A Christmas Carol

Bruce Cromer

Bruce has appeared in A Christmas Carol at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park since 1997, including eight years as Bob Cratchit; other Playhouse credits include Speaking in Tongues (2012), King Lear (2001) and Barrymore (1999). His directing credits for the Playhouse’s outreach touring company include Touch the Names and The Tempest. Regionally, Bruce has appeared in more than 170 professional stage productions at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Stages, Clarence Brown Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Seattle Children’s Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, among others. He is a founding resident artist with The Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton, a certified teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and a professor of acting at Wright State University’s Professional Actor Training Program. He has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1981. Sharing the stage in this A Christmas Carol with his son Charlie is a long-time dream come true.

Nicolás Acosta

Nicolás is overjoyed to be an acting intern at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and in A Christmas Carol! Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Nicolás is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky in Arts Administration and Theatre. Favorite credits include Chino in West Side Story, Timothy in Hand to God, Fighting Prawn/Grempkin/Mack/Sánchez in Peter and the Starcatcher, Lefou in Beauty and the Beast, Pepper in Mamma Mia, Ensemble/Harry Houdini understudy in Ragtime and Soloist/Dance Captain in the regional Emmy Award-winning production of It’s a Grand Night for Singing. Muchas gracias a mi papá, mamá, mi familia y a Dios. ¡Arriba el talento hispano y latino!

Joshua Carandang

Joshua is an actor from Lorain, Ohio. A recent graduate of Xavier University, he’s eager to begin his career in theatre and thrilled to be a member of the Bruce E. Coyle Intern Company at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. His recent credits include Henry in Next to Normal, Bobby Strong in Urinetown and Andrew Jackson in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. He’d like to thank his loved ones for being so supportive and his mentors inside the Xavier Theatre program whose tireless dedication to the development of their students has made him the actor he is today.

Roshan Chitnis

Roshan plays Tiny Tim and is proud to be making his Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park debut. He is in the fourth grade at Endeavor Elementary and his favorite subject is recess. Roshan enjoys reading and his favorite book is The Little Prince. He loves the Avengers and Star Wars movies, playing Roblox, Restaurant Tycoon and CoolMath games. He even manages to learn Taekwondo in his spare time! He would like to thank his older brother Rishi, twin sister Soni and his parents for putting up with his endless jokes and mimicry attempts. He would prefer cake over flowers anytime.

Charlie Cromer

Charlie is honored to be back for a second year in Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s A Christmas Carol. He has appeared nationally in lead roles with the Berkeley Impact Theatre, Eureka Suitcase Classics and 7 Stages Atlanta, where he took part in the national premiere of Italian playwright Laura Forti's Pesach. His shadow play, The Asylum of Dr. Moreau, won Critic's Pick for Best Drama at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Regional credits include Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet and Titus Andronicus at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. You can currently hear him on Audible as the narrator for Colin Dodds' novels The Last Bad Job and Watershed. Charlie earned his Master’s in Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Georgia in Athens, where he currently lives with his beloved fiancée, Lauren. He is a proud member of Actor's Equity.

Deja Elliott

Deja is very excited to be joining the cast of A Christmas Carol this year. She recently finished her time at West Virginia University studying theatre with a concentration in musical theatre. Her favorite WVU credits were Rheba in You Can’t Take it With You and Beethoven in Dog Sees God. After graduating, she joined West Virginia Public Theatre for the world premiere of Storming Heaven: The Musical and got to be a part of PAC Production’s first show The Cherry Orchard as Varya. Deja would like to thank her family, her friends and her intern company for helping to make Cincinnati feel like home.

Teagan Farmer

Teagan is excited to be performing in her debut role in A Christmas Carol at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Teagan lives in Cincinnati with her family and is an eighth-grader at St. Veronica School. In addition to acting, Teagan enjoys playing volleyball. Teagan would like to thank her mom, dad and sister McKenna for all of their love and support. Follow her on Instagram @june_star19.

Annie Fitzpatrick

Annie is delighted to return for her sixth season of A Christmas Carol. Past Playhouse productions include Alias Grace (2019); A Prayer for Owen Meany (2016); To Kill a Mockingbird (2016); Pride and Prejudice (2014); and Hank Williams: Lost Highway (2012). She recently appeared in The Roommate at American Stage and The Wolves at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. She was a founding member of The New Group in New York City and toured nationally and internationally with Murder a la Carte. Regionally, Annie has performed at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre Center, Florida Stage, Florida Studio Theatre, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Porthouse Theatre and The Human Race Theatre Company. Television and film credits include Chicago P.D., Lifetime’s Army Wives, A&E’s Those Who Kill, The Old Man and The Gun, Fun Size, Milk Money, to be, Broken Hearts and the upcoming Dark Waters.

Jo Garcia-Reger

Jo is so excited to be a part of the Bruce E. Coyle Intern Company at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park! She recently graduated from Indiana State University with a BS in Theatre, with minors in both Music and Dance. Jo’s Indiana State credits include Urinetown (Hope Cladwell), J. Caesar (Cassius) and Company (Jenny), as well as many other shows that she is so thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of. She was last seen as Juliet in Crossroads Repertory Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet, where her other credits include Steel Magnolias (Shelby), Young Frankenstein (Elizabeth Benning) and Cyrano de Bergerac (Lise), among others.

Ryan Wesley Gilreath

Ryan is a Brooklyn-based actor who is ecstatic to be returning to his home town for this amazing production. Recently, Ryan shot an indie pilot for Netflix and can be seen as Deputy Westerlund in their film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring Zac Efron. He also plays Forrest Mars in The Food That Built America for the History Channel. Other television and film credits include Jack Miller on TURN (AMC), Oppenheimer in American Genius (National Geographic), Gold Fever (Discovery Channel) and the pilot Guilty (Fox), opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. Theatre credits include Seven Angels (Burning Desire, starring alongside Lou Diamond Phillips), Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (Riptide, Tribes, Other Desert Cities, Next Fall, Mary’s Wedding), the national tour of Echoes of Ireland, The Human Race (Ears on a Beatle) and Florida Repertory (Deathtrap). Big thanks to his wonderful family, the Playhouse crew, Blake for having him back, Lynn Meyers and Cincinnati for being AWESOME! Follow him on Instagram @WildWesleyJames.

Julia Gomez

Julia is over the moon to be joining the Bruce E. Coyle Intern Company at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for the 2019-20 season! She is a recent honors graduate from Wright State University (WSU), where she earned her BFA in Acting and BA in Spanish. Favorite WSU credits include Blood Wedding (Mother), Stop Kiss (Sara) and Macbeth (Witch 1/Seyton), under the direction of the esteemed Bruce “Ebenezer Scrooge” Cromer. After graduation, Julia joined Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (HSRT) for two seasons, performing in West Side Story (Rosalia), Cinderella (Evil Stepmother) and Dragon Pack Snack Attack (Ms. Melon). She was the Assistant Director for Godspell and The Old Man and the Old Moon, as well as a teaching artist at HSRT. Julia is currently working on her original play titled, More than a Muse. She would like to thank her familia and friends for their endless love and support.

Mia Goodlett

Mia is overjoyed to be performing once again with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in A Christmas Carol. She is in the sixth grade at Summit Elementary in The Forest Hills School District. Mia has been dancing since the age of 3 at The Studio for Dance. As a dancer, she has performed with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, in Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker and in Billy Elliot with Fairfield Summer Theatre. Mia studies voice with Xan Jeffery. In addition, she is a First-Degree Decided Black Belt at Martial Arts America. Mia thanks her family, friends, teachers and Cincinnati PIayhouse in the Park for their support.

Ashlynn Isabel Hezlep

Ashlynn is excited to return with A Christmas Carol as Belinda. She's a fifth-grader at Boyd E. Smith Elementary and most recently appeared as Matilda in Matilda the Musical. Her favorite role is Matilda. She also has enjoyed being a part of the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's STAR NKU Program. A big thank you to the Playhouse for having Ashlynn return this year. Thank you to friends and family for supporting her. She wishes the cast and crew all the best this season.

Ari Elizabeth Johnson

Ari is a sixth-grader from Mason, Ohio. She and her family split their time between Los Angeles and Cincinnati, with representation through The Osbrink Agency (Los Angeles) and, locally, Wings Model Management. This summer, she excitedly added Stagecoach Entertainment, in LA, to her management team. Ari is so thrilled to return for her fifth year of A Christmas Carol! You may recognize her from Brownsville Song: B-side for Tray (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati) or as Casey Affleck and Tika Sumpter’s daughter in the feature film The Old Man and The Gun. Follow her on Instagram @ariandteagan.

Shonita Joshi

Shonita moved to the US in June 2017 and is a graduate of the Stella Adler School of Acting, New York. Prior to moving to the US, she worked for three years in Mumbai in the Indian film industry (lovingly called Bollywood). Shonita has her master’s in Journalism and worked for two years at Google India before realizing that her love for theatre is more than just a hobby — it’s a necessity. Her credits in the US include Aimee in The Humans, Sally in A Lie of the Mind and The Traveler in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. She is incredibly thankful to her family for their constant support and especially her sister - Tanisha Joshi. Didi, this one is for you – for your love of Christmas and of me.

Taha Mandviwala

Taha is thrilled to be returning to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for A Christmas Carol! He is a 2016 graduate of the University of Kentucky where he earned a BA in Theatre, and he was a member of the 2016-17 Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern Company at the Playhouse. Recent regional credits include Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Dumaine) at Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival, and Disgraced (Abe) at Virginia Stage Company. Cincinnati Playhouse credits include Treasure Island, Shakespeare in Love, A Christmas Carol, as well as touring productions of Pinocchio; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and Robin Hood. In his downtime, Taha enjoys local volunteering, practicing martial arts/stage combat and partaking in epic, rousing and dangerous sessions of Dungeons and Dragons.

Sara Masterson

Sara is thrilled to be returning to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for her fourth holiday season! Her credits include Next to Normal (Syracuse Stage), Fun Home (Portland Center Stage), Mamma Mia! (Bucks County Playhouse), The Secret Garden(Idaho Shakespeare Festival/Great Lakes Theater), How to Succeed in Business … (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Love Story (Playhouse Square) and A Little Night Music (New London Barn Playhouse). She is a proud graduate of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Endless gratitude to the wonderful people at Carlton, Goddard and Freer Talent. Love to Daniel and her family. Visit  saramastersonactor.com or follow her on Instagram @saraemasterson.

Kelly Mengelkoch

Kelly is delighted to ring in the holidays with her A Christmas Carol family once again this season. Locally, she has also worked with New Stage Collective, The Human Race Theatre Company, Xavier University Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati and Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and is a resident ensemble member and Associate Artist at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Most recently, she has been seen as Sherlock in Miss Holmes and Ivy in August: Osage County. Regional work includes St. Croix Festival Theatre, The Old Creamery Theatre Company and Kansas City’s New Theatre. Film credits include C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, A Kind of Murder, The Old Man and The Gun and Perception. For more information, visit kellymengelkoch.com. She would like to send love and thanks to all of her families, and especially so to her dear husband, Jeremy.

Daniel Petzold

Daniel is delighted to be returning to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for his second year of A Christmas Carol. His New York credits include Switzerland (59E59 and Hudson Stage Company), Pushkin (the american vicarious) and In the Line (Project Y Theatre). Regionally, he’s been seen in Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Twelfth Night (The Old Globe); Tom Stoppard’s trilogy, The Coast of Utopia (Shotgun Players); Three Sisters (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); A Bright New Boise (Aurora Theatre Company); Any Given Day and Another Way Home (Magic Theatre); Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet (Pacific Repertory Theatre); as well as performances with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Marin Shakespeare Company and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. He holds a Bachelor’s of Art from University of California Berkeley and a Master’s in Fine Arts from The Old Globe/University of San Diego. Love to Sara. Visit danielpetzoldactor.com and follow him on Instagram @_danielpetzold.

Greg Procaccino

Greg’s Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park credits include A Christmas Carol (1991-2018), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1996) and Romeo and Juliet (1978). Off-Broadway, he appeared in Second Chance. His regional credits include theatres such as Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati and theatres in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, California and Ohio. On television and in film, he has appeared in The Greater Good (2006 FAIF Film Festival award winner), Heartburn, Best Friends, A Mom for Christmas, This Train, Little Man Tate, Crossing Fields, Milk Money, Murphy Brown, Hawk, Tanner ’88 (as a regular) and 2004’s Tanner on Tanner. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1990. Greg has directed over 20 stage productions in and around the Cincinnati area. He is the director of theatre at Thomas More University.

Douglas Rees

Doug is delighted to return to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for his sixth turn in A Christmas Carol, and he is particularly grateful for the dear friends he’s made along the way. Five years ago he was seen on the Marx stage in Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, and more distant, he appeared in Macbeth in the 1981-82 season as a member of the first-ever intern company at the Playhouse. Other credits include the world premiere of Michael Hollinger’s Opus (Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia), as well as the subsequent New York City premiere at Primary Stages; many appearances at the Mint Theater Company in New York City; The Beauty Queen of Leenane, All in the Timing, Compleat Female Stage Beauty and as Scrooge in the world premiere of Christopher Durang’s Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh); the world premiere of Michael Hollinger’s Ghost Writer (Arden Theatre); Resurrection Blues by Arthur Miller (The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia); Travesties (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre); and Romeo and Juliet, The Cherry Orchard and All the Rage (Pittsburgh Public Theater). Television appearances include 30 Rock. Originally from Pittsburgh, he presently lives in New York City.

Ethan Graham Roeder

Ethan is happy to be in Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol after three years playing Nick Oatway in a different adaptation at the Clarence Brown Theatre. An actor/director from Knoxville, Tenn., he splits his time evenly between acting and directing. As an intern at the Playhouse, he just completed the outreach tour of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane as the voice of Edward! Favorite performance credits include Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play; Spamalot; and Urinetown at the Clarence Brown Theatre. As a director and ensemble member, Ethan has mounted productions of bare: a pop opera, All’s Well That Ends Well and a variety of immersive musical revues in coffee shops, bars and sometimes theatres.

Nick Rose

Nick is excited to return to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for his 11th show. A veteran actor of A Christmas Carol, he was delighted to be part of Alias Grace. His regional credits include Prospero in The Tempest and Iago in Othello (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati) and When the Rain Stops Falling (Know Theatre of Cincinnati). He starred in the world premiere of Carson Kreitzer’s The Lasso of Truth in San Francisco (Marin Theatre Company). Nick’s television and film credits include Emulsion, The Tao of Tom, Justice in Bloom and various local television and radio commercials. He is currently pursuing an M.Ed. in Secondary Education. He currently resides in Anderson Township with his beautiful and more talented wife, Sara, their son, Brennan and their cat, Keillor.

Benjamin Sheffer

Benjamin is thrilled to be performing in A Christmas Carol at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. His local performances at the Theatre of Anderson Center include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie), Mary Poppins (Michael), Into the Woods (Jack), Elf (Michael) and Matilda (Bruce). A sixth-grader at Wilson Elementary, Ben enjoys singing, acting, playing the cello, traveling and skiing. He is thankful for his many years of training from Miss Tina at Performing Arts, Inc. He hopes this production of A Christmas Carol brings joy and happiness to your holiday season!

Britney Nicole Simpson

Britney is thrilled to join Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for a second season of A Christmas Carol! Theatre credits include Cyrano (Two River Theater); Into the Woods, Cyrano, The Taming of the Shrew and Richard II (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); Nina Simone: 4 Women (Seattle Repertory Theater); Beauty and the Beast, The Odyssey, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Wiz, Guys and Dolls, the world-premiere production of Head Over Heels and The Cocoanuts (The Oregon Shakespeare Festival); A Christmas Carol (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); The Wizard of Oz and Fiddler on the Roof (PCPA Theaterfest); and S’Wonderful (Oregon Cabaret Theatre). She has performed with The Britt Festival years 2016, 2017 and 2018. She studied at The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and dedicates this show to Grace House Church of Stockton, Ambre Shoneff, Amanda Farbstein, Candy Farbstein, Carla Remulla, Ceazar Cabreros, Daddy Tom, Daniel Petzold, Hannah Jones Diaz, Monica Reye and Sabrina Willis-Bartram — God used your generosity to save my family. The magnitude of my gratitude and thanks for you is inexplicable. Thank you for BEING a blessing... May it be returned to you TENFOLD.

Sabian Swan

Sabian is excited to be returning to the A Christmas Carol stage. He has a gift for performing and has participated in school plays, including the Troll in The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Sabian sings and plays the violin, piano, drums and trumpet. He has attended acting camp at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Young Actor's Toolbox, as well as boys’ ballet classes at College-Conservatory of Music. Offstage, Sabian enjoys spending time with his family and friends, seeing Broadway plays, playing tennis and basketball, swimming and meeting new people. Sabian hopes you enjoy the show!

Stephen Tait

Stephen is a seventh-grader at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA). He got his start in theatre at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s summer camp three years ago and has continued to participate. As the youngest of four siblings, it was on the stage that Stephen finally found where he belonged. Stephen’s credits include, Lion King Jr., Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mary Poppins Jr., James and the Giant Peach, and in January 2020, Godspell Jr. (CHCA). His passion for theatre exudes every time he steps on the stage, no matter how small the part. Stephen is thankful to the Playhouse for igniting his passion for the arts and for the opportunities he’s been given through Playhouse programs and in CHCA's Fine Arts Department. Stephen also plays the piano, has a love for languages and aviation, and is the pride and joy of his parents, Pastor Ennis and Sheree Tait.

Teancom Thacker

Teancom is thrilled to be back for his second production of A Christmas Carol at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. In addition to playing Boy Scrooge last year, Teancom has been in school and local productions, including Matilda (Eric); You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Linus); and The Lion King, Jr. (Young Simba). Teancom is an eighth-grader at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. He is a kind, thoughtful, upbeat person who dreams of working on Broadway. Teancom would like to thank his family and friends for supporting him and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for this opportunity.

Howard Dallin

Howard’s 35 professional years in theatre were mostly focused on directing plays and corporate training videos. He is currently a writer and educator. As an actor, Howard acknowledges “that the stage has had a narrow escape.” His adaptation of A Christmas Carol for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park was heavily influenced by the 1951 movie starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. In addition to adapting the story for the stage, Howard directed the first two productions at the Playhouse. The first production was okay, but the script clearly needed more work. It was former Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern who coached Howard through a series of revisions that allowed Scrooge to be a participant in the action rather than a mere observer. Michael Evan Haney, who was the production’s first-ever Bob Cratchit, eventually took over directing the work and has fashioned it into an endearing holiday classic.

Michael Evan Haney

Michael served as Associate Artistic Director for the Playhouse from 2002 to 2013. His productions here include Summerland, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Delicate Ship, Double Indemnity, Speaking in Tongues, The Understudy, The History of Invulnerability, Blackbird, Crime and Punishment, The Clean House, A Christmas Carol (1993-2018), Hiding Behind Comets and The Syringa Tree, among many others. Off-Broadway, he directed Around the World in 80 Days at the Irish Repertory Theatre. International credits include the English Theatres of Vienna and Frankfurt. Regional productions include Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days (Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis); All My Sons (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); The Drawer Boy (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Freud's Last Session and Souvenir, for which he earned a Kevin Kline Award for direction (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); The Humans, Bloomsday, Grounded, An Iliad, Tribes and others (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati); Bad Dates (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); and Scotland Road (Pacific Resident Theatre, Drama-Logue Award for direction). As artistic director of the Allenberry Playhouse, Michael directed more than 30 plays, including Bus Stop, Shirley Valentine, Love Letters (with Shirley Jones) and The Secret Garden. Michael began his career as an actor appearing on Broadway, off-Broadway and at many regional theatres: Arena Stage (including their historic tour of the Soviet Union) and Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival where he appeared in the first American production of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. Michael and his wife Amy Warner appeared as Cate Blanchett’s in-laws in the movie Carol and now live in Minnesota. In 2013, he received the Rick Steiner Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence from the League of Cincinnati Theatres.

James Leonard Joy

James’ Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park productions include A Christmas Carol (1991-2018), Sylvia (1997), Inspecting Carol (1994), Hot ’N Cole (1992), The Cocktail Hour (1992) and Top Girls (1986). His Broadway credits include Ned and Jack, Take Me Along, Peter Pan, State Fair, Play On! and Regina at New York City Opera. Regionally, he has designed for The Old Globe Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodspeed Opera House, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, among others. James has designed corporate theatre shows extensively for such clients as McDonald’s, Toyota, General Motors, General Electric and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and various theme park shows for the Walt Disney World Company, Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld San Antonio.

David Murin

David’s Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park credits include A Christmas Carol (1991-2019). His Broadway credits include Steel Magnolias, Mixed Emotions, A Change in the Heir, Ned and Jack, Blues in the Night, Devour the Snow, A Talent for Murder, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Gorey Stories (supervisor for Edward Gorey’s designs). His off-Broadway productions include Crimes of the Heart (directed by Kathleen Turner), The Foreigner (with Matthew Broderick), The Holy Terror, The Middle Ages, Ladyhouse Blues, Translations, The Common Pursuit, Birds of Paradise, The Baby Dance, The Fourth Wall and Down the Garden Paths. Regionally, David’s designs have been seen at Alley Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, George Street Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre and Huntington Theatre Company. He has produced designs for made-for-television movies and the long-running ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope, for which he received an Emmy Award in 1981. His designs were also seen in the 2007-08 edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He has just begun his 30th year serving on the design faculty of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. He has just begun teaching a costume design mentoring class at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Kirk Bookman

Kirk’s Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park credits include more than 70 productions, including Million Dollar Quartet (2018), Summerland (2017), A Delicate Ship (2014), Speaking in Tongues (2012), The Fantasticks (2010), A Christmas Carol (1991-2018), Sing Hallelujah! (2004), Proof (2003) and The Mystery of Irma Vep (2001). His Broadway credits include The Sunshine Boys (with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall), The Gin Game (with Julie Harris and Charles Durning) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Additional New York off-Broadway productions include Closer Than Ever (off-Broadway); Right You Are and What Then (Ohio Theatre); The Cook (Intar 53 Theatre); Recent Tragic Events (with Heather Graham, Playwrights Horizons); Shanghai Moon (with Charles Busch, Drama Department); The Green Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club); and productions of Mondo Drama, Havana Is Waiting, Force Continuum, My One Good Nerve (starring Ruby Dee), The Shawl, Rude Entertainment, The Book of Liz (with David and Amy Sedaris), Les MIZrahi, Hope is the Thing with Feathers, As Thousands Cheer, June Moon, Bedbound, Playboy of the Western World, Eclipsed, The Importance of Being Earnest and Major Barbara.

David B. Smith

David’s Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park credits include more than 70 productions, including Thunder Knocking on the Door, Beehive, Dracula, Dark Paradise: The Legend of the Five-Pointed Star, Everything’s Ducky, A Little Night Music, Wit, Sweeney Todd, The Notebook of Trigorin, To Kill a Mockingbird and all productions of A Christmas Carol. Regional credits include Golden Boy (Long Wharf Theatre), Arena Stage, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Paper Mill Playhouse, Birmingham Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Huntington Theatre Company and New York Shakespeare Festival. David has designed Sinfonia orchestral enhancement systems for the national tours of West Side Story, Annie, Jekyll and Hyde, Evita, Steel Pier, The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Titanic, Seussical, Miss Saigon, Cinderella, The Music Man, Porgy and Bess, Oliver! and Oklahoma! Las Vegas credits include KÁ, Le Reve and Love; London credits include Les Misérables. David is a founding Partner and Director of Research and Development for Realtime Music Solutions and Dean of the School of Professional Studies at NYC College of Technology (CUNY). He holds multiple U.S. patents for music performance systems. David received a Kevin Kline Award for outstanding sound design for Dracula. His compositions have been played across the country.

Steve O'Shea

Steve is pleased to be returning to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where he made his debut with God of Carnage (2011). He is currently the resident lighting and scenic designer for TADA! Youth Musical Theater Company New York City (since 2006). He is a design associate for various international, Broadway, off-Broadway and regional productions. He received his MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Washington in Seattle in 2001.

Rebecca N. Childs

Rebecca has been the music director for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of A Christmas Carol since 2002. She was also the rehearsal pianist for the Playhouse’s production of Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical (2014). She has been a musical director/vocal coach/accompanist for school, community and professional theatres in New Orleans and the southern Ohio area, and she has music directed shows for her alma mater, Miami University, and the University of Dayton. At The Carnegie, Rebecca was vocal director and assistant conductor for Carousel, for which she won an Acclaim Award, and vocal director for The King and I, The Sound of Music and West Side Story. She was music director for Mad Anthony Theatre Company’s The Story of My Life and Sondheim on Sondheim. She was also musical director for CCM Drama’s production of Coram Boy. Rebecca is an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Rebecca was privileged to join three other CCM faculty who taught a musical theatre program in Beijing in 2018. She served as music director for La Comedia’s 2018 productions of The Color Purple and White Christmas, and for the 2019 productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Newsies and Elf, the Musical. Rebecca received the Cincinnati Arts Association Overture Awards 2017 Arts Educator Award for excellence in arts instruction. She is also the proud mother of Erin Crouch and grandmother to Jack Crouch. Rebecca is honored to continue her association with the Playhouse and A Christmas Carol.

Dee Anne Bryll

Dee Anne is very pleased to return to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for her 19th year as choreographer for A Christmas Carol. Playhouse credits include Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical (2014), Pride and Prejudice (2014), Marry Me a Little (2009), The Clean House (2006) and The Glass Menagerie (1999). Additional credits include work at Xavier University Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, The Carnegie, Cincinnati Landmark Theatre and Commonwealth Theatre Company. Dee Anne has been a director/choreographer for shows including Life Could Be A Dream, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, The Sound of Music (2015 LCT outstanding production), Chicago (2013-14 LCT winner of outstanding musical 2013-14 and outstanding direction of a musical), Falsettos, Parade (2012-13 LCT winner outstanding musical), Big River, Singin’ in the Rain, Ragtime and Some Enchanted Evening. She won a 2006 CEA for her performance as Maggie Jones in 42nd Street. She and her husband, Edward Cohen, were awarded the 2010 Acclaim Trailblazer Award for contributions to Cincinnati theatre. In January 2015, she was awarded the 2015 Freddie G Broadway Junior Spirit Award presented and sponsored by Freddie Gershon (CEO of Music Theatre International) and his wife Myrna. Dee Anne holds faculty positions at Northern Kentucky University and Xavier University and is Artistic Project Mentor for JumpStart Theatre - Cincinnati.     

Stephanie Klapper, CSA

Stephanie is thrilled to continue her collaboration with Blake Robison and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Select shows she has cast for the Playhouse are Once on This Island; Alias Grace; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; The Thanksgiving Play; Two Trains Running; A Christmas Carol; Cincinnati King; Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and The Roommate; in addition to Shakespeare in Love, Mr. Joy, Be Here Now, Marie and Rosetta, Sooner/Later, Treasure Island and Murder for Two in 2017-18. Previously for the Playhouse, she cast A Prayer for Owen Meany, Disgraced, A Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre, All the Roads Home, Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, The Secret Garden, Sex with Strangers, Mad River Rising, Native Gardens, The Revolutionists, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mothers and Sons, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, Safe House, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, Circle Mirror Transformation, Peter and the Starcatcher, Buzzer, Fly, Seven Spots on the Sun, Clybourne Park, 4000 Miles, Pride and Prejudice; as well as Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Book Club Play, Leveling Up, Abigail/1702, and The Three Musketeers. Her work is frequently seen on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally, as well as on film and television. She has many exciting projects running and upcoming in New York, regionally and in Europe. Stephanie is a member of the Casting Society of America.

Andrea L. Shell

Andrea is excited to be celebrating her 20th season with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, having worked on more than 90 productions. A highlight of every season for her is stage managing A Christmas Carol. Favorite Playhouse credits include Alias Grace; The Last Wide Open; The Roommate; Treasure Island; Be Here Now; Mr. Joy; Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End; Jane Eyre; Disgraced; Bad Dates; The Revolutionists; Peter and the Starcatcher; I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; The North Pool; The Trip to Bountiful; Merrily We Roll Along; As You Like It; Behind the Eye; The Understudy; Blackbird; Durango; Around the World in 80 Days; Altar Boyz; Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming; Reckless; Ace; The Clean House; A Picasso; One; Abracadabra (2002-2007); The Bible … (abridged); and Dark Paradise. Regionally, she stage managed The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead (Dallas Theater Center); Ace (The Old Globe); Lost Prospect (Ingenuity Festival of Cleveland); A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Nutcracker (Cincinnati Ballet); and Snow White and Beauty and the Beast (Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy). She also served as the production stage manager for the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre. Andrea is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. She would like to thank her family, friends, Dylan and Scott for their unending support.

Jenifer Morrow

A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association for 30 years, Jenifer has been a stage manager at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park since 1994. She became the PSM (head of the department) in 2005. Jenifer has worked on more than 100 productions, including a number of regional and world premieres, and has traveled to several other theatres to bring co-productions back to the Playhouse. Her recent credits include The Lifespan of a Fact; Tiny Houses; August Wilson’s Two Trains Running; The Second City — It's Not You, It's Me; Cincinnati King; Misery; Murder for Two; Marie and Rosetta; An Evening With Groucho; Shakespeare in Love; Little Shop of Horrors; The Second City’s Holidazed & Confused Revue; A Prayer for Owen Meany; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Secret Garden; and Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical. Jenifer served as the PSM at Santa Fe Stages for several seasons. She has also stage managed at Cleveland Play House, La Jolla Playhouse, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, The Ordway and Players Theatre Columbus. One of her most memorable experiences was stage managing the U.K. tour of Miss Evers’ Boys at The Barbican Centre in London and at the historic Bristol Old Vic.

Suann Pollock

In more than 20 years at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Suann has stage managed many productions. Her favorites include Company; The History of Invulnerability; Three Sisters; Othello; Pure Confidence; This Wonderful Life; Love, Janis; Crowns; Leap; A Christmas Carol; The Crucible; Hiding Behind Comets; and The Smell of the Kill. Regionally, she has served as production stage manager at Music Theatre Wichita, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, BoarsHead Theater and Cincinnati Ballet. Suann has directed Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse and The Phantom Tollbooth for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Off the Hill outreach tours. Other favorite directing credits include Pride and Prejudice; Rent; Urinetown; and Bat Boy, The Musical. Suann teaches Musical Theatre Acting for University of Cincinnati’s College- Conservatory of Music Prep Department and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.