Meet the cast and crew of Redwood Theatre’s 2009 production of the new musical Illyria.
Leilani Berinobis (Feste)
Leilani is exhilarated to be making her Redwood Theatre debut as one of the most fun characters she has ever had the pleasure to meet. Favorite roles include: Tess in Sex in Seattle (SIS Productions); Tien in Ghostwritten (Seattle Repertory Theatre); Lady Thiang in The King and I (Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre); Chesty Prospects in Saucy Jack & the Space Vixens (BS Productions); Bloody Mary in South Pacific, Sister Sophia in Sound of Music, and Wen Yu in Making Tracks (Village Theatre); and touring around western Washington as the mother in 5th Avuenue Theatre’s AMT production of Baseball Saved Us. Ms. Berinobis would like to thank ShawnJ for this opportunity and sends hugs and kisses to K.K. and G.X. for their support and patience through this process.
Branden Edwards (Sebastian)
Branden is happy to be making his debut with the Redwood Theater, after just finishing a performance of Woyzech with Eclectic Theater Company. A Seattle transplant, Branden recently moved here from Colorado, where he received his B.A. in music from Mesa State College, where he was an assistant conductor, as well as captain of the rodeo team. To his friends and family: “Thanks for all the support.”
Mandy Eldredge (Camille/Guard 2)
Mandy is pleased to be in her first show at Redwood Theatre. You may have seen her as the evil witch Mordon in Sleeping Beauty last at Tacoma Little Theatre. Thanks and love to her family and Blake.
Iris M. Elton (Celeste)
Iris is thrilled to be making her Redwood Theatre debut! She has jumped back into the theatre world as of lately and has been enjoying every moment. Iris is so honored to be working with such a wonderfully talented group of people! Favorite past performances include Ella in Annie Warbucks, Juanita in The Women of Juarez, Ruby in Othello, and Little Bo Peep in Breakfast with Santa. Iris is excited to bring her experience from the New York City small stages to Seattle’s wonderful Redwood Theatre audience!
Aaron Ford (Malvolio)
Aaron is pleased to be making his return to Redwood Theatre’s stage, having previously performed in last year’s production of Chess. It’s a thrill to be taking part in the first West Coast production of this wonderful show. Favorite roles in recent years include Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls and Orin the Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors. Aaron received a B.A. in Drama from Ithaca College and has performed with a variety of choral and theatrical ensembles in Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C.
John Kelleher (Sir Toby Belch)
John is making his Redwood Theatre debut. He has been seen recently in Annie Get Your Gun, The Baker’s Wife and Ragtime at Seattle Musical Theatre/Civic Light Opera; Four Christmases and Nicholas Nickleby at Centerstage; Anything Goes and Urinetown at Second Story Repertory; and most recently as H.C. Curry, in The Rainmaker at Valley Community Players. He has also been seen at Village Theatre, ArtsWest, and Lakewood Playhouse. John is the resident music director at Renton Civic Theatre, most recently music directing Drood–The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and soon to be music directing for The All Night Strut. John’s day job is that of Music Specialist for the Lake Washington School District. Thanks to ShawnJ, Amie, and Roy, and our amazing cast and crew. Thanks to Larry for your undying support of my theatrical passion – I couldn’t do it without you!
Sarah Marroquin (Cordelia)
Sarah returns to the Seattle stage after seven year hiatus, and is thrilled to be doing so in the regional premiere of Illyria. Regional credits include Footloose; You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown; A Little Princess; Guys and Dolls; and Brigadoon. She has had the privilege of directing, musical directing and developing curriculum for the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah; known as the official marquee for The Sundance Film Festival. A singer at heart, Sarah has had the honor to perform for the MLB and NBA, as well as at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. Sarah enjoys a successful career as a specialty food guru, and considers cheese, coffee, and chocolate among her specialties. A senior at the University of Washington, she is pursuing a B.A. in Popular Culture Studies.
Amanda Moniz-Falcone (Olivia)
Amanda is very excited to part of the West Coast premiere of Illyria at Redwood Theatre. Regionally, Amanda has performed as Ado Annie in Oklahoma, as Tina in Tony and Tina’s Wedding, and as Princess Winifred in Once Upon A Mattress. Tours include Jack Sprat World Tour and Tony and Tina’s Wedding. Amanda is also very proud to have helped start up the not-for-profit “Third Eye Theatre Company” in New York City. She is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. Much love to her amazing husband, Tom!
Mok Moser (Orsino)
Mok is a 24-year veteran of Western Washington community theater, and is absolutely eupeptic to be a part of this terrific cast. Previous roles include Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Benedic in Much Ado About Nothing, and El Gallo in The Fantasticks. This June, he’ll be appearing as MacBeth in an independent production in Seattle at Magnuson Park.
Gabriel Sedgemore (Antonio)
Gabriel is thrilled to be making his theater debut at Redwood Theater. He has been involved in commercial acting since he was 18 years old. Gabriel is looking forward to continuing his work with ITV NW, a local television show that can be seen on channel 16 o 6, Friday nights at 1:30 a.m. Gabriel would like to thank his friend Jen for her persuasion to try out for this wonderful play, and the beautiful and well organized Sharon Lorenzen for being so supportive of him.
Caleb Slavens (Curio/Fight Choreographer)
Ah music, the collection of noises organized in a way that can effect your emotions, inspire you, and make you generally behave in a way that, without music, would be totally unacceptable. Oddly enough, the exact same thing can be said about twins. So, you can only imagine how excited I, Caleb Slavens, was to be cast into this delightful spin of Shakespeare’s 12th Night. Mistaken identities, shenanigans, and a fools fool, all laced with a comedic score make this show a true delight to be a part of. While I’ve been performing in shows since the young age of 15, I haven’t been able to work in my favorite genre, musicals, for a while. Thus, I hope you have as much fun watching this show, as we have had rehearsing and performing it. Now, please allow yourself to get lost in the joys of Illyria.
Erin Sprow (Maria)
Erin is honored to make her Redwood Theatre debut in the west-coast premier of Illyria. As an avid performer, Erin has appeared throughout the Puget Sound with Village Theatre, Showtunes, Seattle Musical Theatre, Centerstage, Tacoma Actors Guild and ArtsWest, to name a few. Favorite roles include Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical the Musical (SMT) and Mama Noah in Children of Eden (CLO). Other credits include New Voices 6 (Contemporary Classics), Blue Plate Special (Centerstage), the workshop readings of Iron Curtain and Saint Heaven for Village Theatre Originals and a vocalist on the self-titled album of recording artist Tim Ross. Thanks to the awesome cast, crew and Evan! (Editor’s note: we found Erin’s performance of “Live Out Loud” on YouTube. I suggest watching it in HD.)
Daniel Stoltenberg (Sir Andrew Aguecheek)
Daniel was last seen on the Redwood Theatre stage as Matt in The Fantasticks. The last few plays he did include Plaid Tidings at ArtsWest, 1776 with Seattle Musical Theatre, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Mountaineer Players. He’s quite pleased to be sharing the stage with such talented friends, old and new. Thanks to the cast, crew, and orchestra for so much hard work, and most of all to you, the audience, for supporting live theatre.
Kate Williams (Viola)
Kate is excited to make her Pacific Northwest debut at Redwood Theatre! She recently moved to the area after six years on the East Coast, graduating with a Masters in Performing Arts Administration from NYU. Some of her favorite roles include Cinderella, Cinderella; Maggie, The Shadow Box; Bernadette, Reckless; and ensemble parts in musicals ranging from Little Shop of Horrors to Evita to Songs for a New World. Aside from theatre, Kate loves reading, traveling, and learning random information, and spends her days as Development Coordinator for Performing Arts Center Eastside. She would like to thank those who are fully awesome.
Brady Reed (Clarinet and Sax)
Brady is delighted to be involved in Redwood’s production of Illyria this year. He has played reeds and guitar in numerous pit orchestras around the Puget Sound area, serving Redwood Theatre, Driftwood Theatre, Northwest Savoyards, Attic Theatre, Pine Nut Players, and the Woodinville High School Theatre Arts department. Besides playing in Redwood’s production of Chess last year, he’s played in Sound of Music, Gypsy, Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Music Man, Footloose, Anything Goes, Mame, Honk!, Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma!, Crazy for You, and The Mikado.
Matthew Tevenan (Cello)
Matthew has been a cellist since he was in the 6th grade. In his “real life,” he is a technical writer for Microsoft Corporation, and before that earned his Master’s degree in Technical Communication from the University of Washington. He is the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Macha Monkey Productions, a Seattle theatre company, since 2004, and has also volunteered for organizations such as Gay City Health Project, United Way of King County, and Three Dollar Bill Cinema.
ShawnJ West (Director)
ShawnJ (that’s one word, pronounced Shawnjae) makes his Redmond and Redwood Theatre debut with the directing of Illyria. ShawnJ is thrilled to be working with such a talented and dedicated group of artisans. He has directed several Seattle area shows including Sex In Seattle: Episodes 15 & 16 and co-directed ReAct’s production of WELL. He is also a co-creator for Sex In Seattle Episode 17 premiering Fall 2009. As actor and performer he has been seen onstage in productions in the PNW and Northern California. Favorite parts include Belize in Angels in America: Perestroika, Gidger in The Violet Hour, and as Raul in Extremities. He has also enjoyed fun roles on the musical side of theatre in such shows as Grease, Guys and Dolls, La Cage Aux Folles, Gypsy, West Side Story, and A Chorus Line. He hopes you enjoy the show as much as he enjoyed directing. Here’s to the journey, live, learn & pass it on. Enjoy!!!
John Allman (Music Director)
Originally from Port Angeles, John Allman graduated from UW with a B.A. in Music History and Theory, then moved to New York City and studied composition privately with a teacher from the Juilliard School while working in the administration of the Metropolitan Opera. He wrote vocal and incidental music for two independent productions in NYC: Agamemnon and Henry V, both at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company. He also had a vocal piece premiered by the vocal group Galatea (later Cerdorrion) at Church of the Ascension in Manhattan.
John moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he worked for Santa Fe Opera, and produced a workshop of his original musical based on Alice in Wonderland with co-sponsorship from the Opera and the Museum of International Folk Art. He also worked as a vocal coach and accompanist for the Musical Theater Program at the College of Santa Fe, and gave pre-opera talks for three seasons at Santa Fe Opera. He premiered his Sonatina for Piano (inspired by an Agnes Martin painting) at the Museum of Fine Arts, written and performed for their 80th anniversary celebration.
Back in the Seattle area, John recently music-directed A Man of No Importance for Showtunes! at Kirkland Performance Center, and was also Assoc. MD for their production of On the Twentieth Century. He was Associate Music Director for Village Theatre’s premiere production of Little Women in 2008, and has played keyboards for VT Mainstage productions (CATS and Evita), music-directed new works for Village Originals workshops (The Alchemists, Last Starfighter, and more), and worked with VT’s Kidstage program in both Issaquah and Everett locations. He also co-taught a Musical Theater class at Cornish College, and played keyboards for Sweeney Todd (Eastside Musical Theater) and Bat Boy (ArtsWest).
Austin Anderson (Vocal Coach)
Amie Christensen (Stage Manager)
Amie is very excited to be involved in her first show with Redwood Theatre. She has always loved Shakespeare, Illyria is based on her favorite play by the bard, so you can imagine her thrill in being the Stage Manager for the West Coast premiere. Amie is a recent migrant to the Pacific Northwest; she is in love with Seattle and thrilled to be here! Prior to Illyria, Amie was the Stage Manager for ART with the Eclectic Theatre Company. She would like to thank the cast and crew for their amazing talent, for always being early to rehearsal, and for being absolutely wonderful to work with. Final thanks go to her boyfriend Aaron for being the most fantastic and supportive person in the world.
Roy Arauz (Producer)
Roy is delighted to see Illyria grace Redwood Theatre’s stage as the final show of our 25th Anniversary Season, and grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented cast and creative team. Thank you Peter Mills for writing such beautiful music, and J.S. for his patience, support, and love. Cakes and ale!
Cele Wolman (Costume Designer)
Peter C. Mills (Music, Lyrics, and Co-adapter)
Peter received the 2003 Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award from The ASCAP Foundation, and received a 2002 grant from the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation. Most recently, he wrote book, music, and lyrics for The Persuit of Persephone, (nominated for two Drama Desk Awards: Best Music, Best Orchestrations) a new musical about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s college years. In 2004 he wrote the music and lyrics for Lonely Rhymes, a comic song cycle, and in 2003 he wrote the book, music, and lyrics for The Alchemists. Illyria, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for which he also wrote book, music, and lyrics, had its regional premiere at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Fall 2004, and a cast album of that production was released in April 2005. The Taxi Cabaret, his first new musical, was originally performed in 2000, and in Fall 2004 was published by Samuel French. With Cara Reichel, he wrote The Flood, which was selected for the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop (2001). MARCO POLO, his NYU thesis musical with composer Deborah Abramson, was selected for the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop in 2000, and Peter and Deborah were chosen as 2000-01 Dramatists Guild Fellows.
Cara Reichel (Co-adapter)
Cara received the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women, a 2004 New Directors/New Works grant from the Drama League, was the 2006 “Alumna of the Year” for Brooklyn College’s Theatre Program, and is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and the SSD&C. Cara is also the author and illustrator of a published children’s book: A Stone Promise (Landmark Editions, 1991).Since 1998, Cara has been the Producing Artistic Director and a founding member of Prospect Theater Company, an acclaimed non-profit organization producing off-off-Broadway in Manhattan. Cara’s particular passion is for collaborating with writers on the creation of new musicals. For Prospect, Cara has directed: The Flood, Iron Curtain, The Book of the Dun Cow, The Persuit of Persephone (co-bookwriter, 2006 Drama Desk Nomination for Best Music and Orchestrations), Lonely Rhymes, The Uses of Enchantment, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The House of Bernarda Alba, The Alchemists, Dido and Aeneas, (OOBR Award), The Taxi Cabaret (OOBR Award), Illyria (co-adapter), and Danton’s Death, among others. Other recent directing credits include: Julius Caesar (GMT Productions), The White Widow (PASSAJ Productions), and The Most Happy Fella (Gallery Players).
