cast & TEAM
West virginia public theatre 2019
ALISON McCARTAN (Carrie Bishop, Storming Heaven) is delighted to make her WVPT debut! National Tour: Shrek the Musical. Off-Broadway: Promises, Promises - in Concert (Transport Group); Calamity Jane (Theatre Row.) Regional: Violet (IRNE award), Bad Jews (SpeakEasy Stage); The Drowsy Chaperone, Dames at Sea, Steel Magnolias, 42nd Street (The Wick); A Chorus Line (Weston); Next to Normal (Hangar.) TV: Law & Order: SVU. Alison would like to thank everyone on the Storming Heaven team, Henderson Hogan, Nancy Kremer, and her incredible family and loved ones for their constant support. Thoughts Become Things! @alisoncatherine
LUKE HALFERTY (Albion Freeman) is thrilled to be making his WVPT debut! A native Pittsburgher, Luke has recently performed with Pittsburgh CLO (The 39 Steps, First Date, Titanic, Brigadoon, The Full Monty, A Christmas Carol), Pittsburgh Public Theater (Hamlet), PICT Classic Theatre (Merchant of Venice, The ‘Scottish Play’, The Crucifer of Blood), The REP (Of Mice and Men), St. Vincent Summer Theatre (Jeeves In Bloom, Too Many Cooks), and more. BFA from Point Park University. Proud member of AEA. Special thanks to friends and family for love and support through it all. www.lukehalferty.com
RICK MUGRAGE (Rondal Lloyd) graduated from WVU's MFA Actor Training Program last May, and has had the privilege of performing many roles at regional theaters throughout the country. WVPT credits: Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Shaw Moore in Footloose, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Scrooge's nephew Fred in A Christmas Carol, and Rondal Lloyd in the Storming Heaven staged reading. Rick is beyond excited to help tell this story, and he'd like to thank Jerry McGonigle, Katy Blake, and Peter Davenport for this opportunity.
JO WALKER (Aunt Jane) is a New York-based actor, singer, writer, and designer. She is a founding member of Four Quarter Theater, an ensemble-based company that stages readings of new short plays. Favorite roles include: Woman 5 (Titanic), Dr. Brookner (The Normal Heart), Mrs. Pugh (Annie Warbucks, Signature Theatre), Zinaida (Ivanov), Heidi Von Sturm (Nine), Chorist (The Christians, Playwrights Horizons), Group Leader/Singer (the public domain, Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival). Her short play Underwater was recently produced in Brooklyn. Thanks to David Dabbon, Peter Jensen, everyone at WVPT and this wonderful cast! www.jowalkeractor.com
DANIEL A. STEVENS (Miles Bishop) has previously performed with WVPT as George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life and Jamie Wellerstein in The Last Five Years. Other work includes: The American Shakespeare Center, The SITI Company, The Texas Shakespeare Festival, The Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Dollywood, Theatrcum Botanicm, NewGuard Theatre Company, and The Southland Theatre Company; the final two of which he is a founding member. Training: West Virginia University (BFA Acting 2009), UCLA (MFA Acting 2017). @OtherDanStevens www.TheOtherDanStevens.com
CEDRIC CANNON (Doc Booker) Credits: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, How to Use a Knife, Sweetee, In Dahomey, Cats, Goddess, Mikado, Carmen Jones, Three Willies, Man of LaMancha, The Pirates of Penzance, Camelot, Porgy and Bess, La Bohème, Madame Butterfly. Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, NYC Opera, Frankfurt Opera, New Orleans Opera, Atlanta Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera Carolina. TV/Film: Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order, Blind, The Slap, Good Funk, Right of Way, Moon and Sun, Seven Lovers, Old 37, Know Your Logic, Raw Nerve, Cosby, Oz, All My Children, As the World Turns.
CORWIN STODDARD (Isom) is thrilled to make his West Virginia debut! A native of Houston, Texas, Corwin currently resides in Pittsburgh, where he has performed with such companies as Pittsburgh CLO (A Musical Christmas Carol), Front Porch Theatricals (Violet, Floyd Collins), and Carnivale Theatrics (Bridges of Madison County). If you like what you hear in the show, you can find Corwin on SoundCloud as well. Proud alumnus of HSPVA, Perry-Mansfield, and Point Park University.
CHRIS KNUDSEN (Arley) is thrilled to be a part of Storming Heaven: The Musical. He is a non-union actor currently completing his BFA in Musical Theatre from Point Park University. Credits in Pittsburgh include Vinegar Tom (PPU), Coram Boy (PPU), and The Gift of the Magi (PPU). He is also an advanced musician with training in piano, guitar, and banjo and releases solo music on SoundCloud under the name Chris Andrews. He would like to thank his immensely supportive family as well as the creative team at West Virginia Public Theatre.
AUSTIN BOWEN (Johnson) currently resides in New York, but Virginia is home; that’s where mom is! Some of his Regional credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Chicago, All My Sons, Les Mis, etc. When he returns back to New York, he will rejoin his cast for the Second Off-Broadway residency of Rebirth of a Rabbits Foot, a Hip Hop Vaudeville show that’s running until December at The People’s Improv Theatre. You can follow him on his journey on Instagram @austinjbowen or Facebook: Austin Bowen
LACEY ALEXANDER (Ensemble) is a Birmingham-based actress and playwright, and currently holds a BS in Theatre from Troy University. She most recently performed with the Birmingham Children's Theatre as Smee in Peter Pan. Her plays have been produced by the Nylon Fusion Theatre Company in New York City, and readings of her work were presented by the Queens Theatre in New York and on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center for the Arts.
MATTHEW GLEN CLARK (Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning to the WVPT Stage for Storming Heaven: The Musical. Regional Credits: Mamma Mia (Eddie), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Tackaberry) with Cumberland Theatre; Young Frankenstein (Kemp), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Linus), with West Virginia Public Theatre. Training: BFA Musical Theatre, West Virginia University. After Storming Heaven, Matthew will be joining the 39th Season of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire before traveling back to Maryland to join Cumberland Theatre in Miracle on 34th Street. www.matthewglenclark.com
EDWARD CYPHERT (Ensemble) is a Morgantown native and a senior at West Virginia University pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater. Regional: A Hatful of Rain (WVPT). Collegiate: You Can’t Take it With You, The Diary of Anne Frank, Spring Awakening, The Nether, Assassins. He is currently filming The Pan-American Melting Pot, an original web series he co-created. @edwardcyphert | @panamericanmeltingpot
DEJA ELLIOTT (Ensemble) is a recent graduate of the WVU School of Theatre and Dance. She is thrilled to be working with West Virginia Public Theatre again, and very happy to be a part of this beautiful developing work. Regional credits: Storming Heaven: The Musical staged reading (WVPT). Collegiate credits; Assassins, The Three Musketeers, The Trojan Women, and You Can’t Take It With You.
SARA GIANOLA (Ensemble) spent five years working in Los Angeles in film, television, and casting. She played Kit in FOX Studios' film release of Prison Break: The Final Break, and China on ABC Family's Bunheads. Collegiate credits include: Evelyn in Shape of Things, The Moon in Blood Wedding and Hotspur in Henry IV. WVPT credits: Violet in It's a Wonderful Life and Ensemble in the Storming Heaven staged reading. Sara would like to thank her family for their undying love and support. Training: West Virginia University (BFA Acting); American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
RACHEL MOORE (Ensemble) is a Morgantown-born actress and WVU alumnus. She currently lives and works in Boulder, Colorado, where she recently performed at the historic Stanley Hotel. She has also appeared in other WVPT productions including Peter and the Starcatcher (Prentiss), A Christmas Carol (Ghost Past), and Young Frankenstein (Ensemble). Rachel is thrilled to be back home to perform in this piece of West Virginia history and thanks everyone at WVPT for this opportunity. Montani Semper Liberi.
FLETCHER OLSON (Ensemble) is a Senior BFA Acting Major at West Virginia University and is so excited to be a part of his first ever West Virginia Public Theatre show! WVU credits include: You Can’t Take It With You, The Magic Flute, and The Three Musketeers. Fletcher would like to thank the producers and director of Storming Heaven: The Musical for allowing him to be a part of such an amazing and ambitious project, as well as his friends and family who have encouraged him and stuck by his side over all these years. Enjoy the show!
NORA PERONE (Ensemble) is a London-based performer, producer, and acting coach. WVPT credits: The Last Five Years (Cathy Hiatt), 2018 BroadwayWorld Regional Award for Best Musical; It’s a Wonderful Life (Cousin Tilly/ Mrs. Hatch/ Assistant Director); Storming Heaven: The Musical staged reading (Ensemble). UK credits include: Ordinary Days, London & Edinburgh Fringe; It’s Only Murder, UK premiere; Crazy Ex-Fangirls (and boys), world premiere. Training: BFA Acting (West Virginia University); MA Music Theatre (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama). Nora is delighted to re-join the WVPT team this summer! @norassic_park www.noraperone.com
DINO VERGURA (Ensemble) is very excited to be working on his first staged production with West Virginia Public Theatre, after being a part of the staged reading of Storming Heaven: The Musical in January. He is currently a senior Theatre Education Major at Fairmont State University, where he has performed as Lurch in The Addams Family Musical, Jack Stone in Reefer Madness, Shamreav in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, and Officer Lockstock in Urinetown, which was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region 2 in January 2018. Enjoy the show!
MIA WALKER (Director) Off-Broadway/Regional directing: Fault Line Theatre (All Nighter); Encore Theatre (Into the Wild); Club Cumming (Blind Date Project); NYMF (Normativity, Camp Wanatachi); The Flea (Resident Director); Ensemble Studio Theatre (Youngblood), PCLO (Pool Boy). Upcoming: New works readings at Bay Street Theater, Premiere Stages, MultiStages, and TRU. Broadway/National Tour: Tour Director, current National Tour of Finding Neverland and the recent National Tour of Pippin; Associate Director, Jagged Little Pill (coming to Broadway Fall 2019) and Waitress; Assistant Director, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Pippin, and Finding Neverland. Drama League Directing Fellow. B.A. Harvard University. www.miapwalker.com
EMILY OTTO (Music Director) is a music director, arranger, performer, dramaturg, and educator. Her music directing/supervising credits include Southern Comfort (Barrington Stage and CAP21), The Water Dream (NYMF), Incredibly Deaf Musical (NYMF), and the serial cabaret Shells at Joe's Pub. She is a co-creator of eight original productions with NYC's Stolen Chair Theatre Company. Emily has also dramaturged for directors Martha Clarke, Neil Bartlett, and Robert Woodruff at the American Repertory Theatre and the San Francisco Opera. She holds an MFA in dramaturgy from ART/MXAT Institute at Harvard University and a BA in theatre and music from Concordia College.
ADIN WALKER (Choreographer) Off-Broadway and Regional as Director/Choreographer: Allison Gregory’s Not Medea and L M Feldman’s Grace, or the Art of Climbing (Art House), Soft Butter (Ars Nova), The White Dress (Araca Project), One Arm (Chautauqua Theatre), Pin* and the Blue Fairy (Drama League Residency and Dixon Place), Gruesome Playground Injuries (TheaterLab NYC), Rent, and Singin' in the Rain (Princeton/McCarter.) Walker choreographed the NYC premiere of Normativity (dir. Mia Walker, NYMF) and has previously collaborated with directors Alexandru Mihail, Tracy Bersley, Whitney Mosery, Dawn Monique Williams, and Louisa Thompson. Walker has developed new work with Powerhouse/New York Stage and Film, the New Victory Theater, Arena Stage, Musical Theater Factory, OZ Arts Nashville, BAM, Art House Productions (Artistic Associate, 2017-2019), among others. Walker is associate director of Phantom Limb Company's now touring Butoh Dance and Puppetry spectacle Falling Out (BAM Next Wave 2018 premiere.) Walker trained at CityDance, Complexions, Joffrey, Washington School of Ballet, and has danced principle roles in works by Karole Armitage, Maleek K. Washington, Christopher K. Morgan, and Alex Neoral. Proud member of SDC. B.A. Princeton University. www.adinwalker.com