Embedded Files
Cast
SAMANTHA RAE BASS | Daisy Hilton
Returning to Brief Cameo Productions is Samantha Rae Bass. A native of Cookeville, TN. Her past works include The Bodyguard, Leader Of The Pack, Beehive, The 60’s Musical, Rock and Roll Redemption, and roles such as Trix the Aviatrix in The Drowsy Chaperone, Marie/Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Shug Avery in The Color Purple, Effie White in Dreamgirls as well as Felicia in Memphis, The Musical. Samantha is the creative director at Move In Motivation. Samantha also writes her own audio stories and has also done some commercial/film projects. Samantha would like to thank her friends and family for their continuous support of her passions. For booking inquires send emails to Samantharaebass@gmail.com.
JOHANNA REGAN MILANI | Violet Hilton
Johanna Regan Milani is honored to be returning for her second Brief Cameo production! Johanna is a CT based actor/singer, performing with professional and community theatres across the state. She was most recently on stage in My Fair Lady (Mrs. Pearce) with Ivoryton Playhouse. Other credits include: Falsettos (Trina), Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Into the Woods (Baker's Wife), Spamalot (Lady of the Lake), Young Frankenstein (Inga), The Addams Family (Morticia), and Pirates of Penzance (Mabel). Johanna spends her days as a SAHM, as well as the owner of her small handmade jewelry business, Songbird Creative Designs. She would like to thank Jim and Alan for this incredible opportunity, as well as her two boys, Emilio and Luca, and husband, Tullio, for their unwavering love and support.
TULLIO MILANI | Terry Connor
Bio coming soon.
ETHAN SMITH | Buddy Foster
Ethan (he/him) is grateful and excited to be a part of this team! A Chicago-based actor, he graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a BFA in acting and a minor in film studies in May 2023. His recent credits include Robert Martin in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE with Brief Cameo Productions, Adolphe Le Prince in the world premiere play THE CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOUIS LE PRINCE at the Factory Theater (Chicago), Ensemble and understudy Judas/John in GODSPELL at Music Theater Works (Chicago), Vic in the world premiere musical RIP - A MUSICAL COMEDY OF LIFE & DEATH (Milwaukee), Pete in PETE THE CAT the musical at First Stage Children's Theatre (Milwaukee), understudy for Danny/Legionnaire in WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and understudy for Tony Wendice in DIAL M FOR MURDER at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Ethan sends his sincerest thanks to his family, friends, and mentors for their constant support of his career. @e.thansmith
MILES HANNA | Jake
Bio coming soon.
BRYAN SONGY | Sir
Bryan Songy is a Louisiana-born, NYC-based, very hairy theatremaker whose work as an actor, singer, director, writer, teacher, and cabaret artist has been seen Off-Broadway, throughout New York City, and in theatres across the country. Brief Cameo audiences will remember him as Tateh in Ragtime, the title role in Sunday in the Park with George, and Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone. He originated roles in the Off-Broadway casts of Then Sean Met Khalid and Camp Morning Wood, and toured for two seasons in the National Tour of A Christmas Carol. Other NYC credits include Paul/Others in Rent (The Secret Theatre), Robert in Boeing-Boeing (Brookes Stage Co.), Ross/Rosalind in As HE Likes It, Caliban in The Tempest, and Rod Serling in A Fifth Dimension (Sour Grapes Prods.), and the world premiere of Sybil Lines’ Bastard Blood. Favorite regional: Trunchbull in Matilda, Carlino in Wait Until Dark, The Mayor in Seussical (Fort Peck Summer Theatre), and Fogg/Soloist in Sweeney Todd, Van Buren in Damn Yankees, and The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz (Four Corners Musical Theatre). He has been featured at The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, and The Stonewall Inn, and recently premiered his debut solo cabaret Rainbow High at Chelsea Table + Stage. Proud alum of LSU and Circle in the Square. Thanks to the Brief Cameo fam for putting up with him for another one! Support local theatre and public schools! Twitter/Insta: @mistersongy
Ensemble Members
(listed alphabetically by last name)
GALEN DONOVAN | Lizard Man, Tod Browning, and others
Generously sponsored by DONNA DUPUISGalen Donovan is so excited to be involved in his second Brief Cameo Productions show! A huge thanks to Jim for taking him on as part of the team! Most recently Galen was the assistant to the choreographer for God Bless Us Everyone (Ivoryton Playhouse) and seen on stage in Escape To Margaritaville (Ivoryton Playhouse) and ONCE (The Wilbury Theatre Group).
KATHRYN DOOLEY | Bearded Lady and others
Kathryn is so excited to be a part of this production! She spent last summer at Ivoryton Playhouse, as ensemble in Joseph and the female swing in My Fair Lady. Originally from Austin, Texas, she is now a rising junior at The Hartt School. She is working toward her BFA in Musical Theater with a minor in Mathematics. Recent credits include Bright Star (Alice U/S), Guys and Dolls (Female Swing/Assistant Choreographer), and Dogfight (Ensemble/US Rose/Dance Captain). She sends all her love to her family, friends, and incredible teachers.
NATHAN RUSSO | Human Pin Cushion and others
Nathan Russo is proud to take the stage with Brief Cameo once again! This will be Nate's fifth BCP production. Credits in the area also include Glen in The Wedding Singer with Niantic Bay Playhouse, Admiral von Schreiber in Ivoryton Playhouse's The Sound of Music, and Louis in Angels in America at Madison Lyric Stage. As always, much love to all family, friends, mentors, and colleagues for their tireless support and guidance.
AUTUMN ELIZA SHEFFY | Fortune Teller, Auntie, and others
Brief Cameo Debut! Favorite credits include Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Ivoryton Playhouse), Waitress (Cape Playhouse), Beautiful (Reagle Music Theater), The Marvelous Wonderettes (Wohlfahrt Dinner Theatre); ELF (Seven Angels Theatre); and singing internationally onboard AIDALuna. Her single, “Ace,” is streaming on all platforms (autumn eliza). Proud alum of the Boston Conservatory. So excited to be working with a brilliant team. Connect at @autumnelizasheffy.
NATHAN SZYMANSKI | Geek and others
Nathan Szymanski is ecstatic to make his on stage debut with Brief Cameo Productions! Nathan is an Ivoryton, CT native and graduated with an Acting BFA from Shenandoah Conservatory. Some previous credits include Headmistress Trunchbull (Matilda the Musical), Professor Plum (CLUE), and Duke of Gloucester (Henry V). Endless gratitude for my family and friends, and their unwavering support! Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the electric atmosphere!
BENJAMIN WAMBEKE | Dog Boy, Houdini, and others
Ben is proud to be here for his second time with Brief Cameo Productions. A lifelong performer, some of Ben's favorite credits include Jinkx in FOREVER PLAID, Phil Davis in WHITE CHRISTMAS, Eddie in DAMN YANKEES, Mordred in CAMELOT, and The Emcee in CABARET. Special shoutout to the Wambekes and Bryan Songy, whose support means the world. @wambekewiththegoodhair
Production Team
JIM CLARK | Co-Director
BCP - Ragtime in Concert (Director), Songs from the Elephant's Trunk (Director/Producer), Sunday in the Park with George (The Boatman), The Drowsy Chaperone (Director). Jim's credits include serving as a teaching artist, director, actor, or stage manager for Ivoryton Playhouse (where he is currently the Resident Stage Manager), Long Wharf Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Foote Summer Theater, Synapse Theatre Ensemble, Columbia University, Roebling and Driggs Productions, Yale Opera, The New York Financial Writers’ Association’s annual Financial Follies, New Haven Theater Company (including the first community production of Paula Vogel's A Civil War Christmas), The Hugo Kauder Society, Act II Theatre, Grassroots Theater Company, Sacred Heart Academy, New Haven Ballet, Fairfield University and the Chancel Opera Company. All my love to Jeremy, for putting up with a theater maker's crazy life.
ALAN PIOTROWICZ | Co-Director / Production Designer
BCP - Ragtime (Projection Designer), Sunday in the Park with George (Director, Projection Designer), Master Class (Director), The Drowsy Chaperone (Production Designer). Alan makes his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he has designed for several companies including All In Productions, Cooperative Performance, Danceworks, Falls Patio Players, First Stage Children’s Theatre, In Tandem Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Sunstone Studios MKE, Theatre Gigante, Theater RED, Umbrella Group Milwaukee, and Windfall Theatre. He's also designed for TITAN Theatre Company in New York City, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland, Michigan, and the Ivoryton Playhouse (The Porch on Windy Hill, Native Gardens, The Legend of Georgia McBride, On Golden Pond, The Color Purple, Swingtime Canteen, and Alabama Story). His directing credits include Some Enchanted Evening - The Songs of Rogers & Hammerstein (Falls Patio Players), Dead Man's Cell Phone (Pink Banana Theatre Co.), Rocket Man (Soulstice Theatre), The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (The World's Stage Theatre Co.), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Village Playhouse), The Lisbon Traviata (Sunstone Studios MKE), and the world premiere of RIP - A Musical Comedy of Life & Death. He received his training at UW-Madison and The Santa Fe Opera. Proud board member of Brief Cameo Productions. www.alanpiotrowicz.com
JILL BRUNELLE | Musical Director / Piano
Jill Brunelle is a repertoire pianist at Yale University, working with Yale Opera, Yale School of Drama, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and Yale College. Her recent music directing credits include The Fantasticks at Ivoryton Playhouse, and The Addams Family and Violet at Southern Connecticut State University. At Yale School of Drama Ms. Brunelle directed Steven Sondheim’s Passion, The Apple Tree, Trouble in Tahiti, and The Medium. As Yale Opera Chorus Master she has prepared ensembles for Eugene Onegin, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Le Nozze Di Figaro and La Bohème. Ms. Brunelle recently celebrated five years as Music Director at the renowned Foote School Summer Theater. Her 2019-2020 season includes Fun Home at the Yale School of Drama, Ragtime with Brief Cameo Productions at the Ivoryton Playhouse, and the world premiere of the new opera Salt. Ms. Brunelle has served as faculty/staff at Boston University, New England Conservatory, Tufts University, Hartt School of Music, Connecticut Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Opera Boston. As a collaborative pianist Ms. Brunelle is highly sought after as a recital partner, performing internationally as well as at Carnegie Hall and Jordan Hall, and has performed world premieres at numerous festivals, including the celebrated Bang on a Can festival in New York City. Ms. Brunelle also collaborates frequently with area companies and ensembles, including Orchestra New England and Long Wharf Theater.
KATHLEEN SANTOMASSO | Costume Designer
Kathleen (Katie) Santomasso is returning for her fourth consecutive show with Brief Cameo Productions, after making her design debut with Sunday in the Park with George! Katie has worked both onstage and behind the scenes for countless shows. She is the resident Costume, Hair and Makeup Designer for the Foote School in New Haven, CT. During her off season you can find her roaming through stacks of books in the Perrine Library on campus where she has been working as a Librarian for the past 10 years. Katie’s design endeavors have brought her to various projects on both the East and West Coast.
HOLLY PRICE | Stage Manager
Generously sponsored by LEE-ANN FLYNNHolly Price is excited to stage manage another show with Brief Cameo Productions, after previously working on Sunday in the Park with George, Master Class, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Holly has worked with the Ivoryton Playhouse since 2009 and currently serves as their Production Manager. A UConn Graduate with a B.A. in English, Holly is thankful to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew!
JASON "TIKI" TACKETT | Poster & Logo Designer
Jason "Tiki" Tackett is a self-taught digital artist who has had their work featured in projects such as Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, D23's celebration of Walt Disney World's 40th anniversary, the official Disney Parks Blog, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, and the "Only in Queens" Summer Festival in New York. He previously co-designed projections and designed the poster for BCP's SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and the poster for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. www.jasontikitackett.com
Musicians
TBA | Reed 1
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Reed 2
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Trumpet
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Guitars, Banjo
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Drums
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Violin
Bio coming soon.
TBA | Bass
Bio coming soon.
Authors
BILL RUSSELL | Book and Lyrics
Bill Russell received Tony Award nominations for the book and lyrics of the original Broadway production of Side Show (1997). The critically praised revised version played the La Jolla Playhouse and the Kennedy Center and received an acclaimed Broadway revival in 2014 and a London premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in 2016.
Mr. Russell co-wrote the book and lyrics for off-Broadway’s long-running musical Pageant and directed it in the Fringe and West End in London and at theaters around America. He authored the book and lyrics for Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (music by Janet Hood), directing it in London’s Fringe and West End, among many others. At the end of 2020, he co-directed a streamed version featuring 51 stars of theater, TV and film, including Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon, Cherry Jones, Fran Drescher, JK Simmons, Seth Rudetsky, Varla Jean Merman and Norm Lewis, as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Other musicals for which he authored book and lyrics include Up in the Air (Kennedy Center) and the off-Broadway musicals The Last Smoker in America, Lucky Duck, Fourtune and The Texas Chainsaw Musical. Brave New World (lyrics) premiered in Asheville, NC in 2016. Unexpected Joy premiered in New York and London in 2018. He has honorary doctorates from the Boston Conservatory and Morningside College and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2016. More at www.billrussell.net.
Mr. Russell co-wrote the book and lyrics for off-Broadway’s long-running musical Pageant and directed it in the Fringe and West End in London and at theaters around America. He authored the book and lyrics for Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (music by Janet Hood), directing it in London’s Fringe and West End, among many others. At the end of 2020, he co-directed a streamed version featuring 51 stars of theater, TV and film, including Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon, Cherry Jones, Fran Drescher, JK Simmons, Seth Rudetsky, Varla Jean Merman and Norm Lewis, as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Other musicals for which he authored book and lyrics include Up in the Air (Kennedy Center) and the off-Broadway musicals The Last Smoker in America, Lucky Duck, Fourtune and The Texas Chainsaw Musical. Brave New World (lyrics) premiered in Asheville, NC in 2016. Unexpected Joy premiered in New York and London in 2018. He has honorary doctorates from the Boston Conservatory and Morningside College and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2016. More at www.billrussell.net.
HENRY KRIEGER | Music
Henry Krieger began composing for Off-Off-Broadway in his twenties. Soon, collaborations with Tom Eyen and Broadway director/producer/choreographer Michael Bennett led to a workshop production of what was originally entitled Big Dreams. After several workshops, numerous rewrites, and an out-of-town tryout in Boston, Dreamgirls came to Broadway in 1981 and was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards (including Best Score), winning six. One song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," became a top hit, and others became popular as well. Twenty-five years later, the film version of Dreamgirls, directed by Bill Condon and starring Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Beyonce, was released and the soundtrack became a number-one album.
Mr. Krieger also composed the scores to The Tap Dance Kid (1983-85) with Robert Lorick, and the acclaimed Side Show (1997-98), written with Bill Russell and directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom.
Oscar nominations: "Listen," "Love You, I Do" and "Patience" for Best Original Song. Grammy awards: Cast Album of Dreamgirls and “Love You, I Do” for Best Song in a Motion Picture. Tony nominations: Side Show and Dreamgirls for Best Score. Henry lives in Manhattan’s West Village.
Mr. Krieger also composed the scores to The Tap Dance Kid (1983-85) with Robert Lorick, and the acclaimed Side Show (1997-98), written with Bill Russell and directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom.
Oscar nominations: "Listen," "Love You, I Do" and "Patience" for Best Original Song. Grammy awards: Cast Album of Dreamgirls and “Love You, I Do” for Best Song in a Motion Picture. Tony nominations: Side Show and Dreamgirls for Best Score. Henry lives in Manhattan’s West Village.
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