Download The Songs of Leiber and Stoller Biographies

Smokey Joe’s Cafe - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Biographies
Alyssa Grubbs is a junior at The University of Alabama double majoring in Musical
Theatre and Restaurant Management. From Atlanta, Georgia, her previous credits
include Big River (Alice's Daughter), An Italian Straw Hat (Ensemble), and The
Color Purple (Ensemble). She would like to thank God for opening numerous
opportunities, and her Dad and Mom for their unconditional love and support.
Allie Jones, who hails from Memphis, Tennessee, recently graduated from The
University of Alabama with a BA in Musical Theatre. Her favorite previous credits
include: The Last Five Years (Cathy), Fefu and Her Friends (Christina), City of Angels
(Angel City 4), Big River (Mary Jane Wilkes), An Enemy of the People (Ensemble) and
Hair (Tribe/Chrissy u/s). She is extremely excited to be working
with SummerTide Theatre and such a talented cast!
Drey Mitchell, from Florence, Alabama, is an upcoming junior musical theatre major
at The University of Alabama. He is so thrilled to be performing for the first time in
SummerTide Theatre. Some of his previous credits include The Drowsy Chaperone
(Robert), Chicago (Ensemble), See Rock City (Evan), City of Angels (Pasco), and Big
River (Ensemble).
Renee Reinicke is thrilled to be performing in SummerTide for the first time. Hailing
from Houston, Texas, she is graduating in August with a double degree in Musical
Theatre and Interior Design. Professional credits at the Flat Rock Playhouse and
Cortland Repertory Theatre include RENT, The Producers, Chicago,
Joseph...Dreamcoat, and A Murder Is Announced. Favorite UA credits include Flora,
The Red Menace, Chicago, blackout, Almost, Maine, The Bourgeois Gentleman,
Uncommon Women, See Rock City, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Moon Over Buffalo.
At the end of the summer, Renee will be moving to NYC to pursue her dreams.
Corey Rives, from Huntsville, Alabama, is a sophomore double major in
Advertising and Musical Theatre and is so excited to be in Gulf Shores to perform
in his first SummerTide production! Previous UA credits include Chicago (Aaron),
The Bourgeois Gentleman (Dorante), See Rock City (Rick), Almost, Maine (East),
Moby-Dick (Ensemble/Dancer), Big River (Tom’s Gang), Animal Crackers (Boy Who
Gets Chased, u/s Parker) as well as performing and choreographing for Dance Alabama!
Caroline Schmidt is thrilled to be returning to the beach after being seen
previously as Logainne in SummerTide Theatre's production of The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee in the summer of 2010. Originally from Mandeville,
Louisiana, Caroline recently graduated as a Musical Theatre major from The
University of Alabama. Some of her favorite UA theatre credits include: Hair
(Crissy), Candide (Sheep/Ensemble), Uncommon Women and Others (Rita Altabel), An Enemy of the
People (Billing), Almost, Maine (Gayle), Moby-Dick (Peleg/ Russian Sailor), Big River (Susan), Animal
Crackers (The Professor), and Chicago (Roxie Hart). Caroline will be moving to Manhattan this August to
pursue her career in theatre. Special thanks to her family for their constant support. Enjoy the show!
Will Travis is ecstatic to be making his SummerTide debut. He is a native of
Birmingham, Alabama and a sophomore Musical Theatre Major at The University of
Alabama. His past credits include: Company, See Rock City and Other Destinations,
City of Angels, Hairspray, Big River, Ragtime, and The Wiz. Will is extremely grateful
for his supportive family and friends and for this opportunity to work with such
wonderful people.
Adam Vanek, a native of Mandeville, Louisiana, is a junior Musical Theatre major and
is ecstatic to be making his SummerTide debut! Adam was last seen on-stage at UA in
Chicago (Fred Casely), Dance Alabama! Spring Concert (Dancer), Animal Crackers
(John Parker), and Big River (The Boys). Other credits include Godspell (Jesus), Les
Misérables (Marius) and Oklahoma! (Will Parker).
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Edmond Williams (Director) is Professor of Theatre and Founding Chairman of the UA
Department of Theatre and Dance. Dr. Williams has been recognized with Druid Arts
Awards for “Best Production of a Play” and “Theatre Educator.” In 1996, he was
honored by the National Alumni Association of The University of Alabama with their
Outstanding Commitment to Teaching award. Dr. Williams is a past president of the
Alabama Theatre League and the Southeastern Theatre Conference. Elected to the
National Theatre Conference, an honorary organization for American Theatre, Dr.
Williams is former Chairman of the Commission on Accreditation and recently served on the Board of
Directors for the National Association of Schools of Theatre.
Raphael Crystal (Musical Director) is the founder and director of the musical theatre
program of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Active professionally as a
composer and musical director, he received a NY Outer Critics Circle Award for Best
Off-Broadway Musical for his score for the show Kuni-Leml. Recent premieres of his
music include filmed sequences for Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not in Times Square,
MegaHeroes at the Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and The Bourgeois Gentleman at
the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre in New York. He has served as musical director
for shows throughout the country, and is a member of ASCAP, The Dramatists Guild, the Musical
Theatre Educators Alliance, and the Birmingham Art Music Alliance, and an alumnus of the BMI/Lehman
Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
Stacy Alley (Choreographer) teaches musical theatre/dance at The University of
Alabama after seven years on faculty at Arkansas State University. She is a
professional director and choreographer whose recent credits include work at
Forestburgh Playhouse in NY, the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, and here at
SummerTide (choreographer for Dames at Sea and Anything Goes). Stacy was also
part of the inaugural season of SummerTide Theatre when she choreographed, and
played Rhetta in Pump Boys and Dinettes. Recent University of Alabama credits
include Chicago, Big River, and Flora, The Red Menace. Stacy has been performing
professionally for over twenty-five years, including five years in Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas
Spectacular. She is a member of Screen Actors Guild and the Society of Directors and Choreographers.
She serves as Chair of both the Musical Theatre Committee for the Southeastern Theatre Conference
and the College/University Division for the Alabama Conference of Theatre and is the Southeastern
Representative for the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance International. Stacy recently traveled to
Sweden, where she taught at the Ballet Academy of Gothenburg and the University of Gothenburg’s
Academy of Music and Drama. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of
Alabama, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Southern California, and is a Certified
Movement Analyst through The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC.
Andy Fitch (Scenic Designer), at The University of Alabama, has designed dozens of
productions and leads an MFA program in Scenic Design. Some recent designs
include: The Drowsy Chaperon, The Sound of Music, and A Lesson Before Dying for
Theatre Tuscaloosa; The Producers and Damn Yankees for The Arts Center of Coastal
Carolina; The Three Sisters, The Grapes of Wrath, and Forever Plaid for the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival; Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Damn Yankees, Cats, and Gypsy for
Red Mountain Theatre; The Drawer Boy and Betrayal for the Warehouse Theatre of South Carolina.
Andy is a Founding Member of the acclaimed Kitchen Dog Theatre in Dallas. Andy’s training includes an
MFA degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he studied with noted stage designers
William and Jean Eckart.
Donna Meester (Costume Designer) is Associate Professor of Theatre and Director of
the BA/MFA Costume Design and Production programs at The University of Alabama.
Donna has been designing costumes for SummerTide since its inception. Her work has
also been seen at The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Oklahoma Shakespearean
Festival, The Memphis Black Rep, The Red Light Theatre (Washington D.C.), Arkansas State University,
University of Louisiana-Monroe, Ouachita Baptist College, Henderson State University, Louisiana State
University and The University of Northern Iowa. Meester recently served as Design Chair for the
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival-Region IV and was the 2011 Recipient of the Kennedy
Center Golden Medallion Award. An active member in the United States Institute for Theatre
Design/Technology, Donna is currently serving as the Costume Commissioner. She holds a BS in Apparel
Technology from Purdue University and an MFA in Stage Design from Southern Methodist University.
Bill Teague (Lighting and Sound Designer) is the Chair for the Department of Theatre
and Dance, and teaches design and technical theatre. In addition to this theatrical
work, he is represented in other media as well. He has designed scenery for Alabama
Public Television and was Production Designer for the feature motion picture, Rebel
Love. Mr. Teague wrote and supplied graphics for the Computer Assisted Design
section of Scene Design and Stage Lighting, the most widely used text in technical
theatre. He has also served as a theatre consultant on restorations and new facilities
around the southeast. He is an active member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology,
serving many years on the executive committee, the 1995 winner of the USITT Southeast Region
“Outstanding Educator of the Year” award, former President of the Alabama Conference of Theatre and
Speech, and a member of SETC, as well as USITT. In 2004 he received the “Outstanding Commitment to
Teaching Award” from the UA National Alumni Association.
Karen Baker (Stage Manager) is a recent graduate of UA's MFA Directing program and
is thrilled to be returning to stage manage SummerTide for her third year. While at
UA, she has directed Fefu and Her Friends, City of Angels, Screwtape and The Baby
Dance. She has also designed sound for Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Winter’s
Tale, stage managed Tales of the Lost Formicans, Candide, The Rose Tattoo, An Italian
Straw Hat, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Dames at Sea. Karen
would like to thank her husband Chris for all his love and support.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Spencer Collins (Technical Director) recently graduated from The University of
Alabama, with a double major in Theatre and Economics. He has appeared in such
critically acclaimed films as The Lost Stallions: A Journey Home (starring Mickey
Rooney) and Stream, nominated for best cinematography in the short films category
at Sundance 06'. A native of Winston Salem, North Carolina, he has also worked as a
lighting designer for Kim Wayans and Malcolm Jamal Warner with the National Black
Theatre Festival. Technical credits, while at The University of Alabama, include
The Rose Tattoo and The Bourgeois Gentleman (Master Electrician), Candide and Hair
(Sound Operator), The Realm (Lighting Programmer) and Flora, The Red Menace
(Sound Designer). Spencer recently directed the American premiere of The Kidnapper's Guide with his
honors fraternity Alpha Psi Omega.
Terry Moore (Pianist) holds a BS Ed degree in Piano and Voice from Missouri State
University and completed his Graduate Studies in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying
at the University of North Texas. As Musical Director and/or Pianist, his list of
Regional Theatre and Summer Stock credits include Chicago, Cabaret, Company,
Godspell, Destry Rides Again, The Apple Tree, Anything Goes (USO Tour), Fiddler on
the Roof, Brigadoon, Mikado, The Robber Bridegroom, Damn Yankees, The Boyfriend,
Oliver, Once Upon a Mattress, 1776, Little Shop of Horrors, Myths and Hymns, Guys
and Dolls, and They're Playing Our Song. He is very excited to be part of UA's SummerTide production of
SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ.
Jeff Leng (Purcussionist) is currently attending The University of Alabama, while
working toward a Master’s degree in Music Performance with an emphasis in
Percussion. Jeff graduated in 2010 from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Music Performance with an emphasis in percussion studying under
Dr. Jason Baker. Jeff has performed with the MSU Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensembles,
and the Famous Maroon Band. At Alabama, Jeff has performed with the Wind
Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Huxford Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble. Jeff is
currently the drummer and backing vocalist for Birmingham, Alabama’s Lady Gaga cover band
Disco_stick.
Christopher M. Montpetit (Business Manager) is originally from Niagara Falls, NY,
where he received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in English/Theater from Niagara
University. He continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City, where
he earned a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Theater Management. Professionally, Mr.
Montpetit has worked at such companies as Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing, The
Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre, The Alma Schapiro Theatre, Artpark Theatre and ABC
Television. He served for many years as Manager of Public Relations Operations for
Showtime Networks and, recently, as Audience Services Manager for Genesee Community College. Mr.
Montpetit also currently serves as SummerTide Theatre’s Business Manager. A member of the
Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC),
Professor Montpetit currently serves as the Vice Commissioner for Arts Management for the United
States Institute for Theatre Technology Inc. (USITT).
Amber Gibson (Assistant Business Manager) is a rising senior double majoring in
Theatre and English and is honored to be working with such an excellent cast and
crew this summer! Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, her favorite UA credits include
Wonder of the World (Karla), Flora, The Red Menace (Charlotte), Picasso at the Lapin
Agile (Germaine), and Blackout (Prudence).
The Professional Summer Theatre of The University of Alabama
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The University of Alabama, Department of Theatre and Dance, Box 870239, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0239
Main Office 205/348-5283 - Fax 205/348-9048 - UATD Box Office 205/348-3400 - Gulf Shores Box Office 251/968-6721
theatre.ua.edu - SummerTide.org