Catch Me If You Can at Arena Stage

Gillian Bozajian is too thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! Regional credits include 42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer, 3-D Theatricals), Mamma Mia! (La Mirada Theatre), Elf The Musical (Tuacahn Center for the Arts), Sweet Charity (LA’s Reprise 2.0, directed by Kathleen Marshall), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Musical Theatre West), The Producers (Peterborough Players) and The Little Mermaid (Cabrillo Music Theatre). National tours include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical (McCoy Rigby Entertainment). Gillian is a proud graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. Huge thank you to GTA, my family and everyone at Arena Stage.

Cara Rose DiPietro is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! Regional: The Pajama Game, Peter and the Starcatcher, Grease, Catch Me If You Can (New London Barn Playhouse); Little Women (Quintessence Theatre); Jesus Christ Superstar, Legally Blonde, Annie (Timberlake Playhouse); Oklahoma!, Gypsy (The Prizery). Readings: What A Wonderful World (World Premiere, Timber Lake Playhouse). Education: Elon University (BFA Music Theatre, 2021). Forever and always, this is for you, Mom. She/Her. www.cararosedipietro.com

Alexandra Frohlinger is thrilled to be back at Arena Stage, making live theater again! Arena Stage: The Pajama Game. Broadway: Soul Doctor. Off-Broadway: “Sadie” in Drama Desk-nominated Amerike: The Golden Land (National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene). National Tours: West Side Story (Anybodys), Hello, Dolly! (starring Betty Buckley), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Regional Theater: Walnut Street, Broadway Sacramento. Film/TV: Stunt performer on: Orphan: First Kill; Blood; The Craft: Legacy. “Alex” is also a teaching artist and adjudicator. She has taught theater and dance from Dubai to Canada and all over the U.S. She has a BFA in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory. All my love to Zaida, Mom, Dad, Joey, Becky and Josh: without you, I wouldn’t be here. www.alexandrafrohlinger.com

Jeremiah Ginn is thrilled to be making his Arena Stage debut! In NYC, he was seen in the original Off-Broadway production of Murder for Two at Second Stage Theatre and as Billy in Anything Goes with Musicals Tonight. On the road, Jeremiah swung eight roles (and one keyboard) in the first National Tour of Anastasia, starred as “The Suspects” in Murder for Two, and as Zach in A Chorus Line. Favorite regional credits include the Goodspeed Opera House, The Muny, Cape Playhouse, Stages St. Louis, Gulf Shore Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre and St. Michael’s Playhouse. Jeremiah holds a BFA from Brigham Young University, and is the proud uncle to four nieces (who are way cuter than yours). www.jeremiahginn.com

Brett-Marco Glauser is over the moon to be back at Arena, after debuting in Disney’s Newsies as a Swing in 2019. His other theatrical credits include Anastasia First National Tour, Cats on Royal Caribbean, Mamma Mia! at the Walnut Street Theatre, and many more. Brett-Marco holds a BFA in Commercial Dance from Pace University. He gives his endless thanks to everyone on the Arena and Catch Me If You Can teams, Penny and Jordan, the Wham-Bam Glauser Fam, and Brian. He’d like to dedicate this run to all artists who have been separated from their communities over the pandemic. He is so glad to be back.

Rhett Guter is debuting at Arena Stage. D.C. credits include Don Lockwood in Singin’ In the Rain (Helen Hayes-nominated), Bert in Mary Poppins and Gabey in On the Town at the Olney Theatre Center. He toured as Action in the international tour of West Side Story, and received a Joseph Jefferson nomination for his choreography of the show at Drury Lane Theatre. At Goodspeed Opera House, the roles of Conrad in Bye Bye Birdie and Curly in Oklahoma! earned him a win and a nomination from Connecticut Critical Circle. Eight seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival include the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, The Boy in Peter and the Starcatcher and Houdini in Ragtime. Rhett is also a professional magician. rhettguter.com

Candice Hatakeyama is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! She was most recently seen in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Additional regional credits: Alice Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Elizabeth Condell/Emilia Bassano in The Book of Will (Texas Shakespeare Festival); Home for the Holidays, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Syracuse Stage); Liat in South Pacific, All Shook Up (Flat Rock Playhouse). Candice is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, and now based in NYC. She recently graduated with a BFA from Syracuse University. Love and gratitude to my sister Caitlin, Molly, Parker, Ann and the whole production team for giving me the chance to fly! www.candicehatakeyama.com

Nehal Joshi considers Arena Stage one of his artistic homes. He has appeared in five productions at Arena, most memorably as Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! and Amir in Disgraced. He was born and raised in Northern Virginia and has appeared on stage at several local theaters. He has appeared on Broadway in Flying Over Sunset, All My Sons, School of Rock, The Threepenny Opera, Gettin’ the Band Back Together and Les Misérables (Original Revival Cast). His Off-Broadway credits include Cyrano, Falling for Eve, Working (2008 revision) and Grand Hotel (Encores!). Regionally, he has worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Goodman Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre, The Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Kennedy Center among others. His film/TV credits include The Wire (HBO), Blackout (BET), Law & Order: SVU (NBC) and Search Party (TBS). He is the voice of the Worgen Vendors on the hit video game World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Ryan Lambert is delighted to be making his Arena Stage debut! Regional credits include Goodspeed Opera House: The Music Man; Westchester Broadway Theatre: An American in Paris (Understudy Henri); The Fulton Theatre: 42nd Street; North Shore Music Theatre: Mame, Jekyll & Hyde; The Lexington Theatre Company: Legally Blonde: The Musical, 42nd Street; Maine State Music Theatre and Music Theatre Wichita. Ryan also had the pleasure of performing in Kristin Chenoweth: My Love Letter to Broadway at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Bachelors of Music: Music Theatre, Oklahoma City University. Endless thanks to the team here at Arena, Craig and the squad at Avalon Artists Group, my family and Jordan! www.ryan-lambert.com

Brianna Latrash is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! National tours include White Christmas 2017- 2019 (Ensemble, u/s Rhoda). Regional credits include Ogunquit Playhouse: 42nd Street; Bucks County Playhouse: 42nd Street (Lorraine); NOLA SLT: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie Dillmount); The Lexington Theatre Company: Legally Blonde (Brooke Wyndham), 42nd Street; NYC Workshops: House of Dreams (Lola Albright). TV credits include Season 2 of Dickinson on Apple TV+. BFA: CCM. For Sara Hart and Matt Nall at MSA, my teachers for life!

Jeff McCarthy's Arena Stage credits include Oliver! and You, Nero. Broadway: Chicago, Urinetown, The Pirate Queen, Side Show, Zorba, Beauty and the Beast, Smile. L.A.: Les Misérables, The Three Sisters, A Little Night Music, City of Angels. Off-Broadway: Kunstler (59E59), Southern Comfort (Public Theater), Sympathetic Magic (Second Stage), Dream True (Vineyard), On the Twentieth Century (York). Regional: My Fair Lady, The Misanthrope (Guthrie); Mame (The Kennedy Center); The Underpants, The Price, The Front Page (Long Wharf); All My Sons, Sweeney Todd, Follies (Barrington Stage); Noises Off (Cape Playhouse); Henry lV (Indiana Rep); Arms and the Man (Huntington); A Lie of the Mind (Denver Center); Buried Child, Pantegleize (ACT/SF); Sunday in the Park with George (Seattle Rep). International: Iphenigia in Aulis (Greece tour), Lady Be Good (La Fenice, Italy). TV: Elementary, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Schweitzer, Letterman, Star Trek: TNG and Voyager, Law & Order(s), Cheers, Designing Women, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night and others. Film: Starting Out in the Evening, Consent, RoboCop 2, Eve of Destruction, Rapid Fire, Cliffhanger. Jeff is the voice of Chuck Jones’ creation, Michigan J. Frog.

Bryan Charles Moore is a recent transplant to the D.C. area, and he’s truly ecstatic to be making his Arena Stage debut. Credits include: A Chorus Line (Signature Theatre), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (National Tour), The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (National Tour), West Side Story (Ogunquit Playhouse, Ordway Center for Performing Arts, John W. Engeman Theater), Beauty and the Beast (Broadway at Music Circus), Mary Poppins (Theatre Under the Stars, Ogunquit Playhouse), Rock of Ages (Gateway Playhouse) and Fiddler on the Roof (Virginia Rep). So many thanks to the Luedtke Agency, and so much love to Steve and Bruce.

Shiloh Orr is excited to be returning to Arena Stage for Catch Me If You Can. Previous credits include Arena’s Disney’s Newsies (Albert) and Olney Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast (Swing). He is a graduate of The Benjamin T. Rome School of music at The Catholic University of America.

Hayley Podschun is proud to make her Arena debut! Hayley’s Broadway credits include: Wicked (Glinda, National Tour); Hello, Dolly!; Something Rotten!; Chaplin (Mildred Harris); Anything Goes; Pal Joey; Sunday in the Park with George; Hairspray and The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway: Freckleface Strawberry (Freckleface, original cast). Regional highlights: I Married An Angel (Anna Murphy, NY City Center), Holiday Inn (Linda Mason, Paper Mill Playhouse/Lila Dixon, Goodspeed), The Royal Family of Broadway (Gwen, Barrington Stage), Gypsy (Dainty June, MUNY), Smokey Joe’s Café (MUNY), Peter Pan (Peter Pan, ArtPark), Legally Blonde (Elle, Arvada Center). Film/TV: Hairspray (Tammy), The Blacklist, Louie. Hayley is also a guest host on QVC for Zodiac Shoes.

Stephanie Pope Lofgren is a Broadway musical theater veteran with a career spanning over 35 years. Broadway and touring credits include Chicago (Velma Kelly), the revival of Pippin (Astaire Award nomination, an ACCA Award and the beloved Legacy Robe), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Muzzy Van Hossmere), Fosse (Leading Player), Smokey Joe’s Café (Brenda), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Gymnasia), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Standby for Ms. Chita Rivera), Jelly’s Last Jam (The Hunnies) and The Will Rogers Follies, to name a few. Stephanie was chosen by legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse for her first two Broadway shows, the 1986 revival of Sweet Charity and Bob Fosse’s Big Deal. She is one of a handful of performers sanctioned to teach Fosse Master Classes on behalf of The Verdon Fosse Legacy, LLC. As a director, writer and producer, Stephanie has several projects in development for the stage and her production of Smokey Joe’s Café, which she directed for ACT of CT, was named one of the best musicals of 2021. Stephanie is thrilled to be returning to Arena Stage in this wonderful production of Catch Me If You Can. She sends love to her husband, Aarne Lofgren, and daughter, Mari. Proud member: AEA, SAG-AFTRA, SDC. www.stephaniepope.com

Jody Reynard has appeared on Broadway in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical; Legally Blonde; Taboo; Saturday Night Fever and Fosse and has toured in Chicago; Memphis; Kiss Me, Kate; Camelot and My Fair Lady. Regionally, he’s played Bernardo (West Side Story), Mitch Mahoney (Spelling Bee), Happiness (Thoughts of a Colored Man), Ken (Smokey Joe’s Café) and Darren Lemming (Take Me Out). His film and TV credits include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Hello Again and Show Business: The Road to Broadway. Jody has also performed in concerts with the Omaha Symphony, the South Dakota Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestras.

Kyra Smith is so excited to be performing at Arena Stage! Previous credits include Soft Power at The Public, Rock of Ages at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and Dames at Sea (Ruby) at Freefall Theatre. She wants to thank her beautiful family for all of their support! Point Park University. The Price Group.

Christian Thompson is thrilled to be making his Arena debut! A mixed race, multi-hyphenated artist from Fort Lauderdale, FL, he recently saw to completion the Broadway run of Ain’t Too Proud, as Smokey Robinson/Damon Harris, a role he originated. Select other credits: Passion in Thoughts of a Colored Man (Broadway*), Dez in Skeleton Crew (Marin Theatre/Theatreworks), Benny and u/s Roger in Rent (National Tour/ Japan), Tap Brother 2 in After Midnight (Inaugural Cast/NCL). BFA in Musical Theatre from Penn State. Selected playwright with Fosters Residency, and Catalyst Content Festival, both in 2021.

Kristin Yancy is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! Some of her favorite theater credits include The Cher Show (Broadway); Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Broadway); Queen of the Night (Off-Broadway); West Side Story (National Tour, Guthrie Theater, The REV Theatre Co.); The Who’s Tommy (Kennedy Center); Evita (Olney, Asolo Rep); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (The Muny) and Bliss (5th Avenue Theatre, World Premiere). Kristin is an executive producer of MinuteZero, an immersive company that specializes in site-specific live performance. She is thrilled to be working with Parker Esse again and performing with this fabulous cast! Big thanks and love to Eric, her family, MSA, so many mentors, and the craziest, most wonderful community of friends. kristinyancy.com

Terrence McNally had a remarkably far-ranging career, including a new work on Broadway in each of the last six decades. In 2018 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a 2019 recipient of a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He also received the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. He won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. He wrote a number of TV scripts, including Andre’s Mother, for which he won an Emmy Award. He received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie Awards and three Hull-Warriner Awards from the Dramatists Guild. In 1996 he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. He wrote the libretto for the operas Great Scott and Dead Man Walking, both with music by Jake Heggie. Other plays include Mothers and Sons; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; The Lisbon Traviata; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; A Perfect Ganesh; The Visit; The Full Monty; Corpus Christi; Bad Habits; Next; The Ritz; Anastasia; It's Only a Play; Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?; and The Stendhal Syndrome.

Marc Shaiman has been writing music, lyrics, arrangements, orchestrations and very lengthy Emails since entering show business at the age of 16, at La Mama, in 1976. What has he done lately? Well, he and co-lyricist Scott Wittman have written the songs for director Rob Marshall and Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, the film sequel (not remake!!) to the classic film Mary Poppins. He received a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for his score for the film. In addition, Mr. Shaiman and Mr. Wittman received an Oscar nomination for the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go," featured in the movie. And their West End/Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is currently touring North America.Mr. Shaiman has been nominated for two Tony Awards (winning one for co-writing the score to Hairspray with co-lyricist Scott Wittman), four Grammy Awards (winning one for The Original Cast Recording of Hairspray), eleven Emmy Awards (winning one for his work on Billy Crystal's Academy Award hosting) and if he hadn't lost each of his five Oscar nominations (for Sleepless in Seattle, Patch Adams, The First Wives Club, The American President and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut), he could boast of being an EGOT. Till then, he remains a EGT. Mr. Shaiman's other film work includes Beaches, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act (1 & 2), Hocus Pocus, The Bucket List and Parental Guidance, to name a few. Millions of more titles are available upon request. Call him. He and Mr. Wittman were Executive Producers of the successful film adaptation (not remake!!) of their musical Hairspray. Besides Hairspray, his and Mr. Wittman's other original Broadway musicals are the Tony-nominated Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and the Tony-winning Catch Me If You Can, while Off-Broadway productions include The High-Heeled Women, Livin' Dolls and André De Shields' Haarlem Nocturne. Broadway concert credits are "Peter Allen: Up In One," Bette Midler's "Divine Madness," Ellie Greenwich's "Leader Of The Pack" and "Patti LuPone On Broadway." Also, after a tremendously successful concert for The Actors Fund, his and Mr. Wittman's musical Bombshell, created as part of the television show Smash, is now being developed into a Broadway show. His television ventures, varied and many, include "The Sweeney Sisters" on SNL, countless award and talk show shows with Mr. Crystal, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Jack Black and Will Ferrell (among many others), Jenifer Lewis' "Jackie's Back," the Emmy-winning "SNL 40th," the aforementioned Smash and his proudest achievement for television, his collaboration with Bette Midler for her Emmy-winning appearance as his final guest on Johnny Carson's penultimate Tonight Show. Other performers Marc has collaborated with in concert, cabaret, film and television include Kristin Chenoweth, Eric Clapton, Christine Ebersole, Kathy Griffin, Allison Janney, Jennifer Holliday, Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, John Mayer, Barbra Streisand, Rob Thomas, Queen Latifah, Raquel Welch, Robin Williams...the list is kind of endless... He has co-produced and/or arranged Grammy-winning recordings for (among others) Miss Midler, Harry Connick Jr. and Mariah Carey, including the Grammy-winning recordings "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From A Distance." He and Ms. Carey were nominated for a Golden Globe for their song "The Star" from the soundtrack to that animated film. And he is quite fond of his online opus Prop 8: The Musical. Mr. Shaiman was happy to have his childhood piano teacher Miss Andrews when he and Mr. Wittman were celebrated in 2014 by the New York Pops with a spectacular concert at Carnegie Hall. And at the after-party for "SNL 40th," he jammed with Paul McCartney, Prince and Taylor Swift and completely lost his shit. Finally, Marc is overjoyed to report that four years ago he stopped reading online chat boards, and his life and well-being have improved drastically! He suggests you do the same.

Scott Wittman co-wrote (with Marc Shaiman) the lyrics for the Olivier Award-wining musical Hairspray, for which the pair received Tony and Grammy Awards. He also served as an executive producer on the hit film starring John Travolta. They teamed up again on Broadway for Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, which he also directed, and Catch Me If You Can, which received a Tony nomination for Best Musical. For their original songs on NBC's musical drama Smash, Scott and Marc were nominated for two Emmy Awards, a Grammy and a Golden Globe. On Smash they have composed songs for Jennifer Hudson, Uma Thurman, Bernadette Peters and Liza Minnelli. Their original score for the Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell was released on Sony Records. Scott co-wrote the lyrics to Charlie and Chocolate Factory directed by Sam Mendes, currently playing to sold out houses at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End. For Patti LuPone, Scott has created and directed two Broadway shows, three recordings and three sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts. At La Mama, Scott conceived and directed Jukebox Jackie starring Justin Vivian Bond, Cole Escola, Steel Burkhardt and Bridget Everett. He collaborated with Shaiman on new songs for Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall. He and Shaiman received on Oscar nomination for the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go," featured in the film.

Molly Smith has served as artistic director since 1998. Her more than 30 directing credits at Arena Stage include large-scale musicals, like Anything Goes, Disney’s Newsies, Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Cabaret, South Pacific; new plays, like Sovereignty, The Originalist, Camp David, Legacy of Light, The Women of Brewster Place, How I Learned to Drive; and classics like Mother Courage and Her Children, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Great White Hope and All My Sons. Her directorial work has also been seen Off-Broadway at 59E59 in New York, Portland Center Stage, Canada’s Shaw Festival, The Court Theatre, The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, Montreal’s Centaur Theatre and Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded and ran from 1979-1998. Molly has been a leader in new play development for over 40 years. She is a great believer in first, second and third productions of new work and has championed projects, including Dear Evan Hansen; Next to Normal; Passion Play, a cycle; and How I Learned to Drive. She led the re-invention of Arena Stage, focusing on the architecture and creation of the Mead Center for American Theater and positioning Arena Stage as a national center for American artists through its artistic programming. During her time with the company, Arena Stage has workshopped more than 100 productions, produced 39 world premieres, staged numerous second and third productions, and been an important part of nurturing nine projects that went on to have a life on Broadway. In 2014, Molly made her Broadway debut directing The Velocity of Autumn, following its critically acclaimed run at Arena Stage. She was awarded honorary doctorates from American University and Towson University. In 2018, she was honored as Person of the Year by the National Theatre Conference and inducted into the Washington DC Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was awarded the Director of Distinction in Cairo, Egypt, from the Academy of Arts. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she developed the concept for two online films, May 22, 2020 and The 51st State, overseeing the production direction as well as directing pieces within the films. She also spearheaded a variety of other new online content, including a weekly talk show Molly’s Salon, during the live performance hiatus.

Parker Esse is a multi-award-winning director/choreographer known for his inclusive, visionary, energetic and earnest story-driven work. After performing regionally, in national tours, and as a featured performer on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Fosse, he began collaborating on multiple regional and Broadway shows as associate director/choreographer, creating Broadway's Tony/Drama Desk/multi-award-winning productions of Finian's Rainbow, A Tale of Two Cities and Follies. Credits include five Encores! productions (NY City Center), and regional theatres including The Kennedy Center, Goodspeed, Paper Mill Playhouse, The Old Globe, Asolo Rep, Madison Square Garden and the feature film Deception starring Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor. As choreographer, Parker exploded with Oklahoma! 50th Anniversary and the grand reopening of Arena Stage, following with his “inventive and emotional” choreography for Stephen Sondheim and Wynton Marsalis’ A Bed and a Chair directed by John Doyle (NYC Center Encores!). Parker directs/choreographs for numerous NYC, regional and international theatres and is a nine-time Helen Hayes Nominee (four-time winner) Best Choreography; Arena Stage's Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game, Anything Goes and Disney’s Newsies. Some recent director and/or choreographer credits include: NBC Special Broadcast Physician’s Mutual Omaha Symphony Christmas Celebration (director/choreographer); Rags (Goodspeed); La Traviata (The Kennedy Center’s WNO); pre-Broadway Toronto engagement of Jukebox Hero-Foreigner's Greatest Hits (Ed Mirvish Theatre); pre-Broadway Love And Other Fables; 45 Minutes From Coontown (York Theatre Co.); Lyrics & Lyricists Celebrates Oklahoma! at 75 (92nd St. Y/Buck’s County Playhouse); multiple Equity showcases, 29-hour readings, and new works including Chasing Rainbows, Hazel Maid in America, Valentino, and Chéri starring Vanessa Williams and Paulo Szot. Upcoming: NYC pre-Broadway workshop new musical Valentino and Hazel Maid in America. Graduate NYU TSOA.

Laura Bergquist conducted the acclaimed Arena production of Disney’s Newsies in 2019. She is the first female to music direct/conduct at Arena and is thrilled to return to its marvelous creative team, cast, staff, crew and orchestra. On Broadway, she was the Music Director/Conductor for Allegiance: A New Musical, is featured in the documentary, The Road to Allegiance, and conducted the Broadway cast album and feature film. Laura conducted world premieres at The Old Globe (Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Allegiance), Chicago Shakespeare (Sense and Sensibility), Cincinnati Playhouse (Emma, Daddy Long Legs). As a composer/arranger, Laura has a large catalogue including Not Another Christmas Letter: The Musical which is produced around the US. She lives in New York City with her superb husband Joe, in addition to working with theater companies, and teaching master classes in universities and churches around the country. www.laurabergquist.com.

Arena credits: Noises Off, On The Jump. Broadway: Anastasia (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Nominations), Present Laughter (Tony Nomination), Old Acquaintance, Butley, Hedda Gabler; Off-Broadway: 59E59: Whisper House, Vineyard/Minetta Lane: Harry Clarke; Manhattan Theatre Club: Ripcord; Second Stage: Lips Together Teeth Apart; Playwrights Horizons: Rapture Blister Burn; Roundabout: The Understudy; Public: Measure for Pleasure, Paris Commune; Lincoln Center: Observe the Sons of Ulster…(Lortel Award). Tours: La Jolla/Paper Mill Playhouse/Japan/Germany: Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Opera: Metropolitan Opera: Samson et Dalila; Santa Fe: The Thirteenth Child; L.A. Opera: The Ghosts of Versailles; Minnesota Opera: Dinner At Eight; Deutsche Oper Berlin: Il Trittico. MFA: Yale.

Alejo Vietti's select Arena Stage credits include: Ella, The Pajama Game, Anything Goes (Helen Hayes Award) and Disney’s Newsies. New York credits include: Broadway’s Holiday Inn, Allegiance (Drama Desk nomination) and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (U.S. tour, West End – Olivier Award nomination, Australia, Japan and UK tour). He has designed for City Center Encores!, Radio City Rockettes, Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theatre, among others. Opera credits include New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera and Donesk Opera (Ukraine). Selected regional work includes: Alley Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Ford’s, Signature, Goodspeed, Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Paper Mill Playhouse and The Old Globe. Other credits include: Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (US, Berlin and Tokyo), Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award recipient.

Nicole Pearce is an international lighting designer for dance, theater and opera based out of Queens, New York. Her work has been seen across the United States, Europe, Siberia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Cuba. New York credits include: The Playwrights Realm, The Play Company, The Asia Society and The Mint Theater Company. Regional credits include: Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, Hartford Stage, Philadelphia Theater Company, Williamstown Theater Festival, Resident Ensemble Players and Pittsburgh Public Theater. Selected dance credits include: Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street, Mark Morris Dance Group, Jessica Lang Dance, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nederland’s Dance Theater, Malpaso and American Ballet Theater. Opera credits include: Arizona Opera, L.A. Opera, The Juilliard School, Opera de Montreal and Minnesota Opera. Nicole's installation of 1,000 paintings entitled Tiny Paintings for Big Hearts opened to doctors, nurses, staff, and patients of Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, NY in September 2021.

Daniel Erdberg returns to Arena Stage, where his work has appeared in Disney’s Newsies, Anything Goes, The Pajama Game, Dear Evan Hansen and The Lion. Daniel’s designs have been heard at numerous New York theatres, including The Public, Roundabout, City Center, 59E59, Atlantic, Prospect and HERE. Highlights include the world premieres of Stonewall with NY City Opera, Time It Was with Bill Irwin and the American Premiere of Caryl Churchill’s Drunk Enough to Say I Love You. Regional credits include Pasadena Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Geffen, ACT, Merrimack and Long Wharf, as well as productions in Korea, Japan, China, Canada and Cuba. He is a frequent Broadway associate designer, where credits include Iceman Cometh, Significant Other, Violet, Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Heiress and The Nance. Daniel has taught at Tisch/NYU and is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Charles G. LaPointe is an award-winning wig and hair designer who maintains a highly successful career on stages throughout the United States and abroad. Prior at Arena Stage: Disney's Newsies; Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise; Anything Goes. Highlights: numerous Broadway, touring, American regional theater, West End and international productions including Hamilton (Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylist Guild Award); Ain’t Too Proud; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Beetlejuice; The Cher Show (Drama Desk Award); The Band’s Visit; Anastasia; The Lifespan of a Fact; SpongeBob SquarePants (Drama DeskAward); Jersey Boys; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; The Color Purple; In the Heights. Television: The Wiz Live! (Emmy Award Nomination); Jesus Christ Superstar Live! (Emmy Award Nomination and Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylist Guild Award).

Anita Maynard-Losh is the director of community engagement and senior artistic advisor at Arena Stage, where she leads the theater’s education and outreach programs and serves on the artistic team. Now in her 18th season at Arena Stage, Anita has been involved in an artistic capacity on 45 Arena Stage productions: she directed the world premiere of Our War as part of the National Civil War Project, and has been an associate director, text director, and vocal/dialect coach on multiple other productions. Anita trained and taught at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, was on the faculty at Webster University in St. Louis, headed the theater department at the University of Alaska Southeast and was the associate artistic director of Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, where she directed 21 mainstage productions. Anita traveled extensively with the artist-in-schools program in Alaska, working primarily with indigenous populations within the context of traditional villages. The Alaska Native-inspired production of Macbeth that Anita conceived and directed was performed in English and Tlingit at the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the Shakespeare in Washington Festival. Her essay about the project was published in Weyward Macbeth: Intersections of Race and Performance, Palgrave MacMillan. She has coached dialects for the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage and the Broadway revival of Ragtime. Anita has traveled with Arena Stage’s devised theater program, Voices of Now, to India (2012, 2014), Croatia (2015, 2019), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019) to collaborate with communities in devising original plays addressing social justice issues.

William Yanesh returns to Arena Stage, having served as Music Director for Snow Child, and Associate Music Director for Anything Goes, Dave and Carousel. As a composer/lyricist, his musical Caps for Sale has toured nationally and played at the New Victory Theatre in New York City. He also wrote the music and lyrics for Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal at Adventure Theatre MTC. His choral piece “The Astronomer” was recorded by The Capital Hearings on their album When the Night is New. He won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Into the Woods at Ford’s Theatre, and has music directed at Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, and 1st Stage. Education: Carnegie Mellon University. www.williamyanesh.squarespace.com

Kristin Yancy is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! Some of her favorite theatre credits include The Cher Show (Broadway), Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Broadway), Queen of the Night (Off-Broadway), West Side Story (National Tour, Guthrie Theater, The REV Theatre Co.), The Who’s Tommy (Kennedy Center), Evita (Olney, Asolo Rep), Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (The Muny)and Bliss (5th Avenue Theatre, World Premiere). Kristin is an executive producer of MinuteZero, an immersive company that specializes in site-specific live performance. She is thrilled to be working with Parker Esse again and performing with this fabulous cast! Big thanks and love to Eric, her family, MSA, so many mentors, and the craziest, most wonderful community of friends. kristinyancy.com

Robb Hunter is thrilled to be back at Arena, having previously choreographed The Pajama Game, King Hedley II, Ruined, Stick Fly, Noises Off and Frankie & Johnny in the Claire de Lune to name a few. Robb directs movement for many area theaters including The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington National Opera, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre and Ford’s Theatre and has received multiple Helen Hayes awards/nominations for his choreography. He is a member of SDC, AEA, and SAG/AFTRA, and is one of only twenty Fight Masters worldwide certified by the Society of American Fight Directors. He is on faculty of the Shakespeare Theatre’s Academy for Classical Acting and is Artist in Residence at American University as well as a teaching artist at many other venues.

D.C. area credits include Arena Stage: Disney’s Newsies, Celia and Fidel, Change Agent; Ford’s Theatre: Guys and Dolls; Rep Stage: E2, Things That Are Round, Sweeney Todd, True West, H20, Yellowman, Dorian’s Closet; Factory 449: Lela & Co., Agnes of God; Constellation Theatre Company: The 39 Steps, Moon Man Walk; Washington Stage Guild: Bloomsday. Affiliations: Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators.

Lisa Nathans is thrilled to be coaching again for Arena Stage with this fabulous team after previously coaching Disney’s Newsies and Anything Goes. Other D.C. credits include various productions with the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, Theater Alliance, Keegan Theatre and MetroStage. Regional credits include: Guthrie Theater, The 5th Avenue and Theatricum Botanicum. TV credits include: National Geographic’s Elemental: Hydrogen vs. Hindenburg. Teaching (USA and UK): University of Maryland: TDPS (Assistant Professor, Voice, Speech, and Acting); CalArts; Stella Adler Academy; RADA; Royal Welsh; Royal Central; University of Washington (PATP MFA); and University of Minnesota (Guthrie BFA). Training: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama: MFA (Voice Studies); Boston University: BFA (Acting); Linklater Voice Designation; and Colaianni Speech Practitioner. Break legs all!

Jocelyn Clarke is senior dramaturg at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. He was Theatre Advisor to the Arts Council of Ireland for ten years. As a dramaturg, Clarke has worked with writers such as Katori Hall, Taylor Mac, Lydia Diamond, Abhishek Majumdar, Eduardo Machado, Charles Randolph Wright, Lisa Kron, Craig Lucas, Carl Hancock Rux, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Tanya Saracho and Karen Zacarias. He was a script editor on several Irish films, including Young Offenders, and was executive story editor on all three seasons of the BBC/RTE TV series Young Offenders. He is a writer on the second season of P-Valley, Katori Hall’s acclaimed TV series for Starz. His new adaptation of Elizabeth Swados’ musical The Beautiful Lady, will be directed by Anne Bogart at La Mama Theatre in New York in May 2022.

JZ Casting/Geoff Josselson, C.S.A. and Katja Zarolinski, C.S.A. are New York-based casting directors, handling productions for theater, film and television. Recent work includes productions for Arena Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Baltimore Center Stage, Cape Playhouse, Denver Center, The Irish Repertory Theatre, Merrimack Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Round House Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre, Theaterworks Hartford and Weston Playhouse. For more information, please visit www.jz-casting.com.

Hannah Sullivan is delighted to return to Arena Stage after interning on Oklahoma! in 2010. Broadway: Beautiful, The Carole King Musical; The Band’s Visit; and Hangmen (U.S. premiere). Hannah has had the good fortune of traveling North America with Hamilton, An American Musical (1st National Tour) and Beautiful, The Carole King Musical (1st National Tour.) Off-Broadway Hannah has worked at Atlantic Theatre Company, The Vineyard Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Park Avenue Armory, Soho Rep, the New York Philharmonic and others. Regional highlights include: Seared at Williamstown Theatre Festival, A Little Night Music at Berkshire Theatre Group and The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls at Yale Repertory Theatre. Hannah has worked on a host of operas and live events all over the country. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

Marne Anderson is thrilled to return to Arena Stage. Some highlights include The Heiress, Indecent, Dave, Two Trains Running, The Great Society, Nina Simone: Four Women, A Raisin in the Sun, Moby Dick, All the Way, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End, King Hedley II, Five Guys Named Moe, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Mountaintop, Metamorphoses, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Arabian Nights and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Emily Ann Mellon returns for a nineteenth mainstage production at Arena Stage. Other selected D.M.V. credits include: Souvenir (Rep Stage); A Doll's House, Part 2 (Round House Theatre); Girlfriend (Signature Theatre); Wig Out! (Studio Theatre); and The School for Lies (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Additional regional credits include: The Niceties (Geva Theatre Center) and The Upstairs Concierge (Goodman Theatre). Television credits include: Inside Edition and Good Day New York.

Hethyr (Red) Verhoef has worked on numerous productions over the years as a stage manager and flyman. She continues to be deeply invested in theater, art, diversity and all the elements it takes to create it. Red is always thrilled to return to all the amazing people here at Arena Stage. Member AEA.