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Preshow Information

The preview you are seeing as part of our preshow presentation is a complication from our 2020 Production Precipice: What Took Us Over the Edge!  This show was originally slated to be performed in-person and was canceled due to the pandemic. Footlighters presented the show completely virtually.  This song cycle features music by local composers and lyricists Matthew Nassida and Lexi Rigsby.  We hope you enjoy this preview!

Song List

1. “Be Our Guest” from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book by Linda Woolverton

Performed by [Jeff Richardson and Company]

2. "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from Company
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth

Performed by [Erica Beimesche, Caitlin Fry, Aubrey E. Wilson]

3. "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by Joseph Stein

Performed by [Madeline Wilkerson]

4. "This Is the Moment" from Jekyll & Hyde
Music by Frank Wildhorn, Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Conceived for the Stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden

Performed by [Shawn Toadvine]

5. "Spread the Love Around" from Sister Act
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Glenn Slater, Book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner, Additional Book Material by Douglas Carter Beane

Performed by [The Company]

6. "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Misérables
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, Book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg

Performed by [Charles McClinon]

7. "The New World" from Songs for a New World
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

Performed by [Madeline Wilkerson, Charles McClinon, Shawn Toadvine, Caitlin Fry]

8. "She Used To Be Mine" from Waitress
Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles, Book by Jessie Nelson

Performed by [Emily Carroll-Martin]

There will be a 15 minute intermission.

9. "Seize the Day" from Newsies
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Jack Feldman, Book by Harvey Fierstein

Performed by [Caitlin Fry, James Lindeman, and Company]

10. "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine

Performed by [Samantha Toberman and Company]

11. "Stop the World" from Come from Away
Book, Music and Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Performed by [Rob Bucher and Aubrey E. Wilson]

12. "Astonishing" from Little Women
Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, Book by Allan Knee

Performed by [Allison Kalfus]

13. "Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat" from Guys and Dolls
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser, Book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling

Performed by [Erica Beimesche and Company]

14. "Beautiful City" from Godspell
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by John-Michael Tebelak, Conceived and Originally Directed by John-Michael Tebelak

Performed by [The Company]

15. "Seasons of Love" from Rent
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Performed by [The Company]

Sponsors

Cast

Creative Team

Meet the Company

Erica Beimesche

(she|her|hers)

Erica Beimesche is a content editor by day and theatre aficionado the rest of the time—though she also enjoys playing the violin and guitar as well as backpacking out west. You may have seen her as Slank in the Footlighters' production of "Peter and the Starcatcher," Linda in "Evil Dead: The Musical" with Tri-County Players, or Mary Hatch in The Drama Workshop's "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play." She's excited to have you back in the theater for this special musical revue, so sit back and enjoy some all-time favorite numbers!

Rob Bucher

(he|him|his)

Rob is excited to return to the Footlighters stage for the first time this century, having last performed in their ’99 production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Prior to the pandemic, he was last seen in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, MUSICAL OF MUSICALS THE MUSICAL and MY FAVORITE YEAR with Cincinnati Music Theatre. Other recent roles include Mr. Manningham in ANGEL STREET with the Sunset Players and Hysterium in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM with The Drama Workshop. By day, Rob works as an administrative assistant at Cutler Real Estate. In his spare time, he maintains his blog, Behind the Curtain Cincinnati, THE resource for local theater information www.behindthecurtaincincy.com. Rob would like to thank his family and friends for all their support.

Emily Carroll-Martin

(she|her|hers)

A native of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, Emily currently teaches Theatre, Film Studies, and Visual Art for Holy Cross High School. Her onstage credits include roles for the Walt Disney World Entertainment, The Human Race Theatre, and a stint on the Delta Queen as the “Red Hot Mamma." Recent local credits include Beechmont Players, James and the Giant Peach as Spiker, Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde at The Footlighters, and Ms Teevee in Willy Wonka at the Carnegie. Follow Emily on Instagram @gcarem

Caitlin Fry

(she|her|hers)

Caitlin is thrilled be preforming once again on the Footlighters stage! She was seen in their virtual performance of Precipice last fall and most recently she was in Shout! The Mod Musical as Green Girl with Cincinnati Music Theater. Caitlin is very excited to be sharing this collection of songs from some of her favorite shows!

Allison Kalfas

(she|her|hers)

ALLISON KALFAS holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre performance from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. She is so excited to be returning to Footlighters as a part of the cast of All Together Now. Most recently she performed as Killer Queen in We Will Rock You with Queen City Productions, as well as the virtual Cabarets Better Together (CMT) and Broadway is Change (QCP). Her favorite theater credits to date include: SEUSSICAL (Gertrude McFuzz), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (Alf), and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Mrs. Potts). She would like to thank her family and friends for their continued support and is terribly excited to see live theater making a comeback. She hopes you enjoy the show!

James Lindeman

(he|him|his)

James is ecstatic to be making his Footlighter’s debut! He is a senior at Ryle High School and a 2021 graduate of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. His favorite past roles have been Buddy the Elf and Simba at Expressions Dance Theatre. James would like to thank his parents, grandparents, three younger brothers, and his teachers at Ryle High School. He would especially like to thank Catherine Keen, Cara Patrick, and Lori Wainscott for their unending support. Enjoy the show!

Charles McClinon

(he|him|his)

Charles has returned to Footlighter's stage after playing the role of Crooks in "Of Mice and Men." There are few moments of the day when music is not playing in his ears or his head. As a proud member of Footlighter's board, Charles extends his skills as a professional website designer to maintain their website. He is one of the founders of The Cincinnati Black Theatre Company along with Don Sherman and the late Carlos Edwards. His passion extends beyond the stage as an advocate for people who live with epilepsy where he sits on the board for UC Advisory Council for the Epilepsy Center.

Jeff Richardson

(he|him|his)

Jeff is thrilled to be back on the Footlighters stage in this wonderful musical celebration! He is a longtime performer both on the stage and off. Some of his favorite roles include Max Bialystock in THE PRODUCERS, Caldwell B. Cladwell in URINETOWN, Herr Schultz in CABARET, Capt. Swan in CIVIL WAR, Carl Hanratty in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, Uncle Fester in The ADDAMS FAMILY, Patsy in SPAMALOT, Igor in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, Hugh Dorsey in PARADE and Bishop/Bamatobois in LES MISERABLES. He would like to thank his wonderful friends and family for encouraging him in his performance escapades on and off the stage. Jeff is proud to be a part of this production and share the stage with this collection of talented people. Thank you for continuing to support live Theater!!!

Shawn Toadvine

(he|him|his)

Shawn is very pleased to be back on the Footlighters Stage. You may remember him most as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Shawn would like to thank his family for allowing him to once again, do what he loves, perform for an audience.

Samantha Toberman

(she|her|hers)

Samantha Toberman spent much of 2019 doing shows with Breckenridge Backstage Theatre (Colorado) - Almost, Maine; Totally Red!; and Little Shop of Horrors. Since Covid, she's done several virtual productions. Prior to Covid, her recent Cincinnati credits included My Favorite Year (Aunt Sadie), Mary Poppins (Miss Andrew, aka “The Holy Terror”), Young Frankenstein (Frau Blucher – yes, with horse whinny!), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Domina), Lend Me a Tenor (Julia), and Suite Surrender (Mrs. Osgood). Samantha loves her Yorkie Duchess and traveling the world (when permitted) with husband Chuck Strain.

Madelaine Wilkerson

(she|her|hers)

Madelaine is thrilled to be debuting with Footlighters in this year’s production of “All Together Now!” Madelaine attended Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts where she majored in Musical Theater, Vocal Music, and Stage Management, before deciding to take a break from the theater to pursue a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Vocal Performance at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. She has been leading event/ wedding cover bands from Philadelphia to Cincinnati in the past decade- having been the front-woman for Cincinnati’s Candygram from 2015-2020. She has also been a proud participant in Guardian Angel’s Follies for the past 3 years. Madelaine is beyond excited to be back in the theater world and re-exploring her first love. She hopes for this show to be the first of many!

Aubrey E. Wilson

(she|her|hers)

Aubrey is ecstatic to be returning to the stage at the Stained Glass Theatre and so excited that live theatre has returned after an extended intermission. When she's not working backstage or performing onstage she's working with The University of Cincinnati Foundation as the Director of Reporting & Analytics, or spending as much time as she can with her husband and one-year-old son. Favorite credits include Rusty in Footloose! and Pippi in The Great American Trailer Park Musical, both with The Footlighters, Linda in Blood Brothers with Beechmont Players, Vicki in The Full Monty with The Carnegie, Hannah Jarvis in Arcadia with Village Players, and Liz/Beth in If/Then with Sunset Players. She'd like to thank her family for the unending support (and all of the babysitting for rehearsals and performances!) that allows her to continue to pursue her passion for theatre. Enjoy the show!

Jeffrey Johnson (interpreter 11/12 & 11/13)

(he|him|his)

Jeffrey has been working as a Sign Language Interpreter for 32 years. He carries National Certifications for interpreting and has a BS in Special Education-Interpreting. He completed The Theatre Development Fund's Interpreting for the Theatre program at The Julliard School in NYC.  He has primarily interpreted in the educational setting and in various community settings. For 22 years, he has interpreted various shows, favorites being: Rent, Angels in America, Hair, Avenue Q, 9 To 5: The Musical.  Jeffrey has interpreted numerous Footlighters shows including Mamma Mia!  He is excited to be working with Footlighters. Jeffrey's performance is dedicated to the memory of Alan Champion, interpreter, colleague, friend, teacher and mentor.

Julie Miller (interpreter 11/12 & 11/13)

(she|her|hers)

Julie Miller has been interpreting for the past eleven years. The lifelong Cincinnatian has worked in various settings, including but not limited to, education, healthcare, job readiness, mental/behavioral health, performance arts, and video replay. Julie also interpreted the Footlighters performance of First Date. She lives in Sycamore Township with her husband of six years, Rob, their cat, Anise, and dog, Cinnamon.

Amanda Marasch (she|her|hers)

Director

Amanda is honored to be directing All Together Now. She grew up locally and after 10 years in New York City working in the theatre and film world, moved back. Her favorite job to this date is working for six years on the set of Orange is The New Black. At Footlighters she has performed in Urinetown, Chicago, and Spitfire Grill. Last year when the world shut down and our doors locked, she directed Fibber McGee the radio play and Precipice, and brand new musical song cycle. Amanda, the composer, and lyricist, collected performers from all over the US and in three weeks produced and directed a musical motion picture.  She is thankful to be directing this talented group of people. She wants to thank her parents for introducing her to Footlighters and Calloway and Chad for being her support system. 

Alan Masters (he|him|his)

Music Director & Pianist

Alan is so happy to be able to start playing piano for talented singers again. He’s also honored to be, once again, serving as president of Footlighters’ board. Now that he has retired from the world of engineering at Procter & Gamble, he gets to spend a lot more time with his theater friends. He and his wife, Jane, spend much of their time hunting down National Parks and spending time with their kids and four grandchildren.

Amanda Emmons Shumate (she|her|hers)

Producer

Amanda is thrilled to work with this amazing production staff and cast to bring All Together Now to the stage at Footlighters.  This is a unique opportunity to help raise money for Footlighters. Your contributions today are going to help us continue providing the love of theatre to our community. Amanda has produced, directed, choreographed and performed at the collegiate, community and professional levels for over 25 years.  By day, she is a teacher for Boone County Schools. She loves spending time with her incredible family, Kyle and Jojo and is thrilled to announce that Baby Shu 2 is due this April! Thanks for supporting the arts in our community!

Chad Brinkman (he|him|his)

Technical Director

Chad’s international career spans more than a hundred productions and has included work in theatre, film, dance, and music. Some of Chad’s representative credits include WHITE ELEPHANT, a new work brought to life through puppetry, movement, mask, super 8 film and live music at La MaMa, e.t.c., and has included work at the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and the Atlantic Theater Company. Chad has also served as a guest teaching artist for the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU. With The Footlighers, Inc., Chad served as the Lighting Designer for URINETOWN, Set and Lighting Designer for OF MICE AND MEN, he directed and designed the set and lighting for PETER AND THE STARCATCHER. Chad currently serves on the board of The Footlighers, Inc. He will be directing RAGTIME for CMT in Spring 2022 and will be directing A GENTLEMANS GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER for Footlighters in Fall of 2022. Chad gives love and thanks to Amanda, Calloway, Tucker – the good cat, but not as much to Alfie – the bad cat, and the rest.

Steven Ducker (He|Him|They|Them)

Stage Manager

Steven is excited about live theatre.  You may have seen him stage managing The Last Five Years at Village Players or Hand to God at Ensemble Theatre. He's happy to be a part of a show that makes sure we keep arts in our community.

Alynn Rousselle (she|her|hers)

Percussionist

Alynn is a percussionist from Manchester, NH. She moved to Cincinnati and became a Bearcat, then decided to stay. She currently lives over the bridge in Kentucky. In her free time, she enjoys watching crime shows and performing with the Imperial Sovereign Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire, which raises money for local non-profits through the art of drag. She appreciates you being here supporting this theater, but also, supporting live theatre in general.

Chuck Kleesattel (he|him|his)

Bass Guitarist

Recently retired from a 36 year career in music teaching, I've filled a good bit of my time playing in many of the Cincinnati area's musical theater pit orchestras. I have a B.S. in Music Education (Trumpet) from the University of Dayton and was in the Graduate Performance program (French Horn) at CCM. I taught for 30 years in the Mason City Schools music department. I live in Oakley with my wife Amy. Our three children are on their own pursuing careers in music, medicine and law.

Check out our Trailer!

MTI's Free Musical, ALL TOGETHER NOW, Is Now Available for Licensing

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) has just announced that theatres around the world can now license All Together Now! - A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre. This worldwide event celebrates the return of live theatre and allows organizations to locally produce and perform an exclusive musical revue featuring songs from MTI's beloved shows over the weekend of November 12-15, 2021.

MTI's All Together Now! is entirely free-of-charge to license with no royalty or rental fees. Participating organizations may license MTI's All Together Now! as a fundraiser for their theatre and perform it live, live-streamed, or a combination of both over a four-day period from November 12 - 15, 2021.

Licensees will also receive a number of MTI's innovative theatrical resources to help with rehearsals, marketing and performances - all completely free.

"The excitement for All Together Now! among our customers is growing by the day," said Drew Cohen President and CEO of MTI Worldwide. "Our theatre industry colleagues have also been incredibly supportive and we are thrilled to have a growing roster of Partners (listed below) contributing from so many disciplines within the professional theatre community. This is truly a collaborative effort, and we are all extremely excited that any and every type of theatre from schools to the pros has the opportunity to produce MTI's All Together Now! in their communities."

MTI's Chief Operating Officer and Director of Education & Development, John Prignano remarked that, "We've streamlined our licensing process for this special event and there are no restrictions or limits on how many theatres in a particular geographical area can license the revue. Instead, we hope that as many theatres as possible produce the revue on their own, or come together with other organizations in their communities to mount a joint production. We also wanted to give theatres as much creative input as possible. The revue can be presented as a concert-like performance or groups can fully stage, choreograph and costume each song as it is presented in the full version of the show. Theatres are encouraged to feature as diverse a cast as possible, in order to reflect the composition of the entire community. All Together Now! is about bringing people back to the theatre, whether as audience members or cast, crew and musicians. Productions will benefit from a variety of races, genders, abilities, body types, and sizes, so we encourage groups to spread diversity as best they can across all the roles in the production."

Special Thanks

About [Footlighters, Inc.]

Footlighters, Inc. was established in 1963 by a small group of community theatre volunteers who wanted to bring theatre opportunities to the western side of Cincinnati. 

​

For the first 24 years, the group performed in area highschool auditoriums, eventually settling at Westwood Town Hall in the late 1970's, where they continued to produce two shows a year. A high point for the group came in 1977 when the show What's a Nice Country Doing in a State Like This? won regional, state and national competitions. The group was invited to represent the Festival of American Community Theatres at the international festival in Monaco. Until 1986 Footlighters rented its performance and rehearsal space. With rising costs, Footlighters decided it was time to look for a permanent home...

1986 - Tornado Strikes Salem United Methodist Church

Also in 1986, Newport's Salem United Methodist Church, recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places, had been damaged by a tornado on March 10th. The storm put a hole in the steeple, ripped shingles off the roof, and damaged one of the stained glass windows. Debris from the steeple crashed through the building to the basement, taking the 2nd floor electrical system with it. Damage estimates at the time were $210,000. The church congregation capped the steeple, repaired the holes and removed the debris, but due to a decrease in membership and a great deal left to repair, they felt it would be best to merge with another Methodist congregation, and put the church up for sale. Built in 1882, the church was designed by Samuel Hannaford, who also designed Cincinnati's City Hall and Music Hall.

1987 - Footlighters Move In

After receiving approval from the City of Newport, and blessings from the congregation, a small group of Footlighters pooled their resources for a down-payment on the property. Moving in, in 1987, the building was renamed the Stained Glass Theatre. The goal was to establish a theatre and art center that would provide a performance space for Footlighters, as well as other area groups and artists. As the first theatre company in Newport, the group takes pride in being a pioneer of economic development in the community. The purchase of a new home for Footlighters was also a milestone in local community theatre history, and still distinguishes the group from others as only one of three groups that owns and performs in its own space.

1988 - The Stained Glass Theatre's 1st Season

Starting on the first floor, the group turned a 1931 gymnasium addition into a dance studio, and proceeds from dance classes went toward the funding efforts. Electrical and plumbing problems were addressed, bathrooms were renovated, a sprinkler system installed, walls and ceilings were repaired, scraped and painted, and a back stairwell was added to eventually lead up to the backstage area of the upstairs theatre. A 75 seat, first floor theatre was built, and opened its first season in November of 1988 with over 250 season ticket holders and sellout crowds for shows like A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum and Grease. Work then began on the second floor. A stage was built with an in-floor turntable, around an existing pipe organ. A raked seating area went in next, eventually holding 163 seats. As the Stained Glass Theatre was growing, the Edgecliff College Theatre was folding; their seating and lighting system were donated to Footlighters. With the lighting grid and system installed, as well as a sound system, the upstairs theatre opened in 1991 with Annie.

2004 - Theater Gets a New Lighting System

By 2004, the Stained Glass Theatre's lighting system was finally showing its age. At the same time, WCPO was moving into its new building on Gilbert to make way for an expanding Cincinnati Convention Center. Since a new lighting system was going into their new building, WCPO generously donated their old lighting system to the Stained Glass Theater. With a late-summer installation, the system was up and ready to go for the fall production of Gypsy.

Footlighters, Inc. saves space for the indiginous people local to Newport, Ky: 

• Kaskaskia 
• (Osage) 
• Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee) 
• Myaamia 
• Adena 
• Hopewell 

Since BroadwayWorld launched Stage Mag last year, hundreds of theaters around the world have enjoyed the convenience of creating modern, fully interactive show programs for all types of productions- from streaming to in-person. With Stage Mag, you're in control to create your very own show program, complete with traditional features like cover art, cast/creative team details, as well as cutting-edge extras that you'll find nowhere else! Click here to build your own show program (for FREE!) today.

About

Theatres around the world unite this weekend to perform All Together Now! - A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre. This worldwide event celebrates the return of live theatre and allows organizations to locally produce and perform an exclusive musical revue featuring songs from MTI’s beloved shows. Participating organizations have been granted the unique opportunity to license as a fundraiser for their theatre and perform it live, live-streamed, or a combination of both over a four-day period from November 12 – 15, 2021. 

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