Welcome to Falsettoland! Falsettos is the fully sung-through musical that chronicles the evolution of nuclear family Marvin, Trina, and their son Jason as Marvin leaves Trina for a man, Whizzer, bringing them all to the door of psychiatrist Mendel. Watch as they—and the "lesbians from next door"—navigate hilarity, tragedy, and a looming Bar Mitzvah in 1979 New York City, learning how to find their place in the world.

Cast

Elias Buttress (Marvin) is a first-year at The College. This is his second UT credit after being an assistant production manager for Muscle Memory. When not onstage or in class, he enjoys listening to jazz. He would like to thank his parents for their support and UT for this opportunity.

Ariadne Merchant (Jason) is a first year Linguistics and Psychology major. This is her first time acting in (or even being part of) Uchicago Theater. Though she is new to college theater, she already is comfortable in its welcoming and exciting environment. Ariadne is thrilled to experience and be a part of such an amazing community in theater (the Falsettos cast and crew) and can’t wait to continue her passion in the years to come.

Steele Citrone (Whizzer) is a 4th year BA/MA student majoring in MAAD(Games) and Mastering in Digital Studies. He has previously only acted and directed with Deans Men’s productions, so he is excited to finally work and preform in a spacious Logan Center Theater (no more basement rehearsals)! In his free time, when he’s not doing homework and making fun of his friends old high school bios, Steele, like Whizzer, likes to play games! While Canasta is not on his daily rotation, he does truly get embarrassingly upset over Chess. Steele hopes you enjoy this performance of the greatest musical ever conceived, well that may be a tad hyperbolic, but he doesn’t have time to argue semantics; the show is about to begin!

Harry Franklin (Mendel) is thrilled to be playing one of his all-time dream roles in this production! He is a 4th year Public Policy major and has previously performed with UT in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Don Armado) and The Trail to Oregon (McDoon). When not performing, Harry enjoys joggling, tap dancing, and having extensive conversations about figure skating with unwilling friends and roommates.

Joelle Singer Jensen (Trina) is a second year Chemistry major. Her previous shows at UChicago include Be More Chill (Jenna) and Perfect Match (Brittany). She finds it hilarious that people now have to purchase a ticket to see her be a neurotic Jewish woman who won’t stop singing.

Emily Curran (Dr. Charlotte) is a second year Public Policy major and TAPS minor. Although this is her first time on the UT mainstage, her work has previously been seen in Romeo and Juliet (Assistant Lighting Designer), Macbeth in Space (Lighting Designer), and Be More Chill (Assistant Lighting Designer). She is also a curator for Theater [24] and encourages anyone who wants to get started with UT to come check it out next quarter! She would like to thank her amazing castmates and crew for being the best ever in all respects. She is thrilled to have been given the chance to perform again and is so grateful she has gotten to do it alongside them. As always, she would like to thank her friends and family for the support and love they give. She couldn’t do it without them. Welcome to Falsettoland and enjoy the show!

Maddy Demers (Cordelia, u/s Trina) is a second year undergraduate Public Policy and Music major. Falsettos is their first credit with UT, and they are beyond excited to be a part of this production. They would like to thank the entire cast & crew for making this a wonderful experience, and their parents for all of their support. Enjoy the show!

Production Staff

Rory McGann (Director) is a third-year Molecular Engineering major who could not be more excited to see this production come to life! Getting to tell this beautiful story of growing up has truly been a privilege. He currently serves on UT Committee, and his previous UT credits include Be More Chill (Rich Goranski) and Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) - this makes Falsettos his directorial debut at the College! He would like to thank everyone who has made this possible, company or otherwise, and he hopes you enjoy the show.

Emma Herzig (Vocal Director) is a third year Linguistics and/or Astrophysics major. It’s complicated. She has previously worked on Be More Chill (Assistant Vocal Director) and the Weekend of Workshops Shows “Queen of Spades” (Assistant Vocal Director) and “Fields of Asphodel” (Zo), as well as multiple staged readings. Special thanks to Isabel Schmitz!

Elena Gill (Music Director) is a fourth-year Linguistics and Public Policy major. She has previously worked on Be More Chill (Co-Music Director/Rehearsal Pianist/Keyboard 1), Queen of Spades (Pianist/Rehearsal Pianist), Yivdak (Composer/Arranger/Music Director/Pianist), Trail to Oregon! (Piano 1/Rehearsal Pianist), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Asst. Sound Designer). She would like to thank all the members of the band for helping to carry drumkits and keyboards and stands to every rehearsal. This wouldn’t have happened without you guys! Thank you for putting up with rehearsal conditions that are newsworthy at other schools!

Althea Li (Choreographer) is a 4th year Music and Statistics Double Major at the college. She has previously worked on Be More Chill (Co-Choreographer) and Weekend of Workshops (Co- Composer, Choreographer). Along with Falsettos, Althea is also working on The Play That Goes Wrong (Sound Designer) and her original musical Strings Attached (Co-Composer, Co- Music Director), both going up in Spring Quarter. She is very proud of this show, and would like to thank Rory for being a supportive and detail-oriented director, Christian for being a patient yet fun SM, and all the wonderful actors for never getting sick of Double Dream Feet.

Eleni Lefakis (Dramaturg) is a third-year TAPS major. Her UT MainStage credits are The Heirs (Stage Manager), The Trail to Oregon! (Assistant Director/Dramaturg), Romeo & Juliet (Co-Production Manager), Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood (Assistant Director/Dramaturg), MacBeth in Space (Dramaturg), The Laramie Project (SM Collective™), Be More Chill (Co-Director), Twelfth Night (Pre-Production Manager), and The Taming of The Shrew (Stage Manager/Assistant Dramaturg). Her current UT projects are Strings Attached (Co-Director/Dramaturg) and getting people to stop saying that UT doesn’t market itself (she serves as Outreach Chair on Committee). Falsettos has been her dream dramaturgy project and she would like to thank everyone for letting her ramble at them and specifically Rory for reading 200 pages worth of queer theory at her behest and not kicking her out every time she busted into his rehearsal room unannounced.

Alex Gappert (Production Manager) is a second-year veteran scholar studying economics and cognitive science. Alex previously worked as an assistant director on the musical Be More Chill. He has previously served in the US Navy as an air traffic controller and had experience working on the TV show Jack Ryan (Background Actor).

Christian Beltran (Stage Manager) is a second year Computer Science and Music major. He has previously worked on Romeo and Juliet (Sampson/Apothecary/Paris’ Page), Macbeth in Space (Assistant Lights), and Twelfth Night (Assistant Stage Manager), as well as a few Theater[24] productions and 4 years of high school acting. He would like to thank everyone who has worked on this production for all the passion and love they’ve poured into it.

Alasdair Dodd (Lighting Designer) is a second year EALC and History major. Despite many forays into theater in high school, this is his first production with UT! When not in the lighting booth, he can be found agonizing over Chinese homework or in the MADD center working his way through the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Sam Doepker (Sound Designer) is a second year Computer Science major. Sam has previously worked on The Laramie Project (Sound Designer) and Weekend of Workshops Fall 2022 (Sound Designer).

Eva Schultz (Scenic Designer) is a first year Astrophysics major. She has previously worked on Winter Workshops (Director, Actor, Writer), and two Theatre[24]’s (Designer). For more TAPS involvement, she is also a part of Medusa A Capella and works in the Scene Shop at the Logan center.

Jo Selmeczy (Props Designer) is a second year Comparative Human Development and TAPS double major. They have previously worked on Wolves (#8), Twelfth Night (Sebastian), The Laramie Project (Actor 6), and Romeo and Juliet (Romeo). Jo has also been a scriptwriter for 5 cycles (so far!) of Theater24. Jo is extremely excited to co-direct A Midsummer Night’s Dream next quarter with their favorite ‘little guy,’ Christian Beltran. They are currently the Education Chair on the Dean’s Men Board and Service and Advocacy Chair on the Organization of LGBTQ+ Students (OLS) Board. They hope you enjoy the cameo from the meanest and thinnest of the first ladies at the beginning of Act 2 as much as they do.

Belle Nahoom (Costume Designer) is a third-year TAPS/Data Science double major. Her previous theatre credits at the University include The Heirs (ASM), Marian (ASM), The Intruder Workshop (Costume Designer), Scientific Method (Costume Designer), Macbeth in Space (Hair & Makeup), Queen of Spades Workshop (SM & PM), The Laramie Project (SM Collective), the B.A. Thesis, Yivdak (Jared), 12th Night (Hair & Makeup), Be More Chill (Costume Designer), The Wolves (Asst. Costume Designer), Theatre24, as well as the upcoming spring production of the Play That Goes Wrong (Costume Designer). Additionally, she is artistic director of the Commedia Dell’Arte improv troupe on campus and a member of Medusa A Capella. She would like to thank her phenomenal assistants for all their help!

Carina Zhang (Asst. Director) is a first year Econ and Math double major. She has previously worked on The Taming of the Shrewd (Assistant Production Manager).

Charlie Yang (Asst. Director)

London Mahaley (Asst. Vocal Director) is a third-year TAPS major, and he is so thrilled to have been able to work on University Theatre’s Falsettos! Having spent the majority of his first two years involved in University Theatre both as a member of Off-Off Campus’s 36th Generation and as Be More Chill’s Michael Mell, this year, he can be found “switching up the vibe” with UChicago’s Voices in Your Head, taking in back to ancient Greece with TAPS’s The Ballad of Oedipus, and jealously cleaning teeth in Off-Off Campus’s OPEN WIDE. While not performing in one way or another, London enjoys reading for his classes… and that’s pretty much it! He’s so excited for you all to see the product of what has truly been a labor of love for both cast and crew, and, as always, he would like to thank his family for supporting his love of theatre and his mentors, Dani Baldwin and Blake Wales, for never leading him astray.

Jessie Palmer (Asst. Production Manager) is a first year evolutionary bio major and this is her first experience backstage! Previous credits include Cat in the Hat (Seussical), Adelaide (Guys and Dolls), and Three’s a Crowd, a musical she wrote, directed, and composed. She also swims, scuba dives, and reads (a lot). Jellyfish are kind of her thing.

Will Rehmus (Asst. Stage Manager) is a 1st-year Astrophysics major. They have previously worked on Weekend of Workshops: Cassandra (Lighting/Sound Designer) and Muscle Memory (Assistant Lighting Designer). In the spring, they will be working on Strings Attached (Co-Sound Designer) and The Play That Goes Wrong.

Karim Sharaf (Asst. Sound Designer)

Hugh C.K (Asst. Scenic Designer)

Elisa Gao (Asst. Costume Designer)

Harry Franklin (Dance Captain)

Natalie Floreancig (Committee Liaison)

Band

Elena Gill (Conductor/Rehearsal Pianist) is a fourth-year Linguistics and Public Policy major. She has previously worked on Be More Chill (Co-Music Director/Rehearsal Pianist/Keyboard 1), Queen of Spades (Pianist/Rehearsal Pianist), Yivdak (Composer/Arranger/Music Director/Pianist), Trail to Oregon! (Piano 1/Rehearsal Pianist), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Asst. Sound Designer). She would like to thank all the members of the band for helping to carry drumkits and keyboards and stands to every rehearsal. This wouldn’t have happened without you guys! Thank you for putting up with rehearsal conditions that are newsworthy at other schools!

Kayla Bock (Piano)

Melanie Zhang (Synth)

Xander Deanhardt (Drums)

Daniel Bourland (Alto Saxophone/Clarinet)

Daniel Zhang (Oboe)

Helen Zhou (Flute) is a fourth year MAAD and Data Science major. They have previously worked on King Lear (Sound Design Assistant). This is their first time playing for musical and they had a wonderful time watching actors’ dances.