A Little Night Music – Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory 2011

CoolCleveland Critic Linda Eisenstein posted this mini-review on her Facebook page on 10/28/11:Run, don’t walk, to Fred Sternfeld’s production of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC from FPAC. Magnificent acting, glorious singing. Opens tonight.

And she posted this to Neohiopal on 11/2/11:

Magnificent acting, glorious singing in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC – review by Linda Eisenstein

WHY YOU SHOULD GO: You aren’t likely to see a better-acted version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical theater masterpiece than Fred Sternfeld’s Fairmount Performing Arts Center production. Sternfeld says he had his actors work on the songs as though they were monologues, and the depth shows. Tracee Patterson’s brilliant “Send In the Clowns” is incredibly moving, as is Katherine DeBoer’s “Every Day A Little Death”.

LOCAL SUPERSTARS: The indomitably regal Dorothy Silver makes you believe she has numbered kings and counts among her conquests. Tracee Patterson has the charisma, charm, and beauty to be credible as the famous actress Desiree, along with sharing impeccable comic timing with Oberlin College professor Matthew Wright, who plays her middle-aged swain.

ONLY IN CLEVELAND: The opera trained voices among the “backup” Quintet make their music incredibly lush, starting with former Broadway actor/singer William Clarence Marshall III — each of the 5 is strong enough to be a headliner.

NEW VENUE: FPAC is using the comfortable auditorium in Mayfield Village Civic building, a former church just off I-271 @ Wilson Mills & SOM Center.

VIEW the review on CoolCleveland’s website.

In turn-of-the-century Sweden, middle-aged Fredrik Egerman brings his 18-year-old bride Anne to a play starring his former mistress, Desirée Armfeldt. Soon, Fredrik and Desirée resume their romance, incurring the wrath of her current lover, a pompous Count. The situation culminates in a weekend at a country estate, with Fredrik, Anne, Desirée and the Count in attendance, as well as Fredrik’s son (who is hopelessly in love with Anne), Desirée’s illegitimate daughter, the Count’s manic-depressive wife and the Egerman’s lusty maid. And there, under the summer night, things are set to right. 

“captivating”

“The Fairmount production, directed by Fred Sternfeld, preserves most of the lilt and ironic charm”

“Sternfeld has managed to capture the show’s swirling beauty by casting actors who are alive to Wheeler’s text and wrap their voices around Sondheim’s rich soufflé of a score, with its beguiling variations on three-quarter time and lyrics that tickle and touch.”

“Tracee Patterson is a playful, knowing spirit as Desiree Armfeldt” “Patterson gives equal importance to Desiree’s spunkiness and vulnerability, and stresses her pain in a particularly affecting account of “Send in the Clowns.”

“As Fredrik, married for 11 months to an 18-year-old who’s still a virgin, Matthew Wright gives a master class in sexual frustration.” “Wright lends articulate and genial voice to Sondheim’s sardonic ruminations.”

“The production was built around Dorothy Silver, the beloved Cleveland actress, who weaves theatrical gold here as Madame Armfeldt. Every vocal inflection and physical gesture tell us volumes about the elderly courtesan’s idiosyncratic view of life, especially in her aristocratic performance of “Liaisons.”

“Another irresistible actress, Katherine DeBoer, almost steals the show every time she’s onstage to mope longingly as Charlotte Malcolm, wife of Desiree’s current lover, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. DeBoer’s comic timing is sharp, her face a map of disappointment and cunning.”

“James F. Love’s preening Carl-Magnus is amusing”

“Henrik Egerman … portrayed with endearing restraint by Luke Wehner.”

“For randy exuberance beaming Natalie Green as hot-to-trot maid Petra”

“For Greek-chorus allure a la Vienna, there’s a quintet of excellent singers.”

“This “Little Night Music” provides a lot of pleasure.”

view complete review here

“In the hands of director Fred Sternfeld, it gets an audience-friendly approach.”

“As a performer said, “Just to understand Sondheim has been a good challenge, just figuring out what it means. There’s a lot of hidden depth in his work. There’s a little laughter, a little tears, a whole gamut of emotions.” Sternfeld and his cast get the meaning and open up the audience to those ideas.”

“fine voices”

“The lead performers are sound, performance and picture perfect. Dorothy Silver, the grand dame of Cleveland theatre, is endearing as Madame Armfeldt, Desiree’s mother, and the spinner of wondrous tales. Silver sing-talks her songs with fidelity and attention to creating meanings from the words with a musical undertow.”

“It’s worth going to the see the production if for no other reason than to hear Tracee Patterson’s rendition of Send in the Clowns. Patterson gives just the right serious yet playful interpretation to Desiree.”

“Matthew Wright is well cast as Frederick, the lawyer going through middle age crisis. He is properly conflicted as a man in a sunrise-sunset relationship who is still in love with a woman from his past. Wright has a fine singing voice.”

“William Clarence Marshall, Claire Connelly, Bernadette Hisey, Justin Williamson and Lydia Hall, the Liebeslieder (love song) Singers, not only have well-trained voices but carry their acting roles with ease.”

“Natalie Green is delightful as Petra, a free-spirited young lady who dreams of love in the well sung, The Miller’s Son.”

“Katherine DeBoer is excellent as Charlotte Malcolm.”

“technical elements are finely tuned.”

“The play’s title is an English translation of the German name for Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Scenic designer Trad Burns has taken this theme and created the set by constructing walls covered with musical notes of Mozart’s score. It is a perfect backdrop for the goings on.”

“Craig Tucker’s costume designs and execution are era right and beautiful in detail. Benjamin Gantose’s warm lighting helps create the perfect love moods.”

“David William’s orchestra plays well”

“The FPAC production, under the direction of Fred Sternfeld, has charm and humor.”

view the complete review here

“wonderful show”“Director Fred Sternfeld has created a lovely, enjoyable show filled with humor and pathos.”

“The professional cast does not disappoint” “a feast of talent”

“Patterson exudes breathless confidence” “highlights … spellbinding performance of “Send in the Clowns” and her comic timing”

“Not to be missed are Silver’s witticisms about life and her daughter and her sweet song “Liaisons,” where she reiminisces about her love life”

Matthew “Wright plays his character as patient to a fault, and his looks and physical comedy remind one of John Cleese.”

Luke “Wehner has a great set of pipes, resembles Charlie Sheen a bit, and has sobering moments in the second act”

Natalie “Green is all smiles as the sassy maid”

“The song “Now/Later/Soon” is a lovely, funny and touching song sung by Fredrik, Henrik and Anne about the ways they deal with their solitude”

“Designer Trad A Burns has embellished the set with a lively, marble-hued musical score which spreads out like a storybook between several large, faux marble pillars.”

“tender, funny”

VIEW the complete review here.

“Credit goes to Sternfeld and FPAC for mounting a strong production of this daunting and always fascinating piece.”

“Director Fred Sternfeld and musical director David Williams have stocked their cast with fine singers, so most of Sondheim’s songs click along splendidly.”

“A large center turntable is a handy metaphor for the round-robin sexual games”

“As Desiree, Tracee Patterson plays the brisk repartee with professional precision. Still, there is sadness at her core, which blossoms eventually in the deeply rueful “Send in the Clowns.”

“Matthew Wright finds all the laughs in his portrayal of Fredrik, and in the role of the put-upon Countess Malcolm, Katherine DeBoer is a treat.”

“Dorothy Silver as the wheelchair-bound Madame Armfeldt dominates the stage. Her solo “Liaisons” spells out her bottom-line guide to amour: ‘It’s but a pleasurable means to a measurable end.’”

“Five more excellent voices are used as the Liebeslieder Singers, a Greek chorus that musically comments on the folly of people and their passions.”

“Henrik … a nicely repressed Luke Wehner” “Petra … (played by Natalie Green with randy mischievousness”

“FPAC players give them fine voice”

View the complete review here

“To thrive, this 1973 musical needs glamor, wry sensuality and musical panache. Fortunately, Fred Sternfeld’s production has all of these elements…”“…the conviction of the cast and the lilt of the waltzes bring to life the show’s jaded romanticism.”

“Tracee Patterson manages to combine sophistication and heartbreak as the musical’s yearning heroine, Desiree.”

“Matthew Wright pulls off the difficult stunt of being a charming fool as Fredrik.”

“Katherine DeBoer, as Charlotte, makes sexual jealousy a savory dish.”

“Luke Wehner, as Henrik, not only bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Buster Keaton, he’s also as adept eliciting wounded, tender vulnerability as Keaton was at straddling a locomotive.”

“Natalie Green sensually flames as the maid Petra”

“The hardest aspect of reviewing Dorothy Silver is not to give in to the temptation to make an allusion to the precious metal her name evokes. Of all the virtues of her performance, the two things worth noting are her uncanny ability to suddenly appear 20 years younger onstage and her genius at taking whatever mood she cares to emphasize – here, weary melancholy and wry mischief – and burn these images into our brain.”

“Even rendered on a miniscule budget, this musical remains an extravagant gift.”

View the complete review here

“…well worth seeing.”

“musical gem”“…one moment moved me more than any other: Late in the second act, a tremulous Tracee Patterson as over-the-hill actress Desiree Armfeldt sings the plaintive “Send in the Clowns,” a rueful, bittersweet song of regret and disappointment. Her tearful face etched with the painful awareness of self, the poignant song gave me a visceral thrill as the music and hauntingly obscure lyrics leapt to life.”

“…ambitious production, ably directed by musical theater veteran Fred Sternfeld and featuring a large ensemble of credentialed actors with fine voices.”

“The demands of Sondheim’s operetta-like musical, with its duets and three- and five-part contrapuntal harmonies, are considerable. The well-directed cast works hard to meet the requirements.”

“Trad A Burns cleverly sets the stage with large, moveable panels covered in sheet music from Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” from whom Sondheim co-opts the show’s title.”

“Benjamin Gantose bathes the dancers in the dappled sunlight of a summer evening.”

“Special mention must be made of The Liebeslieder Singers, who serve as a Greek chorus with uniformly fine voices. They are: William Clarence Marshall, Claire Connelly, Bernadette Hisey, Justin W. Williamson and Lydia Hall.”

“Musical director David Williams and orchestra give the rich score its due. “A Weekend in the Country,” a masterpiece of contrapuntal harmony, ends the long first act on a strong note. Director Sternfeld’s freeze scenes in this number and others are most effective.”

“Craig Tucker’s parade of period costumes includes a striking variation on white in the calamitous dinner scene.”

“Wright is excellent as Fredrik, the slightly ridiculous man in midlife crisis who can’t decide whether to ravish his child bride or take a nap in “Now.” The song is packaged with withholding wife Anne’s making vain promises in “Soon” and moody Henrik’s singing of the sting of dismissal in “Later.”

“Silver delivers a quietly subdued portrait of the imperious and forgetful Madame Armfeldt, an ex-courtesan who sings of the lost art of love as a profession in “Liasons.”

“Cara Corrigan is appealing as Desiree’s 14-year-old daughter Fredrika Armfeldt, who openly declares her illegitimacy and broadmindedness to the uptight Henrik.”

“DeBoer is perfect as Charlotte, who has a plan to teach her philandering husband a lesson. Baritone Love has a great voice as the pompous count who believes a civilized man can accept infidelity in a wife but not a mistress.”

“Bradley is a strong vocalist as the vain and giddy child bride Anne”

“Natalie Green sparkles as the earthy maid Petra, who sings of having many men and lots of love affairs before settling down in “The Miller’s Son.”

View the complete review here

(Anne Egerman) is elated to be a part of such a beautiful show working along side and learning from such talented actors. She would like to thank her Mom and Sister, who’ve listened to many a note go flat throughout the years as she turned their suburban home into her personal rehearsal studio. Endless thanks to her father whose driven many, MANY, miles so that she could dream her “Impossible Dream.” I love you always. Thanks to Fred for this wonderful opportunity and MG for believing in her always.Trad A Burns

(Scenic Designer) recently designed the set for Company at FPAC, and has also done lighting designs for Fred Sternfeld’s productions of South Pacific and Jolson and Company. Mr. Burns is a lighting and scenic designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. His career has spanned theatre, dance, amusement parks, as well as architectural and retail lighting. Designing over 400 productions during the last two decades, his varied work has been seen around the world. His extensive credits include designs for Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet British Columbia, Washington Ballet, Spectrum Dance, Verb Ballets, New York Theatre Workshop (NYC), La Mama ETC (NYC), HERE (NYC), Classic Stage Company (NYC), The Public Theatre (NYC), The Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cedar Point, ValleyFair, Knott’s Berry Farm, Kings Island, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Japan, Disney Sea, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Universal Studios Florida & Japan, Woodstock Ice Productions, and The Family of Charles M. Schulz. Mr. Burns recent theatre designs include the revival of Altar Boyz at The Hanna Theatre, Jerry Springer The Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wings, My Fair Lady, The Producers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Fiddler on the Roof, Altar Boyz, The Farnsworth Invention, Urinetown, Song & Dance, The History Boys among others for the Beck Center for the Arts. Inherit the Wind and Doubt for the Cleveland Play House, Assassins, Death of a Salesman and Sweeney Todd at Lakeland Theatre. At Cleveland Public Theatre Mr. Burns has designed Fever/Dream, The Book of Grace, Open Mind Firmament, The Alice Seed, Goldstar Ohio, Our Town, Sleep Deprivation Chamber, Fefu and Her Friends, The Secretaries, Venus, Stone Cold Dead Serious, Bright Room Called Day, Nickel and Dimed, Dojoji, The Confessions of Punch & Judy, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Discordia, Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, Summer and Smoke, The Fugitive Pieces, and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. 

Sean Michael Cahill (Assistant Stage Manager) is a Fourth year Political Science student at John Carroll University. Previous FPAC credits include Gordon Lowther in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Mr. Baskin in Big, the musical, Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Charlemagne in Pippin, Ensemble in Children of Eden and Greg Pierotti in The Laramie Project. Other roles include: Oliver Warbucks in Annie at HYT, Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, Charlie Brown in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Sandor Prantz in Bells are Ringing, Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man, Orgon in Moliere’s Tartuffe, and Uncle Stanley in George Washington Slept Here amongst others.Claire Connelly

(Mrs. Nordstrom) was praised in the Plain Dealer in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s production of Xerxes for playing “the coquettish Atalanta to the charming hilt…and singing with bright assurance.” She was also appauded for bringing “a fine soprano with a vivacious presence to the Commedia Manager” in Ariadne auf Naxos. She recently completed her master’s degree, studying with Mary Schiller at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has performed with regional companies in Oklahoma such as Cimmarron Circuit Opera Company and Light Opera Oklahoma. Her roles include Serpetta in La Finta Giardiniera, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music, Pauline in The Toy Shop, and Me in The Owl, the Tree, and Me. She made her European debut in Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers as Cupidon in 2010. She is a frequent guest soloist, her credits including an appearance at Severance Hall with famed composer-conductor Marvin Hamlisch and recitals in Tulsa, OK and Cleveland, OH. www.claireconnelly.com.Cara Corrigan (Fredrika) Cara, 14, is a homeschooler who has appeared in 30 productions throughout the Cleveland/Akron area including FPAC’s Eat (It’s Not About Food) and Honk, Jr.Other favorites include: Annie in Annie at 82nd St., Amaryllis in The Music Man at Cassidy Theater, Lucille in Junie B. Jones at Magical Theater Co., Young Cosette in Les Miserables at Edwardian Players, Gretl in The Sound of Music at OPA, and Molly in Annie at OPA. Recently Cara appeared as Bett in Oliver at Cassidy Theater and in Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s Richard III. Cara has trained at FPAC for two years, is a frequent member of OPA’s Dance Company, takes ballet and pointe at Cleveland Ballet Conservatory, and has co-choreographed and co-directed two musicals, Peter Panand Aristocats, at MHSC. Cara also enjoys nature, rock climbing, biology, and reading. She thanks Fred for casting and directing her, her family for supporting her and driving her everywhere, and God for the gifts of singing, acting, and dancing!

Katherine DeBoer (Charlotte Malcolm) has performed across the country and at numerous local venues including The Hanna Theatre, The Cleveland Play House, Carousel Dinner Theater, Porthouse Theatre, Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Karamu, and Dobama. Favorite credits include Betty Drake in the national tour of The Will Rogers Follies, Rose Stopnick in Caroline Or Change, Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Gabby / Bobbi in City of Angels, Narrator in Joseph…Dreamcoat, Martha Jefferson in 1776, Smokey Joe’s Café, Babe in Crimes of the Heart and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition to her stage and on camera credits, she also works as a motivational speaker and spokesmodel. She has studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and holds a BA from Baldwin Wallace College.

Eric Thomas Fancher (Frid), is happy to be returning to FPAC after his work on Honk! Jr. as Assistant Director. Past roles include Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf in Into the Woods at Tri-C West; Charlie Brown in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Luke in Altar Boyz at TrueNorth Cultural Arts; Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in Kiss Me, Kate at Solon Center for the Arts, Frog in A Year With Frog and Toad, Patrick Dennis in Mame, Kenickie in Grease, and Brad in The Rocky Horror Show at Cassidy Theatre; Dakin in the Cleveland Premiere of The History Boys, and Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank at the Beck Center For the Arts; Francis Bacon in the Regional Premiere, and revival of William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, Michael Cassio in Othello: The Moor of Veniceand the Prince of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. He would like to thank Fred for the opportunity to work with such a talented company of actors, as well as Sarah for being wonderful.

Benjamin Gantose (Lighting Designer) grew up in Berea, Oh and attended the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where he studied Theatrical Design and Production with an emphasis on Lighting Design. During school and since Benjamin has been involved in both scenic and lighting design for works spanning ballet and modern dance, theatre, musical theater, opera, and theme parks. Highlights include Steel Magnolias at TrueNorth Cultural Arts; Company, Pippin, Les Miserables: School Edition, Big, the musical, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 13, the Musical at FPAC; Joseph, Producers, Altar Boyz, at Beck Center; Don’t Call Me Fat, Open Mind Firmament at Cleveland Public Theatre; Passion, Swan Lake at CCM; and various productions at Cincinnati Ballet including multiple world premieres, Cedar Point, Knott’s Berry Farm, Verb Ballets, and Inlet Dance Theater. Visit his portfolio on the web at www.bentose.com

Natalie Green (Petra) is a 2005 graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts with a degree in Theatre Arts – Musical Theatre Concentration. Prior to attending Point Park, she studied Classical Vocal Performance, Theatre and Education at Mount Union College. Onstage, Natalie is best known in the Cleveland area for her portrayal of Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Beck Center (2005-2007). Since returning to Cleveland, she has been seen as Marta in Companyand Eve / Mama Noah in Children of Eden at FPAC, Lizzie in Baby at TrueNorth Cultural Arts, Seada in Necessary Targets at Fine Arts Association, Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice at Lakeland Theatre, Laverne Andrews in Boogie Woogie Baby at the Cleveland Play House Club, and as Hanna in A Shayna Maidel with the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland. She has also worked in the Cabaret Shows at Pickwick and Frolic. As a singer, she was the Lead Vocalist with Collision Jazz and was a Semi-Finalist on American Idol, Season 3.

Carlton Guc (Sound Designer) Part of Stage Research, developers of award winning theatrical software for Lighting and Sound, Carlton has designed sound for the Titanic exhibit, Dialog in the Dark exhibit and recently assisted on the tour of Handel’s Messia Rocks. He recently designed Steel Magnolias and Baby at TrueNorth. For FPAC, Carlton has designed Pippin, the Ohio premiere of Eat (It’s Not About Food), Company, Children of Eden, Honk Jr., Pride and Prejudice, Into the Woods, the Ohio premiere of Thirteen, Les Miserables: School Edition, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and Big, the musical.

Lydia Hall (Mrs. Segstrom) recently appeared as Jenny in Company at FPAC and is thrilled to be back! She has been fortunate to perform in five European countries and with the Wesley Balk Institute in St. Paul, MN; the American Singers’ Opera Project in NYC; Boston Opera Collaborative in Boston, MA and with OperaWorks! in Los Angeles. Locally, Ms. Hall has appeared in productions with The Cleveland Public Theatre, Tri-C West, Opera Cleveland, Cain Park, The Beck Center for the Arts, TrueNorth Cultural Arts and with The Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Festival Choruses. Favorite roles include the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Dinah in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, and Woman 1 in Adam Guettel’s Myths & Hymns. Lydia holds her B. Mus. from Grand Valley State University and her M. Mus. from The Boston Conservatory.

Bernadette Hisey (Mrs. Anderssen) has performed at Beck Center, Cain Park, Cassidy Theatre, CAMEO Productions, Ensemble Theatre of Cleveland, JCC at Tri-C East, Lorain Community Music Theatre, TrueNorth, and most extensively with Mighty Goliath Productions where she has been the drama director, music director, choreographer, historian, and marketing manager as well as having played leading and supporting roles. Favorite roles include Arlene in Baby at TrueNorth (Berko Award for Outstanding Performance), Mrs. Anna in The King and I, Kate/Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me, Kate, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Annie Oakley in Annie, Get Your Gun. By day, she is a music teacher at Harrison Elementary in Lakewood where she also has a tap dancing club! Bernadette is thrilled to be working with Fred again and to be a part of this amazing cast.

Jeremy Jenkins (Bertrand) is making his FPAC debut and could not be happier! A native of Nashville, TN, he received his BA in Theatre & English from Cumberland University. University credits include The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the titular role in Oedipus Rex. Since his move to NE Ohio 3 years ago, he has had the priviledge of working at such venues as Weathervane Playhouse, Coach House Theatre, The Beck Center, KSU-Stark Campus, The Illusion Factory, and is a 3-year company member of the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Favorite productions include Androcles in Androcles & the Lion, Peacy Weill in The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, Matt inThe Fantasticks, Leonard Vole in Witness for the Prosecution, and Wings with the wonderful Dorothy Silver. When not onstage, you can catch him stereotypically serving up fajitas and margaritas at the Chili’s Grill & Bar in Macedonia. He might also be the biggest Abe Vigoda fan you will ever meet! High Four!

Bebe Weinberg Katz (Choreographer) , B.A., M. Ed. Bebe’s recent theatrical credits include Les Miserables: School Edition, Big, the musical, Company, Children of Eden & Thirteen at FPAC and Baby at TrueNorth. Her credits extend deep into the arts. She has danced, choreographed, staged, designed, directed, taught, written and illustrated. As an educator, Bebe has taught dance, movement education and /or fitness and wellness to children, teens and adults in the public schools, Baldwin-Wallace College, Cleveland State University, the Jewish Community Center, in her own studio, in private dance studios and Camp Wise. Her dance credits extend from Purcell’s Opera The Fairy Queen and The Cathy Powel Dance Company in Pittsburgh to the Dancing Mimes at DanceCleveland, as well as her own company, Center Motion at the JCC. While holding the position of resident choreographer at Euclid High School Bebe worked with the show choir “Varsity Choral” and choreographed the school’s productions of The Music Man, Hello Dolly, Anything Goes, Pajama Game, Pippin, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz and Grease. She currently works in both Shaker Heights schools and Cleveland Heights / University Heights school. Bebe is the choreographer for Shaker’s “Chanticleers,” and Cleveland Height’s nationally ranked show choir “Singers.” At CHHS she choreographed Beauty and the Beast, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Storyas well as doing costume design for the latter two.. Bebe has production credentials spanning the 35 years she has lived in Cleveland. She was dance and drama specialist at Camp Wise, and performed the choreographer duties for Mame at Chagrin Valley Little Theater, Anything Goes at Euclid Community Theater, Joseph, Holy Moses, Rock Pinocchio, The Grand Tour and Fiddler on the Roof at the Cleveland JCC. She also directed The Apple Tree for the JCC and was costume assistant for The Wall and The Merry Widow. She also has written and illustrated a number of books. The M.I.M.E Set, an activity book the integrates movement and academics, and three middle grade chapter books titled Princess Claudia and the Freckles, A Best Friend for Claudia and Sibling Wars. This summer Bebe will be returning to Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory as Associate Director of the East programs.

James Love (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm) Baritone James Love has distinguished himself as a versatile, gifted young artist who “makes a big impression vocally and physically.” (Charlottesville Times-Dispatch). James is excited to be performing Carl Magnus in the FPAC’s production of A Little Night Music. Most recently Love was seen performing Fred/Petruccio in Kiss me Kate with the Solon Center, and Thomas Edison in the Ohio premiere of Edison Invents in Brecksville. In the last year Love has performed the roles of Dr. Falke and Valton in Opera Circles productions of Die Fledermausand I Puritani and portayed King Arthur in Camelot with the newly formed Opera per Tutti at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre. Other roles include Dr. Maletesta in Don Pasquale with Opera Circle, Shaunard in La Boheme, Dancairo and Escamillo in Carmen, Ravenall in Showboat, and Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera per Tutti. Mr. Love was heard also as Dancairo in Carmen with Cleveland Opera and in an acclaimed portrayal of Curly in Oklahoma! with the Porthouse Theatre of Ohio. Highlights of Mr. Love’s career include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro as a guest artist with the Cleveland Institute of Music also roles in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, Tristan und Isolde, Billy Budd and in the world premiere of Todd Machover’s highly anticipated opera Resurrection as a member of the Houston Grand Opera. Other roles include Escamillo in Carmen and Dr. Baer in Little Women with Ash Lawn-Highland Opera Festival, and Tom in Un Ballo in Maschera with Virginia Opera. With Virginia Opera, Mr. Love also covered both Renato in Ballo and the title role in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Additional opera credits include Danilo in The Merry Widow with the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Munich, Sulpiz in The Daughter of the Regiment with Salzburg’s Komische Kammer Oper, and a variety of principal and supporting roles with Aspen Music Festival, including covering Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte and Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos. Special thanks to his wife Julie and his children Cate and Anne for being patient and Loving.

William Clarence Marshall III (Mr. Lindquist) made his recent debut with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh in Gospel at Colonus as Preacher Oedipus. Mr. Marshall has appeared locally with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Arts Renaissance Tremont, At Home In The Arts, Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Solon Philharmonic, Time Traveller, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, Warren Philharmonic, Opera Cleveland, Opera Western Reserve, Opera per Tutti, Edna Duffy Liturgical Ensemble, Firestone High School Symphonic Choir, Forest City Singers, Jazz Arts and the R. Nathaniel Dett Choir of the Cleveland School of the Arts, Summit Choral Society, Bad Epitaph Theatre, Beck Center, Carousel Dinner Theatre, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, Kalliope Stage, Karamu House, Playhouse Square, Porthouse Theatre and the Solon Center for the Arts. Mr. Marshall has made appearances at Carnegie Hall in an Evening of Spirituals and as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C. He is best known for the role of Joe in Hal Prince’s Tony-award winning revival of Showboat on Broadway, the Kennedy Center and the Broadway national tour. He received acclaim for performances of Porgy in Porgy and Bess at the Jerusalem Music Festival with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stuart Malina. As Pooh-Bah in The Mikado at Utah Festival Opera with the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra conducted by Karen Keltner and Shields in the Opera Ebony production of Frederick Douglass with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Swift. During the Langston Hughes Centennial, Mr. Marshall participated in the premiere of Jeremie Michael’s After Hours, A Song Cycle, a work inspired by the poems of Langston Hughes. A former Aspen Music Festival Opera Theater Fellow, he debuted as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Aspen Music Festival Opera Orchestra conducted by John DeMain. Mr. Marshall’s television and film appearances include, Aida’s Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices In Opera, on PBS’ Great Performances, An Evening with Mike Petrone in Concert Featuring the Students of Cleveland School of the Arts and the Making of Porgy and Bessas Porgy for the Jerusalem Music Festival in a command performance for the late Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin. He also appeared as a featured soloist in An African-American Christmas, with Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis, for Vision TV and as a featured guest soloist on the Phil Donahue Show. Mr. Marshall is featured in the short films And In Other News and Oh, Amanda for the 48 Hour Film Project. As a voice over artist, Mr. Marshall has voiced for the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Play House, COSE, Doleman Black Heritage Museum, Gary Norton for Mayor of East Cleveland, Hillcrest Hospital, Karamu House, Key Bank, Lincoln Electric and the Marion Ewing Kaufmann Foundation. Mr. Marshall has directed and appeared in productions as Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music, Colline in La Boheme, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan Tutte, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. In The Shadow Box Theatre’s, How The Turtle Got Its Shell: An African Tale, Mr. Marshall created the roles of Nyame, The Sky God and Osebo, The Leopard. This work garnered an award for Notable Children’s recording by the American Library Association. Mr. Marshall is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and makes his home in the Rockefeller subdivision of East Cleveland, Ohio, the historic home of John D. Rockefeller and New York City with his faithful terrier, Luciano!

Tracee Patterson (Desiree Armfeldt) most recently appeared as Joanne in Company at FPAC, Lettice in Lettice and Lovage at Coach House Theatre in Akron, and as Jean in Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Dobama Theatre last fall. She also played Stevie in Dobama’s critically-acclaimed production of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Other credits include Gloria/Science Officer in Return to the Forbidden Planet at CSU Summer Stages; the Baroness Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music, Woman 2 in Songs for a New World and Luisa in Nine at Cain Park; Frances in Breakup Notebook: The Lesbian Musical, Emma in Song and Dance, Arkadina in The Seagull, Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical at Beck Center for the Arts; Zlata in Necessary Targets at Willoughby Fine Arts; Yentl in Yentl and Aldonza in Man of La Mancha at the JCC Halle Theatre; Susannah in The Upstart Crow at Ohio Shakespeare Festival; Tracey in Unbeatable (staged reading) at Journey Productions at WVIZ IdeaCenter; Holly in Nickeled and Dimed at Great Lakes Theatre Festival/Cleveland Public Theatre; and in Cally’s Tally, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Staged Reading Festivals at the Cleveland Play House. Tracee is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, the labor union that represents more than 48,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Dorothy Silver (Madame Armfeldt) is happy to join FPAC’S theatre company under the direction of Fred Sternfeld, a longtime theatre colleague and friend. She has performed and/or directed for many of our area’s theatres, including The Cleveland Play House and Great Lakes Theatre Festival. Among favorite assignments are leading roles in The Visit, All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, Master Class, Talking Heads, The Dybbuk and Wings. The production of A Little Night Music will follow a reprise of Beck Center’s Wings in its original radio version being produced by WVIZ-Ideastream for public radio. She is also looking forward to performing in Eric Coble’s new play, The Velocity of Autumn, at Beck Center in the spring of 2012.

Kayla Spira (Mala, Desiree’s maid) is thrilled to be both onstage and backstage in her second FPAC production! This year Kayla was seen onstage and backstage at the Chagrin Falls Performing Arts Academy as Witch 2 in Macbeth, and a crew/chorus member in The Apple Tree. She was also seen at Playmakers Youth Theatre as Lefou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. She is SUPER excited to have the opportunity to work with the fabulous FPAC team. Much love to her family and friends!

Fred Sternfeld (Director – A Little Night Music ; Artistic Director – FPAC) most recently directed Company and Les Miserables: School Edition at FPAC and Steel Magnolias at TrueNorth Cultural Arts. Other productions at FPAC: Children of Eden, Into the Woods, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Eat (It’s Not About Food) and The Odd Couple. Fred is widely represented on Northeast Ohio stages through diverse projects, garnering numerous honors and awards. Recently he directed the award-winning productions of Baby at TrueNorth, Yellowmanat Karamu Performing Arts Theatre, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast & at Beck Center and Ragtime, the musical at the JCC. He previously served as Artistic Director at Lakewood Little Theatre – Beck Center for the Arts and the Cleveland, Seattle & Dallas Jewish Community Centers. Other selected credits: Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver! & The Sound of Music at Cain Park; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife & The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek at Dobama Theatre; A Shayna Maidel, Jolson and Company, Man of La Mancha, Modern Orthodox, Rags, From Door to Door, South Pacific, The God of Isaac, Beau Jest, Crossing Delancey, The Twilight of the Golds, The Immigrant &Conversations With My Father for the Cleveland JCC; Bad Seed at Ensemble Theatre; Amadeusat Willoughby Fine Arts; Table Settings, Isn’t It Romantic, The Diary of Anne Frank & Broadway Bound at JCC Center Stage in Seattle; Peter Pan (1987 & 2008), On the Town, Of Mice and Men, La Cage aux Folles, Saturday Night, Foxfire, Noises Off, Children of a Lesser God & The Importance of Being Earnest at Beck Center; Proof at GLTG and All My Sons & Enter Laughing at the Dallas JCC. Other upcoming projects are The Fantasticks for TrueNorth Cultural Arts in January of 2012,The Bluest Eye for Karamu House Theatre in February of 2012 and Gruesome Playground Injuries for Ensemble Theatre in April of 2012. For pictures and reviews for any of the shows listed here you can go to this link.

Craig Tucker (Costume Designer) is an adjunct professor at Lakeland Community College and is also the supervisor of Tri-C Western’s costume department. His professional work includes costume designs for Sea World of Ohio’s shows such as Clyde and Seamore’s Fools with Tools, Shamu’s Spooktacular and New Orleans Nights. He was the designer on the Ohio premiere of Pride and Prejudice and world premieres of American Hero and Optimus Prime for President. Other local designs:Sweeney Todd, Noises Off, Sunday in the Park with George, Private Lives, Eurydice, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Peter Pan, Born Yesterday, Other Peoples Money, Putting it Together, Barrymore at Lakeland Community College; Peter Pan, Crucible, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Lone Star, Laundry and Bourbon, This is Where we Came in, 1776, Our Town, Antigone at Tri C Western. Mr. Marmalade, and Quake at Convergence Continuum;Company, Pippin, Into the Woods, Thirteen, the musical, Eat (It’s Not About Food), Children of Eden, Honk Jr , Pride and Prejudice, Les Miserables: Student Edition, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and big, the musical at FPAC and Man of La Mancha, and The Maltese Bodkin at CVLT.

Luke Wehner (Henrik) is thrilled to share the stage with the cast of A Little Night Music. Previous credits include Sweeney in Sweeney Todd: Student Edition, Roger in Rent, Solyony in The Three Sisters, Hale in The Crucible, Jack in Into the Woods, and Abel in Children of Eden. As director, Luke has collaborated with Olivia Fine on Jesus Christ Superstar, and Playing in Sand – an original piece re-imagining John Gardner’s Grendel for the stage. Previously for FPAC, Luke was part of the touring cast of Eat – It’s Not About Food. Luke would like to thank Anna Bradley, Sean Szaller, A, B, and M. For Mom.

David Williams (Music Director), a Cleveland native, grew up in a musical family and has a genealogy that includes W.C. Handy. He began his career while in junior high school as a pianist for the “Gene Carroll/Entertainment 5” variety hour (WEWS-TV) for the last five years of its run. In 1985, David left Cleveland to attend the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (Carousel; Flora, The Red Menace; Chess; Evita; Into The Woods; Two Gentlemen Of Verona). An undergraduate degree in Jazz and Studio Music was earned in 1988. Upon graduation, he was hired by Princess Cruise Line and began a life entertaining at sea where he would either work at the piano bar or with the main lounge shows. In 1991, David returned to Cincinnati and in 1993 earned a graduate degree in Orchestral Conducting. He was then hired by Jean Ann Ryan Productions in Ft. Lauderdale to musically direct Broadway and Vegas style shows for the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet (George M; Chorus Line; Dreamgirls; Hello Dolly; My Fair Lady; Will Roger’s Follies; Pippin; Meet Me In St. Louis). He left Florida when he started conducting over six hundred performances of Smokey Joe’s Cafe in Reno, Nevada; Germany; Switzerland; and Brazil. In 2006, David served as principal pianist/assistant conductor for a world tour of West Side Story visiting Europe and Asia. That was followed by a U.S. tour of a Ray Charles tribute show entitled I Can’t Stop Loving You. When home on break from those productions, David has performed with the Cleveland Pops and at The Cleveland Play House. Other local credits include Dreamgirls at Cassidy Theater, Smokey Joe’s Cafe and Five Guys Named Moe at Beck Center, Jesus Christ Superstar at Playhouse Square, She Loves Me at Lakeland Community College, and Ragtime, the musical, directed by Fred Sternfeld at the JCC / Tri-C East. He also music directed FPAC’s productions of Les Miserables: School Edition, Children of Eden, Pippin and Thirteen. David is currently employed by Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Garfield Hts. He holds memories of his travels fondly and is enjoying being home with family and friends.

Justin W. Williams (Mr. Erlanson): Justin is thrilled to be making his FPAC debut as Mr. Erlanson in A Little Night Music and to finally get to work with Fred…a long time coming! Justin was most recently seen in the ensamble of Hairspray at the Beck Center in Lakewood and as Edward Lyons in the smash hit Blood Brothers at Cassidy Theater last spring. Following this production, Justin will be reprising his role of Simeon in the holiday hit Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Beck Center this December. Some of Justin’s favorite previous roles include Juan in Altar Boyz at the Erie Playhouse, Action in West Side Story at Cassidy Theater, Mark Cohen in Rent at Players Guild Theater, and Walter in Hair at the Erie Playhouse. Justin also made his tenor opera debut with the Opera Cleveland Company a few years ago in La Boheme in the ensemble at the State Theater. When not on stage, Justin is the Assistant Nurse Manager of the Cardiovascular ICU at the Cleveland Clinic specializing in heart and lung transplants and loves that his boss recognizes his need for creative outlet. Justin would like to thank his family and friends for all their support and to Fred and this amazing cast for allowing him the honor of sharing the stage with them and for giving him the opportunity to learn from the best in Cleveland! Broken femurs….
Matthew Wright (Fredrik Egerman) is an actor, director and theatre educator whose work has taken him across the United States. As an actor he has appeared at such nationally acclaimed regional theatres as The La Jolla Playhouse:The Matchmaker, 80 Days, The McCarter Theatre:The Dawns Are Quiet Here, The Clarence Brown Company: Hamlet, As You Like It, The Studio Arena Theatre of Buffalo: The Boyfriend, Trinity Repertory Theatre: A Christmas Carol, Julius Caesar, On The Town, The New Theater: Angels in America, Love!Valor!Compassion!, How I Learned To Drive, Around The World in Eighty Days, House of The Seven Gables, Actors’ Playhouse: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Jesus Christ Super Star and Florida Stage: Exact Center of The Universe . He has worked with many wonderful theatre artists including directors Des MacAnuff, Tina Landau, Anne Bogart, and Oskar Eustis and a roster of internationally acclaimed actors. Since moving to the Cleveland area seven years ago, Matthew has appeared at Great Lakes Theater Company in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Twelfth Night; Equus, Urinetown: The Musical, A Man of No Importance, The Fix, Reefer Madness, and The Imaginary Invalid at The Beck Center for The Arts; the Cleveland Jewish Community Center / Tri-C collaboration of Ragtime; Das Barbecu at Cleveland Opera; King Lear at College of Wooster; and in Romeo and Juliet , The Illusion and Assassins at Oberlin College. This past summer, he appeared as Prospero in The Tempest, as part of the inaugural season of the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival. Matthew has served on the faculties of The Ohio State University, Wright State University, and Florida Atlantic University where he headed the graduate actor training program for ten years. He is currently the Program Director and Associate Professor of Theatre at Oberlin College where he’s directed The Three Sisters, Dancing at Lughnasa, A Bright Room Called Day, Vieux Carre, Reffer Madness, Beautiful Thing and Flora, the Red Menace. Matthew has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1988.