Cast and Creative

The Cast of Frankenstein – the musical

Casting will be announced soon! Keep up with @beboldny on instagram for details!

The Creative Team Behind the Monster

Michael Sgouros (Composer/Musical Director/Percussionist)

Michael has served as music director and composer for the Off-Broadway shows Percussion People, The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell), The Little Mermaid, Alice In Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast.   A native New Yorker, Michael has enjoyed performing as drummer/percussionist in a variety of musical settings which have included the American Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Ethos Percussion Group, Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus and the Broadway productions of The Secret Garden, Falsettos, The Goodbye Girl, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera. He has toured nationally with A Chorus Line and has traveled to Singapore and Costa Rica with the touring productions of Anything Goes and Tico Tales. Mr. Sgouros has worked professionally with Eartha Kitt, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Rupert, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Danny Aiello, Michael Kamen, Alison Janney, Laura Linney and Richard Thomas. He has also collaborated with notable percussionists Glen Velez, Stefan Harris, Michael Markus, Danny Druckman and Samir Chatterjee.

Brenda Bell (Book & Lyrics, Director)

Brenda founded Literally Alive Theatre in 1999 and Be Bold! Productions in 2009. She has written the book and lyrics for each production, including 12 with composer, Michael Sgouros. Her adaptations of A Christmas Carol and original musical Tico Tales where featured in Costa Rica at Teatro Jaco. Rumor has it that she wrote, produced and directed her first show at age 6 when the summer proved to be too boring. Her first love has always been dance and Bell is committed to increasing the role of dance in Off-Broadway musicals.  Working with Choreographer, Bekah Shade, is a dream come true for her.  As the owner of the Showboat Theatre, she wrote and produced shows for theatre legends including Mickey Rooney, Jamie Farr, Van Johnson, Mimi Hines and Frank Gorshin. Her writing credits also include Reading is Cool for Reading is Fundamental and Chasing Phantom: a travelogue that traced the novel of Phantom of the Opera through Paris. She would like to thank this talented cast and creative team for bringing Frankenstein to life and the Players Theatre for providing the perfect home for her whimsy and always encouraging her to be bold!  Special thanks to Michael Sgouros for everything!

Courtney Hansen (Costume Design)

Courtney has been part of the Players Theatre team for over ten years and is thrilled to be a part of this production again. With Be Bold! and Literally Alive she has worked on A Christmas Carol, Sleepy Hollow, The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Cinderella, Stone Soup, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, and Frankenstein. With Trajectory Films she is currently producing a feature film, The Tale of the Wet Dog.  Love to her niblings, Colin & Thea, and to her four legged kids.

Elizabeth Chaney (Set Design)

Elizabeth is an Associate Professor of Theatre at BMCC/CUNY. Her scenic and lighting designs have been seen at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Central Park Zoo Wildlife Theater, Abingdon Theatre, Roulette, The Whitney Museum, Alaska Theatre of Youth, New Orleans Shakespeare Festival and the SconfinArti Festival in Bolzono, Italy. Elizabeth adapted, designed and produced Dark Hollow, an Appalachian Woyzeck for the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. elizabethchaney.carbonmade.com.

Michelle Lynch (Set Design, Show Art Design),

Michelle, who collaborated on set design with Liz Chaney, is a young professional with a passion for the arts. She graduated with degrees in Curatorial Studies and Fine Arts from Moore College of Art & Design in 2013, and most recently, with masters degrees in History and Archival Management from Simmons College in 2016. With a love of classic literature and an appreciation for the voices of female authors, Lynch was excited for the opportunity to help bring Frankenstein to life at the Player’s Theater. Though Frankenstein is Lynch’s first experience working with sets, she has enjoyed contributing design work and imagery for previous productions on MacDougal Street, like Sleepy Hollow the Musical, and the Glass Menagerie.

Emma Ruopp (Production Manager)

NYC: Happy Hour (Monica Bill Barnes;, Picnic, Asleep at the Wheel (Brooklyn College); The Misanthrope, A Doll’s House (BMCC); Dadabomb (Giants Are Small); I Am Not I, Colorblind’d (FringeNYC); The Gulf (Samuel French OOB winner). She is the Production Manager for Victory Theatrical at The Players Theatre.  This is her 12th show with Brenda Bell.

Musicians

Emily Sgouros (Percussionist)

Originally from Atlantic Beach, NY Emily started her musical studies at the age of 4 under the guidance of her father.  As an active New York freelance musician she has performed at Cha Wha?, The Bitter End, The Groove, Mercury Lounge, Nuyorican Cafe and Webster Hall. In addition, she has performed in the Off-Broadway shows Percussion People, The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Alice In Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast.  She currently studies at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as a student of legendary jazz vibist Mike Mainieri.

Sean Statser (Percussionist)

Performer, composer, and educator Sean Statser has been called “Lithe, muscular, and mesmerizing” by the New York Times. As an advocate for new music, Sean actively collaborates with several New York City artists and ensembles including: the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble, Ensemble LPR, Cadillac Moon Ensemble, and Iktus Percussion. He regularly performs with the American Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and New York Pops as a section percussionist, and is a member of the Percussion Studies faculty at NYU Steinhardt.

Frank Tyl (Percussionist)

Frank is a freelance percussionist based in New York City and specializing in contemporary solo and chamber music repertoire. Frank has performed in venues at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, the United Nations, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Galapagos Art Space, Roulette, 92|Y Tribeca, RedBull Space, Milk Studios, and Public Assembly, among others. He has appeared in projects such as Make Music New York, MADE Fashion Week, Found Sound Nation, and Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts.

Eric Allen (Cello)

Eric is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer. Most recently, he has performed in Kansas City Choir Boy and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, created arrangements for the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, and can be seen in the TV series “The Knick” and “Mozart in the Jungle”. He is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

Business Team and Producers

Be Bold! Production (Producer)

Be Bold! Productions was formed in 1999 to give artists a safe and creative environment to work their magic.  As the song written by Sgouros & Bell says: “Courage is not, not being afraid, it’s facing the things that you fear”. Sometimes just stepping on to the stage takes all the courage you can muster and Be Bold exists to support those small steps that lead to artistic discovery.  Previous productions have included Phantom of the Opera, A Christmas Carol and Sleepy Hollow.  Be Bold is in residence at the Players and also produces the Players Theatre Short Play and Musical festival which runs three times a year.

Victory Theatrical & Marketing (Marketing)

Victory Theatrical & Marketing is the in-house marketing agency for The Players Theatre and responsible for marketing all of Be Bold! and Literally Alive Theatre Productions.  Victory Theatrical provides a cost-effective alternative marketing plan for small Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theatre companies.

Sgouros and Bell Licensing:  Frankenstein is the newest member of the Sgouros & Bell musical library which makes it an even dozen.  Other literature-based musicals include: The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell), The Little Mermaid, Alice In Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast.   For information on licensing Frankenstein visit: SgourosandBell.com

The Players Theatre

Built in 1907 and converted into a theatre in the late 1950’s, the Players Theatre has been a jewel in the midst of beautiful Greenwich Village, serving as a magnet for performing artists and their audiences.  The building includes, a main stage 199 seat Off Broadway theatre, a 50 seat Off Off Broadway black box theatre, four rehearsal studios, an office suite for arts organizations and the famous Cafe Wha?, which has been a Greenwich Village mainstay since the 1960’s.  www.theplayerstheatre.com