The Slutzker Family Foundation is proud to be a Season Sponsor of the Syracuse Stage 24/25 season, full of stories that engage, entertain, and inspire us to see life beyond our own experience.
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1917, Lillian Slutzker was a survivor. After fleeing Nazi control for England, she met her husband at a USO dance and later returned to his hometown of Rome, New York.
She dedicated her life to bettering her community. The Foundation’s purpose is to carry on her incredible legacy and fulfill her passion for Judaism, education, the arts, and enriching the community.
LETTER FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DEAR FRIENDS,
Welcome to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella! Thank you for joining us; we’re glad you’re here. Our production of Cinderella is made possible because Syracuse Stage produces this large-scale musical—30 performers and 11 musicians bring this show to life—in partnership with the Syracuse University Department of Drama. Each year at this time we dive into a collaboration with one of the best undergraduate theatre programs in the country. In this production professional actors from across the country join current students who will soon grace the stages of New York City and beyond. This co-produced musical epitomizes the 50-year history of collaboration between our theatre company and Syracuse University.
I want to take a moment to personally thank department of drama chair Ralph Zito for his generous and insightful leadership over the past several years of the Stage/Drama coproducing partnership. Ralph will step down as chair at the conclusion of this academic year, and we at Stage are sincerely grateful for his collabor ative and supportive spirit. We’ll miss you. Thank you, Ralph!
And thanks to all of you for mak ing Syracuse Stage a part of your life. Whether it's creating a season of six
diverse and engaging productions each year, engaging youth in the creative process of theatre, or working to make theatre accessible to all, Syracuse Stage exists to make the greatest possible contribution to the cultural and civic life of Central New York. We couldn’t do it without you!
Enjoy the show!
With warmest regards,
Robert Hupp Artistic Director
ROBERT HUPP. PHOTO: BRENNA MERRITT.
IN MEMORIAM
Rodney Scott Hudson
October 14, 1948 — June 17, 2024
Rodney was a career teacher and practitioner of the performing arts, and led his life – onstage, in the classroom, and in private – with courageous generosity and an unwavering dedication to lifting the spirits of those who sought his counsel, his advice, and his friendship.
In Rodney, students found a champion, an advocate, a mentor, and a collaborator who both nurtured and challenged in equal measure. Colleagues remember him as an artist of unmatched character, who used the poetry of theatre and song to connect with the larger world. And all remember him as a singular and warm soul who sought to foster kinship and understanding with those who came into his life.
One of his favorite songs was “Blackbird,” which he sang at all of his cabaret performances. The lyrics seem to resonate with how he saw life: “Blackbird
singing in the dead of night / Take these broken wings and learn to fly!” To rise up and succeed through adversity and difficult times. To hold those who you cherish with love. To hold them with respect. To hold them with understanding. To hold them with patience. To hold them! That was Rodney.
As an actor and director, Rodney found success on Broadway, in film, and on stages throughout the world. He graced several Syracuse Stage productions with his artistry and collaboration, and helped shape the lives of countless Syracuse University students who had the good fortune of finding themselves in Rodney's classes. Our community is a better place because of his life’s work.
This Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production is dedicated in loving memory of Rodney. We miss him.
DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
PRESENTS
cinderella RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S
MUSIC BY
Richard Rodgers
BOOK AND LYRICS BY Oscar
Hammerstein II
ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY Tom Briggs FROM THE TELEPLAY BY Robert L. Freedman
DIRECTED BY Melissa Rain Anderson
MUSIC DIRECTION BY Brian Cimmet
CHOREOGRAPHED BY Jessica Chen
SCENIC DESIGNER
Kimberly Powers
PROJECTION DESIGNER
David Murakami
WIG DESIGNER
Bobbie Zlotnik
LIGHTING DESIGNER Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz
COSTUME DESIGNER Ryan J. Moller CASTING Bass/Valle Casting
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER McBee*
Robert Hupp Artistic Director Michael McCurdy Interim Managing Director Melissa Crespo Associate Artistic Director Kyle Bass Resident Playwright
SEASON SPONSORS
SHOW SPONSOR
MEDIA SPONSORS
PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL SPONSOR
SOUND DESIGNER
Jacqueline R Herter
Ralph Zito Chair, Department of Drama
FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE SPONSOR
Cinderella is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. www.concordtheatricals.com November 22, 2024 - January 5, 2025
PARTNER
Join the ensemble with an Annual Fund donation to help us make a difference through live theatre.
Your gift supports educational, artistic, accessibility, and community engagement programming which provides the Syracuse and Central New York Community a platform for connectivity and cohesiveness.
Cast members in Once. Book by Enda Walsh. Based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney. Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Directed by Melissa Crespo. Music direction by Pearl Rhein. Choreography by Fatima Sowe. Scenic design by Rodrigo Escalante. Costume design by Jerry Johnson and Carmen Martinez. Lighting design by Matthew Webb. Sound design by Jacqueline R. Herter. Photo by Michael Davis.
CAST
(in alphabetical order)
Ann Arvia*...........................................................Stepmother
Understudies never substitute for the listed players unless a specific announcement is made at the time of performance.
For Ball Guest, Horse, Villager, Charles – Andrej Alexander†; For Joy, Grace – Emily CastilloLangley†; For Villager, Ball Guest, Horse, Coachman – Jude Chong†; For Lionel – Michael Di Leo†; For Cinderella, Grace, Joy – Gwendalyn Rose Díaz†; For Prince Christopher – Matthew Dodaro†; For Fairy Godmother – Celia Madeoy*; For Villager, Ball Guest, Mice, Dove – Gillian Stoltz†; For Queen Constantina, Stepmother – Emma Sucato†; For Villager, Ball Guest, Mice – Lindsay Thurber†; For King Maximillian – Franco Tomaino†
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE. The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. †Student, Syracuse University Department of Drama.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Dance Captain: Trisha Jeffrey*
Assistant Dance Captains: Kailee Regan Brandt†, Michael Di Leo†
Audience members may take photos in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. If you post photos on social media or elsewhere, you must credit the production's director and designers by including the names below. Please note: Photos are strictly prohibited during the performance. Photos of the stage are not permitted if an actor is present. Video and audio recording is not permitted at any time in the theatre. Photo credit: The Syracuse Stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella | Music by Richard Rodgers | Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Adapted for the Stage by Tom Briggs | From the Teleplay by Robert L. Freedman | Directed by Melissa Rain Anderson | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreographed by Jessica Chen | Scenic Design by Kimberly Powers
Costume Design by Ryan J. Moller | Wig Design by Bobbie Zlotnik | Lighting Design by Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz | Sound Design by Jacqueline R Herter | Projection Design by David Murakami | Production Stage Management by McBee
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
SONG LIST
ACT ONE
Prologue...............................................................................Fairy Godmother, Company
The Sweetest Sounds....................................................................Cinderella, Christopher
The Prince Is Giving a Ball....................................................................Lionel, Company
In My Own Little Corner.................................................................................Cinderella
Boys and Girls Like You and Me..................................................................King, Queen
Reprise: The Sweetest Sounds.......................................................Christopher, Cinderella
Reprise: In My Own Little Corner....................................................................Cinderella
Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful.......................................Christopher, Cinderella
Reprise: Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful..........Christopher, King, Queen, Cinderella
When You're Driving Through the Moonlight............Cinderella, Stepmother, Joy, Grace
A Lovely Night..........................................Cinderella, Stepmother, Joy, Grace, Company
Reprise: A Lovely Night...................................................................................Cinderella
There's Music in You............................................................Fairy Godmother, Company
ORCHESTRA
Brian Cimmet – keyboard/conductor
Joe Carello – clarinet, bass clarinet, flute
Pat Carney – trumpet, flügelhorn
Kelly Covert – flute, alto flute, piccolo
Josh Dekaney – drums, percussion
Heidi Hoffman – cello
Ben Kapilow – keyboard
Claire Tuxill McKenney – French horn
Jake Gunnar Walsh – oboe, English horn
Dan Williams – keyboard
Sonya Stith Williams – violin
YOUR STAGE. YOURYOURSTORIES. STAGE. YOUR STORIES.
CITIZEN JAMES, OR THE YOUNG MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY
AUGUST 2-3, 2024 FREE TICKETED EVENT
By Kyle Bass | Directed by Joann Yarrow | Produced in partnership with 100 Black Men of Syracuse
Witness a young James Baldwin find his voice in this powerful one-man show about the author and Civil Rights activist. ••••••••••••••••••••••••
THE SECOND CITY 65TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW
SEPTEMBER 18 - 29, 2024
Presented by Syracuse Stage
A hysterical touring production.
DIAL M FOR MURDER
OCTOBER 16 – NOVEMBER 3, 2024
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher | From the original by Frederick Knott | Directed by Robert Hupp
An old-school, edge of-your-seat mystery.
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA
NOVEMBER 22 – JANUARY 5, 2025
Music by Richard Rodgers | Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Adapted for the stage by Tom Briggs from the Teleplay by Robert L. Freedman | Directed by Melissa Rain Anderson | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreographed by Jessica Chen | Co-Produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama
Glass slippers, pumpkins, and dreams-come-true.
PRIMARY TRUST
JANUARY 22 – FEBRUARY 9, 2025
By Eboni Booth | Directed by Melissa Crespo
Poignant drama about embracing new beginnings.
KING JAMES
FEBRUARY 26 – MARCH 16, 2025
By Rajiv Joseph | Directed by Jamil Jude Co-Produced with Indiana Repertory Theatre
A slam dunk of a show about unlikely friends, basketball, and LeBron James.
••••••••••••••••••••••••
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
APRIL 23 – MAY 11, 2025
By Kate Hamill | Based on the novel by Jane Austen Directed by Jason O’Connell
Love triumphs over tradition in this playful adaptation.
THE NATIONAL PASTIME
JUNE 11 – 29, 2025
A Julie Lutz Cold Read World Premiere
Written by Rogelio Martinez | Directed by Johanna McKeon
WE HAVE LOVED DISCOVERING this timeless classic through a more contemporary lens. This “Enchanted” version feels fresh, buoyant, and relevant for today’s dreamers. Join us on a young woman’s journey of finding her true found family, her own strength, and the ability to make her dreams come true. A story of guardian angels, a strong imagination, the endurance of a dream, and the will to make it happen. What a joy to enter Cinderella’s world where animals can sing and dance, and impossible things can happen if you believe in yourself enough!
– Melissa Rain Anderson
director's note
MELISSA RAIN ANDERSON.
Impossible Things
HOW’S THIS FOR A CINDERELLA STORY:
In early 1956, Julie Andrews— then a 21-year-old British stage actress making a Broadway splash as the flower-shop-girl-turnedsocialite Eliza Doolittle in Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady —approached her American agent, Lou Wilson, with a proposition.
Mary Martin had recently starred in a television adaptation of the musical Peter Pan , which was an immediate hit for NBC, and Andrews wanted her own shot at stardom on the small screen. Could Wilson put in a good word for her with television execs?
Fortune—as is often the case in fairy tales—was on her side. The folks at CBS Television had seen Peter Pan and, wanting their own
slice of the ratings pie, tasked their team with dreaming up the next big children’s show, finally settling on Cinderella , the tale of a goodhearted orphan mistreated by her step-family whose decency in the face of cruelty earns her a seat at the table of nobility.
Wilson knew Andrews would be perfect, and CBS agreed. She’d already proven, in her own way, that she could transform from sooten to glamorous: My Fair Lady was, as was Pygmalion before it, a kindof Edwardian reworking of Cinderella—filtered, of course, through Greek mythology and Shaw’s classconsciousness. CBS’ Cinderella, on the other hand, would be feel-good from overture to finale, requiring something like a musical Fairy Godmother to help Andrews’ would-be princess debut at the ball in as spectacular a fashion as possible.
Julie Andrews had already proven, in her own way, that she could transform from sooten to glamorous: My Fair Lady was, as was Pygmalion before it, a kind-of Edwardian reworking of Cinderella.
As luck would have it, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II—the songwriting duo that had quite literally invented modern musical theatre with Oklahoma! in 1943—were on the lookout for their next project when their business manager Jerome Whyte ran into Lou Wilson, who wondered if the pair would be interested in the television production. “There’s only one way to find out,” Whtye replied. “Ask them.”
AFTER THE SHOW JULIE ANDREWS TOASTED TO THE REST OF THE CAST AND DRANK FROM HER GLASS SLIPPER, 1957. PHOTO: GORDON PARKS, THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/ SHUTTERSTOCK.
Cinderella made Julie Andrews a household name by bringing her into an astonishing amount of households: It’s estimated that 60 percent of all television owning homes in the country tuned in for the 90-minute program, more people— roughly 107 million—than had seen all previous Rodgers and Hammerstein shows combined.
On March 31, 1957—exactly 14 years, to the date, after Oklahoma! premiered on Broadway—Cinderella was broadcast live across the United States, following a marketing blitz (press notices, cast appearances, a promotional album), five and a half weeks of rehearsals, and two full run-throughs for cameras that the production team called their “out-oftown tryouts.”
The New York Times review the next morning announced that “ a major new musical had its premiere last night on television,” and critic Jack Gould heaped exceptional praise on Cinderella herself, declaring that she was “the best reason yet to buy a color set.” If Gould held any objection to her performance it was that she appeared “fully as beautiful behind the broom as under the tiara.” A good problem to have, if any.
Cinderella made Julie Andrews a household name by bringing her into an astonishing amount of households: It’s estimated that 60 percent of all television owning homes in the country tuned in for the 90-minute program, more people—roughly 107 million—than had seen all previous Rodgers and Ham-
merstein shows combined. Less than a decade later, it would do the same for a then 18-year-old Lesly Ann Warren, when CBS re-staged the show with a new script—commissioned by Rodgers and written by Joseph Schreck—and a new song salvaged from a deleted South Pacific number (“Loneliness of Evening”).
Thanks to emerging technology, this 1965 live telecast was committed to tape and rebroadcast as an annual event, later becoming a home video favorite. Hammersetin, who died in 1960, seemed to predict this longevity when, ahead of the 1957 airing, he told a reporter that Cinderella “will be seen more than once.” He continued: “It will be good enough to be seen on the stage, in the movies, and on television again.”
As of this writing we have not yet received a full-fledged film adaptation, though Hammerstein’s hunch that Cinderella would make its way to the theatre was immediately validated. Just a year after the first broadcast, in late 1958, the show was presented in London in the style of a holiday pantomime, and an American version was sporadically staged in the 1960s. The New York City Opera produced the show in 1993, in
1995, and again in 2004. A Broadway production, with a modernized script and new numbers saved from the Rodgers and Hammerstein cutting room floor, premiered in 2013.
But perhaps the most shining example of Cinderella’s durability is the 1997 television film starring Brandy and Whitney Houston, which introduced a whole new generation to Rodgers’ lush, romantic melodies and Hammerstein’s optimistic wit. This time, ABC took over broadcasting duties under the banner of its newly resurrected anthology series The Magical World of Disney, finally drawing a direct line, at least in the corporate multiverse of board rooms and merchandising, between Rodgers and Hammerstein and the 1950 animated classic.
Brand cynicism aside, Cinderella always managed to transcend the limitations
of its medium (the strict time slots of television) and the constant tweaking of its non-musical material (called, at different times by different critics, “slow,” “ordinary,” and “dull”) by maintaining the integrity of its songs, which still ring out with the open-heartedness of its title character, who champions goodness for goodness sake.
Today, it’s a musical that, with its defiantly cheery outlook, feels like it comes to us from some forgotten time. It might seem unlikely that its message—of kindness in the face of hatred, of just rewards for the steadfast and true—could reach us all, in a world where the notion of a real populist art seems increasingly impossible.
But perhaps you’ve heard: Impossible things are happening everyday.
– Matthew Nerber
THE 1957 TV ADAPTATION OF CINDERELLA, STARRING JULIE ANDREWS. PHOTO: GORDON PARKS, THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/ SHUTTERSTOCK.
The Princess with a Thousand Faces
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART
of the popular Cinderella fairy tale?
When the pumpkin from her garden transforms into a golden carriage? When the eagle drops her sandal into the lap of the Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus? When her stepsisters are blinded by magical doves during her wedding to the prince? When she is drowned by her jealous stepsister but later reincarnated from a golden lotus? When Kermit the Frog explains that he could have saved everyone a lot of headaches and mistaken identity if only he had been asked in the first place?
Believe it or not, all of these details belong to the long history of
the tale we know today as Cinderella, most popularly depicted in both the beloved 1950 Disney animated film and the many versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical—including this Syracuse Stage production.
Familiar elements that may be linked to the Cinderella narrative can be traced back to the 7th century BCE, and the various stories of Rhodopis, who worked as a slave alongside the Greek fabulist Aesop.
Over the course of the next two and a half millennia, archetypal stories of a downtrodden and abused young maiden whose natural beauty and purity of spirit ultimately are rewarded by her a-
Of all of these tales, the one penned by 17th century French author Charles Perrault in 1697, Cendrillon ou la Petite Pantoufle de Verre ("Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper") contains the most familiar components that color our contemporary understanding of the tale.
scendency to a royal position and true love infiltrate the literature and legends of ancient and modern cultures, both Western and Eastern. Asian and Arabian renditions from the 9th to 14th centuries CE are replete with elements of murder, reincarnation, and cannibalism and do not always end happily for the protagonist.
ILLUSTRATION FROM CHARLES PERRAULT'S CENDRILLON OU LA PETITE PANTOUFLE DE VERRE CIRCA 1697.
Of all of these tales, the one penned by 17th century French author Charles Perrault in 1697, Cendrillon ou la Petite Pantoufle de Verre ("Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper") contains the most familiar components that color our contemporary understanding of the tale: The fairy godmother; the pumpkin carriage; the glass slipper; the transformation of animals into her retinue. Itself a retelling of an earlier Italian version, Perrault’s appears to be the first one specifically intended for children. Perrault also has the distinction of attributing the stories to “Mother Goose.”
Despite the earlier legendary connection to Aesop, this version is the first to align the narrative with a series of morals about the true nature of inner beauty. In the end, Cinderella forgives her family for their cruelty and neglect— the beginning of a formal tradition of tales ending with “happily ever after.”
In the early 19th century, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published a series of folk tales from oral traditions that contained their account of Aschenputtel. Unlike Perrault’s, their version is darker and heavily Teutonic in nature, serving more as a dire social
warning against immorality than a celebration of humanity’s better angels. For example: in order to fit their feet into the golden slipper, the stepmother cuts off one of her daughter’s toes and the other’s heel. In the end, Cinderella’s family suffers violent retribution and punishment for their inhumanity towards her.
Cinderella’s story has been retold in every medium imaginable, from theatre and ballet to opera, film, and Japanese anime. The first film rendering occurred in 1899, directed by motion picture pioneer Georges Méliès. The Disney studios have produced no fewer than six versions between 1922 and the present.
Animated depictions of the tale have incorporated beloved characters such as Betty Boop, Elmer Fudd, Popeye, and Shrek. Feminist modernizations, such as the 1998 Drew Barrymore vehicle Ever After, have attempted to restore Cinderella’s agency as the crafter of her own fate. It could even be argued that there are seeds of Cinderella in Molly Ringwald’s Gen X character from the iconic 1984 John Hughes romantic comedy Sixteen Candles.
The story has also inspired its share of parodies in television and film, ranking with Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life as one of the most imitated tropes in American sitcoms. From Jerry Lewis’s slapstick genderreversed Cinderfella (1960) to Sesame Street’s CinderElmo and Jim Henson’s Hey, Cinderella! (1969), the story has been ridiculed, twisted, reconstituted, and lampooned, but always with love and affection—no matter how wickedly.
In 1976, Austrian-born child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim wrote his magnum opus, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, in which he uses Freudian psychoanalytic techniques to deconstruct several familiar children’s stories. This book, acknowledged by musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim as one of the inspirations for his 1986 Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods, which asks what happens after “Happily Ever After,” interprets these tales as dark journeys
into the psyche of children on the verge of adolescence.
Bettelheim’s analysis of Cinderella leans heavily on the Brothers Grimm version of the tale and delineates the difference between the prepubescent protagonist and her stepsisters, who have already entered into the cycle of menstruation. This contrast is designed to explore the anxiety of the journey from innocence to experience and to critique the transactional value of marginalized female sexuality in a patriarchal society.
But regardless of their context, there is no doubt that these hundreds of versions of the classic fairy tale have propelled Cinderella into the collective consciousness as one of the most beloved and retold stories across the globe, and that it will continue to be reinterpreted for years to come, as long as young people can dream of a better life from their “own little corner of their own little room.”
– Dr. Robert Lloyd-Charles, PhD
MLLE. BARRAL AND COMPANY IN CINDERELLA DIRECTED BY GEORGES MÉLIÈS, 1899.
ANNA MARIA ALBERGHETTI AND JERRY LEWIS IN CINDERFELLA. DIRECTED BY FRANK TASHLIN, 1960.
KERMIT THE FROG AND JIM HENSON ON THE SET OF HEY, CINDERELLA! DIRECTED BY JIM HENSON, 1969.
DREW BARRYMORE AND DOUGRAY SCOTT IN EVER AFTER: A CINDERELLA STORY. DIRECTED BY ANDY TENNANT, 1998.
CAST
Andrej Alexander (u/s: Ball Guest, Horse, Villager, Charles) is excited to make his Syracuse Stage debut in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. He is a sophomore B.F.A. actorsinger at Syracuse University. Previously, he performed regionally in the Twin Cities at Children’s Theater Company and Theater Latté Da. Some of his favorite roles include Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Charlie in Merrily We Roll Along, Barfee in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Jack Kelly in Newsies Jr. He extends his gratitude to his family, friends, and Syracuse University Department of Drama professors for their unwavering support.
Ann Arvia (Stepmother) debuts at Syracuse Stage in her third Cinderella. Previous productions include the Fairy Godmother at both the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Geva Theatre Center, where she also appeared as Mrs. Van Daan in the critically acclaimed co-production with Arizona Theatre Company of The Diary of Anne Frank. NYC: Broadway - Mary Poppins (Bird Woman), Les Miserables (Mme. Thenardier), Beauty and the Beast. Off Broadway - Kid Victory (Vineyard Theater), Time and Again (Manhattan Theater Club). Regional: Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s world premiere of Catherine Trieschmann’s The Nativity Variations as Peggy; Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Playmakers Repertory Company, Arena Stage, Goodspeed Opera House. Film: 3 Backyards, Let It Snow, Man on a Ledge. TV: Elsbeth, FBI: Most Wanted, City on a Hill, The Blacklist, Law & Order: SVU, The Affair, Nurse Jackie, The Big C, Rescue Me. www.annarvia.net
Zach Asnis (Charles) is so excited to return to Syracuse Stage in Cinderella. Zach is a senior acting major at Syracuse University from New York City. Past credits include Jetsam in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production) and Zebulun in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (People’s Bank Theatre). Zach wants to send a big thank you to his immediate and distant family (Love you Mom, Dad, Danny, Liz, and Nala), friends, and mentors for the continuous support, love, and inspiration. “This one’s for you, Cheryl” - Z
Kailee Regan Brandt (she/her) (Villager, Ball Guest, Mice, Assistant Dance Captain) is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage this holiday season! She is from Honolulu, HI, and is a senior musical theater major at Syracuse University. Previous credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production), Candide, The Pirates of Penzance, La Calisto (The Glimmerglass Festival), Dance Nation, Head Over Heels (Syracuse University Department of Drama), and Cameron Ross in
CAST
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS). She is so grateful to be part of this production and would like to thank her friends, family, and her Syracuse University Department of Drama professors for their constant love and support. @kaileerbrandt
Sydney Carmona ( Joy) is thrilled to be making her mainstage debut at Syracuse Stage! She is a senior musical theater major at Syracuse University, and is grateful to be spending her last semester on campus performing with her wonderful peers and faculty. Most recently, Sydney was involved in the NAMT Festival of New Musicals, playing “Bus” in Lighthouse. Other credits include Ragtime at the Hangar Theatre, Syracuse University Department of Drama New Works New Voices (Lighthouse), and the Syracuse Stage Children’s Tour production of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. She would like to thank her friends, family, and mentors for all their support! IG: @sydney.nae
Emily Castillo-Langley (she/her) (u/s: Joy, Grace) is a senior musical theater major from Denton, TX. Past credits include EVITA (Ensemble/Swing) at The REV Theatre Co., the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production A Christmas Carol (Swing) and What The Constitution Means to Me (The Student) at Syracuse Stage, and the Syracuse University Department of Drama mainstage productions of Pippin (Ensemble) and Dance Nation (Vanessa/Moms). She extends gratitude to her amazing parents for their endless support and to her professors and mentors at Syracuse University. IG: @emilyclangley
Jude Chong (u/s: Villager, Ball Guest, Horse, Coachman) is a sophomore musical theater major from Miami, Florida. He is a recent graduate of New World School of the Arts. He is thrilled to be making his professional debut at Syracuse Stage this season! He wants to thank his roommates, friends, family, and all the incredible Syracuse University Department of Drama professors for making this possible. #SwingNation @judeachong
Ethan Clark Davis (Villager, Ball Guest, Horse) is a senior musical theater major from Atlanta, Georgia and is thrilled to be making his Syracuse Stage debut. This is his fourth and final production as a Syracuse University Drama student and he is honored to have worked with this wonderful company. Credits in the Department of Drama include Sweet Charity (Swing) and Head Over Heels (Ensemble, u/s: Dametas). He would like to thank his peers, instructors, and loving family for their support throughout his time in Syracuse.
CAST
Michael Di Leo (he/him/his) (Villager, Ball Guest, Coachman, u/s: Lionel, Assistant Dance Captain) is a senior musical theater major here at Syracuse University. He is thrilled to be returning for his second Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production this holiday season. Recent credits include: Ensemble and Pippin u/s in Pippin within the Department of Drama (mainstage), and Swing in Newsies at The REV Theatre. Michael would like to thank Melissa, Jessica, Brian, and the rest of the Cinderella team for their artistry and leadership. Additional gratitude is sent to all his family, friends, and faculty for their unwavering support. (IG: @michaeldileo_)
Gwendalyn Rose Díaz (u/s: Cinderella, Grace, Joy) is honored to be making her third appearance in a Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production with Cinderella! She is a senior B.F.A. musical theater major and a nutrition minor at Syracuse University. Recent credits include: Leading Player in Pippin (Department of Drama, mainstage), Street Singer and Sister in A Christmas Carol (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production), u/s Ariel and Flounder in Disney's The Little Mermaid (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production), and Pipe in Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Department of Drama, studio project). Gwendalyn would like to thank Syracuse Stage, the Department of Drama, and her friends and family for their support. Keep up with her on Instagram: @gwendalynrosediaz
Matthew Dodaro (Pit Singer, u/s: Prince Christopher) is thrilled to be joining Syracuse Stage for the first time in this beloved classic! Originally from Phoenix, AZ, Matthew is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in musical theater at Syracuse University and has been so thankful for the ability to work with his friends and teachers as part of this Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production! Matthew is also immensely grateful for the staff at Syracuse Stage, his professors, as well as his family and mentors back home who have helped guide him to where he is today! IG: @mattyd3464
Madeleine Flanagan (she/her) ( Villager, Ball Guest ) is thrilled to be making her Syracuse Stage debut! She is currently a senior studying musical theater in the Syracuse University Department of Drama. Recently, she played Gynecia in Head Over Heels (Department of Drama mainstage). Special thanks to Melissa, Jessica, Brian, and the rest of the Cinderella team for their overwhelming support and leadership. Madeleine extends her utmost gratitude to her parents for supporting her through all of her artistic endeavors.
CAST
Adeera Harris (Grace) is a Chicagoland native and a senior B.F.A. musical theater major at Syracuse University. She has performed in several productions with the Department of Drama, including Barbecue and Head Over Heels. Beyond Syracuse, she has contributed to the Chicago theater scene, performing in productions such as Pippin at Music Theater Works, Idaho Repertory Theater’s touring production of What The Constitution Means to Me, collaborating with Black Ensemble Theater, among others. Adeera is excited to be part of Cinderella, and is grateful for the experience. She sends love to her friends, family, and teachers who have supported her artistic journey.
Trisha Jeffrey (Fairy Godmother, Dance Captain) is delighted to make her Syracuse Stage debut in this magical production! She recently starred as Fannie Lee Chaney in the world premiere play Three Mothers at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany. Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal) OBC, All Shook Up (Lorraine+), Rent (Joanne/Mimi+), Motown (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson). Regional: Beautiful (Lucille/Shirley/Janelle), Jekyll & Hyde (Lucy), Once On This Island (Ti Moune), Caroline, Or Change (Emmie). BroadwayWorld Chicago, Black Excellence Awards for Celie in The Color Purple. Helen Hayes & Jeff Award Nominations. Film/TV: Things Like This; An Anomalous Love; Dear Edward. www.trishajeffrey.com. @trishajeffrey
Morgan Karam (Dove) is a senior musical theater major at Syracuse University originally from Scottsdale, AZ. She is so excited to be in her first Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production! Most recently she was the Moorhen in The Moors (Syracuse University Department of Drama) and was the student assistant director for Dial M for Murder (Syracuse Stage). Many thanks to the crew and cast of this amazing production! And hugs and kisses to family and friends who traveled to come see the show! Tweet Tweet!
Carsten Kjaerulff (Villager, Ball Guest, Horse) is a sophomore musical theater major from sweet, sunny Florida. He is enchanted to be making his Syracuse Stage debut this holiday season, and you may have seen him earlier this year in the premiere of the world is hours as Arlo. In his free time, Carsten enjoys climbing, reading the same few books on repeat, and solving Rubik’s cubes. Find him anywhere on social media as @carstenkjae. Happy Holidays!
CAST
David Lowenstein ( King Maximillian ) was last seen as Fezziwig/Old Joe in A Christmas Carol , Grimsby in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Miss Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical, Cogsworth in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Mr. Greenway in Elf The Musical (SALT Award Best Supporting Actor in a Musical). Other Syracuse Stage credits include Professor Marvel and The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, Admiral Boom, Bank Chairman, and Policeman in Mary Poppins, and his SALT Award-winning turn as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Lowenstein’s Broadway credits include: The Frogs at Lincoln Center, Seussical, On the Town, 1776 (Joseph Hewes), King David, A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden, and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. David is professor of practice in the Syracuse University Department of Drama, as well as an alumnus, and was the Artist in Residence at Cazenovia College for 16 years.
Celia Madeoy (Queen Constantina, u/s: Fairy Godmother) is thrilled to perform again this season with Syracuse Stage. Professional credits include acting at The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare & Company, Gateway Theater, REV Theatre Company, The Rogue Theatre, and The American Shakespeare Center. She has directed and performed at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and taught alongside distinguished acting faculty of the Royal Shakespeare Company, British American Drama Academy, Rose Bruford College, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Favorite roles at Syracuse Stage include the Wardrobe in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Deb in Elf the Musical for which she won a Syracuse Area Live Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress. M.F.A: The Theatre School/DePaul, Chicago.
Madison Manning (Cinderella) is a junior musical theater major at Syracuse University (BLEED ORANGE), and she is overjoyed to be doing her second Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production. Past performances include: A Christmas Carol (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Guys and Dolls (Department of Drama, mainstage), New Works New Voices workshop reading of the 2024 Richard Rodgers Award-winning new musical Lighthouse, reading of Pathways: A New Musical Play thesis workshop (Syracuse University). Lots of love and gratitude to her family, her heart Damaris, instructors, and voice teacher Marina de Ratmiroff for their unwavering support and for helping her achieve what she thought impossible. Glory to God! Lamentations 3:22-23 | @_madison.manning_
CAST
Molly Martin (Villager, Ball Guest) is a senior musical theater major in the Syracuse University Department of Drama from Las Vegas, NV. This is Molly’s first Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production. Some of her other credits include Head Over Heels, Myth of the Mountain (Syracuse University Department of Drama), and School of Rock at the Las Vegas Super Summer Theater. Molly is so grateful for this opportunity, and is thrilled to be able to perform in her favorite fairy tale. She would like to thank the cast, the creative team, her friends, and her family for all of their support.
Darrell Morris, Jr. (Prince Christopher) is thrilled to be joining the Syracuse fam with this beautiful story! He recently appeared in the National Tour of Les Miz (Montparnasse, u/s Enjolras) and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Select credits include Sense and Sensibility, The Scottsboro Boys, Come From Away, and a gender-bent Boys from Syracuse, off-Broadway. His voice can be heard in Wakanda Forever, Haunted Mansion and Insidious 4. A Texas native, Darrell holds an M.F.A. (The Boston Conservatory) and a B.M. (Baylor University). Thank you Val for teaching me to love fiercely. Big love to my chosen family. Endless thanks to GTG.
Justin Roach (he/him) ( Villager, Ball Guest, Horse ) is a sophomore musical theater major from Fort Washington, MD. Some of his regional credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Stephen Foster Story (SFDA). This is his first production with Syracuse Stage, and he is grateful to have worked with such a kind and supportive company.
Tobias Rytting (he/him) (Villager, Ball Guest, Horse) is a senior musical theater major from Houston, TX. You may have seen him in the Syracuse University Department of Drama productions of Pippin (Ensemble), Head Over Heels (Basilius standby), Sweet Charity (ensemble, u/s Vittorio), and Barbecue (James T). He feels very fortunate to be working with this wonderful cast and crew.
Blake Segal (Lionel ) is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage after appearing in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Our Town, The Play That Goes Wrong, Noises Off, Amadeus, and Matilda The Musical. National Tour: Mary Poppins. Regional: Williamstown, The Old Globe, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Yale Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, PlayMakers Rep, Connecticut Rep, Chautauqua Theater Company, Adirondack Theater Festival, Tantrum Theater,
CAST
The Public Theatre, Virginia Theater Festival; NYC: Noor Theatre, The Araca Project, NYMF, Fault Line Theatre, Three Day Hangover. TV: Blue Bloods; Awards: Barrymore & BroadwayWorld Award nominee.Training: University of Virginia (B.A.) and Yale School of Drama (M.F.A.); Faculty: Syracuse University Department of Drama. Please visit www.blakesegal.com for more.
Nicolette Smith (she/they) (Villager, Ball Guest) is a senior musical theater major from Bucks County, PA. She is thrilled and grateful to be making her Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production debut in Cinderella! Prior Syracuse University Department of Drama credits include Pippin (mainstage), Failure: A Love Story (mainstage), and The Moors (small scale). They are incredibly grateful to the team and Syracuse Stage for the opportunity and consistent support!
Gillian Stoltz (she/her) (u/s: Villager, Ball Guest, Mice, Dove) is thrilled to join swing nation and make her Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production debut! A senior musical theatre major from Marietta, Georgia, she most recently closed the Syracuse University Department of Drama production of Pippin in the Ensemble and understudying Fastrada. Favorite credits include My Fair Lady, Escape to Margaritaville, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Cortland Repertory Theatre, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Snoopy), and Disaster! (Sister Mary). She is especially grateful for the extraordinary people that make up Cinderella! Love always to Mom, Dad, Mikayla, Charlie, her grandparents, and Ben for their unwavering support. ig: @gillian.elisabeth
Emma Sucato (she/her) (u/s: Queen Constantina, Stepmother) is a senior musical theater major from Dallas, Texas. She is thrilled to be in her first Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production! Recent credits: Pirates of Penzance (Isabel, Ensemble), Candide (Ensemble), and Elizabeth Cree (Choreographer) at The Glimmerglass Festival. Department of Drama credits include Guys and Dolls (Ensemble), Head Over Heels (Associate Choreographer), and Sweet Charity (Assistant Choreographer). She would like to thank Syracuse Stage and everyone involved in this show! Much love to her family and friends for their unwavering love and support. @emmasucato
Lindsay Thurber (u/s: Villager, Ball Guest, Mice) is a senior in Syracuse University’s musical theater B.F.A. program and is thrilled to be making her Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production debut! Most recently, Lindsay was seen as Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof at Shenandoah Summer Music Theater, and as Philoclea in
CAST
Head Over Heels and Lucy in The Myth of the Mountain (staged reading) with the Syracuse University Department of Drama. She cannot thank everyone enough for this wonderful opportunity! www.lindsaythurber.com
Franco Tomaino (he/she/they) ( Pit Singer, u/s: King Maximillian) is a senior acting major who is thrilled to be making his Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama coproduction debut in Cinderella. Most recently, he has been seen in Department of Drama productions of Head Over Heels as Basilius and Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical as Lorenzo. Also a songwriter, Franco’s music is available on all streaming platforms! Be on the lookout for his new EP, Trophy, coming February 2025. Franco is incredibly grateful to be working with such a stellar and dedicated team and would like to thank his friends, family, and Gigi. @heeyitsfranco
Bella Zonderman ( Villager, Ball Guest, Mice ) is a senior musical theater major from Schenectady, NY. Regional credits include West Side Story (Glimmerglass Opera Festival) and Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production). Department of Drama credits include Dance Nation and Lighthouse: A Staged Reading. Bella is thrilled to be back for this holiday season at Syracuse Stage, and would like to thank all of her professors in the Department of Drama, her friends, and family for their guidance and support. IG: @bellazonderman
CREATIVE TEAM
Kimberly Powers (Scenic Designer) is excited to return to Syracuse after designing A Christmas Carol and Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Her work has been seen at venues across the country including Riverside Theatre, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Florida Repertory Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, TheatreSquared, Virginia Stage Company, and Northern Stage. During her career, she has been a design assistant, scenic artist and muralist, props master, event designer and coordinator, graphic designer, and exhibit designer. She is a part of the team that was awarded the 2022 Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize from OPERA. Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. Kvpowersdesign.com; @kvpowersdesign
Ryan J. Moller (Costume Designer) Previously for Syracuse Stage: Matilda The Musical. Regional credits include: Frozen (regional premiere), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mary Poppins, Joseph… Dreamcoat, and Beauty and the Beast (Tuacahn), Beauty and the Beast (Ord-
CREATIVE TEAM
way) The Wiz, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Treasure Island, 42nd Street, Chicago, Legally Blonde (Fulton), The Play That Goes Wrong, Moon Over Buffalo, Steel Magnolias (Oregon Cabaret), White Christmas, 12 Angry Men (Engeman), Guys and Dolls, Hello, Dolly! (MSMT), Rock of Ages (NCL). Ryan has worked five seasons with Santa Fe Opera and was associate designer for Donna Del Lago at the MET Opera, NYC. Next up: The Wizard of Oz (Tuacahn). Member USA 829. More info: RyanMollerDesigns.com
Bobbie Zlotnik (Wig Designer) Syracuse Stage; Agatha Christie’s Murder on The Orient Express, Tender Rain, Our Town. Off-Broadway; Emojiland (Drama Desk Nom.), Ibsen’s Ghost, Gatsby Immersive, Fairycakes, Mornings At Seven, The Book of Merman, Drop Dead Perfect, Disenchanted, Forbidden Broadway, Bed Bugs!!!, and many more. National Tours; On Your Feet, Emojiland, Cocomelon LIVE Film/TV; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Gilded Age, A Holiday Spectacular, Halston, Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness www.BobbieZlotnik.com
Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (Lighting Designer) is a professional lighting designer. Recent designs include I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter at the Denver Center, and The Old Man and the Old Moon for South Coast Repertory. He recently toured The White Feather with INTUIT Artship Ballet, to the Kennedy Center in D.C. and the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in NYC. Past productions at Syracuse Stage include A Christmas Carol, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, among others. He is the resident lighting designer and Co-Associate Artistic Director at the Great River Shakespeare Festival. He is a member of the United Scenic Artists. See his complete design portfolio here: www.lradesigns.com
Jacqueline R. Herter (Sound Designer) has served as resident sound designer at Syracuse Stage and Syracuse University Department of Drama since 1997. She shifted and combined theatrical design with video/film design for the 20/21 season. Herter has designed for Indiana Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena, the Wilma, Geva, Round House, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Virginia Stage, and the Hangar Theater as well as other theatres across the nation. Some favorite designs have been: Annapurna, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Next to Normal, Mary Poppins, Nine, Hairspray, The Overwhelming, Caroline, or Change, The Miracle Worker, The Wolves, The Day Room, The Christians, Radio Golf, Parade, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Red Noses, The Real Thing, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, M. Butterfly, A Raisin in the Sun, A Lesson Before Dying, Copenhagen, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Inherit the Wind, and Big River.
David Murakami (Projection Designer) Recent: Das Rheingold at Seattle Opera, American Idiot at the Mark Taper Forum, 5-SKIES aboard Princess Cruises. Upcoming: Aida with Arizona Opera (as Film Director) and Harvey Milk with
CREATIVE TEAM
Opera Parallèle. Other companies include Berkshire Theatre, Calgary Opera, Celebration Theatre, Dallas Opera, Des Moines Opera, East West Players, LA Opera, LINES Ballet, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, McCoy Rigby, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opéra de Montréal, Pacific Symphony, Presidio Theatre, Riyadh Season, Seattle Opera, SFJazz, Skylight Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and Virginia Opera. Member of USA829 and lecturer at UC Irvine. www.davidmurakami.com
McBee (Production Stage Manager) Broadway: Melissa Etheridge My Window (American Theatre Wing Unsung Hero Award), 24hr Plays and Musicals. Select off-Broadway: A Sign of the Times, Jersey Boys, Fiddler of the Roof in Yiddish, The Other Josh Cohen, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Murder For Two, Working: A Musical (Drama Desk Award) Recent Tour: Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret. Select Regional: Little Shop of Horrors, The Cher Show, Milllion Dollar Quartet, Mystic Pizza (Ogunquit Playhouse); Steel Magnolias, Rock of Ages, Chicago, Guys and Dolls (Theatre Aspen); Kinky Boots (Arvada Center); Many Productions at Cape Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse. Proud AEA member. www.rebeccamcbee.com
Jacob Nguyen (Assistant Lighting Designer) is excited to join on as the Assistant Lighting Designer for Cinderella. He is a freelance lighting designer based in Orange County. Born and raised in Orange County, Jacob has worked in venues such as Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, South Coast Repertory, The Broad Stage, Irvine Barclay Theater, Costa Mesa Playhouse, and Long Beach Playhouse. He is a 2024 graduate from the University of California, Irvine, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and an Honors in Lighting Design. A more complete design portfolio can be found at www.jdnlighting.com
Bass/Valle Casting (Casting) formerly Harriet Bass Casting, is a leading NYC boutique casting office. To know more about their upcoming projects and casting philosophy please visit www.bassvallecasting.com. Harriet Bass has cast for ABC/TV, Fox Television Studios, The Public Theatre: NEW WORK NOW, The Minetta Lane Theatre, The Women’s Project, La MaMa E.T.C., New York Women in Film and Television, and The Jewish Repertory Theatre. She has cast the last three of the late August Wilson’s ten part play series: the original Radio Golf, Broadway Gem of the Ocean, and off-Broadway Jitney. Harriet is also a leading educator in audition technique, side and monologue coaching, and the business of acting. She has taught at the nation’s top universities and professional training programs. Gama Valle is a director, playwright, screenwriter, children’s book author, and casting director. His casting credits include: The American Tradition, The Great Novel, Split Second, I Wanna Fuck Like Romeo and Juliet, among others. He is a proud member of New Light
CREATIVE TEAM
Theatre Ensemble and the recipient of the Van Lier Directing Fellowship at Repertorio Español. Gama received the First Prize in playwriting from Puerto Rico’s Institute of Culture for his play Queishd&Dilit. Their regional casting credits include: Mark Taper Forum, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, Trinity Rep, San Jose Rep, Geva, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public, Merrimack Rep, Longwharf Theatre, Alliance Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, Dallas Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Portland Center Stage, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feature films credits include: Pushing Hands directed by Ang Lee, Underheat, starring Lee Grant, First We Take Manhattan, produced by Golden Harvest Inc., and Graves End, directed by Sal Stabile.
DIRECTOR
Melissa Rain Anderson is happy to be back at Syracuse Stage where she has directed A Christmas Carol, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and The Wolves. Selected credits: Little Shop of Horrors at TUTS Houston, Dial M for Murder and The Play that Goes Wrong at Rep Theater of St. Louis, Murder on the Orient Express at Pioneer Theatre, Macbeth, Big River and The Cocoanuts at Utah Shakespeare Festival; The Play that Goes Wrong at Cleveland Playhouse; All is Calm and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Alabama Shakespeare Festival and HAIR, La Cage Aux Folles, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Spamalot and Spelling Bee at Geva Theatre. Upcoming: The Wizard of Oz at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Melissa is a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers. She lives in New York City with her husband, actor Jim Poulos. Please visit Melissarainanderson.com
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Brian Cimmet has been the Music Director for both the Department of Drama and Syracuse Stage since 2010. He is also a member of the full-time faculty and serves as Program Coordinator for Musical Theater. Outside of Syracuse, Brian’s credits include the Broadway companies of The Drowsy Chaperone, Mary Poppins, and Grease; the off-Broadway companies of I Love You Because (also the cast album), The Tin Pan Alley Rag, Play the Bassoon Soon, Son, and Newsical; and a lifetime of summer stock and regional theater. In an unrelated but parallel universe centered on crossword puzzles, Brian hosts a weekly podcast (Fill Me In) and an annual tournament (Lollapuzzoola), and if that sort of thing interests you, you can visit www.bemoresmarter.com to learn more.
CHOREOGRAPHER
Jessica Chen is a Chinese American choreographer and Artistic Director of J CHEN PROJECT, a non-profit contemporary dance company in NYC. Known for her “visceral, emotionally charged movements,” as noted by the HuffPost, Jessica’s work celebrates diverse narratives. Her credits include choreographing Cabaret, Spring Awakening, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, along with performances at New York Fashion Week, Lincoln Center, MACY’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the World Expo in Shanghai. She is a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women and a 2023 Bessie Award nominee. Her acclaimed show AAPI HEROES will perform at the Museum of Chinese in America in February 2025. www.jessicachen.co
AUTHORS
Richard Rodgers (Music) Richard Rodgers contribution to the musical theatre of his day was extraordinary, and his influence on the musical theatre of today and tomorrow is legendary. His career spanned more than six decades, his hits ranging from the silver screens of Hollywood to the bright lights of Broadway, London and beyond. He was the recipient of countless awards, including Pulitzers, Tonys, Oscars, Grammys and Emmys. He wrote more than 900 published songs and 40 Broadway musicals. Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and Lorenz Hart (18951943) wrote their first shows together when both were still students attending Columbia University. Their breakthrough came with the score for a 1925 charity show, The Garrick Gaieties, which introduced the classic valentine to their hometown, “Manhattan.” Over the next five years they wrote 15 musical comedies for Broadway and London’s West End before relocating to Hollywood in 1930, where they contributed songs and wrote the scores for several movie musicals, most notably Love Me Tonight, starring Maurice Chevalier. In 1935 they returned to New York to write the score for Billy Rose’s circus musical Jumbo, launching a golden era that included On Your Toes, Babes In Arms, I’d Rather Be Right, I Married An Angel, The Boys From Syracuse, Too Many Girls, Higher And Higher, Pal Joey and By Jupiter. In 1943 the partnership disbanded temporarily when Rodgers collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on Oklahoma!, but it resumed with a revision of their 1927 hit A Connecticut Yankee, which opened on November 17, 1943 – less than a week before Lorenz Hart’s death. For the next two decades Richard Rodgers collaborated exclusively with Oscar Hammerstein II on such musicals as Carousel, Allegro, South Pacific, The King And I, Pipe Dream and The Sound of Music. Collectively, their musicals have garnered dozens of awards, including Pulitzer Prizes, Tonys, Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Drama Desk, Drama Critics’ Circle, Outer Critics’ Circle, Laurence Olivier, and Evening Standard Awards. After Hammerstein’s death in 1960, Rodgers continued to write for the musical stage, including No Strings, and collaborations with Martin Charnin,
AUTHORS
Stephen Sondheim and Sheldon Harnick. His fortieth, and final, Broadway musical, I Remember Mama, opened on Broadway less than eight months before his death on December 30, 1979. The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway was renamed in his honor, and Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on a US postage stamp at the end of the last century.
Oscar Hammerstein II (Book and Lyrics) was born on July 12, 1895 in New York City. His father, William, was a theatre manager and for many years director of Hammerstein’s Victoria, the most popular vaudeville theatre of its day. His uncle, Arthur Hammerstein, was a successful Broadway producer and his grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein, a famous opera impresario. Hammerstein started writing lyrics for the Columbia University Varsity shows while studying law. His earliest works included musical comedies written with a Columbia undergraduate seven years his junior named Richard Rodgers. (The 1920 varsity show, Fly With Me, was composed by Rodgers with lyrics by both Hammerstein and a fellow classmate of his named Lorenz Hart.) Withdrawing from Columbia Law School after his second year to pursue a career in theatre, Hammerstein took a job with his uncle as an assistant stage manager. In 1919 Hammerstein’s first play, The Light, was produced by his Uncle Arthur; it lasted four performances. Undaunted, he continued to write both lyrics and librettos, principally with Otto Harbach as his collaborating author. His first success, with Harbach, Vincent Youmans and Herbert Stothart, was Wildflower in 1923. Hammerstein found his niche with some of the greatest composers of his day, breathing new life into the moribund artform of operetta with such classics as Rose-Marie (music by Rudolf Friml), TheDesert Song (Sigmund Romberg), The New Moon (Romberg), and Song of the Flame (George Gershwin). With Jerome Kern, Hammerstein wrote eight musicals, including Sweet Adeline, Music in the Air and their masterwork, Show Boat. His last musical before embarking on an exclusive partnership with Richard Rodgers was Carmen Jones, the highly-acclaimed 1943 all-black revision of Georges Bizet’s tragic opera Carmen. During the years that Hammerstein was redefining the terms of operetta, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were challenging the accepted norms of musical comedy with shows that set new standards for wit, sophistication and innovation. The Rodgers & Hammerstein partnership began with Oklahoma! (1943). Like Hammerstein’s Show Boat and Rodgers & Hart’s Pal Joey, the first Rodgers & Hammerstein musical was a groundbreaking milestone, blending musical comedy and operetta into a whole new genre - the musical play. Oklahoma! was also the start of the most successful partnership in Broadway history and was followed by Carousel, Allegro, South Pacific, The King And I, Me And Juliet, Pipe Dream, Flower Drum Song and The Sound of Music. Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote one musical specifically for the big screen - State Fair - and one for television - Cinderella. Collectively, their musicals have garnered dozens of awards including: Pulitzer Prizes; Tonys, Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys; and Drama Desk, Drama Critics’ Circle, Outer Critics’ Circle, Laurence Olivier, and Evening
AUTHORS
Standard Awards. As producers, Rodgers & Hammerstein presented plays, musicals and revivals, including John van Druten’s I Remember Mama, Anita Loos’ Happy Birthday, Irving Berlin’s blockbuster Annie Get Your Gun, the national tour of Show Boat (1947-49) and six of their own stage musicals (from the Pulitzerwinning South Pacific in 1949 to the Tony-winning The Sound of Music ten years later). They also produced the motion picture version of Oklahoma! and founded their own music publishing firm, Williamson Music (basing the name on the fact that both of their fathers were named William). Oscar Hammerstein II was a member of the board of directors of many professional organizations, including the Dramatists Guild and the Screen Writers’ Guild. He received many personal honors and awards including five honorary degrees, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Academy Awards and five Tony Awards. His last musical was The Sound of Music, written with Richard Rodgers in 1959; his last song was “Edelweiss,” written for that musical during its Boston tryout. Oscar Hammerstein II died at his farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on the morning of August 23, 1960. In 1995 Hammerstein’s centennial was celebrated worldwide with commemorative recordings, books, concerts and an award-winning PBS special, Some Enchanted Evening. The ultimate tribute came the following season, when Oscar Hammerstein II had three musicals playing on Broadway simultaneously: Show Boat (1995 Tony Award winner, Best Musical Revival); The King and I (1996 Tony Award winner, Best Musical Revival); and State Fair (1996 Tony Award nominee for Best Score). “The Careful Dreamer,” a Time Magazine cover story on Oscar Hammerstein II, was published on October 20, 1947. A biography, Getting to Know Him by Hugh Fordin, was first published by Random House in 1977. A revised edition of Hammerstein’s Lyrics, edited by his son William Hammerstein and containing an introductory essay by the lyricist, plus a preface by his protege Stephen Sondheim, was published by Hal Leonard Publishing in 1985. The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2008.
Tom Briggs (Adaptation) Director of The R&H Theater Library (precursor to R&H Theatricals) for over a dozen years, Tom Briggs began his love affair with R&H as a youngster in Wisconsin, appearing in productions of Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Carousel. His years as a young adult found him singing and dancing his heart out, opening for such luminaries of the era as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Sonny & Cher, Tom Jones, The Association, The Carpenters, B.J. Thomas and Vikki Carr. He toured with Mike Douglas (including appearances on his talk show and in his Las Vegas act), Tennessee Ernie Ford, Doc Severinsen (including Vegas and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson), Barbara Mandrell, Guy Lombardo, Red Skelton, and such troupes as The Young Americans, The Brothers & Sisters, Todays Children and The Fresh Collection. After receiving his BFA from the University of Wisconsin, he attended the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, while also being scholarship student with the Pacific Ballet Company. As a director/choreographer, Tom’s affiliations include
AUTHORS
The O’Neil Theatre Center, Chicago Premiere Society, Dorset Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Pennsylvania, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Fulton Opera House, Candlewood Playhouse, National Theatre Institute, and as a founding director of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped. As the Producing Artistic Director of St. Bart’s Playhouse in NYC, Tom produced over 25 productions, many of which he directed, including an acclaimed production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s rarely produced musical, Allegro. He has served, in various capacities, on the faculties of NYU, Union College and Nicolet College. As a librettist, he created stage adaptations of State Fair, the last musical produced by the legendary David Merrick (two Tony award nominations), Irving Berlin’s Easter Parade, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (starring Eartha Kitt and Jamie-Lynn Sigler), The Kennedy Center’s Broadway: Three Generations, creating concert versions of Girl Crazy, Bye, Bye Birdie and Side Show, directed by Lonny Price. Tom also provided script continuity for the Irving Berlin revue The Melody Lingers On, based upon Mary Ellin Barrett’s book, Irving Berlin: A Daughter’s Memoir. After 30 years in NYC, Tom returned to his roots in community theater as the Executive Director of Thalian Association, the State Community Theater of North Carolina, founded in 1788, where he was a seven-time honoree as Outstanding Director for his productions of plays and musicals alike.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Robert Hupp is in his ninth season as artistic director of Syracuse Stage. He recently directed Dial M for Murder, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, Our Town, The Play That Goes Wrong, Eureka Day, Annapurna, Talley’s Folly, Amadeus, Noises Off, Next to Normal, and The Three Musketeers for Stage. Prior to coming to Central New York, Robert spent seventeen seasons as the producing artistic director of Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock. He directed over 30 productions for Arkansas Rep ranging from Hamlet to Les Miserables to The Grapes of Wrath. In New York City, Robert directed the American premieres of Glyn Maxwell’s The Lifeblood and Wolfpit for the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. He also served for nine seasons as the artistic director of the Obie Award-winning Jean Cocteau Repertory. At the Cocteau, Robert’s directing credits include works by Buchner, Wilder, Cocteau, Shaw, Wedekind and the premieres of the Bentley/Milhaud version of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy, and Eduardo de Filippo’s Napoli Millionaria. He has held faculty positions at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College and, in Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Hendrix College. Robert served as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Communications Group and has served on funding panels for the New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the Theatre Communications Group, the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, and the
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. While in Arkansas, Robert was named both Non-Profit Executive of the Year by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, and Individual Artist of the Year by the Arkansas Arts Council. He and his wife Clea ride herd over a blended family of five children, one dog, and two cats.
INTERIM MANAGING DIRECTOR
Michael McCurdy is in his seventh season with Syracuse Stage. He was managing director of Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock, Arkansas for eighteen seasons before becoming the general manager of Syracuse Stage in June of 2018. After earning degrees in political science and theater from Brigham Young University, Michael worked four years, including two years as company manager, at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. A co-founder of Handcart Ensemble, an off-off-Broadway theater company, Michael went to Arkansas from New York, where he was assistant director of Special Services for William Morris Agency. Michael has been married to Melissa McCurdy for 26 years and is the father of Annie, Joe, and Max. He has been proud to volunteer as the production manager of the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra New York from 2015 to its final performances in 2019, and to serve on various committees and Union negotiation teams for the League of Resident Theatres (LORT).
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Melissa Crespo (she/her) has made a career of developing new plays, musicals, and opera around the country and abroad. She recently directed the musical El Otro Oz by Tommy Newman, Mando Alvarez, and Jaime Lozano at Atlantic Theatre Company. Other favorite past credits include, Espejos: Clean by Christine Quintana (Hartford Stage & Syracuse Stage), Bees and Honey by Guadalís Del Carmen off-Broadway at MCC Theater, and form of a girl unknown by Charly Evon Simpson (Salt Lake Acting Company). As a playwright, her play Egress, co-written with Sarah Saltwick, had a world premiere at Amphibian Stage and won the Roe Green Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting at Cleveland Play House. She is one of the Founding Editors of 3Views on Theater, an online publication conceived by The Lillys. Fellowships and residencies include: Time Warner Fellow (WP Theatre), Usual Suspect (NYTW), The Director’s Project (Drama League), Van Lier Directing Fellow (Second Stage Theatre), and the Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow (Arena Stage). Melissa received her M.F.A. in directing from The New School for Drama. https://www.melissacrespo.com
RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHT
Kyle Bass, Resident Playwright at Syracuse Stage and curator of Poetry & Play, is the author of Toliver & Wakeman, which premiered at Franklin Stage Company, Tender Rain, which premiered at Syracuse Stage, Salt City Blues, which received its first production at Syracuse Stage, and Possessing Harriet, published and licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide, which premiered at Syracuse Stage, and has been produced at Franklin Stage Company, East Lynne Theater Company, and HartBeat Ensemble. Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country, about a young James Baldwin, streamed nationally and has been optioned for a featurelength film. With Ping Chong, he is the co-author of Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, which premiered at Syracuse Stage and was produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre. A descendant of African people enslaved in colonial New England and in the American South, Kyle lives and writes in central upstate New York where his family has lived free and owned land for nearly 225 years. Kyle is Assistant Professor of Theater at Colgate University.
CHAIR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
Ralph Zito (he/him) is in his fifteenth year as chair of the Department of Drama. He came to Syracuse University from the Juilliard School Drama Division, where he had been a teacher and director from 1992 to 2010 and chair of the Voice and Speech Department since 1999. He was a director and adjunct lecturer in the Barnard College Theater Department from 2006 until 2010 and has been a guest artist at training programs across the country, including the Old Globe in San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Academy for Classical Acting in Washington, D.C. Directing credits for the Department of Drama include: The Spitfire Grill, As You Like It, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and The Aliens. He has served as a voice, text or dialect consultant for numerous professional productions both on and off-Broadway, including: The Light in the Piazza; Awake and Sing!; The Herbal Bed; Mrs. Klein; The Fiery Furnace; The Time of the Cuckoo (Lincoln Center Theatre); Tongue of a Bird; The Merchant of Venice (New York Shakespeare Festival); The Pitchfork Disney (Blue Light Theatre Company); Birdy (The Women’s Project); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages); the New York premiere of Tony Kushner’s SLAVS! (New York Theatre Workshop); and The African Company Presents Richard III (The Acting Company). His regional theater credits include numerous productions at The Shakespeare Theatre and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.; Syracuse Stage; Baltimore CENTERSTAGE; Hartford Stage; and the McCarter Theatre, among others. A former touring member of The Acting Company, he served
CHAIR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA
as artistic associate of The Chautauqua Theatre Company for seven years and was a member of the Board of Directors of The American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) for six years. He is a graduate of Harvard University, The Juilliard School, and the American Center for the Alexander Technique. He was recently awarded the prestigious Juilliard President’s Medal in recognition of his contributions to both Juilliard and to the broader performing arts community.
WHO WE ARE
Syracuse Stage is the non-profit professional theatre company in residence at Syracuse University. We are nationally recognized for creating stimulating theatrical work that engages Central New York, and for our significant contribution to the artistic life of Syracuse University, where we are a vital partner in achieving the educational mission of the University’s Department of Drama.
OUR MISSION
Syracuse Stage tells stories that engage, entertain, and inspire us to see life beyond our own experience.
OUR VISION
Reimagining what's possible for regional theatre–through active inclusion, innovative outreach, and bold productions–Syracuse Stage shapes the culture and social vitality of Central New York, enriches the Syracuse University student experience, and fosters change in ourselves, our communities, and our world.
OUR CORE VALUES
People - Actively including diverse individuals, communities, ideas, and perspectives. Passion - Commitment to integrity, excellence, and enthusiasm in our work. Curiosity - Fostering an innovative and adaptive environment that elicits wonder.
ANTI-RACISM PLEDGE
Syracuse Stage stands firmly against racism and discrimination. We pledge to stand with under-represented and oppressed communities and to advance antiracism in all aspects of our work, including the outward facing, public dimension of our creative endeavors and the less visible internal practices of the organization.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Stage has collaborated with a myriad of institutions in the Syracuse area. Community partners include 100 Black Men of Syracuse, AccessCNY, ACR Health, ARC of Onondaga, ARISE, BOCES, CNY Reads, Ed 21, FOCL, Food Bank of Central New York, Interfaith Works of Central New York, La Casita, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, Onondaga Historical Association, Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Syracuse International Film Festival. Additionally, the educational department collaborates with many CNY schools.
ABOUT SYRACUSE STAGE
Originally constructed as the Regent Movie House in 1914, the physical space of Syracuse Stage has seen many films, musicians, actors, and artists pass through its doors over the course of the past century. The Syracuse Stage that exists today is a non-for-profit professional theatre company founded in 1974, and a longstanding League of Resident Theatres (LORT) member. Since its inception, Stage has produced over 350 shows, both plays and musicals, within its walls. Now, Stage produces six to seven shows per season, while also offering educational programs to students, various pre- and post-show offerings, and fundraising events each year. Stage is Central New York’s only LORT theatre and one of the largest performing arts organizations in the area. Stage has a strong commitment to giving the community access to a range of high-quality productions; it is equally committed to bringing in actors, designers, and directors who are among the leading theatre professionals, both locally and across the nation.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Syracuse Stage respectfully acknowledges the Onondaga Nation, Firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee, the Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands we now stand.
CHAIR
SYRACUSE STAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Richard Driscoll
Senior Vice President Commercial Banking Division NBT Bank
PRESIDENT
Herman R. Frazier*
Senior Deputy Athletics Director Syracuse University
PAST CHAIR/VICE CHAIR
Rocco Mangano
Partner Mangano Law Office, PLLC
TREASURER
Brett Padgett*
Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer
Syracuse University
SECRETARY
Maria Lesinski
Attorney Newman and Lickstein
AT-LARGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER
Phil Turner
Pastor Bethany Baptist Church
Janet Audunson
Assistant General Counsel National Grid
George S. Bain Freelance Editor and Writer
Barbara Beckos Retired - Syracuse Stage
Nancy Byrne Community Volunteer
Jessica Cain Reporter WRVO
Dr. Ruth Chen* Professor of Practice
Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science
Robin Curtis
NYS Lic. RE Asso. Broker Hunt Real Estate ERA
Denise Dyce*
Associate Vice President of Labor and Employee Relations
Syracuse University
Colleen A. Gaetano
Retired- Vice President Global Education & Artistry Estée Lauder Companies, NYC
Helene Gold
Private Voice & Piano Instructor
Jacki Goldberg Community Volunteer
Nancy Green
Managing Member
Edward S. Green & Associates
Larry Harris Retired - EVP and CFO Saab, Inc.
Robert Hupp**
Artistic Director Syracuse Stage
Eric Jackson Co-Founder and CEO Black Cub Productions
Ken Jackson Publisher and Editor Urban CNY (The Constitution)
Rebecca Karpoff*
Professor of Practice, Musical Theater/Coordinator of Vocal Instruction, Musical Theater Syracuse University Department of Drama
Kathy Kelly Retired - Health Educator, PNP
Larry Leatherman
Retired - Bristol-Myers Squibb, MOST
Dan Lent Commercial Loan Officer AmeriCU Credit Union
Rob Lentz EVP of Enterprise Operations Zeta Global
Anthony Malavenda Retired - Duke’s Root Control
Julia Martin Partner Bousquet Holstein
Suzanne McAuliffe Retired - Educator
Michael McCurdy** Interim Managing Director Syracuse Stage
Rod McDonald Bond, Schoeneck & King
Molly Mulvihill
Sr. Relationship Manager Global Commercial Banking Bank of America
Fran Nichols Retired - Mower, Inc.
Mona Paradis Stadium International Trucks
YiWei Qi Co-Founder and CEO AccuGPS LLC
Dr. Henry Roane
Executive Director and Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry Upstate Golisano Center for Special Needs
Molly Ryan Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP
Robert Sarason Retired - Lawyer, Organizer, Fundraiser
Cora Thomas
Radio Host and Office Manager, WAER
Michael S. Tick*
Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Syracuse University
Dr. Amy Tucker Chief Medical Officer SUNY Upstate Medical University
Andrea Waldman Operations and Development Coordinator Make A Wish Foundation of Central New York
Maryam Wasmund Chief Financial Officer Filtertech Inc.
Ralph Zito** Chair
Syracuse University Department of Drama
*University Trustee **Ex-Officio
SYRACUSE STAGE EMERITUS TRUSTEES
We are grateful to the following individuals who have served as Members of the Stage Board of Trustees and continue to provide significant support to Syracuse Stage.
Jim Breuer
Sandra Brown
Mary Beth Carmen Bea González
Joan Green
Elizabeth Hartnett
John Huhtala
Margaret Martin
Kevin McAuliffe
Eric Mower
Judy Mower
Michael Shende
Richard Shirtz
Jack Webb
Michael Zoanetti
SYRACUSE STAGE EDUCATION ADVOCACY BOARD
Sara Bambino Cicero-North Syracuse High School
Todd Benware Christian Brothers Academy
Kayden Blair Cazenovia High School
Natalie Corbin Jamesville-DeWitt High School
Silas Crawford Notthingham High School
Ella Culligan Liverpool High School
Joclyn Dallas Cicero-North Syracuse High School
Joliette Doyle Tully Junior-Senior High School
Nina Doyle-Gonzalez Manlius Pebble Hill School
Josie Feck Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Kate Fennessy Auburn High School
Jordan Berger Jamesville-DeWitt High School
Rhiannon Berry Liverpool High School
Elizabeth Defurio Nottingham High School
David Fisselbrand Auburn High School
Melissa Morgan Baker High School
Matthew Phillips Jamesville-DeWitt High School
YOUNG ADULT COUNCIL
Jackson Finn Christian Brothers Academy
Claire Foran
East Syracuse Minoa Central High School
Hayden Frisbie Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Anqi Geng Manlius Pebble Hill School
Brooklynn Gilbert North Syracuse Junior High School
Zinira Izmir Manlius Pebble Hill School
Beatrix Karn Cazenovia High School
Stephanie Kelly Christian Brothers Academy
Rei Korthas Homeschooled
Molly Linzer Manlius Pebble Hill School
Cecilia Lombardi Christian Brothers Academy
Madison Macomber East Syracuse Minoa Central High School
Zoie Markowski Solvay High School
Ethan Meives
Cicero-North Syracuse High School
Octavia Miller Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Jacelyn Peña Corcoran High School
Briar Raymond North Syracuse Junior High School
Taeyang Reid Manlius Pebble Hill School
Linda Ponza Solvay High School
Jennifer Sabatino Cato-Meridian Middle School
Harper Shute Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Caleb Smith Manlius Pebble Hill School
Abbie Sundet
Paul V. Moore High School
Leo True-Frost Jamesville-DeWitt High School
Thomas Warne Nottingham High School
Rebecca Wheeler Homeschooled
Sophia Zogby
Cato Meridian JuniorSenior High School
Mika Zolberg-Steiger
Manlius Pebble Hill School
SYRACUSE STAGE ANNUAL FUND GIFTS
Syracuse Stage depends on the generosity of contributions from individuals, corporations, businesses, foundations, and government agencies. It is with much gratitude that we recognize the following donors to our annual campaign. For information regarding levels of contribution and benefits of each please contact the Development office at 315-443-3931 or visit syracusestage.org.
CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT SPONSORS
Richard Mather Fund
CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT SPONSORS
Contributions listed above are current as of September 30, 2024, and reflect operating support of $5,000+ and in-kind donations of $10,000+.
The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation is proud to be a sponsor of the arts in Central New York. We recognize the deep importance live theatre plays in shaping the cultural and social vitality of our community. In these challenging times, theatre brings us together to be inspired and celebrate the richness of the human experience. We are delighted to continue to support Syracuse Stage and this very special production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is made possible with funds from the General Operating Support program a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of County Executive, J. Ryan McMahon II, and the Onondaga County Legislature, administered by CNY Arts.
50 TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN GIFTS
Syracuse Stage's 50th Anniversary Season is presented by Slutzker Family Foundation
Sarah Alden
Jackie Anderson
Robert & Jeanne Anderson
Frank Badagnani
George S. Bain
Rosemary Baker & Stuart Spiegel
Keith Batman & Barbara Post
Helen Beale
Barbara Beckos & Arthur McDonald
Jean Beers
Carrie Berse & Chris Skeval
Michael & Jennifer Blowers
Leslee Boissy
Thomas & Carol Boll
Jon & Patricia Booth
Dennis & Mary Anne Brady
Mary Brady
Marion Brillati
Angel Broadnax
Pamela Brown-Benjamin
Marlene Brown
Paul Brown & Susan Loevenguth
Gary & Kathleen Bruno
Lia & Dean Burrows
Kathleen Burt
Patricia Bush
Nancy & William Byrne
Mark & Lori Campitello
Rich & Mary Cappelli
Anthony & Carolyn Cimino
Patricia & Sandy Colabufo
Nicholas & Louanne Colaneri
Elaine Coppola
Raymond W. Cummings, Jr.
Kevin & Kristin Curtis
Therese & Walter Dancks
Anthony & Deborah D'Angelo
Bill & Terry Delavan
Roger & Naomi DeMuth
Robert Desimone
Mary DiSanto
James & Leona Dowd
Dick & Therese Driscoll
Richard Ellison & Margaret Ksander
Carole Farfaglia
Carol Fedrizzi
Alan Fischler & Karen McDonold
David & Karen Fitch
Molly Carole Fitzpatrick
Robert & Terry Flower
Peter Frantzis
Nancy Freeborough
George & Halina Gagne
Jim & Carol Galvin
Barbara Genton
Neil & Helene Gold
Jacki & Michael Goldberg
Douglas Goldschmidt &
David Jacobs
Linda Fabian & Dennis
Goodrich
William Goodwin
Nancy Green & Tony
Marschall
Muffy & Herbert Baird
Hansen
Tom & Cynthia Helmer
Kenneth Hendel
Steven Herwood
Michele Hickman
Judy Huckle
Robert & Clea Hupp
Norma Huxter
Linda Imboden
Emily Johnson & Vijay
Ramachandran
Deborah Joiner
Laura & Ed Jordan
Gwenn & John Judge
Michael & Audrey Kane
Brian Kane & Phyllis Perrotti
James & Jan Kaplan
Dana Keefer
John & Gloria Kennedy
Stewart Koenig & Judy
Schmid
Dean Kolts
Jill Ladd
Lorraine LaDuke
Andrea Latchem
Skip Lentz & Anne Russ
Stephen Lessie
Linda Loomis
Tony Malavenda & Martine
Burat
Rocco & Roberta Mangano
Wade Manning
Nicholas Martin
Kevin & Suzanne McAuliffe
As of October 31, 2024.
Andreas & Margaret Meier
Carl Mellor
Michael & Claudia Miceli
Gail Mitchell
Bruce Moseley & Leigh Yardley
Janet Munro
Claire Myers
Richard & Barbara Natoli
Marty & Millie Newshan
Becky Nicandri
Sally Lou & Fran Nichols
Leslie Noble & Bill Morris
Sally O'Herin
Marjorie Ostrander
Cindy Paikin
Ricky & Whitney Pak
David & Susan Palen
Cathy Palm
Nolan & Phyllis Palsma
Peter & Constance Palumb
Robert & Teresa Parke
Susan Perriello
Debra Petzold
Jane Pickett
Duane & Karleen Preske
Nancy Radoff
David Rankert
Jean Reilly
The Dorothy and Marshall
M. Reisman Foundation
Ross & Melanie Relyea
Todd Relyea
Patrick & Kuni Riccardi
Terry & Monica Richmond
Ron Ehrenreich & Sondra
Roth
James & Tricia Sadowski
Robert Sarason & Jane
Burkhead
Mike & Marilyn Sees
Barry & Jenny Shulman
Theresa Slosek & Ronald
Wilson
Slutzker Family Foundation
Joseph & Carolyn Smith
Vinodhini Subramanian
Sharon Sullivan & Paul
Phillips
John & Jamie Sutphen
Amy Sweeney
Delia & Sandy Temes
Angi Tipton
John Toomey
Hon. Karen M. Uplinger
Joseph & Carole Valesky
Nancy Wadopian
Marc & Marcy Waldauer
The Estate of George Wallerstein & Julie Lutz
Maryam Wasmund
Mark Watkins & Brenda Silverman
Liz & David Wei
Lynda Wheat
Dr. Kelvin White
Tom & Desiree Wight
Evelyn B Williams
Diana Wolpert
Leslie & Jerry Zaborsky
Joyce Zadzilka
INDIVIDUAL, CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, & GOVERNMENT GIFTS
New and increased gifts this season will be matched by The Richard Mather Fund.
It is our goal to provide a complete list of all donors $100+. Nevertheless, if your gift is not listed or is listed incorrectly, please accept our apologies, and contact the Development Office at 315-443-9848.
$100,000+
CNY Arts, Inc
Onondaga County
Syracuse University
The Estate of George Wallerstein & Julie Lutz
$50,000 - $99,999
Advance Media NY
Tom Kirdahy
The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
Slutzker Family Foundation
Barry & Fran Weissler
$20,000 - $49,999
George S. Bain
New York State Council on the Arts
Richard Mather Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
$10,000 - $19,999
Richard Bunce
Nancy & William Byrne
Cathedral Candle Company
Nancy Green & Tony Marschall
Elizabeth Hartnett
M&T Bank
The Estate of Deborah O'Shea
Joel Potash & Sandra Hurd
The John Ben Snow Foundation & Memorial Trust
Sharon Sullivan & Paul Phillips
Douglas Sutherland & Nancy Kramer
Urban CNY
WAER
Wegmans
$5,000 - $9,999
Ryan & Leigh Ann Benz
Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation
Dr. Ruth Chen & Chancellor Kent Syverud
Cumulus Radio
Roger & Naomi DeMuth
Peggy & Dana Dudarchik
The Estate of Mary Louise Dunn
Colleen Gaetano
Neil & Helene Gold
Larry & Ann Harris
iHeart Media
JP Morgan Chase
Kathy Kelly & Len Weiner
Larry & Mary Leatherman
Skip Lentz & Anne Russ
Tony Malavenda & Martine
Burat
Rocco & Roberta Mangano
Mangano Law Office, PLLC
Kevin & Suzanne McAuliffe
J.M. McDonald Foundation
Eric & Judy Mower
NBT Bank
National Grid
Sally Lou & Fran Nichols
Selma Radin
Molly Ryan & Tim Byrnes
Melvin & Patricia Stith
Theatre Development Fund
Joshua & Andrea Waldman
Maryam Wasmund
Wegmans
Kristen Weslowski WRVO
$3,500 - $4,999
Janet Audunson & David Youlen
Bond, Schoeneck & King Attorneys
Pete & Mary Beth Carmen
Robin Curtis
Maggie & Jake Feldmeier
John & Kimberly Huhtala
Claire Myers
$1,800 - $3,499
Barbara Beckos & Arthur McDonald
Kathleen Bice
Donald Blair & Nancy
Dock
Bank of America
Bousquet Holstein PLLC
Francine Boutet
Constance Bull
Craig & Kathy Byrum
The Estate of William
Clark Jr.
James Clark & Sharon
Gordon
Barbara Sheklin Davis
The gifts listed in this program include those received or pledged between October 31, 2023 and October 31, 2024. It does not include gifts to the special 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Edward & Susan Downing
Dick & Therese Driscoll
Michael & Barbara Flintrop
Herman Frazier & Caroline Beal
Dennis & Judi Hebert
David & Sally Hootnick
Robert & Clea Hupp
Cydney Johnson & Jeff Comanici
Randy & Elizabeth Kalish
Leslie Kohman
Maria Lesinski & Benjamin Hicks
Julia & Lee Martin
Rod & Jana McDonald
Walter & Elizabeth Merriam
Anne Morford
Molly & Kevin Mulvihill
Brett & Jeannie Padgett
Amy Parker
YiWei Qi & Julie Yu
Michael & Rissa Ratner
Gracia Sears
Sharye Skinner
Sam & Carolyn Spalding
Deirdre Stam
Raymond & Linda Straub
Dr. Amy Tucker
$1,200 - $1,799
James & Nancy Asher
Debbie & Candido Bermudez
Brenda & Wendy Bousfield & David Marcus
Jim & Cathy Breuer
Jessica Cain & Kevin Kopko
Ana Díaz-Diez & Javier Maymi-Perez
Paul & Carolyn Frymoyer
Dorothy & Lawrence Gordon
Andrea Graham
Deborah & Samuel Haines
Heritage Masonry Restoration, Inc.
Steven & Elaine Jacobs
Richard G. Jaeger
Rebecca Karpoff
Charles Martin & Johanna Keller
Newman & Lickstein, LLP
David Rankert
Frank and Frances Revoir Foundation
Henry Roane & Heather Kadey
Nancy & Walter Shepard
Richard & Margaret Shirtz
James Shults
John Steigerwald IV
Jack & Linda Webb
Larry & Glenda Wetzel
$600 - $1,199
BMI Supply
Susan Brett
Angel Broadnax
Cazenovia Jewelry
Amy & Tom Clark
Mark Cywilko & Marianne
Moosbrugger
Stephen & Emily DiMarco
Denise Dyce
Allen & Anita Frank
Muffy & Herbert Baird
Hansen
Daniel & Julia Harris
Joyce Day Homan
Richard & Margaret
Ingraham
Peter Vanable & Anne
Jamison
John & Maren King
Donna & Kenneth Kirsch
Victor & Linda Lebedovych
Bob & Pat Lebel
James MacKillop
Susan Martineau
John & Jill Melvin
John & Joan Nicholson
Sally O'Herin
David & Susan Palen
David & Janice Panasci
Mona & John Paradis
Paolo & Nicole Pastore
Charles & Sharon
Primerano
Dan & Kathy Rabuzzi
Beth & Tobias Sienel
H. Paul Steiner
Sharon Sutter
Thomas & Carole Taylor
Phil & Janice Turner
Mark Watkins & Brenda Silverman
Lynda Wheat
Angela Winfield & Lance
Lyons
John & Mitzi Wolf
$300 - $599
Susan & Allison Ambrosie
Charles Amos
Chris Arnold
Timothy Atseff & Margaret
Ogden
Paul Barron & Leah Weinberg
In Honor of
Contributions have been made to Syracuse Stage to honor someone, celebrate a special occasion, or offer an expression of sympathy in memory of a loved one.
Mark & Kathy Adelson, in memory of Laura Edell.
Bethany Anthony, to my big sister, Rebekah Tadros, the biggest star I know.
Thomas Antonini, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Candice Bermudez & Joe Guido, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Susan Brett, in memory of Thomas Brett.
Carol Bryant, in honor of Virginia Parker.
Craig & Kathy Byrum, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Farfaglia Family, in memory of Edward J Farfaglia.
Debbie Feinstein, to Eli Golding: Happy Graduation!
Kim Fontana, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Nancy Freeborough, in memory of Virginia Parker.
Winnie Greenberg, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Jane Hopeman, in loving memory of Virginia Barnes Parker and her love of life, friendships, and theatre.
Guy & Patricia Howard, in memory of Viriginia Parker.
Daniel & Janet Jones, dedicated to Uncle John White for instilling a lifelong love of live theater.
The gifts listed in this program include those received or pledged between September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024. It does not include gifts to the special 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Andrew & Margot Baxter
Edward & Angela Bernat
Eric & Carol Boyer
Marlene Brown
Gary & Kathleen Bruno
Joe & Nancy Clayton
Paul & Linda Cohen
Jerilyn Costich
Anita Cottrell
George W. Curry
James & Suzanne Cusack
Frederick Dever
Charley, Kim & Zachary Driscoll
Richard Ernst
Elizabeth Etoll
Linda Fabian & Dennis Goodrich
Michael & Marion Fish
Kenneth & Kathleen Freer
Allen & Nirelle Galson
Edward & Debbie Genalo
Bea Gonzalez & Michael Leonard
Thomas Greenwood
Judith Hand
Nancy Hanna
David & Ellen Hardy
Harvey's Garden
Joseph & Paula Himmelsbach
Noel Keith
John & Gloria Kennedy
Daniel & Ann Lent
Susan Lison
George & Roseann Lorefice
Donald & Patricia MacLaughlin
John & Candace Marsellus
Donyce & Kenneth McCluskey
Mary Ellen McDonald
James & Elizabeth Megna
David & Beth Mitchell
Susan Moskal
James & Kathleen Muldoon
Marty & Millie Newshan
Doren Norfleet
Marjorie Ostrander
Robert & Teresa Parke
Mickey & Pat Piscitelli
Howard & Ann Port
Richard & Kimberly O'Brien
Jennifer Roberts
Edward & Lois Schroeder
William Schuyler
Jon Selzer
Robert & Cheryl Shallish
Geraldine Sheehan
Dr Craig A Simmons
Joseph & Carolyn Smith
Cora Thomas
Victor & Diane Tice
Joseph & Carole Valesky
Susan Wadley
Robert & Anita Wagner
David & Daryll Wheeler
Derick White
John & Judy Winslow
$150 - $299
Mark & Kathy Adelson
James Aiello
Edwin & Kathleen Allen
Kristi Andersen
Robert & Jeanne Anderson
Beatrice Angus
Michelle Arora
Frank Badagnani
Holmes & Sarah M Bailey
Rosemary Baker & Stuart
Spiegel
Nancy Barnum
Marjory Baruch
Jean Beers
Dr. Sylvia Betcher & Martin
Korn
William A Billingham
Diana Biro & Eric Rogers
Susan Boettger
Mary Brady
Dennis & Mary Anne Brady
Carmelita Britton & Richard Probert
Brian & Sharon Bush
Stephen Butler
Michael Byrne
Ronald Capone
Lexi Carlson & Sebastian Karcher
Joseph Cerroni & Linda Tassa
Martha Cole
Donna Coloton
Raymond Colton
Robert & Joan Conine
Elizabeth Cowan
Stephanie Cross
Karl Crossman & John Steinburg
CVS
Linda Czerkies
Carol Decker
Bill & Terry Delavan
Paula Dendis
Diane Dimond
Linda & Alan Dolmatch
Rebecca Downing
Beth Drew & Joe Marusa
Nathaniel & Karen Dunn
Kathleen Effler
William & Elizabeth Elkins
In Honor of (Continued
Leslie Kohman, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Thomas & Mary Lou Mees, in loving memory of Ginny Parker.
Susan Moore-Palumbo & Frank Palumbo, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Claire Myers, in memory of Drs. Lawrence & Betty Jane Myers, for granting me my love of theatre.
Sally Lou & Fran Nichols, in honor of Tracey White.
Peter & Connie Palumb, in memory of Ginny Parker.
Eileen Ponto, in memory of Emily Ponto.
H. Paul Steiner, in memory of Ginny and Fritz Parker.
Sharon Sullivan & Paul Phillips, in memory of Viriginia B. Parker.
Elizabeth Thorley, remembering Virginia "Ginny" Parker on this first anniversary of her passing.
Kristen Weslowski, in memory of Richard Brandt.
Lorraine Erlenback
Molly Carole Fitzpatrick
Gerard & Vanessa Flynn
Kim Fontana
Lois & Jill Fowler
Jeffrey & Teresa Freedman
Thomas & Karen Fruehan
Claudia & Adam Gasiorowski
Robert Geiger
Karen Goldman
Douglas Goldschmidt & David Jacobs
The gifts listed in this program include those received or pledged between September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024. It does not include gifts to the special 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Bernice Gottschalk
Jerome & Debbie Grigonos
Charlotte Haas & Gary Quirk
Teresa Haigney
Greg & Elaine Hallett
Mark & Carole Hansen
Karl & Mary Herba
William & Phyllis Highland
Donna & Joseph Hipius
Barbara & Ronald Hoffman
Jane Hopeman
Marie & James Jewson
Emily Johnson & Vijay Ramachandran
Philip & Judith Kaplan
Robert & Christina Keim
Norma Kelley
Marlene Kelly
Amy Kemp
Tim & Susan Kennedy
Jean Kimber
Russell & Joan King
Diane King
Trudy & Earl Kletsky
Barry & Kathy Kogut
Richard & Roxanne Kopecky
Sheldon & Karen Kruth
Lorraine LaDuke
Robert & Lauren Lalley
Andrea Latchem
James LeGro
Mark & Jeannette Levinsohn
Bonnie Levy
Edward & Carol Lipson
Mary Lombardo
John & Marian Loosmann
Gerald Mager
Frederick & Virginia Marty
Elizabeth Mascia
Janice Mayne
Margot McCormick
Wallace & Gayonne McDonald
Andreas & Margaret Meier
Clifford & Marjorie Mellor
Daniel & Terry Miller
Leslie & Barney Molldrem
Danielle Montagne & Mark Zlotnick
Janet Moore
Janet Munro
Alan & Rosalind Napier
Richard & Barbara Natoli
Margaret O'Brien
Omega, Inc.
Joan & Lawrence Page
Cathy Palm
Michael & Susan Petrosillo
Jane Pickett
Susan Pieczonka
Hugh, Jane & Katerina Pinchin
Anita Pisano
Eileen Ponto
Steve Reiter & Annegret Schubert
Lynn Richer
Michael Riecke & Anthony
McEachern
Nancy Machles Rothschild
Elaine Rubenstein
Linda & Bob Ryan
Elizabeth Sanders
Roberta Savage
George & Sharon Schmit
Denise Seltzer
Richard & Elizabeth Severance
Nancy Sharpe
Judith Smith
Jeffrey Sneider & Gwen Kay
B.L. Bush & Sons, Inc
Michael Stanton
George & Helene Starr
Kathleen & Mark Sunheimer
David & Eileen Thompson
Amy & Anthony Tibolla
Michael & Cathy Tick
James & Deborah Tifft
Joseph Tucker
Hon. Karen M. Uplinger
Marc & Marcy Waldauer
Donald & Martha
Washburn
Connie Webster
Howard Weinstein
Fred & Karen Whitney
Christopher & Renee Wiles
Tom & Carol Wolff
Mary Yurco
Loretta Zolkowski
$100 - $149
Jerrold & Harriet Abraham
Sarah Alden
John Andrake
Dianne Apter
Al & Jane Arras
Mary Roberts Bailey
Rosanne Barbaglia
Jackie Bays
Janine Bernard
David Blair
Jon & Patricia Booth
Alice Borning
Lisa Braddock
Bernard & Ona Cohn Bregman
Robert & Helene Brophy
Bob & Kathy Brown
Patricia Bush
William & Mary Butler
John & Cynthia Cambareri
Larry & Fran Campbell
Richard & Nina Cantor
Delores Carney
Joseph Chiarizia
Douglas & Diane Chilson
Anthony & Carolyn
Cimino
Lou & Rosa Clark
Gregory Cohen
Cheryl Cole
John & Deloris Coleman
Terri Cook
Elaine Coppola
Anthony & Mary Anne
Corasaniti
Molly & Travis Corley
Tracy Cromp
Joyce Crossley
Paul & Cynthia Curtin
Lynette & Ethan Davis
Sue Ellen Deion
Kate DiDonato
James & Leona Dowd
Elizabeth & Evan Dreyfuss
Wynn Egginton
Clay & Dora Elliott
Pamela Ellis
Richard Ellison & Margaret Ksander
Stanley & Penny Emerick
Laurie Fabian
Casey Holmes Fee
Robert & Terry Flower
Karin Franklin-King
Barbara, Jeff & Kay
Friedman
John Friedman & Polly Ann Heavenrich
William & Jean Gamble
Mary Beth Gannon
Norma Gawlowicz
Gregory Gazda
Margaret Gelfuso
Kathryn Glynn
Michael & Wendy Gordon
William Gray
Mark & Cynthia Dowd
Greene
Seth & Lisa Greenky
Chip & Kate Grosso
Carol Guido
Patricia Haggerty
James Hahn
Beth Hansen
Ann & Richard Harris
Pamela & James Helmer
The gifts listed in this program include those received or pledged between September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024. It does not include gifts to the special 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Michael & Elizabeth
Hennessy
Kathleen Hinchman
Jennifer Hobler
Judy Huckle
Kathryn Huftalen
Sofia Hvozda
Wanda Irish
Festa Italiana
Sue Jones
Daniel & Janet Jones
Roberta Jones
Laura & Ed Jordan
Michael & Audrey Kane
Randy Karcher
Alan Kinney
Janice Kophen
Neil & Marie LaBrake
Amanda Lee
David & Cindy Lewis
Michael & Jean Loftus
Susan Lotierzo
Jon Maloff
Paul Manfredo
Paul Marshall
John Mathiason
Douglas & Randi Matousek
Roberta Matthews
John & Mary McCulley
Philip & Martha McDowell
Linda McKeown
Howard McLaughlin & Mary O'Hara
Timothy McLaughlin &
Diane Cass
Kathleen McLeod
Thomas & Mary Lou Mees
Eckart & Mary Meisterfeld
Marcia & Dave Mele
Ben & Julie Merchant
David Michel & Peggy
Liuzzi
Diana Ingraham Milkovic
Dr. Merrill L. Miller
Thomas Miller & Mary MacBlane
Gail Mitchell
Julian & Jennifer Modesti
Don Moore
Susan Moore-Palumbo & Frank Palumbo
Joseph Moorman &
Catherine Gerard
Michael Newman
Katharine O'Connell
Vickie Olcott
L & Mary Pat Oliker
Jane Ondich
Bryan O'Quinn
John & Elizabeth O'Sullivan
John & Linda Parsons
Thomas & Eleanor Pendergast
William & Merriette Pollard
Kevin & Rachel Porter
Duane & Karleen Preske
Charles & Patricia Prutzman
Steve & Kate Pynn
Mary Rose Ranieri
Scott Reinhart
William & Gretchen
Roberts
Stacy Roberts
Rosamond Gifford
Foundation
Ann Rothschild
Rocco Rufo
Margaret Ryniker
John & Judy Sabene
Richard & Jill Sargent
Jennifer Scalione
Jeffrey & Abby Scheer
Susan Scheuerman
Edwina Schleider
Julia Scialla
Ruth Seaman
Mike & Marilyn Sees
Margaret Shackell
Roger & Nancy Sharp
Steven & Robin Sisskind
David & Chole Smith
Alan & Jean Smith
William Smith
Paul & Jean Soper
Mark & Beth Steigerwald
Jennifer, Bridget & Audrey
Stromer-Galley
Susan Stred & Harold
Husovsky
Martha Sutter & David
Ross
Kristin & Steve Swift
Brady Systems
Martin & Jackie Talcik
Elizabeth Thorley
James Traver & Marguerite
Conan
John & Jean Tromans
Aaron Tussing
Bob & Claudia Visalli
Timothy & Nancy Volk
Marcia Walsh
Ardyth Watson
Tom & Desiree Wight
Roger & Carolyn Williams
Deborah Wood
Samuel & Robin Young
Leslie & Jerry Zaborsky
Joyce Zadzilka
Stephen & Patricia Zalewski
Steven & Judith Zdep
The gifts listed in this program include those received or pledged between September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024. It does not include gifts to the special 50th Anniversary Campaign.
PLANNED GIVING
A planned gift is a way to make a significant and lasting gift to Syracuse Stage. By making a bequest to the theatre, you are assuring that Syracuse Stage will continue to inspire, stimulate, and entertain Central New York audiences for generations to come, as well as maintain its high artistic standards that are recognized locally, and nationally. For more information about planned gifts contact: Ana Díaz-Diez, Director of Development 315-443-3931 or ajdiazdi@syr.edu
Dr. William J. Clark, Jr. Fund
The Estate of Rosemary Curtis
Mary Louise Dunn Fund
Deborah O'Shea
In Honor and Memory of Sheldon P. Peterfreund and Josephine A Peterfreund
Michael and Rissa Ratner
The J. Zimmeister-Yarwood Estate
MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM
Many companies will match gifts of their employees, retirees, and spouses with a gift of their own to Syracuse Stage. Ask your personnel office for a matching gift form, send the completed form with your gift – and we’ll do the rest!
Audience Services Manager.......................................................................................Korrie Taylor
House Managers.....................Pat Condello, Ella Lafontant, Alyssa Otoski-Keim, Adam Secor Front of House Associate...................................................................................Donna Stuccio
Assistant House Manager.......................................................................................Kevin Sene†
Bartenders.................................................................................Michelle Cannizzo, Meg Pusey
Audience Services Interns.....................................................................Ginger Bai†, Youran Li† Front of House Work Study Staff...........................Hope Allen†, Emilee Asa†, GB Bellamy†, Lilly Colter Berget†, Carolyn Burch†, Olivia Busche†, Josie Diodato†, Sami English†, Skye Faison†, Violet Lanciloti†, Nathaly Juarez Meza†, Annabelle Mistretta†, Lily Nelson†, Reyna Sanchez†, Esme Schaus†, Isbella Tokarz†, Gracie Whaley†, Logan Wilbanks-Davidson†, Elise Wobbe†, Maya Zepeda†
Sign Language Interpreters.....................................................................Brenda Brown, Sue Freeman
Open Captioning........................................................................Jacob G. Ellison, Michael McCurdy
Audio Description........Kate Laissle, Talia Gabriel-Shenandoah, Ahmanee Simmons, Joseph Whelan
Community Services Officers...........................................................Stacey Emmons, Martha Farmer
Custodians........................................................................Tony Rogers, Ron Taylor, Candace Velario
SEASON
315.443.3275
Monday - Friday
10 am - 5 pm
Syracuse Stage 820 E. Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210
SEASON SPONSOR
PIPPIN
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ | BOOK BY ROGER O. HIRSON | DIRECTED BY TORYA BEARD CHOREOGRAPHY AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTION BY KEVIN BOSEMAN | MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET IN THE STORCH THEATRE OCT 11 – 20 | OPENING NIGHT: OCT 12
TWELFTH NIGHT
WRITTEN BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE | ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY WILL POMERANTZ | IN THE STORCH THEATRE NOV 15-23 | OPENING NIGHT: NOV 16
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA*
MUSIC BY RICHARD RODGERS | BOOK AND LYRICS BY OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II | ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY TOM BRIGGS FROM THE TELEPLAY BY ROBERT L. FREEDMAN DIRECTED BY MELISSA RAIN ANDERSON | MUSIC DIRECTION BY BRIAN CIMMET | CHOREOGRAPHED BY JESSICA CHEN | CO-PRODUCED WITH SYRACUSE STAGE IN THE ARCHBOLD THEATRE NOV 22– JAN 5 | OPENING NIGHT: NOV 29
* Please Note: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella is not included in the Department of Drama subscription package. However, discounts are available to Department of Drama subscribers.
A WALRUS IN THE BODY OF A CROCODILE
WRITTEN BY MJ KAUFMAN | DIRECTED BY DANIELLA CAGGIANO | IN THE STORCH THEATRE FEB 21 - MAR 2 | OPENING NIGHT: FEB 22
WHAT THE MOON SAW,
OR “I ONLY APPEAR TO BE DEAD”
WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE FLEISHMAN | DIRECTED BY DANYON DAVIS | CHOREOGRAPHED BY MAYA JUNE DWYER ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY PAULO K TIRÓL IN THE STORCH THEATRE MAR. 28 - APR 6 | OPENING NIGHT: MAR. 29
LITTLE WOMEN
BOOK BY ALLAN KNEE | LYRICS BY MINDI DICKSTEIN | MUSIC BY JASON HOWLAND | DIRECTED BY DAVID LOWENSTEIN MUSIC DIRECTION BY MELISSA YANCHAK | CHOREOGRAPHED BY EMILY HOBBS | IN THE STORCH THEATRE MAY 2 - 10 | OPENING NIGHT: MAY 3
