THE STORY

A tale of extremes: lost childhoods, betrayal, love, war, faith, despair... and a touch of magic.

In a post war era called "The Parting," we find ourselves at Kitty's. A neutral place in the middle of two worlds divided. The Nation is extremely religious and rule driven, and punishment is swift and harsh. The Coalition is in chaos, with no direction of rule. 

Ruler of The Nation, The Judge led "The Campaign" ~ a bloody massacre of non-believers and anti-conformists ~ causing a Great War, creation of The Coalition, and ending his marriage to Kitty. 

Believing her daughter died at birth during The Campaign, Kitty fled to a place just beyond the reach of the Judge's dark rule and on the edge of the new Coalition territory. Together with her closest friend, Sammy, they built Kitty's Place. 

Judge remarried a true believer named Jo, labeled Kitty and Sammy to be 'Gypsy Witches,' and declared Kitty's Place strictly off limits. Harsh punishment met anyone believed to have attempted the long journey to Kitty's. 

Troubled Annabelle, daughter of Judge and Kitty, makes that journey seeking refuge from an arranged marriage and the cold destiny of remaining in The Nation. She is changed forever. 

Song List

CHOSEN ~ Judge, DJ

WELCOME TO KITTY'S PLACE ~ Host, Ensemble

MISS KITTY ~ Host, Kitty, Ensemble

LOST IN A DRINK ~ Host, Ensemble

CAN'T BE MESSIN' AROUND ~ Jo, Kitty, Annabelle, Sammy, Rox

LET IT BE ME ~ Annabelle, Braxton

GYPSY'S SONG PRELUDE ~ Host 

GYPSY'S SONG ~ Sammy 

REWIND ~ Rox

BETTER ~ Kitty

GYPSY'S SONG REPRISE ~ Host

ICE ON FIRE ~ Annabelle

DESIRE ~ Kitty, Annabelle 

ONE LAST KISS ~ Jo, Kitty

FREE FALL ~ D.J.

TRANSCENDENCE ~ Instrumental/Scarlett

WELCOME TO KITTY'S PLACE REPRISE ~ Company 

CHARACTERS

HOST ~ (Gender Nonconforming) Navigates us through the story. Puppet master and mischief maker with their own reasons for being here. 

JUDGE ~ (Male) Hard and steadfast, the Judge never lets anything deter him from the Watchword; The mission of The Nation.

D.J. ~ (Male) Second in command of the Judge and heir apparent to leadership of The Nation, he is blinded by the illusion of control

KITTY ~ (Female) Proprietor of the post-Campaign underground/middleground safe haven, Kitty's Place. Some call her a sinner, others call her a saint. 

ANNABELLE ~ (Female) Daughter of the Judge, she is searching for more than the chains that bind her and the arranged marriage to D.J that awaits her in the Nation

SAMMY ~ (Female Identifying) Kitty's confidante and closest ally. She has been with Kitty from the beginning and will be there until the end. 

BRAXTON ~ (Male Identifying) Seeking respite from the chaos of the Coalition, Braxton also finds forbidden love at Kitty's Place

JO ~ (Female) Married to the Judge and a faithful devotee of the Watchword doctrine,  she struggles with what is in her heart

ROX ~ (Female Identifying) A once close friend of Kitty and Sammy. The turbulent road through the Nation and the Coalition after the Parting has now led her back to ask for another chance. 

SCARLETT DANCER (Gender Nonconforming. To be featured in full production) ~ Just feet away from Kitty's Place but within The Nation territory, Kitty found Scarlett near death. Kitty risked her life saving Scarlett, who was left mute from the tragedy. They see all, but communicate through dance.

NARRATOR ~ Guiding us through the written staging and lighting concepts for the reading today. 

Meet the Company

John L. Frederick

Playwright/Composer

John is thrilled to be debuting this new work to the Reno theatre community, and is grateful to the cast and audience for this opportunity. He welcomes feedback that will help him craft a full length version of this show, which he hopes to take to The Fringe in Scotland. Favorites of John's long history of performances on stage and screen include Hair (Berger), Wild Party (Burrs), The Heiress (Morris), Glengarry Glen Ross (Roma), Jesus Christ Superstar (Pontius Pilate), When Churchyards Yawn (Hamlet), The Black Warrior (Billy), and Murder Ballad (Tom). When not acting, directing, or writing a theatrical show, John can usually be found playing music at a local venue or recording in his home studio. John would like to say a special thank you to his family for their unyielding support, to his wife for believing in him and always being beside him, and to Jeanmarie Simpson for all of her help in bringing this dream to life.

Elijah Frederick

Narrator/Swing

Elijah Frederick started acting at the age of 10 in TMCC’s production of The WHO’s Tommy as Young Tommy. He continued doing shows when he attended Reed High School such as, The Outsiders as Ponyboy and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling as Vice Principal Panch. He has also worked with other theater companies such as Reno Little Theater in a production of Mother Hicks and Brüka in a production of The Full Monty. Most recently he was in a production of Rocky Horror as Brad with Ghostlight Theater Company. He is very excited to work on this new musical especially, since his relationship with the writer is so close.

Michael Davanzo

Host

Michael is very excited to be given the chance to help bring John and Cori’s vision to life. Being a graduate from the Second City for improv and sketch comedy, dappling in drag as Edgar Allan Hoe, and with nearly 20 years of theatre under his belt (sometimes a dance belt) some of Michael’s most favorite roles so far have been Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Scott in Evil Dead the Musical, Angel in RENT, Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Gomez Addams in The Addams Family Musical, and Wadsworth in CLUE. To learn more about Michael and keep up with all that he’s doing, you can follow him on Instagram @michaeldavanzo.

Kirk Gardner

Judge

Kirk Gardner has appeared on Northern Nevada stages for some 30 years. Favorite roles include Andy in Love Letters (RLT 1996), Henry IV in Henry IV (RLT 2004), Freddie in Noises Off (Nevada Rep 2005) Thenardier in Les Miserables (WNMTC 2013), Elwood in Harvey (RLT 2019) and Narrator in Into the Woods (SSPA 2021). When not trodding the boards, Kirk is a CPA with Eide Bailly. All love to Julie for making all things possible. jt

Ryan Kelly

D.J.

A presence on Reno stages for almost two decades, Ryan has appeared in numerous productions over the years, including the likes of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," "HAIR," "Sweeney Todd," "RENT," "The Who's TOMMY," "The Producers," "The Full Monty," "SILENCE! The Musical," "Next To Normal," "Eight: The Reindeer Monologues," "Young Frankenstein," "Fun Home," "The Humans," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and "Evil Dead: The Musical." He's happy to help his longtime friends John and Cori bring this vision to life.

Cori Lynne Cooper

Kitty/Media Producer

A veteran of theatre and film, Cori has appeared in such stage productions as The Music Man (Marian), RENT (Joanne), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena), Jesus Christ Superstar (Annas), Murder Ballad (Narrator), Spelling Bee (Rona Lisa), The Prom (Angie), and two regional productions of Next to Normal (Diana). Film credits include Nowhere Nevada, The Martyrdom of St Ethel, #nomore-10 Syllables, and Talia. It is a joy and honor for Cori to collaborate with such talented artists in bringing this exciting new work to life! Cori would like to pay special gratitude to Jeanmarie Simpson for all of the love, support, and guidance through this journey. This performance is dedicated to the Giossi family.

Amy Ginder

Sammy

Amy Ginder has been performing for more than 20 years as a vocalist, actress and choreographer. Favorite roles include Huldey in The Moors, Morticia in Addams Family, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Janet in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Mae in Reefer Madness The Musical, and Queenie in Wild Party. She has studied dance at Peridance Center in New York City, and acting at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Denver, CO. Amy also possesses a master’s degree in International Affairs, works in learning and development by day, and serves on the Board of Reno Little Theater and on the Advisory Board of the Northern Nevada International Center.

Lisa Ryan

Annabelle

Lisa Ryan has performed on various stages in Reno since 2008. She was with TMCC Theatre from 2011 - 2014, and had the honor of being the Ghost of Christmas past at UNR in their presentation of A Christmas Carol. She performed with the Lavish Vaudeville burlesque group from 2018 - 2022, where she sang songs by Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Marilyn Monroe, and many more. She feels lucky to have found very talented friends along the way. She knew she loved singing when she performed in church as a child, and she took choir in middle and high school, but she feels she didn’t really “find her voice” until her late twenties. She credits finding it to voice lessons from Gary Aldrich, along with the self confidence that accompanies growing up (which she claims she took her time to do). She also loves dancing, though she’s not an expert, as well as dabbles in yoga, pole fitness, and many other activities, but her most favorite workout these days is walking her pups. She is currently working on an Accounting Degree. To find out more about Lisa, you can follow her on Instagram @lis_acapella.

Jeffrey Bentley

Braxton

Jeffrey is a Northern Nevada Actor and Award Nominated Voiceover Artist who is known for his versatility, hard work and impressions, including such celebrities as Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Eddie Izzard, Patrick Stewart and Christopher Walken, just to name a few. Jeffrey studied live performance at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. He has starred in many musical productions including "The Producers" (Spring, 2015), "The Full Monty" (Summer, 2015), "The Rocky Horror Show" (Fall, 2017), and "Young Frankenstein: The Musical" (Fall, 2018), and "Murder Ballad" (Spring, 2022). He also has lent his voice talents to the plant, Audrey II, in "Little Shop of Horrors". He has been featured in such indie films as "3 Tickets to Paradise" (2013) & "Dinner With God" (2016) where he literally did "play God". He also made an appearance in "John Wynn's One Hour" (2022) on The Wynn Network.

Amber Teen

Jo

Amber Teen has had the tremendous blessing to be involved in the Reno Theater Community for the last 28 years. Some of her favorite rolls include, Mrs. White in Sandy Rustin’s “Clue,” Viola in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Desdemona in Shakespeare’s “Othello,” Polly in Bertolt Brecht’s “Three Penny Opera,” Gypsy in Laurent, Styne, & Sondheim’s “Gypsy,” and Pamela in Alfred Hitchcock’s “39 Steps.” When she’s not on stage, she plays a nurse in real life and spends her much appreciated free time with her three, amazing kiddos and wonderful husband. Amber is thrilled and humbled to be joining this talented cast to bring you this marvelous moment in time.

Rachael Gottas

Rox

Rachael Gottas, was born and raised in Reno, Nevada and is the Co-Founder of Bruka Theatre in downtown Reno which has now celebrated 31 years thanks to Mary Bennett taking the helm in 2009 and of course the local community at large. Rachael has produced and performed in over 50 productions in Reno and has produced and performed as a singer songwriter in the Sierra Valleys of Plumas and Sierra County where she currently resides. Thrilled and grateful to be working with her old theatre comrad, Cori Lynne Cooper on this incredible original work by John Frederick. They have created and are an amazing team.

Special Thanks To

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