meet the cast of
THE RED MILL
in alphabetical order
Drew Bolander (Kid)
tickled to be returning for his third season with VHRP LIVE! You may have spotted him in The Princess Pat, The Fortune Teller, Eileen, and The Serenade. Drew traveled all the way from the placid hills of Northern California to be apart of Gotham’s rich culture, where he has since performed everything from Opera to Burlesque. He would like to dedicate this performance to Frank and Phyllis Herring, his loving, wise-cracking, and ever encouraging grandparents.
Joanie Brittingham (Isa)
is in her second season with VHRP LIVE! She was seen as the title role in Eileen and Marie in The Princess Pat last season. She has appeared with Riverside Theatre, Hartford Opera Theatre, Chelsea Opera, the OPERA America New Works Festival, American Lyric Theatre, Opera Lancaster, GLOW Lyric Theatre, and Light Opera Oklahoma. She was a finalist in the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Competition, and a semifinalist in the International Concours de Chant de Clermont Ferrand. She has also performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. www.joaniebrittingham.com.
Shane Brown (Luuk)
is appearing for the second time with VHRP. He has sung with Fresh Squeezed Opera, Bronx Opera, Opera at Rutgers, Manhattan Opera Studio, Eastern Opera of New Jersey, The Youth Opera Company of South Jersey, and will be working and performing with Fresh Squeezed Opera later this year as a Core Company Resident. More at ShaneBrownBaritone.com.
Alexa Devlin (Countess de le Fere)
is delighted to be making her VHRP LIVE debut. She has performed major roles within five seasons as a Resident Artist with The Ohio Light Opera. She has also performed with NYGASP, been a soloist for Northern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and the Lotos Club Foundation, starred with Petite Opera Company in Chicago, and performed major roles internationally with Lyrique En Mer.
Daniel Greenwood (Lars)
is pleased to return for a second season with VHRP LIVE! He was last seen in The Serenade as a particularly ebullient Monk. He has appeared with many other companies both in the US and internationally in very impressive tenor roles that he can’t quite recall currently, with only occasional catastrophic high notes.
Jonathan Heller [Luuk/Ensemble]
is making his debut with VHRP LIVE! He has performed with the Ohio Light Opera and the College Light Opera Company. This past may he graduated from the Eastman School of Music, and he is currently pursuing his master’s degree at NYU in Vocal Performance (Musical Theatre Concentration) and Vocal Pedagogy. jah919@nyu.edu.
Brian Kilday (Joshua Pennyfeather)
is in his third season with VHRP LIVE! He thanks Alyce, Michael, Emily, and all the hard working folks that make this possible. He also thanks the beautifully talented cast and company who bring so much heart; and you the audience for your support tonight. Without you, our message falls flat.
Hannah Kurth (Lieke)
is delighted to be making her VHRP Live! debut in the ensemble of The Red Mill. She has performed with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, Utopia Opera and The Ohio Light Opera, where she dipped her toes into Herbert as Gladys Peck in Dream City and the Magic Knight. www.hannahkurthmezzo.com
Anthony Maida (Burgomaster)
is in his second season with VHRPLive! He portrayed Si Perkins in The Princess Pat, and performed with the company in Son of Dublin and Eileen. Past performances include eight seasons with The Ohio Light Opera and engagements with The Village Light Opera Group, The Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, The Astoria Symphony, Amore Opera and The Botti Opera Showcase.
Jonathan Fox Powers (Bram)
is thrilled to be a part of this production. He has performed with several companies including Amore Opera, Light Opera of New York, Utopia Opera, and the Blue Hill Troupe. He can be found frequently at Theater for the New City where he created the role of Mr. Darcy in a musical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Blifil in Tom Jones, Smike in Nicholas Nickleby, and most recently Jacks Bagelman in Grand Theft Musical. An enthusiastic interpreter of Gilbert and Sullivan, some of his favorite roles include Strephon, Ko-Ko, the Pirate King, and Grosvenor. Special thanks to Alyce Mott, Michael Thomas, Haley Marie Vick, and David Jones.
Christopher Robin Sapp (Dori)
is in his second season with VHRP LIVE! He has performed major roles with The University of Georgia, College Light Opera Company, Ohio Light Opera Company, and New York University. He is currently working on a MM in Voice Performance at New York University, along with an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy.
Tanya Roberts (Saar)
returns for her second season after appearing as Lady Maude in Eileen and Dorothy in The Princess Pat. Over 55 roles performed throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. Engagements with The Ohio Light Opera, Edmonton Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Charlottesville Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, among many others. Solo debuts at Carnegie Hall and with Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Favorite Herbert roles include Kitty in Orange Blossoms, Maude in Dream City, and Dollbabia in Lady of the Slipper. Native of Toronto, MMus McGill University. www.tanya-roberts.com
David Seatter (Governor)
is one of the founding artists of VHRP LIVE! and in his fourth season with the company. He has been seen as the Narrator in Cyrano de Bergerac, Fresco in The Fortune Teller, Lt. Governor Grandet in Naughty Marietta, the Duke in The Serenade, Anthony Schmalz in The Princess Pat and Sir Reggie in Eileen as well as in numerous concerts presented by VHRP LIVE! He has also performed major roles with Augusta Opera, Opera/Delaware, Opera Naples, Belle Ayre Opera, Opera Northeast, Light Opera of New York, and Manhattan Savoyards. Seatter did a CAMI tour of Naughty Marietta as well as Sweethearts with Light Opera of New York. Other Herbert roles include The Red Mill, Babette, and The Princess Pat with Bel Canto Opera. Seatter is perhaps the only person in the world to perform in two productions of The Princess Pat. www.davidseatter.com
Vira Slywotzky (Berta)
one of the founding artists of VHRP-LIVE!, is in her fourth season. She has sung Roxanne in Cyrano, PomPon in The Fortune Teller, Dolores in The Serenade, Ada in Naughty Marietta and the Narrator in Son of Dublin, as well as numerous Herbert songs in concert. Slywotzky has performed principal roles with Seattle Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Sarasota Opera, Boston Midsummer Opera, Chelsea Opera and the Center for Contemporary Opera. She serves on the Board of the Berkshire Opera Festival and for nearly a decade has been the soprano of vocal trio Mirror Visions Ensemble. www.viraslywotzky.com
Sarah Caldwell Smith (Gretchen)
is in her third season with VHRP LIVE! Favorite credits with the company include the title roles in Naughty Marietta and The Fortune Teller, as well as Grace Holbrook in The Princess Pat, and Sister Loretta in The Serenade. Sarah has performed principal roles with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Florida Grand Opera, and Liederkranz Opera Theatre, among others. She has also appeared with City Center Encores!, Light Opera of New York, New York City Ballet, and the National Chorale. www.sarahcaldwellsmith.com
Matthew Wages, (Con Kidder)
is now in his third season with VHRP Live! Audiences have seen him as Sandor in The Fortune Teller, Romero in The Serenade, Naughty Marietta, Art is Calling For Me, and Angeline And Her Tattooed Man. He has been a major member of the The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players for many seasons. This bass-baritone has starred in numerous musicals, straight plays, short & feature films, webisodes and educational video series. He is a proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA, enjoys origami, and holds a deep respect for our planet. www.matthewwages.com