Production

David Owen Michaels

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

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

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.

Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly has Directed, Performed and Taught for over 30 years at many of the Pittsburgh and Cleveland Area professional and community theatres. He has worked at The Cleveland Play House, Beck Center for the Arts, Cleveland Public ex Theatre, Weathervane Playhouse, Clague Playhouse, Near West Theatre, Western Reserve Playhouse and Rocky River Community Theatre (Artistic Director). He has won so many awards, that there isn’t enough room here to list them all. Kevin is blessed and honored to have the love and support from his TPOG family. Thank you to David for asking me to join his passion project. .

Javier Gonzalez / Pianist

Cuban-born pianist Javier Gonzalez began his music studies in Havana at age 7 and made his debut with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra at 14. He has been acclaimed by audiences in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Barbados, Jamaica, and the U.S., and he has collaborated as a soloist with orchestras including the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra in California; the Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela; various orchestras in Cuba; San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra; Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra; and Cleveland State University Orchestra.

Michelle Cha / Music Director

is a Cleveland based voice, acting, and piano teacher. She frequently does theatre, opera, and directing. Having studied at Ohio Northern University with David, she made lasting friendships. She continued her studies at The University of Akron with Dr. Laurie Lashbrook with a concentration in vocal performance. Michelle has won Chopin piano competitions, NATS, Tuesday musical, and sung with opera companies in the U.S. Most notably she has worked on an international project that was collaborated between three different countries and a was a lead vocalist where she worked with a Grammy award winning recording producer. All of her love goes to her fiance who never tires in her support of new and exciting projects. Look for her website: counterpointstudioscle.com

Brendan Goers

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

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. Through graphic design he has specialized in branding, visual identity, editorial, advertising and social media. He taught diverse courses in a university level. 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. travel and reading. He knows that to enjoy life you have to drink coffee, and it never hurts to party.

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.

Genesis Echeverria

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!

Kevin Kelly / Abraham Lincoln

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.

Ian Atwood / Secretary of War Edwin Stanton

Ian is a native of the St. Louis area, who moved to Cleveland after receiving his BFA in Musical Theatre from ONU. Ian has had the pleasure of working at many professional and educational theatres in the area such as Beck Center for the Performing Arts, Huntington Playhouse, Clague Playhouse, Cassidy Theatre, Blank Canvas Theatre, and Mighty Goliath Productions. Some favorite roles include Horton (Seussical), Robert (Company), Max (Producers), Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd), and Carl Magnus (A Little Night Music). Ian is thrilled to be a small part of getting Infamous some deserved recognition and looks forward to what lies ahead for this production. We all hope that very soon LIVE performances will grace our communities once again and while we wait, it's so important to continue to workshop and support local/original ideas like what David Michaels and this incredible ensemble is presenting to you today. Much love to Jess, Neil, and Maggie. To the journey! TPOG

Henry Foraker / Detective Baker

Henry is excited to be making a return to live theater. Some favorite past shows includeSweeney Todd (Antony, Pirelli), Spamalot (Sir. Robbin), The World Goes Round (Man 1), TheFantasticks (Matt), Godspell (All Good Gifts), Pippin (Pippin), and The Producers (Lead Tenor). Henry holds a B.M. in Music Education (2020) from Cleveland State University and is currently working towards his Masters of Music in VocalPerformance. In addition to performing Henry loves working as a voice instructor at Studio 826 in North Olmsted where he teaches dozens of students at all ages and ability levels. He treasures having the opportunity to work with groups of young musicians and performersthrough a handful of different theater departments and show choirs in the local public schools. Henry thanks his wonderful finance, Kaylea, for her everlasting support and encouragement through countless projects and creative adventures.

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!

Kaylea Kudlaty / Augusta

is so excited to have been brought on board to bring this beautiful show to life with such a vibrant cast! When not at home with her dogs or taking spontaneous trips to Disney world, Kaylea choreographs across Northeast Ohio in shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Addams Family, Suds and Newsies as well as being the resident Choreographer at CounterPoint Studios and both Avon Lake and Berea Midpark High Schools. Recent performance credits include: Janet Van De Graf(Drowsy Chaperone) Mary Roberts(Sister Act) Inga(Young Frankenstein) Fiona(Shrek) Peter Pan(Peter Pan) Essie(You Cant Take It With You) Sandrine/Ginette(Almost Maine). Kaylea would once again like to thank Dave for for this amazing opportunity, Michelle for her constant support and her Fiancé Henry(Baker) for being her number one through these crazy adventures.

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.

Bill Wagner / Samuel Mudd

is enjoying this return to the stage (albeit by a last-minute, pinch hit scenario) having spent many memorable times throughout the years involved in a variety of musical theater productions – a few personal favorites being The Pirates of Penzance, Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Heartbeats, and The Music Man. Generally preferring to be a background supporter of his wife, Susan (Laura Keane), who is obviously the REAL singer and performer of the family tag-team, this powerful new musical has provided me the opportunity to sing and perform once again with the love of my life. Thank you, David!

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.