and live theatre!
NICHOLAS CAPRIO (Executive Producer) Nicholas is Chief Content Officer at Pilgrim Studios, one of television’s most prolific and successful independent production companies. Over the past 10 years, Caprio has contributed to hun-dreds of hours of television. Joining Pilgrim Studios in 2012, he has overseen the production of all of Pilgrim’s programs, many of which have given rise to spin-offs, including Bring It! (Lifetime); Fast N Loud and Street Outlaws (Discovery); Wicked Tuna (NatGeo); and David Tutera’s CELEBrations (WE tv). Caprio also oversaw the production of the record-setting Discovery Shark Week specials Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives, Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine and Sharktacular, as well as executive produced the OWN documentaries Lindsay and Michael Sam. No stranger to the Celebration Theatre - he is a member of the board and previous producer credits, Kim Jong Funner!, The Homosexuals, What’s Wrong with Angry and Take Me Out.
TODD MILLINER (Executive Producer) Todd hails from Chicago where he worked and taught at The Second City. Todd formed Hazy Mills Productions with Sean Hayes in 2003. Currently Todd is the executive producer of GRIMM (NBC) Crowded (NBC) and the recently wrapped (after six seasons: Hot In Cleveland (TVLAND) which debuted to the largest basic cable comedy audience in history. Also Todd produces the NBC Game Show hosted by Jane Lynch Hollywood Game Night, and the Cedric the Entertainer comedy, The Soul Man. Todd also produced the Ovation-nominated production of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out in 2011 for Celebration Theatre.
JACK MORRISSEY (Executive Producer) Jack has been partnered with Academy Award-winning film writer and director Bill Condon for nearly twenty years. He has been a producer on Condon’s recent films, including the cyberthriller The Fifth Estate starring Benedict Cumberbatch; Mr. Holmes with Ian McKellen as the Great Detective and Laura Linney as his housekeeper; and Condon’s newest movie musi-cal, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans and Josh Gad - opening in March 2017.
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MICHAEL C. KRICFALUSI (Executive Director/Executive Producer) Michael has been with Celebration for over 8 years now, 4 as Managing Director and the last 4 years as Executive Director. In addition to being the Executive Director, he is also current Board President of the Theatrical Producers League-Los Angeles: Intimate Theatre. He has acted in, directed, produced or distributed numerous projects for the stage as well as film and television. Memorable productions include the multi-Ovation award winning production of The Color Purple - The Musical, Take Me Out, The Daddy Machine and WEHO at Celebration. He has appeared onstage in The Mikvah Monologues at the Wadsworth Theatre, L.A. as well as Twelve Angry Men, Three Sisters and Blood Wedding in L.A. and The Trial Off-Broadway. His favorite TV moment was having his own stunt double on The Young and The Rest-less (to make sure he didn’t drop Jeanne Cooper while carrying her down a pile rocks) though he is most remembered from television for having sat behind Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli in the pilot for Hot In Cleveland. Special thanks to everyone who has helped keep Celebration Theatre alive including Todd Milliner, Michael Matthews, Michael A. Shepperd, Michael O’Hara, Nathan Friz-zell and Rebecca Eisenberg. Love to his children Michael and Alexandra.
MICHAEL MATTHEWS (Co-Artistic Director/Executive Producer) Michael com-pletes the other half of Co-Artistic Director, shared with his “work husband”, Mi-chael Shepperd. Besides cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming the seats, taking out the trash, and serving countless cocktails, he also directs a few shows for Celebra-tion Theatre. Celebration highlights include: Dream Boy (LA Premiere), Bootycandy (LA Premiere, LADCC Nomination, Production), Wolves (West Coast Premiere) The Color Purple, The Musical (Ovation and LA Weekly Awards Best Director and Best Production, Musical), What’s Wrong With Angry? (Ovation Nominations Best Director and Best Production,Play), Take Me Out (Ovation Nomination Best Director, NAACP Award Best Director) The Women of Brewster Place, the Musical (Ovation Nomination Best Director, NAACP Award Best Director, Ovation Award Best Production, Musical; West Coast Premiere), Stupid Kids (LA Premiere), Beauti-ful Thing (Ovation Nominations, Best Director and Best Production,Play), The Bacchae (Ovation Nominations, Best Director and Best Production,Play). Michael is the recipient of the 2015 LADCC Award for Career Achievement in Direction.
REBECCA EISENBERG (Producing Director/Executive Producer) Rebecca Eisen-berg is a Los Angeles based producer and stage manager. With a passion for developing new works, she has been a part of many award winning world pre-miere, west coast premiere, and Los Angeles premiere productions. Some of her recent credits include: Bootycandy (Ovation Recommended), Failure: A Love Story (Ovation Award, Best Direction of a Play, Ovation nominated for Acting Ensemble and Best Production), Psyche: A Modern Rock Opera, Justin Love (LADCC Award, Best Production), The Real Housekeepers of Studio City (Best of Hollywood Fringe), Bronies: The Musical (Best Musical and the Golden Elephant Producer/Director Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival), Fireman (5 LADCC Awards including Best Production, Ovation Award, Featured Actress in a Play), and Backyard (Ovation Award, Featured Actor in a Play, Fight Choreography). Rebecca also specializes in special events and benefits. Her most recent events include the 14th and 15th Annual Les Girls concert to benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition, The 24th Annual Ovation Awards, and If All The Sky Were Paper, an event to benefit US Veterans at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. www.rebeccaeisenberg.com.
CREW BIOS (cont’d)
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NATHAN FRIZZELL (Literary Director/Executive Producer) As an actor, Nathan’s theatre credits include: Celebration: Four (LA Premiere, LA Weekly nomination, Best Ensemble), Beautiful Thing (Ticketholder, Garland nominations Best Actor; Ovation nomination, Best Play), Stupid Kids (LA Weekly Award, Best Ensemble), plus numerous sketch comedy shows directed by Todd Milliner; Los Angeles: He Asked For It (ElevenEleven Productions/Macha Theatre), West Side Story (MTLA; The Hudson Theatre); Eisegesis, SpiderMan: Turn On The Lights, The Exceptional Childhood Center (The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival); Regional: Shakespeare In Briefs! (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Two Gentlemen of Verona (Swine Palace Theatre); International: The Bacchae (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). As Executive Producer: Dream Boy (Celebration Theatre); Bootycandy (Celebra-tion Theatre). Nathan currently serves as Celebration’s Literary Director where he produces its new play reading series “Celebrating New Works” and will be re-introducing the workshop series “CT Tuesdays” in 2016.
ANDREW CARLBERG (Producer) Recently named by Variety alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mindy Kaling and Andy Samberg as one of “Hollywood’s New Leaders,” Andrew Carlberg is an award-winning feature film, television, new media, Broadway and Los Angeles stage producer. Carlberg’s extensive and varied credits include, but aren’t limited to the feature film adaptation of Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s), DirecTV’s Full Circle, Broadway revivals of Romeo and Juliet (starring Orlando Bloom) and Side Show (directed by Bill Condon), the Ovation Award win-ning LA intimate theater premiere of The Color Purple: The Musical at Celebration Theatre, and the long-running hit improv show The Blind Date Project. Andrew is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an alum of Film Inde-pendent’s Fast Track Producing Fellowship and New York’s Independent Filmmaker Project, and an event producer for the I Have a Dream Foundation and National Breast Cancer Coalition.
MARK GIBERSON (Associate Producer) Mark Giberson is an award-winning journalist and public relations executive, now retired. He serves on the board of directors of The Barn Studio of Art, is past president of the Flying Samaritans and is the founder of No Boundaries Art Workshops®. He also is an active supporter of the Bald Head Island Conservancy, the Bayshore Discovery Project, and others. A recovering parent of two former teenagers, he is married and lives in Pasadena.
JAMI RUDOFSKY (Casting Director) Jami Rudofsky is proud to be the Resident Casting Director for Celebration Theatre. Celebration credits include Dream Boy, Bootycandy, The Color Purple: The Musical, The Women Of Brewster Place, Take Me Out and many more. She also co-cast Hit The Wall for the LGBT Cultural Arts Center. She is currently casting the long-awaited Netflix reboot of Gilmore Girls. Additional film and television credits include: Showtime’s Masters of Sex, the YouTube Red original series Sing It! and Deserted. She’s so honored to be back working with the Celebration Theatre Family!
CREW BIOS (cont’d)
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CREW BIOS (cont’d)DAVID ELZER/DEMAND PR (Marketing/Publicity) David Elzer/DEMAND PR represents Actors Co-op, Cabrillo Music Theatre, Celebration Theatre, Circle X The-atre Company, Colony Theatre Company, Independent Shakespeare Co., Laguna Playhouse, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, NoHo Arts Center Ensemble, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Open Fist Theatre Company, Road Theatre Company, Rubicon Theatre Company, Theatre of NOTE, Theatre Tribe and VS. Theatre Com-pany. He loves working with the very talented Celebration team and is thrilled they have a new home - thank you for supporting Celebration and L.A. theater!
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CELEBRATION THEATRE BOARD OF DIRECTORSCameron Faber (President)Todd Milliner (Vice-President)Nicholas CaprioLarry Dean HarrisSamantha Kern
Michael C. KricfalusiJeremy MannMichael MatthewsMichael A. ShepperdScott Monson (Honorary)
CELEBRATION THEATRE MISSIONCelebration Theatre is a community of artists dedicated to presenting innovative, provocative and relevant work that examines the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer experi-ence. We endeavor to challenge society’s perception of the community and give a vibrant voice to its evolving identity.
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Donate to Celebration each time you shop at Ralph’s with your Ralph’s Rewards Card! You must re-enroll to ensure Celebration receives benefits from your purchases. Celebra-tion’s NPO number is 83663. Sign into your Ralph’s account and provide that NPO and Celebration can start receiving a contribution from Ralph’s each time you shop. You MUST renew every year under the terms of the Ralph’s program!!
CELEBRATION THEATRE DONORS (April 1, 2015-March 31, 2016)If your name is omitted or listed incorrectly, please contact [email protected]
Benefactors ($5000-up)AnonymousBill Condon & Jack MorrisseyMichael KricfalusiTodd Milliner & Michael Matthews
Patrons ($1000-$4999)AnonymousNicholas CaprioCameron FaberHamilton-Selway Fine ArtMr. Alan Mandell
Fellows ($500-$999)James AllenAnonymousKevin Peter BergScott & Brian Monson-HoganDonald M. KleinIn memory of: Dick Wagner by Ken Bennett for their 52 years togetherAndy & Pol Sandro-Yepes and family
Partners ($250-$499)AnonymousJim Kelley & Joseph LundEd Murphy Larry RubinsteinDavid SchulzIn Memory of Darren Christopher ScottDavid Tarlow
Friends ($100-$249)AnonymousTony Arn Michael BaumTod & Craig Beckett-FrankGary BooherDr. Richard J. Bower Rick CCharles & Anet CarlinCYHTeas.comRosemary DiMonteDouglas HutchinsonTom Jacobson & Ramone MunozEddie JamesWilliam KaiserLorenzo LebrijaJerold & Priscilla MannDale McIntireChris Meyer and Gary Holm Dennis Nollette Henry Ong & Matthew BlackSteven ParkerChris PhillipsMary ReitzPaul V. RocheBrooke Seguin/30MMSSGLC Project RainbowRon WassermanKen Werther: In Honor of the Dedicated and Brilliant Team at Celebration TheatreEdward Wilson
John MurlasPeter NastosPieter NoomenMike Page Stacy PaytonIn honor of: Christopher Grant PearsonRobert PharesNick PeetDeborah PuetteR. Daniel RothbauerMark Saltzman & Ron GutierrezMichael SeelPeter James SmithGretchen StockdaleTerry TaylorRoland ThomasJames Van HoutenReginald WarrenCarol WilbanksBen Wilson
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CELEBRATION THEATRE LEGACY CIRCLEDion AnticBurton BreznickMartin D. Burley & Bobby MezaNicholas CaprioGreg CopelandFrederick DechowArthur Dennis & Fred MadjarJay Paul DeratanyDavid ElzerCameron FaberLarry Dean HarrisElizabeth L. & Mark K. KoganTom Jacobson & Ramone MunozMichael C. KricfalusiJeffrey LambertErick H. LongJane Lynch
Martin Massman & Chris McKinneyTodd Milliner & Michael MatthewsScott Monson & Brian HoganDennis NolletteJohn L. Rarick & Piotr IzdebskiTimothy ReglerLarry Reitzer & Matt FunesCalvin RemsbergMichael A. Shepperd & Hutch FosterShowtime TelevisionTed SkidmoreJames E. SmithWilliam StoddardDavid TarlowBilly TauzinThomas E. WarrenBruce W. Zisterer
The Legacy Circle is made up of patrons who donated and gave over $1,000 each. The Legacy Circle was closed in 2010 but we recognize and honor those donors who helped Celebration Theatre in the past. Legacy Circle donors names will always be part of our donor recognition program
CELEBRATION INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN
Michelle AkeleyGreg AyersMolly BellAndrea BernardiJames BlashawMichael BousonRichard BowerKatie BuderwitzBarbara BushKyle CadmanAnet & Charlie CarlinTim CastoSam CleinMichael CollinsStephen Smith CollinsKristin ConferQuinn CummingsKaitlyn DaleyDan DeanKurt DeGrootJosette DicarloChristian DuhamelMary Jo Agresta DuPreyErin Eichberg
