Kasie Buono is a recent graduate of The University of Tampa with her BFA in Musical Theatre. Favorite performance credits include 25th Annual Putnum… (Marcy Park) The Drowsy Chaperone (Drowsy Chaperone) Shrek (Fiona) Chicago (Hunyak) Urinetown (Little Becky) Young Frankenstein (Inga) Theory of Relativity (Sara) While in Florida, she was a National Anthem singer for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and also worked at Walt Disney World. Kasie holds national titles from various performances in NYC, Atlanta, and Tampa and had the honor of playing Fiona in the Jr. World Premiere Pilot of Shrek under Musical Theatre International.Much love to Kasie's family, friends, and CMT for this incredible opportunity! www.kasiebuono.com
Brendan Duquette Actor
Brendan Duquette is thrilled to be joining the Carousel Music Theater. He is an alum of CAP21 in NYC , where he attended the Two Year - Musical Theatre Conservatory Training Intensive. His most recent Credits include, Tunny in American Idiot at The Company Theatre, Jamie in The Last 5 Years at Priscilla Beach Theatre, Jesus in Godspell at the Iron Bridge Dinner Theatre. In his spare time, Brendan produces original music, which can be found on his Facebook page, YouTube and Instagram. Lastly he would like to thanks his family and friends for all of the support over this passed year. The Pandemic was a challenging and trying time for all performing artists. Thank you for coming to the show and we hope you enjoy!
Nathan Roberts Actor
Nathan Roberts is a recent graduate of the University at Buffalo where he received a BFA in Musical Theatre. While in Buffalo, Nathan portrayed the role of “Mack the Knife” in the American premier of Simon Stephens’ new English adaptation of THE THREEPENNY OPERA. Regionally, he was most recently seen “kicking off his Sunday shoes” in FOOTLOOSE as Ren McCormack. Nathan is thrilled to be back on stage and is grateful to CMT for this wonderful opportunity.
Kelli Leigh-Ann Connors Director
Kelli Leigh-Ann Connors has enjoyed a forty year career as a freelance theatre artist with a multitude of roles and awards to her credit. She is a performing member of Power Play, an applied theatre company that uses theatre laboratories to create awareness of real world situations like micro aggression and bias in the workplace. As a director, Kelli has gained distinction at the Rochester Opera House, bringing them their first Spotlight Awards for her direction of Annie, and is the recipient of the Kids Free to Grow Award given by the York County Protection Agency for her work with abuse prevention theatre. Kelli has more than 150 major theatre works to her credit as a director, actor, choreographer and costume designer.
Kayla Capone Kasper Actor
Kayla Capone Kasper is a voice teacher and multi-hyphenate artist based in Central Pennsylvania. Favorite credits include The Marvelous Wonderettes, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Allenberry Playhouse), Laura Benanti's "Sunshine Songs" Concert, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Fulton Theater), and Company (Hershey Area Playhouse). Kayla is an adjunct professor of voice at Lebanon Valley College and maintains her own private voice studio. She has also gained a viral following on Tik Tok for her educational videos about theater and voice and on Instagram for her live "In Conversation With..." series. She would like to thank the cast, crew, entire production team and staff at The Carousel for giving her this opportunity and welcoming her into the family so quickly. She would also like to thank her husband, Bryan, and cat, Monty for supporting her in following her dreams away from them this summer. www.kaylacaponekasper.com Instagram/Tik Tok: @kaylacaponekasper
Alicia Hartz Actor
Alicia Hartz is an EMC actor, singer, voice over artist, aspiring guitarist, and Shakespeare enthusiast. When not acting, she can be found working behind the scenes on projects such as the Oscar-winning film, Free Solo, the Emmy-winning show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and about a dozen different web series no one's ever heard of. She has written a handful of screenplays, one of which is in development to become a feature film, and spent this past spring working with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company as their academy casting assistant. Thank you to Paulette and the entire CMT team for welcoming us back to the stage for the first time in eighteen months and thank YOU, dear patron, for safely supporting the return of live performing arts this summer. aliciahartz.com @alicia.hartz
Dan Wells Music Director
Dan Wells (Music Director)is a conductor, singer, author and arranger based in the greater Philly area. A graduate of Westminster Choir College, Dan holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching. He served as Director of Choral Activities at Delaware Valley Regional High School, as well as Music Director for the Winter Musical earning accolades from Paper Mill Playhouse and Bucks County Playhouse for his music direction. Currently, Dan is a finalist in two categories for the American Prize (Choral Conducting & High School Choral Performance). Previously, Dan held conducting positions with the Princeton Opera Company and Centenary United Methodist Church in Lambertville, NJ. As a professional singer, he has sung and recorded albums with acclaimed ensembles, such as the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Westminster Williamson Voices, the Princeton Singers, and the Same Stream Choir. As an author, he has collaborated with James Jordan on two publications (Conductor as Prism, 2017, & The Moral Acoustic of Sound, 2018) and with Frank Abrahams and Ryan John on Becoming Musical (2017, all published by GIA Publications). Dan is very excited to join the Carousel this summer and hopes you enjoy the season!
Ricky Marchese Director
Ricky Marchese is delighted to be making his directorial debut at the Carousel Music Theater! He first performed at the Carousel in 2014, and loved it so much he decided to come back again in the summer of 2016! Since then, Ricky has been an actor based out of NYC and has performed all around the world in a variety of shows. Ricky is from Rochester, NY, and has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University at Buffalo. Some credits of his include: Nickelodeon’s National Tour of Paw Patrol Live!, Tony in West Side Story at the Leonia Summer Stage, Sonny in Royal Caribbean’s Grease on the Independence of the Seas, and Double J in Royal Caribbean’s Saturday Night Fever on the Liberty of the Seas. His favorite memories from the Carousel come from the lifelong friendships made at the theater. Boothbay Harbor is one of his favorite places on earth. Trips to the Boathouse Bistro, House of Pizza, and Mine Oyster will always be remembered with a laugh and full stomach! On stage at the Carousel, the Broadway cabarets and hilarious shows are looked upon fondly. He would be remiss not to mention Hal, his favorite audience member and devoted fan to the Carousel Music Theater. Many thanks to Paulette, Robb, Paul Urriola, and his INCREDIBLE cast for making this show one to be proud of, and having it be a truly enjoyable experience. Enjoy the show!