2023 Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals Program

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

•Friends of the Festival Event •Festival Package Event

FRIDAY, MARCH 17

4:30pm - 6:45pm Ticket Distribution•• Goodspeed Box Office & Bar

7:00pm DOUBLE HELIX

The Goodspeed

9:30pm Cabaret: Brett Ryback & Eric Ulloa•• Gelston House

SATURDAY, MARCH 18

9:30am - 12:30pm Seminar Ticket Distribution•• Gelston House Lobby

10:00am Seminar Session I•• Gelston House or St. Stephen’s Church

11:15am Seminar Session II•• Gelston House or St. Stephen’s Church

12:30pm Seminar Session III•• Gelston House or St. Stephen’s Church

3:30pm 2023 Terris Theatre Season Announcement•• The Goodspeed

4:30pm Symposium•• The Goodspeed

5:30pm Festival Dinner•• Gelston House

7:30pm THE GREAT EMU WAR

The Goodspeed

9:30pm Cabaret: Letters To The President•• Gelston House

SUNDAY, MARCH 19

11:00am Friends of the Festival Brunch•• The Alice Studio

1:00pm LITTLE MISS PERFECT

The Goodspeed

3:30pm Meet the Writers Q&A •• The Goodspeed

WELCOME!

Welcome to the Festival of New Musicals! We look forward to sharing the weekend with you as we celebrate the creation of New Work. Over these three days, you will have the opportunity to share in the early life of several new musical theatre works and to learn from some of the leading forces in our business about what goes on behind the scenes in support of that creation.

The book in hand presentations on The Goodspeed stage are the centerpiece of our Festival and will be performed by musical theatre students from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, Boston Conservatory at the Berklee School of Music and—new to th Festival this year— Western Connecticut State University and Montclair State University! Welcome to those students, their friends and families!

We are especially excited that at this Festival we will make the first public presentation of our GoodWorks commission Little Miss Perfect; welcome friends from Down Under with The Great Emu War and participate in the final edits of a new work headed to full production at Bay Street Theater later this year with Double Helix.

We encourage you to dig into the process, challenge your expectations and relish in creation!

Donna Lynn Hilton Artistic Director

David B. Byrd Managing Director

DOUBLE HELIX

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 7:00PM

Book, Music, & Lyrics by Madeline Myers

Music Direction by Patrick Sulken

Directed by Scott Schwartz

In the mid-20th century, the race to find the structure of DNA grips the scientific community. One brilliant young researcher, Rosalind Franklin, will stop at nothing to uncover one of life’s great mysteries. But will she sacrifice what makes her human to discover what makes us human?

Double Helix will have its world premiere production at Bay Street Theater this summer.

MADELINE MYERS (Book, Music & Lyrics) is a composer, lyricist, and musical dramatist in New York City. Named to the Broadway Women’s Fund 2022 “Women to Watch on Broadway” list, Madeline is a 2022 and 2023 Kleban Prize finalist; a winner of the 2021 Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award; a 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 Jonathan Larson Grant finalist; a 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 ASCAP Plus Award recipient; and a 2016-2017 Dramatists Guild Fellow. Madeline’s musicals include Double Helix (world premiere Bay Street Theater, 2023), Flatbush Avenue (UNC-Greensboro commission, 2021), and The Devil’s Apprentice (world premiere Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018). In addition to Double Helix, Madeline is currently writing two other new musicals. She is represented by Chris Till at Verve Talent & Literary Agency. @madelinesmyers | www.madelinemyers.com

SCOTT SCHWARTZ (Director) Previous Goodspeed credits: Me and My Girl, Li’l Abner.

Broadway: Golda’s Balcony and Jane Eyre (co-directed with John Caird). Off-Broadway: Murder for Two, Bat Boy: The Musical, tick, tick…BOOM!, The Foreigner, Rooms: A Rock Romance, Kafka’s The Castle, Gigantic, and No Way to Treat a Lady. He directed the US premiere of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla and Paper Mill Playhouse) and subsequently in Japan, Germany and Austria. In London: The Prince of Egypt on the West End, tick… Boom! at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Golda’s Balcony at the Shaw Theatre. Artistic Director of Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY; a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; and a graduate of Harvard University.

PATRICK SULKEN (Music Director) is a New York-based music director and orchestrator who currently serves as the Associate Music Director of Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway. As a conductor, his credits include Pretty Woman and Kinky Boots on Broadway, Fly at the La Jolla Playhouse, and the first national tour of Peter and the Starcatcher. As a pianist, his credits include Beetlejuice, Mean Girls, Anastasia, Something Rotten!, and Gigi on Broadway; and he’s been heard on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center as well as NBC’s Today and TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Sulken frequently works as a conductor and arranger both Off-Broadway (Trevor, We Are The Tigers, Gigantic) and at regional theaters nationwide. www.patricksulken.com | @patricksulken

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• Rosalind Franklin was born in London in 1920, and grew up in a wealthy Jewish family. She was lucky enough to attend one of the few schools in London that offered advanced science courses for girls. She studied chemistry at Cambridge University, graduating in 1941, and went on to earn her PhD in physical chemistry from the same institution.

• Despite her crucial contributions to the discovery of DNA’s structure, Franklin was largely excluded from the Nobel Prize awarded to James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins in 1962. Her legacy has been more celebrated in recent years including a hit play on the West End titled Photograph 51 which starred Nicole Kidman, written by Anna Ziegler (A House Without Windows, Festival of New Musicals 2022).

• Madeline Myers is an alumnus of the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed, where she was collaborating on a musical with Emily Maltby. Since then, she has been actively writing Double Helix as a star vehicle for Samantha Massell (Rebecca in Rags, Goodspeed 2017).

• Double Helix will have its world premiere production this summer at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, where Director Scott Schwartz is the Artistic Director. Scott is probably best known to Goodspeed audiences as the Director of Li’l Abner and Me and My Girl

COMING NEXT

April 28 - June 18

THE GREAT EMU WAR

SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 7:30PM

Book by Cal Silberstein

Music & Lyrics by Paul Hodge

Music Direction by James Dobinson

Directed by Michael Fling

Remember that one time that the Australian government sent their army with machine guns to wage war on emus in Western Australia? Neither do most people…but when Edith, the headstrong warbler, and her flock begin to feed on the wheat of local farmers—the humans take up arms against Australia’s favorite feathered friends. Think of it as Cats, but with emus… and less dancing…and a plot.

CAL SILBERSTEIN (Book) is a writer, performer, and producer from Perth, Western Australia. He is a proud alumnus of the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Cal is the co-author of the musicals, Viva La Restoration, How We Ruined MacArthur’s Markers, Fairybread, Strawman, Clockwork Charlie, Hammer, and the short opera President Joan. Cal was head-writer of the Fringe Comedy Award-nominated Dr. Von Birchallstein’s Midnight Comedy Hour. Favorite performance credits include Scripps in The History Boys (Midnite Youth Theatre Co), Guiteau in Assassins (Midnite), Moritz in Spring Awakening (Fresh Bred Productions), Frank Packer in Miss Westralia (Western Sky Projects), and Edgar Allan Poe in Nevermore (Grey Lantern Productions). He is a recipient of the Finley Award for Best Supporting Actor (The Habit of Art – Old Mill Theatre) and a Tisch School of the Arts Departmental Fellowship. In 2023, he will play The Steward in Into The Woods (West Australian Opera).

PAUL HODGE (Music & Lyrics) is an award-winning writer-composer from Brisbane. Paul’s work has been produced Off-Broadway, in London, Edinburgh and Australia, including at the Sydney OperaHouse. With Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning writers of Les Misérables, Paul is co-lyricist of Martin Guerre, premiering in the West End in 2024. Paul is currently developing the musical adaptation of the BBC children’s TV show Round The Twist, which aired in over 70 countries, including on the Disney Channel in Europe and Fox Kids in the US. His musical comedy Clinton received a New York Times Critics’ Pick, nominations for Best Musical from the Off-Broadway Alliance and Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won Best Production in the Performing Arts WA Awards and Best Off-Broadway Cast Album in the Broadway World Awards. Residencies include Olney Theatre Center and Berkeley Rep with Naomi Izuka to develop their new musical Okuni

MICHAEL FLING (Director) is a freelance director and the Artistic Associate at Goodspeed Musicals. As Director: Shakin’ The Blues Away (Goodspeed); Shrek, Mary Poppins (Craft Productions of Oklahoma); West Side Story (Abilene Opera); Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, and Assassins (Hartt); HONK! (Webster). As Associate: Fun Home (Theaterworks Hartford); Gypsy, Oklahoma!, Into The Woods, Holiday Inn, Hello, Dolly!, Seussical, and Billy Elliot (Muny); A Grand Night For Singing, Rags and Thoroughly Mod-

ern Millie (Goodspeed); Oslo, Evita, A Christmas Carol, and Follies (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). In addition to being the Artistic Associate at Goodspeed, Michael is also the Artistic Director of Craft Productions of Oklahoma and the host of the podcast Know The Show. Michael is a proud graduate of the Directing program at Webster Conservatory.

JAMES DOBINSON (Music Director) is an Australian-American music director, conductor, orchestrator and record producer. With a particular eye to the development of new musicals, his work has been seen on stages in New York, around the United States, in London and across Australia. As music supervisor, conductor and orchestrator, his work includes the original New York and London companies of The View UpStairs, Tim Finn’s Twelfth Night for Queensland Theatre, and the original New York companies of Clinton, which led to a long-standing collaboration with composer Paul Hodge in both the US and Australia, including the upcoming Round The Twist The Musical. He has also led seasons for Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre New York, the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, The Crown Uptown in Wichita, Kansas and Cape Fear Regional Theatre, as well as developmental work at Goodspeed Musicals, Berklee Repertory Theatre, Opera Queensland, La Boite, Queensland Theatre Company and QPAC, among many others, including associate conducting the original company of Moonshadow by Cat Stevens. Most recently he conducted Between the Lines at the Tony Kiser in New York, and The Last Five Years for La Boite in Australia, and in 2023 will music supervise pop singer Kate Miller-Heidke’s new musical Bananaland

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• The craziest part of The Great Emu War is it is based on actual historical events in 1932 Australia. The emus were causing damage to crops and farmland, and farmers requested government assistance to deal with the problem. The government sent a small group of soldiers to hunt down the emus in what was officially known as “Operation Emu.” After the overall failure of the mission, the emus earned the distinction of being considered “an unstoppable enemy.”

• It is estimated that there were 20,000 emus in the area where “Operation Emu” took place. The emus proved to be surprisingly difficult targets, as they could run at speeds of up to 31 mph and quickly change direction. The soldiers reported that despite their Lewis guns (World War I machine guns), the bullets had little effect on the emus, who were able to absorb multiple shots and continue running.

• Paul Hodge came to the Writers Grove in 2022 working on a different project, and happened to play some demos from Emu that caught the attention of Donna Lynn Hilton and Michael Fling (Director and Goodspeed’s Artistic Associate). Just over a year later, we are thrilled to be presenting the show in the Festival!

• Almost the entire creative team of The Great Emu War is Australian. Paul Hodge (Music & Lyrics) and James Dobinson (Music Director) have a long collaborative history including Clinton the Musical which played Off-Broadway in 2015. Paul and Cal Silberstein (Book) met in a Facebook group organized for Australian Musical Theatre artists and began their work on The Great Emu War over Zoom during the 2020 shutdown.

LITTLE MISS PERFECT

SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 1:00PM

Book, Music & Lyrics by Joriah Kwamé

Dramaturgy by Teresa Attridge

Music Direction by Patrick B. Phillips

Directed by Zhailon Levingston

Inspired by the viral single of the same name, Little Miss Perfect tells the story of Noelle, a bi-racial teen navigating her senior year of high school after her mom and stepdad invite a study abroad student to be her roommate. But when a classmate becomes the victim of systemic racism at her school, Noelle must decide whether she will be true to herself and an ally to her peers, or if she will settle for simply being “Little Miss Perfect.” Little Miss Perfect is a commission of Goodspeed Musicals’ GoodWorks program.

JORIAH KWAMÉ (Book, Music & Lyrics) is a playwright/composer/lyricist based in NYC. In 2019, his career was launched when he won Tony Nominee Taylor Louderman’s Write Out Loud competition for “Little Miss Perfect,” which has since grossed almost 10 million views. He is a recipient of the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award and was one of six ASCAP writers featured in the ASCAP Songwriters: Next Generation showcase. He participated in the 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project. He has written pieces for New York Film Academy’s song cycle Not Working, Prospect Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and 54 Below. He is penning original scores for two musicals alongside renowned playwright Lauren Gunderson: Sinister (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) and Little Miss Perfect: The Musical. He was enlisted by Andrew Lippa to write a piece for San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ premiere song cycle Songs Of The Pheonix alongside the likes of Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, and Ingrid Michaelson. With Pasek and Paul, he wrote a song for Shawn Mendez in the Sony Picture Film Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Original scores include How To You: A Musical Guide To Black Boyhood, Sophia, Our Beloved: A Musical Drama, Dream: A New Musical, and The Green. He is a 2021 Jonathan Larson finalist.

ZHAILON LEVINGSTON (Director) is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist. He is a Board Member for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, where he co-created and taught the Theatre of Change course at Columbia University, which is going into its third year. He is a Music Mentor Fellow and has done work with Idina Menzel’s A Broader Way Foundation. His directing credits include: Neptune (Dixon Place, Brooklyn Museum), The Years That Went Wrong (Lark, MCC), The Exonerated (Columbia Law School), Chariot Part 2 (Soho Rep., for The Movement Theatre Company), Mother of Pearl (LaGuardia Performing Arts Center). He is the associate director of Primer for a Failed Superpower with Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin, and Runaways at The Public Theater with Sam Pinkleton. Most recently. he directed Chicken and Biscuits, which premiered on Broadway last fall. Zhailon is also the original resident director at Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” on Broadway and the associate director of Hadestown in South Korea. He will be directing the world premiere of the playPatience by Johnny G Llyod for Second Stage Uptown.

PATRICK B. PHILLIPS (Music Director) [he/ him/his] is an NYC-based music director and writer specializing in the cultivation of new musical theatre from inception to the stage. Described as energetic with a fervent attention to detail, Patrick is particularly interested in the possibilities of intersectionality in musical theater in regards to social justice, race, sexuality, and identity. He is also an experienced educator, copyist, arranger, and orchestrator. He is a proud son of immigrants from the Philippines and Barbados. B.A. Rutgers University. Broadway: The Wiz, Jagged Little Pill, For Colored Girls…. Off-Broadway: Suffs, As You Like It (The Public Theater). Regional: The Devil Wears Prada (Chicago), On Your Feet! (Paper Mill Playhouse). TV/Film: Disney’s Snow White, Only Murders In The Building. www.patrickbphillips.com @patrickthepianist

TERESA ATTRIDGE (Dramaturg) [she/her/ hers] is a biracial, bicoastal, bisexual theater artist currently living in NYC with her heart in San Francisco. Teresa is a freelance dramaturg who works primarily with artists to help them restructure, clarify, and organize existing pieces through personalized, creator-led workshopping sessions. In addition to being the dramaturg for Little Miss Perfect: The , she is also an actor and puppeteer; some favorite roles include: Medium Alison (Fun Home, 42nd St Moon) Marta (Company, SF Playhouse), and Yitzhak (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Boxcar Theater). Bear hugs to Joriah, SYC Productions, and to Emmanuel, who makes her feel free. For more information about dramaturgical packages, email tjattridge@gmail.com

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• Joriah Kwamé wrote the title song as a part of Taylor Louderman’s Write Out Loud contest in 2019. Kwamé’s song won the contest and Louderman went on to cover the song, which has garnered 8.6 million views online. Since the song took off, Joriah wanted to expand it into a full-length musical and approached Goodspeed about helping make that dream become reality.

• Little Miss Perfect is a part of Goodspeed’s first formal commissioning program, GoodWorks. The official goal of the program is to “commission and develop musicals that reveal the best in humankind; celebrate that which is good in our world; and will resonate with and inspire our audience.”

• Festival audiences will remember Joriah from his wildly successful cabaret at our 2022 Festival, where he stopped the show with songs from Little Miss Perfect and his tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim, “Sitting With Sondheim.”

• Little Miss Perfect had a private table reading in New York in the Fall of 2022 featuring some Goodspeed audience favorites Aurelia Williams (Rachel Lynde in Anne of Green Gables), E. Clayton Cornelious (Bert Barry in 42nd Street), and Jeff Kready (Enoch Snow in Carousel). Following that reading, Joriah had a fruitful residency at the 2023 Grove where he fine-tuned the entire book of the show and wrote a brand-new song for the score.

CABARETS

FRIDAY CABARET BRETT RYBACK & ERIC ULLOA

The writers of the hit musical Passing Through (Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre, 2019 and Festival of New Musicals, 2018) are back together again for a Festival Cabaret! After spending two weeks in residency at Goodspeed, these multi-award-winning artists will share some material from their new projects that are currently in development. And we’re betting they’re going to premiere some never-before-heard songs!

BRETT RYBACK is the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation’s Cole Porter Award. His musical podcast In Strange Woods hit #1 on Apple’s fiction chart and was an iHeartRadio Award nominee for “Best Fiction Podcast.” His stage comedy Free Speech Zone was a Semifinalist at the Austin Film Festival. Other works for the stage include the musicals: Arthur and Friends Make a Musical! (First Stage); Passing Through (Goodspeed); Nate the Great (Licensed by TRW); and Joe Schmoe Saves the World (NAMT, ASCAP/Dreamworks Workshop). He wrote scores for the upcoming short films Mikey’s Army and Would’ve Wanted. His award-winning plays Weïrd and A Roz By Any Other Name are both published in The Best American Short Plays 20072008. As an actor, he originated the role of Marcus Off-Broadway in Murder for Two, and more recently appeared in the 1st National Tour of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol. He’s currently in development on a musical screenplay titled This Used to Be a Disco. www.brettryback.com

ERIC ULLOA is a 2020 American Theatre Wing Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist and a 2020 Kleban Prize Award Finalist. He is the author of 26 Pebbles, which had its world premiere at The Human Race Theatre Company. The play was featured in American Theatre Magazine, The NY Times and won the Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award for 2017. 26 Pebbles was named one of the Top Ten Plays of 2017 by Samuel French, was one of the top-produced plays nationally in 2018 and 2022, and received a BroadwayWorld Award for Best Play of the Decade. Eric is the librettist of the musical, Passing Through, which had its World Premiere at Goodspeed Musicals in summer 2019. He is also the author of the play Reindeer Sessions, which will have its World Premiere in fall of 2023. Eric’s screenwriting credits include the upcoming film The Nana Project starring Academy Award-Winner Mercedes Ruehl and Nolan Gould and the upcoming film Mikey’s Army (dir. Andrew Keenan-Bolger). He is the co-creator of Meet the Alpha Beats for Nickelodeon’s Noggin (2022 Webby Award Nominee-Best Kids and Family Podcast) and the writing assistant to Oscar Winner Alex Dinelaris on his upcoming screen adaptation of Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse’s Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical. Additionally, Eric wrote the Viva Broadway: Hear Our Voices special, writing for such luminaries as Lin Manuel Miranda, Antonio Banderas, Chita Rivera and many more. On the other side of the footlights, Eric was in the Original Broadway Company of On Your Feet: The Story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan and starred in 7 Deadly Sins under the direction of Moises Kaufman. Eric has appeared on The 2016 Tony Awards, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and A Capitol Fourth

SATURDAY CABARET LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT

Conceived

by Jessica Kahkoska and Michael Bello

Since George Washington took office in 1783, writing letters to the President has provided citizens of all ages, political parties, and backgrounds an outlet to express their most personal concerns, hopes, and dreams for our country. Letters To The President reimagines this canon of letters as a multi-composer, new American musical event, featuring prominent “guest letter readers” and a rich score of songs inspired by different letters from the archive. Spanning topics from women’s suffrage, marriage equality, World Wars I and II, space exploration, and the Civil Rights Movement, Letters To The President offers a powerful look at American democracy by setting the White House’s most memorable mail to song.

MICHAEL BELLO (Co-Conceiver/Director) is a Cuban-American director of musical theater based in New York City. His work on new musicals has led him to directing world premieres across the United States, including We Are The Tigers which he directed off-Broadway at Theatre 80 St Marks (cast album now available on Broadway Records). Additionally, his work has been recognized by Los Angeles’ Ovation Awards, Boston’s IRNE Awards, and the NY Innovative Theater Awards. Alongside Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff, he most recently served as Resident Associate Director for Jersey Boys setting and maintaining the UK/Ireland and US tours, the Off-Broadway production at New World Stages, and an upcoming live capture starring Nick Jonas. Additionally, he is the Associate Director for SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical, a position he held on Broadway, in its premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse, on its first national tour, and on its current production aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. He is currently represented in New York by a developmental production of Powerline Road running in the Gural Theater at ART/NewYork through early April and, in the spring, he will be serving as Associate Director for Des McAnuff’s new production of The Who’s Tommy at The Goodman Theatre. BFA Emerson College. www.MichaelBello.com

JESSICA KAHKOSKA (Co-conceiver/Dramaturg) is a writer and researcher/dramaturg for theatre and TV. Theatre projects include Wild Fire (World Premiere: Denver Center for the Performing Arts), Agent 355 (New York Stage and Film), The Death of Desert Rose (under commercial option), In Her Bones (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), Baba (with Elliah Heifetz, Iowa State University Guest-Artist-in-Residence), Wild Home: An American Odyssey (Notch Theatre Company, NEA ArtWorks Grant), and Nia (World Premiere: UNC Chapel Hill). She is currently under commission by Broadway Licensing, the Alley Theatre, and Northern Stage Theatre. In TV, she has worked as an Associate Producer and Researcher for series and films at CNN, Discovery, and Discovery+. Selected Awards: National Archives Foundation’s Cokie Roberts Women’s History Fellowship, Marion International Fellowship in the Performing Arts, Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship. BA: Northwestern, MBA: SUNY New Paltz.

PATRICK SULKEN (Music Director) is a New York-based music director and orchestrator who currently serves as the Associate Music Director of Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway. As a conductor, his credits include Pretty Woman and Kinky Boots on Broadway, Fly at the La Jolla Playhouse, and the first national tour of Peter and the Starcatcher. As a pianist, his credits include Beetlejuice, Mean Girls, Anastasia, Something Rotten!, and Gigi on Broadway; and he’s been heard on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center as well as NBC’s Today and TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Sulken frequently works as a conductor and arranger both Off-Broadway (Trevor, We Are The Tigers, Gigantic) and at regional theaters nationwide. www.patricksulken.com | @patricksulken

STUDENT ACTORS

LAUREN MARIA ABRAHAM Boston Conservatory

BERNY BALBUENA WCSU

CALEB BERMEJO Hartt

DREW BLACK Hartt

LIZZY CENICOLA Hartt ETHAN YAHEENMOY CHAN WCSU

RACHEL DA SILVA Boston Conservatory

JAELA DeSHAZO Boston Conservatory

LIAM DRISCOLL Montclair

IMMANUEL M. FARMER WCSU

EMERSON FISCHER Hartt

KATE FITZGERALD Boston Conservatory

ANNELESE GALLEO Boston Conservatory

MIA GOODMAN Boston Conservatory

OFER GORDON Hartt

CIARA A. HARGROVE Hartt

MIYA HEULITT Hartt SYDNEY ROSE HOROWITZ Hartt

DAVID KATZ Hartt CHLOE KRAMER WCSU

TEAGAN LA’SHAY WCSU

JOEY LOTOCKI Hartt

SYDNEY MAHER WCSU CONNOR MANGAN Hartt

Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals is a Partnership in Training with

Shuga Ohashi

ABBY MENOCÁL Montclair

BENJAMIN LEE MITCHELL Hartt

THABITHA MORUTHANE Hartt

SHUGA OHASHI Hartt

BECKETT PAIS WCSU ANTONIO PORCIELLO WCSU

GRACE RIVERA Montclair

LUKE SABRACOS Boston Conservatory

ANA LAURA SANTANA Hartt

JOLIE NOELLE SCHAUB Hartt

DONOVAN L. SHAW WCSU MAX SMARTESKY Hartt JONATHAN TISON Hartt

TRAVIS WROTEN Hartt

SYDNEY QUILDON Hartt

GOODSPEED MUSICALS STAFF

LEADERSHIP

Donna Lynn Hilton Artistic Director

David B. Byrd Managing Director

ARTISTIC

Adam Souza Resident Music Director

Stephen Agosto Line Producer

Michael Fling Festival Line Producer/Artistic Associate

ADMINISTRATION

Rachel J. Tischler

General Manager

Kristan McLaughlin Artistic Administrator

Kendra Garnett Executive Assistant

BUILDING SERVICES

Edward C. Blaschik

Theatre Manager

Hayden Schwarm Building Services Assistant

Jeffrey Gosselin, Paul Zajac Building Services CleanChoiceCleaning.com Custodial Services

DEVELOPMENT

Frank Stilwagner Director of Development

Gloria Gorton Director of Major Gifts

Mary Miko Special Events and Corporate Relations

Katie Wasserman Database Administrator

David Mai Development & Membership Associate

WordGirl, LLC; Marge Rode Grant Writer

EDUCATION & LIBRARY

Christina DeCarlo Arts Education Collaboration Program Coordinator

FINANCE

Josh Borenstein Interim Director of Finance

Stacy Booth Accounts Payable Manager

Jonathan Piktelis Payroll & Benefits Coordinator

Withum; Karen Kowgios Accountants

CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), Jodie Jacaruso Add’l Accountants

HOUSE MANAGEMENT

Kathy Raczka Supervising House Manager

Beryl W. Thorpe House Manager

Leigh Beatty, Alison Harris, Kathleen Sedgwick Assistant House Managers

Bob Bennett, Joe Kaminski, Paula Moriarty, Bartenders

Judy O’Mara ............................................................. Gift Shop Supervisor

MARKETING

Dan McMahon Director of Marketing

Katherine Desjardins Associate Marketing Director

Ian Galligan............................................................... Marketing Associate

Carol Giroux ..................................................... Public Relations Manager

Diane Sobolewski .................................................... Official Photographer

TECHNOLOGY

Jeffrey Mays .......................................................... Systems Administrator

TICKETING

Roger-Paul Snell ..................................................... Ticket Sales Manager

Catherine Ematrudo .............................................. Group Sales Manager

Lauren Blankenship, Morgan Dumark-McNamee ................................. Box Office Supervisors

Lori Inferrera, Jenna LeMontagne, Wayne Rollins, Em Squatrito, Barbara Wilkinson, Deborah Winchell ............................ Box Office Reps

PRODUCTION

Endla Burrows Director of Production

Erica Gilroy Production Manager

Wesley Schroeder Assistant Production Manager

Bradley G. Spachman Production Stage Manager

COSTUME RENTALS

Stephanie Wooley Costume Rentals Coordinator

COSTUMES

Pamela Prior Costume Shop Manager

Grace Petersen Assistant Costume Shop Manager

Jayson Engel, Ka’ihe Fisher First Hands

Olivya Deluca, Cassandra Greeley Stitcher

John Riccucci Wardrobe Supervisor - The Goodspeed

Cortnei Edwards, Rachel Pantangan Dressers - The Goodspeed

Avant Johnston Lead Hair & Wig Stylist - The Goodspeed

Byron Batista Hair & Wig Stylist - The Goodspeed

Lydia Chamberlain Wardrobe Supervisor - The Terris

LIGHTING

Will Johnson Lighting Supervisor

Jordan Bliese Head Electrician

Karan Gosai, Margaret Leupold Electricians - The Goodspeed

Sam O’Dea Head Electrician - The Terris

Andrew Spencer, Audrey Visscher Electricians - The Terris

PROPS

Ryann D. Lee Props Manager

Troy A. Junker Lead Props Artisan

Gideon Rowland Props Artisan

Miranda Thompson Props Run Crew Head - The Goodspeed

Samantha Bruce Props Run Crew

SCENERY

Dominick Pinto Technical Director

Brendon Figueras Assistant Technical Director

Mike Cummings Lead Carpenter/Shop Foreman

Ethan Arcaroli, Kevin Bolt, Callum McCabe, Angelina Savelli Carpenters

Aaron Frongillo Stage Supervisor - The Goodspeed

Fiona Coffey, Lydia Joy Stagehands - The Goodspeed

SCENIC ARTISTS

Carla Tiezzi Charge Scenic Artist

Miranda Casler Lead Scenic Artist

April Chateauneuf Senior Staff Scenic Artists

Ashley Donnert, Grace Linzer .................................... Staff Scenic Artists

SOUND

Jay Hilton Resident Sound Designer/Audio Supervisor

Katie Paris Production Audio Engineer - The Goodspeed

Taylor Bartoski ..................................... Audio Assistant - The Goodspeed

Jonathan Lee ............................... Production Audio Engineer, The Terris

FOR THE FESTIVAL

Naomi Anhorn............................................................ Festival Coordinator

Amanda Wingo ......................................... Assistant Festival Coordinator

Declan Smith .................................................. Hartt Production Assistant

James Carter Pianos .............................................................. Piano Tuner

Special Thanks to Falcetti Music; Nicole LaFountaine; Straighten Your Crown; Tim Howard of WCSU; Mark Hardy of Montclair; Jermaine Hill and Isaac Leaverton of Boston Conservatory; and John Pike, Phil Rittner, and Debbie Markowitz of Hartt.

LOCAL DINING OPTIONS

We recommend making dinner reservations if you plan to dine locally, as these restaurants tend to get very busy during the Festival.

Carlson’s Landing [Restaurant]

63 Main Street, Essex 860.767.2727 | www.carlsonslanding.com

Gelston House [Restaurant]

Located next door to The Goodspeed 8 Main Street, East Haddam 860.873.1411 | www.gelstonhouse.com

Griswold Inn [Restaurant and Inn] 36 Main Street, Essex 860.767.1776 | www.griswoldinn.com

Higher Grounds [Coffee/Sandwiches] 32 Main Street, East Haddam www.facebook.com/dailygrindonmain

Morina Italian Restaurant [Restaurant] 1617 Saybrook Road, Haddam 860.345.4472 | www.morinarestaurantct.com

Pattaconk 1850 Bar & Grille [Restaurant] 33 Main Street, Chester 860.526.8143 | www.pattaconk1850.com

Rustica [Restaurant] 189 Middlesex Ave, Chester 860.526.9021 | www.rusticact.com

Scotch Plains Tavern [Restaurant] 124 Westbrook Rd, Essex 860.662.4032 | www.scotchplainstavern.com

Two Wrasslin’ Cats [Coffee/Sandwiches] 374 Town Street, East Haddam 860.891.8446 | www.facebook.com/TwoWrasslinCats

Village Bistro [Restaurant] 59 Main Street, Chester 860.322.3933 | www.villagebistroct.com

St. Stephen’s Church

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Lead Sponsors:

With Support from:

Presented with funding from The Jessica Waldman Thompson Endowment in Support of The Festival of New Musicals

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL

Shawn Amdur & Dale Woods

Denise Bernardo & Eddie Muentes

Anne Sullivan Calanquin

Frank & Amy Campbell

Don & Terri Coustan

Ruth Ann Davis

Sandy Eichelberg & Ron Benedict

Susan F. Gonsalves

William F. Gratz & James A. Bruno

Regina Hausmann

Bill & Nancy Horowitz

Peter Hoyle

Christopher Joy & Cathy Velenchik

Nancy Kline & James Trail

Nicole LaFountaine

Jon Lukomnik & Lynn Davidson

Dave & Judith Macri

Sonya Morton Mangan

Roy O’Neil

Mark Planner

Mary Lee Porterfield

Will Rhys

Jeff Riley & Mary Wilson

Hila & Saul Rosen

Dr. Anne Rothstein & Ms. Jane Hellman

Wyn & Karen Seymour

David Shimchick

Bert Silverberg

Russell Tait & Lee Anderson

Carl Thompson

Alan & Vicki Wasserman

Tracy Weed

E. Marie Wilson & Colette Trohan

This project is supported in part by the Frank Young Fund for New Musicals, a program of National Alliance for Musical Theatre - www.namt.org