ABOUT THE CAST

Rich Somsky (Elwood P. Dowd) - This is Rich's first appearance with Celebration Players and first stage appearance since moving to Florida. Originally from Iowa, he was involved with the Des Moines Playhouse and  Urbandale Community Theatre. Previous performances include roles as Arnold in The Boys Next Door, Mike Talman in Wait Until Dark, and his favorite, Dr. Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors. Rich works as  Director of Organizational Development for a small insurance company and does consulting work for small businesses. Rich lives with his wife Terri and dog Bruno.

Drew McCalmon (Lyman Sanderson)  - Drew is excited to be performing again with Celebration Players, having first appeared in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. Other  productions include Guys And Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, Grease and Arsenic And Old Lace.  Drew is also a regular performer with the Comedy Buffet Improv Troupe in Winter Haven, FL.  Drew wishes to thank Mom, Dad, Paige, and Chris for all their continuous support!

Lisa Iriarte (Ethel Chauvenet /Betty Chumley)  - Performing since she was Dippy the Dolphin in  kindergarten, Lisa’s many roles include Queen of the Night and Papagena in The Magic Flute, Adele in The Bat, the maid in The Maid as Mistress, Rizzo in Grease, Aunt Eller in Oklahoma, Lady Thiang in the Celebration Players'  The King and I and Abigail Adams in 1776. An aspiring novelist, Lisa  teaches Language Arts at Celebration School. A mother of identical twin six-year-old girls, Lisa would like to thank her husband and her parents for their support. This is Lisa's third appearance with the Players, and she looks forward to performing with them again.

Joe Iriarte (Duane Wilson)  - A Celebration resident, father of two, and math teacher at Celebration High School, Joe takes the stage for the attention. Joe's Celebration Players debut was as Lewis Morris in 1776, and he also played Harry Pepper in Barefoot in the Park. This is his second time playing in Harvey, and he's enjoying it twice as much this time.  Other productions include The Mouse That Roared, A Man for all Seasons, and A Christmas Carol.  Joe is also a writer, having written several short stories and a novel. Any publishers in the audience? 

Roger Hotz (E.J. Lofgren –Cab Driver) - Roger is no stranger to  Celebration Players. His favorite role was Marcus Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. He has been seen in Barefoot in the Park, Music Man and Lend Me a Tenor just to name a few. Roger hopes to perform in many more productions in the future.

Danielle Sagona (Ruth Kelly) - This is Danielle’s first time acting with Celebration Players and it is the second production she has worked on with the Players. Some of her past credits include,  Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dawn in All in the Timing, Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank, and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing.  Her next appearance after Harvey will be with The Orlando Repertory Theater’s The Diary of Anne Frank playing the role of Margot. Danielle would like to thank her mom, Jaime, Andrew, Rob, and Al for all their love and support.

Linda Shepherd(Veta Lousie Simmons) - Linda has been involved in theatre for 30 years. She has been involved with Celebration Players since her move to Florida in 1997, performing in Comedy Tonight, Ten Little Indians, The Odd Couple, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying,  and directing Steel Magnolias, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, and Squabbles. Her Sons Krystof and Devon grew up watching Mom on stage or performing themselves. Linda would like to send special thanks to her entire family.

T.J. Wollard (William Chumley) - T.J. is no stranger to Celebration Players having performed on stage and in the Pit Orchestra for several productions. In addition to performing, T.J. is a playwright. Celebration Players has performed two of his works as part of their Play Reading Series.

Michal Marach (Judge Gaffney) – No stranger to the stage, Michal’s most recent appearance with the Players was in the critically acclaimed role of the Bellman in Lend Me a Tenor. Michal has also appeared in many productions with Disney’s S.T.A.G.E.. You can find Michal in his real life role of barber at The Magic Kingdom Barber Shop.

Julie Vargas (Myrtle Mae Simmons) -  Julie has been involved in numerous stage productions including Guys & Dolls, Oklahoma, A Midsummer Nights Dream and most recently Celebration Players production of  Lend me a Tenor. This is her third show with the Celebration Players having also stage managed for the Players.  Julie would like to thank Dale for another opportunity to strutt her stuff.