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This production would not have been possible without the help and support of some very special people...

A huge thank you to Frances Stern Rodriguez and her family for allowing us to use their lovely home for the bulk of our rehearsals!

A sincere thank you to the board of directors at Open Variations Theater, as well as all of our donors. 

Thank you to Michelle Orosz and the group at Headwall Theatre, for helping us with access in order to source items for our set!

Thank you to James Abrams, the props master extraordinaire, for assisting with props acquisition as well as serving as our rental coordinator for our lighting team.

A special shoutout to Richie Radici, the artistic director of Good Bad Group, for assisting us with our set build in the eleventh hour!

Song List

Music Rights For This Production Provided By The Following Artists:

"God You Get Me" and "Counting Sheep" by Sarah Katherine Lawless

You can listen to her new EP here: New EP

"Speedway" by Elise Killian

"Slow Dancing at the Disco" by Kat McKinney 

You can find her music here: Linktr

Cast

Creative Team

Meet the Company

Zoe Olson

Melody

Zoe is a Vermont born, New York based actor and singer. Recent roles include Sadie in Psykhodrame, which premiered at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival in 2024, Anna-Kate in Viral, camp counselor, babysitter to two Monopoly fiends, and one third of her unnamed girl band.

Marianne Goodell

Hope

Marianne is thrilled to be in Open Variations inaugural production of Be A Good Little Widow, especially under the direction of her talented son, George Goodell. She met Jeremy, founder of Open Variations and playing Brad, through the indie film Gazer that went to the Cannes Film Festival this year. At Headwall Theatre Company, based in Queens, she appeared as Juliana in The Other Place, Polly in Other Desert Cities, and now serves as their Managing Director. Marianne has worked with other emerging theater companies, independent film makers and on several TV series. Marianne is represented by UGA Talent. www.marianne-goodell.com

Grant Schumacher

Craig

Grant Schumacher is an actor/writer from Indianapolis, IN. He is an alumnus of the Uta Hagen Institute at HB Studio. You can see him in the film Gazer, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this past May and was acquired by Metrograph Pictures for a February 2025 theatrical release! Currently, he resides in Brooklyn with his wife and they are expecting their first child.

Jeremy Cohen

Brad

Jeremy started Open Variations Theater earlier this year. He was raised a classical pianist before discovering his love for acting and writing in stage and film! You can find him as the award-winning lead in "The Life and Loves of Allan Glickman" currently making its rounds in the film festival circuits in LA and the northeast. Jeremy has also thrown himself into working in on-set crew roles and producing for various film projects, including features for Traverse Media, Nicely Entertainment and Epic Pictures. Since embracing the role of Artistic Director at OVT, he organized the company's ability to come on as the fiscal sponsor for the debut independent feature film, Gazer, by Ryan Sloan and Ariella Mastroianni, in order to help facilitate the film's ability to have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was promptly acquired by Metrograph Films. Jeremy has loved 'Be A Good Little Widow' since he first read it at the age of fifteen, and is so proud of the work the entire team has put into making this reimagining of a lesser-known gem be the inaugural stage production for the company!

George Goodell

Director

George Goodell is a writer and director of film, theater and short stories based in Brooklyn, NY. His work in theater includes Cry, Blueberry (London, UK), The Ring (Manhattan, NY) and Be a Good Little Widow (Manhattan, NY), among others. His short stories have been published inFU Review: Berlin and 9vt/5.

Olive Schettino

Stage Manager

Olive Schettino is a theater artist, musician, and crossword puzzle addict from New York. A graduate of The Boston Conservatory, she has had the privilege of working on and offstage around the country as well as at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh. Big thanks to everyone at Open Variations for this opportunity!

Jiahao (Neil) Qiu 邱嘉皓

Lighting Designer

Jiahao(Neil) Qiu is a Chinese-born theatre collaborator and lighting designer. His recent design credits in the US includes: The Wilderness (Time Collactive Collective), Redemption Story (The Associates Theater Ensemble), Two Takes: The Peony Pavilion - Bloom (LMCC), Seven Cousins For a Hourse (Thrown Stone Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Yale Repertory Theatre, Connecticut Critics Circle Award). For more information, please visit nealqiu.com | @neilqiu_design

Qixin Zhang

Projection Designer

Qixin Zhang is a media artist, designer, and engineer, seamlessly blending art, design, and technology to create transformative experiences. With a diverse cultural background encompassing both East and West influences, her work reflects a harmonious fusion of creative perspectives. Qixin's art bridges dimensions, utilizing media in innovative ways to captivate audiences and inspire connections. Guided by empathy and a passion for cultural exchange, they also lead projects that celebrate and explore Fuzhou culture, deepening cultural understanding through their creative process.

Donors

 Our work at Open Variations Theater is made possible thanks to our generous donors!