PATRICK WETZEL* (Spickner) - This year marks Patrick’s 18th year in show business. Most recently he was in the LA premiere of The Producers starring Martin Short and Jason Alexander directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman where he understudied and performed the roles of Franz Liebkind and Leo Bloom. Broadway credits include the Harry Connick Jr. musical Thou Shalt Not also directed/choreographed by Ms. Stroman (cast recording), Annie Get Your Gun starring Bernadette Peters where he understudied and performed the role of Charlie Davenport directed by Graciela Daniele (cast recording), and Ain’t Broadway Grand. Other New York credits include Cinderella at MSG starring Eartha Kitt, Daydream Believer at West Bank Cafe, and City Center’s Encores! series productions of Golden Boy and Pajama Game. Regional and touring productions include Joseph…Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond, Crazy For You (Bobby Child) choreographed by Cheryl Swift, and Goodspeed’s productions of Animal Crackers and Finias Rainbow. Television credits include “Today Show,” “Rosie O’Donnell Show,” and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
MICHAEL JAY HENRY* (Natty) - created the role of Werner in the two-character comedy Shredders at last years FringeNYC festival. Other recent roles have included Jacobo in Fools’ Mass (LaMama, Etc.), Puck, Hamlet’s Dad and others in Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Porter (Medicine Show Theater), Hersh in The Quarrel (Barrington Stage Co.), Doyle in Floyd Collins (Gallery Players), Christy Mahon in Playboy of the Western World (Triad Theater), Johnnie in Lovers and Other Strangers (Michael Chekhov Theater Co.), Father Ambrose and Sister Gabrielle in The Devils of Loudon (Dzieci Theatre Co.) and countless improvisation performances. TV appearances include comedy roles on Comedy Central and Court TV. Thanks to Anna, Ariana, Leila, Ilse, Carol, Eddie, Gary, and Richard for helping me to be here. heymichael@mindspring.com
RICHARD ROWAN* (Horstein) - was General Genghis Kahn Schmitz in the national tour of Seussical, the Musical with Cathy Rigby. Off-Broadway, he played the Wolfman in Miami Beach Monsters and appeared in Pets! and The News in Revue. Regionally, he has performed at Bristol Riverside Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Hippodrome State Theatre and Carousel Dinner Theatre, among others. His credits include Smudge in Forever Plaid, the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, First Gangster in Kiss Me, Kate and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.
CRYSTAL SCOTT (Alice) - has toured the U.S., Canada, and Mexico with productions of Evita (Mistress u/s), and The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy). Recent New York theatre: Believe (Genesius Guild), Madame Viardot (Princess Zatiana). Other New York credits: Red Sky (Henry St. Settlement), Bohemia On Wry (Theater for the New City),and Sid (Artists in Search Of...). Regional credits include Buddy (Downtown Cabaret), Godspell (Rockwell), Christmas Carol (Virginia Musical Theatre),and Through the Picture Tube (Mill Mountain Theatre). Films: Open All Night, The Rush. TV: "TV101." Crystal can be seen in the current ad campaign for Neighborhoodies.com.
SERI JOHNSON (Susan) - After a two year hiatus from performing, Seri is delighted to be back on stage with The Spickner Spin. Last seen, sailing the Caribbean, singing for her supper on Norwegian Cruise lines, she also has Regional and Touring credits including Damn Yankees!, Mame, Magic of Musicals, Swinging on a Star, Tintypes, Oklahoma, Pump Boys and Dinettes, and The Music Man. When not on stage, Seri entertains herself with a wide variety of seamstressing projects, educating herself in holistic nutrition and creative writing. Having played way too many "Nice" characters, Seri is tickled pink to play a bitch!
CHRISTOPHER SLOAN* (Ensemble) - was last seen as the Emcee in the regional premiere of Sam Mendes' Cabaret. National Tours: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (opposite Petula Clark) and Sam Mendes' Cabaret (Emcee). Some New York credits include Richard Rodgers' Broadway, Insomnia, and Diva Diaries (opposite Terrance Mann). Regional: West Side Story (Baby John), Joseph... (Isachaar), 1776 (Edward Rutledge), and Crazy for You (Bobby). For the last few years, Chris has work shopped the Broadway-bound Elvis Presley musical now entitled All Shook Up. He holds a BFA in Musical Theater from Otterbein College. Chris is currently seeking representation.
LORI BROOKE COHAN (Ensemble) - is happy to be back in NYC appearing in The Spickner Spin after a few months on the road with Clifford the Big Red Dog, Live! (Swing/Dance Captain). She's worked at the Forestburgh Playhouse, in The Music Man (Zaneeta), Titanic, La Cage aux Folles, and Evita. Lori got her musical theatre B.F.A. at The Univ. of Michigan: Steel Magnolias (Shelby), Oklahoma! (Shy Girl), Children of Eden (Snake), Nine (Gretchen Von Krupf), and others. She plans to go back on the road as the swing in Blue's Clues this fall. Lori also music directs.
PAUL DOWNS COLAIZZO (Ensemble) is proud to be making his NYC debut. Currently studying Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (Playwrights Horizons studio), Paul is wrapping up his first year in the city. Favorite roles include Charlie Baker in The Foreigner, Tulsa in Gypsy, and Motel in Fiddler on the Roof. NYU stage credits include multiple staged readings, The Good Doctor, and A View from the Bridge. Paul acted in several independent short films, and designed the show Laughing All the Way from the Sperm Bank which is premiering at FringeNYC. Paul thanks his friends, family, and God for his amazing opportunities. www.pauldownscolaizzo.com
JAMES JUNIO (Ensemble) - makes his New York debut here at the New York Fringe Festival. A recent graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design, he is also a Visual Artist and a Freelance Illustrator. James recently enjoyed warm success from his original operetta Arias for the Mundane. Other favorite roles include Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Berger in Hair, and twelve memorable characters from Reefer Madness: the Musical performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. James would like to thank the Man Upstairs for his opportunities and talents and Family and Friends for their prayers and support.
ASHLEIGH LAY (Ensemble) - This is Ashleigh's debut at Fringe NYC! Past roles include: Mrs. Phagan (Parade), Amelia Bedelia (Tikki Tikki Tembo), Jan (Grease), Joanne (Godspell), and Queen Aggravaine (Once Upon a Mattress). AMDA grad, 2002. Kisses to Megs, John, Wallace, Gellert, Shad, Campos, Hawmi, the Crewnos, and the Brazilians and the Nequities (2...4...). Punkin' and ZC forever. As always, love to the most wonderful family in the world and thanks to Daddy-bear who gets me through every day.
RORI NOGEE (Ensemble / Dance Captain) – is honored to work with such a talented cast New York credits include the Broadway revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a reading of Internet, the Musical!, Two Singular Sensations at Don’t Tell Mama’s and Laura/Jenny in the award-winning 2003 FringeNYC musical Meaningless Sex. Other favorite credits include: Chicago (Roxie), Carousel (Carrie), Grease (Rizzo), Into the Woods (Little Red), and the title role in The Diary of Anne Frank. She can currently be seen at Long Island’s CAP Center playing the Narrator in Joseph…Dreamcoat and every female role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Love to family, inspirations and NYC!
LAURIE POTTER (Ensemble) COMING SOON!
MARY RILEY (Ensemble) - is a Virginia native who is new to NYC! She was recently seen in Virginia Stage Company’s Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse and at California Theatre Center performing in The Miracle Worker and touring the west coast in Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and The Ugly Duckling. She received her Master of Arts in Music from Radford University and a Bachelor of Music from East Carolina University. All my thanks and love to my friends and family. This is an awesome show with a great cast. We hope you enjoy it! Please visit http://www.maryriley.net.
EMILY VICK (Ensemble) - is thrilled to make her New York City debut in The Spickner Spin. After graduating from Catholic University of America, she has enjoyed past work at Maine State Music Theatre, Signature Theatre, and The Barn Theatre. She would like to send a huge and energetic 'thank you' to the production team, cast, her wonderful and supportive friends and family, and especially DAD & MOM! www.greerlange.com/talent/emilyvick
SCOTT WEIGAND (Ensemble) - COMING SOON!
BEN WEST (Ensemble) - was last seen flouncing around the stage of Gallery Players in their production of Merrily We Roll Along. Other New York credits include Man Wanted! at Center Stage, which he also conceived and produced, and the workshop of Hey, Look Me Over! at the 45th Street Theatre. He also played dual roles of Young Sydney and Charlie Chaplin in the world premier of the musical Chaplin in Florida. Ben's favorite role to date is his turn as Mrs. Drudge in Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound. He is currently working on his one-man show Let 'Em Rot! Enjoy.
JEFFREY CAMPOS (Conductor) - a native of Colorado, attended the University of Denver and the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with composers and conductors such as Daniel Pinkham, Horst Bucholtz, Robert Penn, F. John Adams, and Donald Keats. His musical directing credits include Mame (Cohoes Music Hall), A Stoop on Orchard Street (Off-Broadway), Guys and Dolls, Finianâ’s Rainbow, as well as operatic excerpts from La Bohčme, Die tote Stadt, and The Tender Land. His conducting credits include the “Adagietto” from Mahlerâ’s Symphony No. 5, Siegfried Idyll (Wagner), and numerous choral works. He is currently composing a musical based upon Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask and assisting composer Andrew Lippa with songs for the motion picture Asphalt Beach. Gi zah gin, Shad!
SUSANNA BAUER (Viola) - was an orchestra member in several symphony orchestras and chamber music groups in Hamburg, Germany and Paris, France. She also is a former member of the German-American Heavy Metal Group Galactica. These days she is performing with the New York based ‘The Untitled String Quartet.’
Daniel Dorrance (Saxophone) - received his musical education at The Mannes College of Music where he studied with Thomas Nyfenger and Judith Mendenhall. Daniel has toured extensively throughout South America and South East Asia with several musical groups including George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Phantom Of The Opera, and Kiss Of The Spider Woman. Daniel has been a principle flutist in many orchestras in the tri-state area and South America and is a multi-instrumen-talist first call flutist with The Lion King as well as several other Broadway musicals.
JAY HARRELL (Drums) - after receiving a BA in music performance at UNC Wilmington he took the position as Timanist with the Wilmington Symphony along with playing in local jazz and rock groups around the beach scene. Recording sessions with members of the Atlanta Rhythm Section. After moving to New York City two years ago he is making his way around the scenes most notably playing on a Jon Uman Project (Tribalism) at Hammerstein Ballroom. Jay is a member of the NY Skyliners Drum Corp playing snare. He in addition gives private lessons and is the drum instructor with "Legacy" Drum Corp NYC and Calderone School of Music.
JOSH JOHNSON (Violin) - An alumnus of The Juilliard School, Joshua has served as concertmaster of the Diablo Symphony Orchestra, principal viola of the San Francisco Civic Symphony Orchestra, principal clarinetist of both the Nittany Valley Symphony and the Marin Symphony, first violinist in the San Francisco Ballet, solo English horn of the City Concert Opera in San Francisco, and several other orchestral and chamber positions, as well as solo performances in New York, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh. This is his first Fringe performance, and he is extremely excited to be a part of this insanity.
SHANA KIRSH (Cello) – is a recent graduate of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she had been studying cello for 11 years. She attended the Crowden Music School in Berkeley, California, studying and performing on cello, piano, harpsichord, and voice. Before moving to New York City where she joined the NYU Orchestra, she performed with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra, the Young People's Symphony Orchestra, and the Oakland Youth Orchestra, touring to New York City's Carnegie Hall and to performance venues in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Cuba. Shana is excited to be participating in the Fringe Festival, and thanks her family for their support.
Michael Rens (Electric Bass) - Electric bassist, Michael Rens, received his Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. While there, he was able to perform with the likes of The Lincoln Center Jazz Septet, Nelson Rangell, Bob Newhart, and Shari Lewis. Michael then moved to Miami, Florida where he recieved both a Master's Degree in Jazz Pedagogy and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Miami. He was recently featured as a guest artist at the 34th annual UWGB Jazz Festival. Since residing in New York, Michael is performing with the bands The Square Egg and Johnny Hi Fi.
NATALIA RODRIGUEZ (Flute) – was born in Asuncion, Paraguay, and migrated with her family to the U.S. at the age of 6. Coming from a musical family (her mom a singer, her father a composer, her brother a bass player), she began flute lessons at the age of 7. She played with youth orchestras like the borough wide orchestra and the all city high school orchestra, playing in concert halls like Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center. Also performed with the Lehman College Orchestra, and Chamber music concerts at the 92 Street Y. She is working towards a double major in music performance (studying with Keren Schweizer) and music education at the CUNY.
Mary Jane Shull (Violin) - is a native of Columbus Ohio where she began her studies with the violin at the age of seven. She was a student of her father, James Shull, until college where she continued her musical education at the College of Wooster under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Wood and Lin He. She graduated with a degree in communication studies and a minor in violin performance and has participated in numerous musical groups such as the Columbus Youth Orchestra and the Wooster Symphony where she was featured as a soloist. She is a New York City resident only as of July and is looking forward to many more musical experiences in the Big Apple.
