The Alto's Lament
Annaliese Ruhs, voice
Collaborators
Melissa Cardamone, piano
Brayden Follett, voice
Ella Bergfeld, voice
Madison Edge, voice
Chase Juster, voice
Saturday, November 1, 2025 | 1 p.m.
H.F. Johnson Recital Hall
Kenosha, WI
program
I Just Wanna Be a Star from Nunsense
Who I'd Be from Shrek the Musical
Dan Goggin (b. 1943)
Jeanine Tesori (b. 1961)
Screwloose from Crybaby Adam Schlesinger (b. 1967)
I'm Breaking Down from Falsettos
Mother Knows Best from Tangled
When There's No One from Carrie the Musical
By The Sea from Sweeney Todd
You Don't Know This Man from Parade
Puff, the Magic Dragon
Madison Edge, Soprano Chase Juster, Baritone
William Finn (1952-2025)
Alan Menken (b. 1949)
Michael Gore (b. 1951)
Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021)
Jason Robert Brown (b. 1970)
Peter Yarrow (1938–2025)
Leonard Lipton (1940–2022)
Character Study
Dogfight
Cast:
Annaliese Ruhs - Rose
Brayden Follett - Eddie Birdlace
Ella Bergfeld - Marcy
Prelude - Take Me Back
Come to a Party
Nothing Short of Wonderful Dogfight
Pretty Funny First Date/Last Night Before It's Over Give Way
acknowledgements
Benj Pasek (b. 1985)
Justin Paul (b. 1985)
Annaliese would first and foremost like to thank everyone for taking the time out of their day to come and support her. A huge thank you to her voice teacher, Peg, for being her mom away from home and always pushing her when she didn’t want to be pushed, and for guiding her and helping her navigate college. Thank you to Melissa, Brayden, Ella, Madison, and Chase for putting in so much work and overtime to help her on this project when they absolutely could have said no. Shout out to Vivian, who took time out of her very few evenings off to take photos for Annaliese in preparation for this event. And thank you to her parents, who always supported their children in the creative arts and didn’t question when their daughter told them she wanted to sing and dance professionally. Annaliese can’t wait to finish her collegiate career at the same time her dad finishes his teaching career, as they navigate the future together. And to her mom, who was baller enough to have the voice of an angel that she passed down.
Annaliese Ruhs is a Senior Music Theatre and Directing double major. She is so excited to present her senior recital for you all. Carthage Credits: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Jesus), HEAD OVER HEELS (Pamela), CARRIE (Margaret White), ON THE VERGE (Mary), NINE (Costumes), XANADU (Assistant Stage Manager), Opera Workshop IN MEMORY OF MOZART. She received a nomination for the KCACTF Irene Acting scholarship for her work as Mary in ON THE VERGE. Annaliese has competed in the Wisconsin NATS singing competition, winning 1st place in her category in 2024 and 2nd in 2022. On campus, she is the Vice President of the Carthage Choir and sings with the Lincoln Chamber Singers. IG: aruhs_26
Melissa Kelly Cardamone has been an accompanist and vocal coach at Carthage College since 2010. She is also a classically trained soprano, earning vocal performance degrees from The Eastman School of Music and Lawrence University. She started accompanying at age 10 for choirs, musicals, operas, voice and instrumental lessons, chamber music, and recitals. Mrs. Cardamone has accompanied musical theatre technique classes and played for their end-of-term showcases. She also plays for the Carthage Choir and Vox Ignis under the direction of Dr. Maggie Burk. Melissa coaches individual students on recital and audition repertoire, and plays for student recitals and juries. Along with her duties at Carthage, Melissa is a rehearsal pianist for the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. She has accompanied the Kenosha Opera Festival, voice labs and concerts for Milwaukee Opera Theatre, for outreach concerts with the Florentin Opera, and for the Choral Arts Society in Racine, WI. She played in the pit orchestra for UW Parkside’s Company, and vocal directed and played in the pit for the Lakeside Players’ production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Mrs.Cardamone has also played piano in the Racine Concert Band and served as a vocal soloist.
A lover of both opera and musical theater, some favorite singing roles include Mimì (La Bohème), Marianne (The New Moon), Audrey (Little Shop of Horrors), Laurie (The Tender Land), Sarah Brown (Guys ’n’ Dolls), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Susanna (Marriage of Figaro), and Elizabeth (world premiere of Fortuna the Timebender vs. the Schoolgirls of Doom). She has sung leading roles with The Riverside Opera, The Bronx Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Music by the Lake, Festival Arts of Antioch, Opera for the Young, the Lakeside Players, The Kenosha Pops, The Racine Concert Band, The Belle Ensemble, and PM&L Theatre. Melissa has also sung with the Florentine Opera Chorus, in the chorus for Tales of Hoffmann at Skylight Music Theatre, and debuted with Milwaukee Chamber Theatre in Masterclass. Mrs. Cardamone plays piano and cantors at St. Mary’s Church in Kenosha when not onstage. She lives with her husband, Joe, who is an amateur musician himself, her two kids, and her dog, Finn.
Brayden Follett is so very excited to be performing beside Annaliese for this senior recital. He is honored to have the opportunity to perform beside such a powerhouse and hopes you enjoy the show. He has previously been seen as Musidorus in Head Over Heels (Carthage College), Gleb Vaganov in Anastasia (Lakeside Players), and Mark Cohen in RENT (ECC). He thanks you again for coming to support the arts and support Annaliese in her endeavors, and hopes you enjoy every moment of it. @ braydendfollett
Ella Bergfeld is a senior majoring in Political Science and Musical Theatre. She is honored to join Annaliese on her big day!!
Chase Juster is a senior Music Theatre Major and Choral Literature and Conducting Minor. Carthage Credits: LEGALLY BLONDE (ENS/Emmett US/Callahan US), CARRIE (Billy Nolan), XANADU (Terpsicore), HEAD OVER HEELS (Pythio), LIFE IS A DREAM (Segismundo), and NINE (Guido Contini) for which he received a KCACTF Irene Ryan nomination. Other Credits Include: BAND GEEKS (Jake), and THE SPITFIRE GRILL (Joe Sutter). Outside of theatre, Chase is a member of Carthage’s flagship ensemble, the Carthage Choir, and the Lincoln Chamber Singers, as well as working as the Music Theatre Department faculty fellow. IG: chasejstr
This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the B.A. in Musical Theatre. Annaliese Ruhs is a student of Professor Peg Cleveland.
upcoming events
Student Recital: Madison Edge
Saturday, November 1 • 4 p.m.
H. F. Johnson Recital Hall
Student Recital: Andre'a Santoyo
Saturday, November 1 • 7:30 p.m.
H. F. Johnson Recital Hall
Student Recital: Emma Richardson
Sunday, November 2 • 1 p.m.
H. F. Johnson Recital Hall
Student Recital: Madison Bazylewicz
Sunday, November 2 • 4 p.m.
H. F. Johnson Recital Hall
Student Recital: Emma Lesko
Sunday, November 2 • 7:30 p.m.
H. F. Johnson Recital Hall
Philharmonic Concert
Saturday, November 8 • 7:30 p.m.
A.F. Siebert Chapel
Arts at Carthage acknowledges that the land on which our building stands is part of the traditional Potawatomi, Sioux, Peoria, Kickapoo, and Miami peoples past, present, and future. These homelands reside along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes. We honor with gratitude the land itself, and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. Many Indigenous peoples thrive in this place—alive and strong, and this calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit as well.