Written and Composed by
JASON ROBERT BROWN
Originally produced for the New York stage by
Arielle Tepper and Marty Bell
Originally Produced by Northlight Theatre, Chicago, IL
Meet the Cast
(the role of "Cathy" has been double-cast)
Gracie Hughes is an acting graduate of The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. In addition to session singing, Gracie has worked with various companies including the Early Learning Centre. She sang lead vocals on eight albums in both Welsh and English. Gracie performed in Jonathon Larson’s rock musical RENT at the Cockpit Theatre with Interval Productions, as well as starring as the lead in Jermyn Street’s classical Christmas production The Most Wonderful Time of Year. Gracie performed with Selladoor’s original musical, Sincerely Mr Toad at the Edinburgh Fringe. The production toured throughout the UK. She has performed before at the Mitte as part of 2017’s cast of the Vagina Monologues. She loves working with Susan having been directed by her in Upstart theatre company’s production Left to Right.
Cathy
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An Irish and South African native, Anthony Hehir is an actor, singer and voice-over artist currently based in
Basel, Switzerland. He holds a Masters degree in acting and music theatre from the Royal Central School
of Speech and Drama in London. Some of Anthony’s musical theatre credits include Side by Side by Sondheim
in Basel, Switzerland, Honk! – the Ugly Duckling Musical (Ugly) in Zug, Switzerland; the hit comedy musical
Avenue Q (Trekkie, Nicky) in Lucerne, Switzerland; the rock opera Rent (Tom Collins and Benny) in
Basel, Switzerland; Arnold Wesker’s The Kitchen (European premiere) in London, UK, directed by
award-winning actress and director Janie Dee; and a co-devised two-person musical revue You. Me. Us which
has been performed in Basel, Lausanne and Zürich, and continues to be developed.
Mom – this one is for you. Rest your soul xxx
Read more about Anthony here.
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Jamie
Sarah Madeleine Kappeler started her career after having studied musical theatre in London at the MTA, in 2011 as Mimi in the rock opera RENT at the Scala Theatre in Basel. Further credits include Tell - das Musical on the Walensee-Bühne, Z wie Züri, Test - the Rock Opera, Monthy Python's Spamalot and Cabaret at Bernhardtheater Zürich. In the Swiss musical Ost Side Story, she played the role of "Sandy" at the Theater am Hechtplatz, Zürich. Recently, she performed My Fair Lady (Eliza), Die Drei von der Tankstelle (Lilian) at the Zuger Operettensommer and Ewigi Liebi (Sabe) in the Maag Halle Zürich. She is currently performing in Supermarket Ladies in das Zelt.
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Read more about Sarah here.
Cathy
Meet the Team
Susan Brownfield is delighted at the opportunity to direct this incredibly condensed piece of theatre. Relatively new to Jason Robert Brown's music, she was thrilled to discover that the substance definitely lived up to the hype. Susan has been working as a performer and teacher for over 20 years and is excited to stretch more of her directing muscles. She has directed off and on through the years in the United States and recently here in Switzerland. But, her most recent projects have helped her to 'catch the bug', so to speak. She hopes the audience will fall in love with the music and characters just as much as she has.
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Read more about Susan here.
Director
Richard Brown is the president of the Basel English Panto and has produced and directed numerous musicals and plays spanning decades. Some of the productions include RENT, Beauty and the Beast, Young Arthur, Shadow Box and Harold Pinter's Night, Top Girls, Jerry Springer is God and Zoo Story just to name a few. With Grassroot's Theatre, Richard produced Side by Side by Sondheim. In addition to directing and producing, Richard has appeared in numerous plays as an actor. No stranger to stage management, Richard has also worked behind the scenes for the Yardbird Theatre, the Semi-Circle, and for the Vagina Monologues. A man capable of wearing many hats, Richard also plays the bass guitar in several bands in the Basel area.
Producer
Michi was born in 1973 in Basel. He is a musician, composer, lighting designer, and sound engineer. He studied piano with Dölf Helios Kessler and at the Jazz School in Basel. Afterwards he worked at Tonton GmbH and Corporate Sound ag as a sound engineer. From 2002 to 2007, he worked as a musician, sound engineer, and theatre technician at the Vorstadttheater in Basel.
He is currently active as a musician, composer, and sound engineer. He is also the technical director of the Internationales Figurentheaterfestival in Basel.
Read more about Michi here.
Lighting Designer
Thomas Schubnel was born in 1991 in Alsace and has been living in Switzerland since 2000. His passion for music grew when he started playing the guitar in 2005.
Early in 2018, he started working on theater productions as a light and sound technician,
Thomas assisted and was mentored by Michael Studer during the musical Side by Side by Sondheim. He later worked with Michael Studer again with the Youth Theater Festival in Aarau Fanfaluca. A recent project included working as a light and sound technician for Tattoo Basel. His most recent project was for the Basel Panto where he served as the lighting designer for their production of Cinderella at the Scala Basel.
Light and Sound Technician
Gara Roda has been an actress and a singer in different musical theatre productions in Spain such as Cabaret, Sister Act, Bare, a pop opera; Josafat, Goodbye Barcelona and others. She has been teaching and choreographing for the Basel Dance Academy for three years and last year she choreographed her first concert in Switzerland: We are Women. Back home she choreographed regional shows like Shrek, the Musical or the review of Smash amongst others. Gara moved recently to New York to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is thrilled to be part of this project and hopes you enjoy the show!
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Read more about Gara here.
Choreographer
Ash Cumber received his education at Loughborough University in design engineering. He has designed and constructed numerous stage productions throughout the years. While in the UK, he worked at Film 4 on the technical design team for the film After the Coronation. In addition to film, Ash worked on various theatre productions which included, Archangels Don't Play Pinball, Female Transport, Safe Safe Sponsored by Durex, Birdland, and Cabaret. After moving to Basel, Ash began working with the Basel English Panto Group as a set designer and construction manager. Some notable productions include Cinderella, Treasure Island, and Young Arthur.
Set Construction Designer
Stage Manager
Scott Holland has been performing since he was a young boy. Originally from the Boston area in the US, Scott graduated with a degree in theatre at the University of Washington, Seattle. He went on to work in the vibrant Seattle Fringe theatre scene and start a small theatre company with his friends there until he moved back to Boston, Massachusetts in 2002. Scott has been involved in almost every Basel English Panto ever since moving to Switzerland in 2007, from performing in principal roles to assistant directing. He has also assistant stage managed the premiere of the original rock opera Test for Happyville Productions in 2016. Scott was last seen acting onstage in Edward Albee's Zoo Story (2016) as well as in the production of True Colors as Socrates Woody Allen's My Apology in 2015 (both produced by the Semi-Circle English theatre club here in Basel).
Scott teaches drama and acting classes for young people. He hopes to write and direct his own play and produce it locally in Basel.
Meet the Musicians
Nikos Ibarra Mante discovered acting and theatre at an early age when he was cast in several children's theatre productions. He later went on to perform in operas and zarzuelas in his home country of the Philippines. He worked as a rehearsal pianist and orchestra musician for a Manila production of The Sound of Music. He earned his Master's Degree in Music and Choral Conducting with a Concentration in Piano at the University of the Philippines College of Music. During his university years, he played with the Philippine Youth Orchestra and the University Chamber Orchestra, as well as the University Choir. Before moving to Basel in 2012, Nikos was a high school music teacher. Currently, he serves as a choir conductor for three choirs in the Dreiländer region. In addition to his choral conducting, Nikos plays in a band. He is very excited to be involved in this production.
Pianist
Guitarist
Italian musician and composer Cesare Di Leo studied classical guitar in Messina and played for many years in several bands known for their versatility in playing different musical styles. The bands became well-known in the local music scene. While in Italy, Cesare wrote music for several school plays and became a member of S.I.A.E. (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) working as a lyricist and music composer. In 1996, an original composition written by Cesare was selected for the final phase of the “VOCI NUOVE” national contest in Castrocaro Terme. The composition won 1st prize at a national contest in Genova and was included in a compilation distributed in Italy and abroad by NV Records. From 2006 to 2012, Cesare lived in Warsaw, working as musician and composer for several bands and projects. Some of these projects included working as a musician in comedy shows and vocal classes, playing on National TV (promotional video for Cannes Film Festival and Theme songs for TV programs), and for Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies (promotional/recreational videos). Cesare has been active since 2012 in the Basel music scene with various projects, interacting with musicians, and playing cover in addition to original songs in concerts and events.
Chantal Langlotz was born in Geneva. She studied the cello in Lausanne with Marie-José Falco and Philippe Mermoud and in Basel with François Jaccottet. She studied "Music and Movement“ at the Music Academy of Basel. She is actually teaching „music and movement“ at the Niederholzschool in Riehen. She plays the Cello in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Riehen. She is also part of „l’Âme-de-Fonds“, a dance company which brings dancers and musicians together to do „Instant Composition Performances“. She regularly plays chamber music and has been part of the Cello-a-Quatro, a quartet of four cellist who gave concerts in the Region of Basel and Lausanne for more than ten years.
Cellist