Citadel Theatre 2019-2020 The Fantasticks

Biographies 12 John Benischek (Mortimer) John appeared on the Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club at age 6. Since then, John has performed as a singer/songwriter at hundreds of Nightclubs, Coffeehouses, Colleges, Festivals, Radio, & TV shows, and played such roles as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof , Captain Hook in Peter Pan , and Fagin in Oliver! . He is currently writing a musical that he hopes to have produced sometime in 2020. John B. Boss (Hucklebee) is thrilled to return to this classic having had a rich history playing El Gallo, Matt, Bellamy and Henry in various productions regionally. Citadel audiences may remember Boss as Oliver Warbucks in our recent Annie . Other credits: U.K. tour of Jane Austen’s Persuasion , a musical drama“ playing Sir Walter with Chamber Opera Tours, Roger Debris in the National Tour of Mel Brooks’ The Producers , and Daddy Murphy in the Chicago area premiere of Bright Star at Bo Ho Theatre. He has played Sylvia St. Croix in Ruthless , Don Quixote in Man of LaMancha , Albin and Georges in numerous productions of La Cage Aux Folles , Wild Bill in Annie Get Your Gun , Mary Sunshine in Chicago , Herbie in Gypsy , Thenardier in Les Miserables , Man in Chair in Drowsey Chaperone and Scrooge in A Christmas Carol to name a few. He can be seen in numerous independent lms and on network television in various commercials and series. Bill Chamberlain (Bellomy) Bill is thrilled to be returning to Citadel Theater where he appeared in Annie (Roosevelt), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Senex), and Cabaret (Herr Schultz). Other recent credits include Daniel Webster in The Devil and Daniel Webster (City Lit), E. F. Albee in Minnie’s Boys (Porchlight), Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance (Savoyaires); and Sorin in The Seagull (Edge of the Wood Theatre). Jonah Cochin (Matt) is a recent graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Past roles have included Dennis in All Shook Up (Williams Street Rep), Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes , Bobby Strong in Urinetown , and Medvedenko in The Seagull . Much love to family and friends! jonahcochin.com Brian Hupp (El Gallo) Based in Chicago, Brian Hupp is a performing artist in both Opera and Music Theater. He has worked with Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera on the James, Indianapolis Opera, Utah Festival, Opera Columbus, and Short North Stage among others. He has also performed as a soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Butler University Chamber Orchestra, Mans eld Symphony Orchestra, the Southeastern Ohio Symphony, Heisey Wind Ensemble, and the Ohio State University Orchestra. Brian recently nished work with St. Petersburg Opera in Florida, where he played the wolf in an operatic version of Pinocchio . This spring will be his premiere with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the ensemble of Götterdämmerung , and a concert with CHAI Collaborative Ensemble as a guest soloist. 2018-19 season highlights include appearing as a soloist with the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, Harold Hill (u/s) in The Music Man at St Petersburg Opera, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow with Opera Project Columbus, Escamillo in Carmen with the Amherst Symphony Orchestra, and the understudy for Pangloss, Voltaire, and Martin in Candide at Des Moines Metro Opera. Other notable roles include the title role in Sweeney Todd , Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls , El Gallo in The Fantasticks , Bob Wallace in White Christmas , and Detective Stone in City of Angels. Christopher Johnson (Understudy for El Gallo) is excited to make his Citadel Theatre debut alongside a Fantastick cast and crew. Off- Stage, he is an attorney with the Chicago-based non-pro t Lawyers for the Creative Arts and spends his days educating artists on their rights in the work they create. Recent performance credits: Buck Barrow, Bonnie and Clyde (MadKap Productions); Gabey, On The Town (Highland Park Players); Robert Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone (MadKap Productions); and Melchior Gabor, Spring Awakening (Music for Theatre Chicago). Christopher is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. www.christopherhjohnson.com Emily Lewis (Understudy for Luisa and The Mute) is delighted to be working with Citadel Theatre on one of her very favorite shows. Previous credits include: Citadel Theatre ( Annie ), Surging Films & Theatrics ( Game