Production

David Owen Michaels / Playwright, Lyricist and Composer

Is a Cleveland born playwright, musician and teacher. He studied Musical Theater at Ohio Northern University under Directors Nils Reiss, Katriona McPhee and Robert Behrens from 2003-2005. David is currently the Theater/Orchestra Director of Cuyahoga Heights High School and Middle School. He has served as Director for such shows as Grease, All Shook Up, The Jungle Book and Aladdin Jr. He has also served as the Orchestra Director for several local shows including most recently, Avenue Q. David lives in Fairview Park, Ohio with his wife, Adriana, and daughter, Madeline. David can be found playing solo piano in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood on Friday and Saturday nights.

Adriana Michaels / Public Relations Manager

Adriana Michaels is from Venezuela. She studied at the Universidad de los Andes. She obtained her B.A. in Art History in 2013. The Summer of 2010 and the Spring of 2011, Adriana was an intern at Archeological Bodega Chattels belonging to the Department of Restoration and Conservation of Queretaro Regional Museum, branch of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico. Adriana was part of the team of the Dirección de Cultura y Extensión de La Universidad de los Andes, where she worked as an assistant coordinator for training new guides at the programs Alma Mater, a program that helps develop cultural and urban policy within the University Campus. Her participation as a Production Assistant in various national and international seminars of art, Venezuelan Film Festival, International symposium of Aesthetic and curatorial teams have expanded her knowledge in different artistic disciplines, with local, national and international projection. Recently Adriana has been invited to participate in "Infamous the Musical" as the Marketing and Public Relations Manager. She will be instrumental in the implementation of future developmental workshops of "Infamous The Musical". She would like to thank her pianoman for including her in this beautiful project.

John Max McFarland / Orchestrator

is an active composer/arranger in WGI, DCI, and BOA. He is currently the Program Coordinator for Legends Drum and Bugle Corps from Kalamazoo, Michigan, a position he has held since the 2016 season. In 2018 he was the percussion caption head and arranger for the Erie Thunderbirds Drum and Bugle Corps in Erie, PA. In WGI, John has composed and arranged for many ensembles ranging from Scholastic A Class all the way up to Independent World Class. Many notable clients include Eastside Fury (2012-2014), Notre Dame Indoor Percussion Ensemble (PIA Finalists 2012, 2013) Ferndale Independent Percussion (2015 PIA Silver Medalists), Farmington United Percussion (2017 PIA Silver Medalists), and Decatur Central Indoor Percussion (2018 PSCA Gold Medalists). John also composes marching band shows for high schools and colleges all over the country.

Brendan Goers / Sound Engineer

Brendan Goers Sound Engineer Brendan Goers has been a professional sound engineer for over 10 years, with international touring experience with bands such as The All American Rejects and Welshly Arms. With a degree in Music Technology from Capital University, Brendan has been lending his audio skills all across the midwest and beyond, from the stage to the studio, and even some high school gymnasiums. Born and raised in Cleveland, and a graduate of St. Edward High School, Brendan now resides in West Park with his wife, daughter, and two pugs.

José Gregorio Gutiérrez / Online Media Specialist

JOSÉ GREGORIO GUTIÉRREZ, ORIGINALLY FROM VENEZUELA, IS A SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER WITH MORE THAN A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE. HE ALSO STUDIED MECHANICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, FOCUSING ON PROGRAMMING AND WEB DESIGN. IN ADDITION, HE COMPLEMENTS HIS KNOWLEDGE WITH SELF-TAUGHT LEARNING IN DIGITAL FILMMAKING. FOR HIM, RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE CREATION OF HARMONIOUS AND FUNCTIONAL DESIGNS. DURING HIS CAREER HE HAS WORKED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ON GRAPHIC DESIGN. HE ALWAYS SHARES WITH HIS STUDENTS THAT : “DESPITE OBSTACLES, THE DESIGN MUST CONTINUE TO SEDUCE AND PROVOKE AN EMOTIONAL SOCIAL RESPONSE. ” HE IS CURRENTLY CEO OF SOTANO GROUP A COMPANY THAT PROMOTES THE CREATION AND PRODUCTION OF DESIGN PROJECTS, ART, MUSIC AND OTHER AREAS. JOSÉ GREGORIO HAS BEEN A MUSICIAN ALL HIS LIFE. HE HAS DEVELOPED A LOVE FOR MUSIC, CULINARY ARTS,MOTORCYCLES.

Brian Pedaci (Narrator/Stage Directions)

Brian Pedaci (Narrator/Stage Directions) turns up frequently on a variety of area stages, most recently at Ohio Shakespeare Festival in Akron in A Midsummer Nights Dream (Theseus). Brian managed the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival for five years, where he performed in Othello (Iago), Antony and Cleopatra (Antony), among others. Other recent appearances include King Lear (Albany) and Glengarry Glen Ross (Moss) at the Beck Center for the Arts, and the title character in Tartuffe at Western Reserve Playhouse.

Bob Abelman's (Dramaturg)

Bob Abelman (dramaturg) is a Professor Emeritus at Cleveland State University, having earned a Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin after studying musical theatre at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. He was the long-time, award-winning theatre critic for the Cleveland Jewish News before taking on the post at the Austin Chronicle. Bob has served as a Fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts, written for American Theatre magazine, and authored two theatre-based fictional novellas – All the World’s a Stage Fright and Murder, Center Stage – the latter of which has been turned into a play that got its 2022 premiere in Cleveland.

Genesis Echeverria / Social Media Accounts Manager

Genesis Echeverria is a native of Venezuela, She is an art historian and anthropologist who has studied both cinema and theater. Her undergraduate thesis was "Metacine and otherness: Propellant Strategies of Pedro Almodovar's Self-referential Poetics of Cinema", with which she was published by the Universidad de Los Andes. She continually applies her study of anthropology to her work in Cinema. Genesis has worked in various mediums, including TV, Radio and content marketing. She is currently a professor of Marketing at the Quality Leadership University and collaborates regularly in various blogs. Passionate about Digital Transformation, Genesis takes on projects from which she can contribute her experience in the humanities through digital media marketing. She collaborates with "Infamous The Musical" from Ecuador as our content manager and social media accounts manager. She dedicates her efforts to her family in Venezuela, mainly her Mother and her Brother, Diego.

CAST MEMBERS

Robert Kowalewski / John Wilkes Booth

Robert grew up in Crucible, Pennsylvania and atended college at Robert Morris University. Robert has been involved in numeroud theatrical performances, in both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Local highlights include: All Night Strut, Gift of the Magi (Jim), and it’s a Wonderful Life (Clarence) at Theatre in the Circle; West Side Story (Riff) with the Akron Symphony; Next to Normal (Henry) at French Creek; Bringht Ideas (Josh) and Newsies (Crutchie) at Brecksville Theatre; Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Einstein) and Sweeney Todd (Anthony) with Black Canvas Theatre; and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreeamcoat (Joseph), Hunchback of Notre Dame (Phoebus), Chess (Molokov), and Spring Awakening (Melchior) at Near West Theatre. Robert thanks Dave, Kevin and all others who made this endeavor possible. He also thanks his parents, grandparents, and partners Braelin and Patrick for supporting him both onstage and off. Enjoy the show!

Tony Heffner / David Herold

Tony is thrilled to be part of the early stages of Infamous! He is a proud member of the Equity Membership Candidacy Program and is eligible to become an AEA member! He lives in Westlake and has participated in many productions in the greater Cleveland area including Cain Park, Beck Center, Blank Canvas Theatre and Weathervane Playhouse. Some of Tony’s favorite credits include Next to Normal (Gabe), Bonnie and Clyde: A New Musical (Clyde Barrow), American Idiot (Johnny), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Quasimodo), The Who’s Tommy (Tommy), and Catch Me If You Can: The Musical (Frank Abagnale, Jr.). Tony would like to thank his family and friends for always supporting him in all he does! GBOGB! For Bug.

Sandra Emerick / Mary Lincoln

Sandra has been performing in NEOhio in more than 50 productions including Porthouse productions of Anything Goes (Reno), 9 to 5 (Roz), Chicago (Velma), Sweet Charity (Nickie), Hairspray (Velma Von Tussel), West Side Story (Anita), Bye Bye Birdie (Rose), Spelling Bee (Rona) and Godspell. Othercredits include Kiss Me Kate (Kate), Evita (Eva Peron), Man of La Mancha (Aldonza), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), Gypsy (Mama Rose), and All Night Strut at the Hanna Theatre. Sandra serves as Senior Executive Director of Academic Affairs at the Northeast Ohio Medical University and sings with thebands, Ovation (ovationband.net) and ParkPlace (parkplaceband.com). Sandra lives in Hudson with her son Evan, dog Kip and cat Freddy.

Madison Phillips / Tad Lincoln

(Maddie) age 11 , is a young veteran performer with the Independence Community Theatre. She jumped on the performing arts scene with the starring role as “JoJo” in the Suessical (a Kids version of “Horton Hears a Who”) at age 6, and has also had roles in Aladdin Kids, Wonka Kids, and the Nunsense Christmas Theatrical over the past four years. Madison also has a love for singing and sings in the St Basil the Great Youth Choir and annual Christmas Concerts throughout the years. Madison’s lives with her parents, Scott & Jennifer and her younger brother, Brayden (8).

Matthew Cuffari / Harry Hawk

Matt Cuffari is stoked to be a part of this exciting new project known as Infamous! Most recently he could have been seen as Asher in Joseph...Dreamcoat at Mighty Goliath Productions just before the start of the pandemic. Previous credits include "The Man" in Suds: The Musical at Clague Playhouse, Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS in Little Shop of Horrors at Olde Towne Hall Theatre, Linus Van Pelt in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown at Amherst Workshop Players, King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar at TrueNorth, "Sweaty" Eddie Souther in Sister Act and Father in Children of Eden, both at Sandstone Summer Theatre. In his spare time, he likes to watch football, basketball, and of course, sing.

Susan Wagner / Laura Keane

Susan M Wagner is humbled to be included in this very talented group of performers. She was last seen in The Three Tenors at Clague Playhouse (pre-pandemic), and has performed in several Cleveland area theaters including, The Beck Center, Cassidy Theater, The Lorain Palace Theater, Medina Show Biz, and even Playhouse Square. Other credits include commercials, voiceovers, and murder mysteries, and in “real life” she has a wonderful husband, five adult children, four grandchildren, and is an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay.

Grant Guyton / Isaiah

Grant Guyton has been doing theatre/film in the cleveland area for over 15 years. Some of his notable roles have been Tom Collins (Rent), Sebastian the crab( the little mermaid), Doody (Grease), And Jacob (Apples). Grant would love to thank his mother and father for giving him a voice and a dream! Grant is excited to be on this journey with this amazing cast. Come along while we tell you this story!

Dayrnice Chavis / Elizabeth Keckley

born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Dayrnice is so excited and honored to be included in this production with this talented group of cast and crew. Dayrnice has worked behind the scenes in play production as a wardrobe/costume stylist (2012). Most recently Dayrnice served as a Principal Musician for a Christian Church. Dayrnice is currently pursuing her BSS in Psychology with a minor in Music Therapy and also is pursuing her Yoga Certification. Dayrnice is married to Damien Chavis and between them they have six children (three adults, and three teenagers). Dayrnice also has five grandchildren whom she adores. Dayrnice also is a dog-mom to a cute little bully (bulldog/pit mix) named Shauna. Thank you for the opportunity. Dayrnice

Maria DiDonato / Lucy Hale

Maria DiDonato (soprano) is a multi-talented Cleveland based artist. She specializes in classical, musical theatre, jazz, rock, and pop music. She is an award winning songwriter, music director, actress, pianist, vocalist, band leader, teacher, and church music ministry leader. She has obtained a Bachelor of Music Education with a Minor in Theatre and a Master of Music (Vocal Performance) from Cleveland State University. Maria is a professor at Cleveland State and Cuyahoga Community College, and has her own private voice/piano studio. Maria is the manager and lead vocalist of local jazz group Hip to That, and plays all throughout northeast Ohio. Some of her favorite engagements include music directing at Playhouse Square, recording an album/performing with renowned hip hop violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, opening for the rapper Common at the Wolstein Center, and performing the National Anthem for President Barack Obama.

Braelin Andrzejewski / Mary Surratt

is a graduate of Robert Morris University with her Bachelors in Communication/Musical Theatre. Braelin is one of 7 nationally recognized by the Kennedy Center, winning Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her role as The Princess in the Regional premiere of Love's Labour's Lost at the American College Theatre Festival. Past credits include Kate (If/Then), Mary Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), Emma Goldman (Assassin's), Homeless Lady (A New Brain), Thomas Jefferson (1776), Lucy T Slut (Avenue Q), Cinderella (Into the Woods), Jo March (Little Women), Betty Jean (Marvelous Wonderettes), and Darlene (Balm in Gilead). She thanks Julie -- olives & pickles.