A Wind in the Willows Christmas

Pauline Bradshaw is a violinist, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, who has been in New Jersey for many years. After graduating with a Masters in Violin Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, she was a member of the Colorado Springs Symphony. Currently a violin/viola studio teacher and freelancer, she is an adjunct at Peddie School and performs in opera, musicals and symphonies in the tri-state area. She made her Two River debut with A Wind in the Willows Christmas.

Tereasa Payne is a flutist, ethnic flutist and woodwinds specialist who performs throughout the US with national touring shows & artists, and in several orchestras including the Orlando Philharmonic. Favorite performances include: Johnny Mathis, The Temptations, Wicked, A Chorus Line, and Bernadette Peters. Tereasa is a founding member of the Areté Woodwind Doubling Quartet, commissioning and premiering works for multiple woodwinds. She can be seen in the pit orchestra of the NBC series, Smash. Please visit her website at: www.tereasapayne.com

Jake Robinson is a NYC drummer and percussionist. After attending Oberlin Conservatory, he earned his M.M. at Manhattan School of Music on scholarship. He is an active performer in the tri-state area and New England with jazz ensembles, cover bands, singer-songwriters, and his own original funk band The Uptown Partydown, which has just complete a 9-month residency at the acclaimed Rockwood Music Hall. After only a few years in New York, Jake has played at major venues such as Birdland, The Highline Ballroom, the 92nd St. Y, and Carnegie Hall. He also holds the drum set chair at the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, where he also serves as Assistant Dean. Jake is pleased to be performing at Two River Theater again this December.

Joseph Wallace is a double & electric bassist currently living in Brooklyn. Recent theater credits include: Newsies (First National Tour and Feature Film), Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” (New Victory Theater). He can also be seen performing and recording with numerous artists throughout New York City and across the US.

Mike Reid & Sarah Schlesinger were the Lyricist, Composer and Co-bookwriters for In This House and the Composer and Lyricist for The Wind in the Willows Christmas, both of which had their world premieres at Two River Theater. They have also written the score for Casanova Returns, which won the Global Search for New Musicals. The team’s opera Different Fields was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Guild. They are currently writing The Last Day, a new musical commissioned by Penn State University. Mike and Sarah have received the Kleban Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, a Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Award, the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, and Chicago’s Jeff Award for best original musical. Mike is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter. His songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Adele (I Can’t Make You Love Me), Anita Baker, Kenny Rogers, Wynonna, Alabama, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Bette Midler, and Tim McGraw. Sarah Schlesinger is the Associate Dean of Performing Arts and Chair of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.

Mindi Dickstein wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical Little Women. Current projects: lyrics for Snow in August, based on the novel by Pete Hamill; lyrics for Benny and Joon, based on the movie; and lyrics for At the Beck, an original musical. Recent work includes: book and lyrics for Trip, an original musical commissioned by Playwrights Horizons; book for Toy Story – The Musical for Disney Creative Entertainment; and book and lyrics for Nate the Great for Theatreworks USA. Mindi’s songs have been performed widely, most notably as part of Lincoln Center’s American Songbook (“Hear and Now: Contemporary Lyricists”) and at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Awards and honors include playwriting fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and New York Foundation for the Arts, the ASCAP Bernice Cohen Award, Second Stage Constance Klinsky Award for Excellence in Musical Theater, and PEN International New Playwright Award (selected by Wendy Wasserstein). She received her MFA from New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where she was an Oscar Hammerstein Fellow and where she now serves on the faculty. Little Women is available through Music Theatre International and Cherry Lane Music. The original Broadway cast album, released by Ghostlight Records, is available from Amazon.com and other music retailers. Contact or follow Mindi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/public/Mindi-Dickstein or Twitter @mindidickstein.

Daniella Topol’s recent world-premiere productions include: Martyna Majok’s Ironbound (Steppenwolf Theatre); Cori Thomas’ When January Feels Like Summer (EST/P73); Rachel Bonds’ Five Mile Lake (South Coast Rep); Jessica Dickey’s Row After Row (Women’s Project) and Charles Ives Take Me Home (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), Catherine Trieschmann’s How the World Began (South Coast Rep; Women’s Project), Rajiv Joseph’s Monster at the Door (Alley Theatre), Sheila Callaghan’s Dead City (New Georges), Lloyd Suh’s Jesus in India (Magic Theatre; Ma-Yi Theatre), Willy Holtzman’s The Morini Strad (City Theatre, PA), Stefanie Zadravec’s The Electric Baby (Quantum Theatre), Janet Allard and Niko Tsakalakos’ Pool Boy (Barrington Stage), Carla Ching’s The Sugar House at the Edge of the Wilderness (Ma-Yi), Caridad Svich’s Instructions for Breathing (Passage Theatre), and Sheila Callaghan’s Lascivious Something (Women’s Project/Cherry Lane). Formerly the Artistic Program Director of the Lark Play Development Center and New Works Program Director of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Daniella is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon, an NYTW Usual Suspect, EST Member, and member of the Board of the Lark Play Development Center. Daniella lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Warren Adams is an award-winning producer, director, and choreographer and an Adjunct Professor at Princeton University and NYU in the Theatre Department. He choreographed the Broadway smash hit Motown: The Musical (produced by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Doug Morris and Kevin McCollum) for which he won the 2013 Fred Astaire Award for Best Choreographer on Broadway. He recently directed the film documentary Africa Straight Up which premiered in Oct 2012. Born and raised in South Africa, he won the Nelson Mandela/Sainsbury scholarship to study at the Rambert Ballet in London. He is a graduate of Brunel University in England and winner of the Rudolf Nureyev Award. Past highlights include choreographing the Pulitzer Prize-winning Off Broadway plays How I Learned to Drive and Ruined; the opera Magdalena at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Toy Story – The Musical for Disney, and Nora Ephron’s last film Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep. Adams was also part of the Disney Team that launched Hong Kong Disney in 2005. He was the Associate Choreographer for The Lion King and created The World Drummers show. Other theatrical work has been presented at New York City Center, The Joyce, 2nd Stage, South Coast Rep, Teatro du Municipal Sao Paulo, Theatre for a New Audience, Intiman, The Geffen, and several dance companies including the critically acclaimed The Audacious One for Phoenix Dance Theatre.

John O’Neill is thrilled to be back at Two River, where he most recently served as Music Director/Vocal Arranger for A Wind in the Willows Christmas. Broadway/NY credits include Cabaret (Conductor), A Chorus Line (Conductor), Radio City Spring Spectacular (Composer, Arranger, Conductor), Hugh Jackman (Dance Arranger), Jacques Brel… (Musical Director), Jesus Christ Superstar, Annie, Curtains, Boy from Oz. Regional credits: Barry Manilow’s Harmony (LA Ovation, BroadwayWorld, Best Musical Direction),Paper Mill Playhouse (cast recording Children of Eden), Two River Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, North Carolina Theater for the Arts. He has served as music director for West Side Story (First National), A Chorus Line (First National), Cabaret (Japan), and Forever Plaid, and faculty vocal coach for Juilliard Drama Division, Rutgers University, CAP21. He is currently the orchestrator and arranger of Carefree: Dancin’ with Fred and Ginger, a music and dance review celebrating the iconic dance team, produced by RKO Stage and NJPAC and scheduled to begin a national tour this year.

Clint Ramos designed the scenery for A Wind in the Willows Christmas at TRT in 2013. Recent designs include the Broadway productions of The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper (also West End) and Violet (Roundabout), Eclipsed and Barbecue (Public), Here Lies Love (New York and London). He is the principal costume designer for Encores! Off-Center, where he recently designed A New Brain, Little Shop of Horrors (with Jake Gyllenhaal and Eddie Cooper) and The Wild Party. More than 100 New York, regional and international design credits. Honors include the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, three Lucille Lortel Awards, the TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award, two American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Awards, and a Helen Hayes Award. Upcoming: sets and costumes for Eclipsed with Lupita Nyong’o on Broadway. www.clintramos.com

Olivera Gajic Off-Broadway: God’s Ear, Vineyard; Miss Julie, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (2005); One Million Butterflies, Primary Stages; Williams in Transit, Americans, The Greeks, Edward II, The Juilliard School-drama; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Le Comte Ory, The Juilliard School-opera. Regional: A Dream Play, Peter Pan, Macbeth, Miss Julie, The Father, Ghosts, Candida, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Heartbreak House, Berkshire Theatre Festival; Clybourne Park, Crime and Punishment, Merchant of Venice, Social Creatures, Trinity Rep; Chekhov Lizardbrain, Twelfth Night, Pig Iron; Seagull, Ivanov, Uncle Vanya, Platonov, Lake Lucille. She has also worked with the following companies: Long Wharf, Two River, Riverside Theatre, Playmakers Rep, Theatre Works, American Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Cleveland Play House, California Shakespeare Theater. International: Jedermann, Salzburg Festspiele Austria; USA National Exhibit, Prague Quadrennial 2003 & 2007, Czech Republic. Education: University of CT, Storrs; Academy of Fine Arts, Belgrade, Serbia. Awards: 2012 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Costume Design for Pig Iron’s Twelfth Night, TDF/Irene Sharaff Young Master Award-Distinguished Costume Design, Innovative Theatre Awards-Outstanding Costume Design, The Tobin Foundation design grant, NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers.

Paul Whitaker New York credits include The Public Theater, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage, Atlantic Theater, The Play Company, Ma-Yi, LAByrinth Theatre, Intar, The Mint, and others. Regional credits include The Guthrie, Yale Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Long Wharf Theater, Alley, Huntington Theatre Company, Children’s Theatre Company, Centerstage, A.C.T., Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, George Street Playhouse, Two River, and others. He has a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. Paul has taught at Cal Poly Pomona and Amherst College, and is currently a Lighting Designer/Theatre Consultant for Schuler Shook. www.paulwhitakerdesigns.com

Zachary Williamson is very pleased to be designing again for Two River, where previous designs include A Wind in the Willows Christmas, Carry It On, Jacques Brel, Opus, Charlie Brown, 26 Miles, ReEntry, Glass Menagerie, Charlatan’s Seance, Umbrellas of Cherbourg and House of Blue Leaves. Broadway credits (Associate): Lysistrata Jones, The Ritz, and Pal Joey. Off-Broadway credits: Irish Repertory Theater, Second Stage, Origin, Partial Comfort, American Records and Urban Stages. Recent regional credits: Denver Center Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Kansas City Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, 5th Avenue Seattle, Ordway Center, Clarence Brown, Long Wharf, Round House, St. Louis Rep, Syracuse Stage, Vermont Stage, Virginia Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, Goodspeed, Asolo, and TheaterWorks Hartford. International credits: Broadway Asia International and Edinburgh Fringe.

Danny Larsen Orchestrations/Copyist: A Wind in the Willows Christmas and In This House (Two River Theater); Zombie in Love (Oregon Children’s Theatre); The Butterfly Girl (Vital Theatre Company); Catch the Wind (Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival); The Hinterlands (musical web series); Cloaked (Village Theatre, CAP21); The Yellow Wood (Contemporary Classics). Composer/Lyricist: Catch the Wind; The Hinterlands (nominated for four IAWTV Awards); Cloaked (2011 Jonathan Larson Grant, 2011 Kleban Prize); The Yellow Wood (2006 Richard Rodgers Development Award, 20016 Daryl Roth Award, 2007 Best Music Award at NYMF, 2008 NAMT Festival Participant); Zombie In Love (2014 Best Original Score and Best Original Script – Drammy Awards, Portland Area Musical Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Musical); The Butterfly Girl. Danny is currently working on a new musical with collaborator Michelle Elliott called Hart Island about New York City’s public burial ground. The show was shortlisted for the Kevin Spacey Foundation Artists of Choice Award in 2015 and will have two staged readings later this year. MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Cindy Tolan & Adam Caldwell Broadway: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Betrayal, Cinderella, The Performers, Lysistrata Jones, Relatively Speaking, That Championship Season, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, Avenue Q, and Xanadu. Previous productions with Vineyard Theatre, Bay Street, Dallas Theater Center, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, and Lincoln Center Theater. Film: The Place Beyond the Pines, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Winter’s Tale, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Blue Valentine, Another Happy Day, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Letters to Juliet, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Starting Out in the Evening, Death of a President, The Darjeeling Limited, The Namesake, Sherrybaby, Kinsey, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, Personal Velocity. Upcoming films: This Is Where I Leave You, Gods Behaving Badly. Television: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords, Fringe, The Return of Jezebel James, and multiple HBO pilots. Members of CSA.

M. William Shiner is thrilled to be making his Two River Theater debut with A Wind in the Willows Christmas. Mr. Shiner just completed a run of Disney’s The Jungle Book, Mary Zimmerman’s new stage musical. NY credits include: the Off-Broadway run of The 39 Steps and The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park productions of Measure for Measure (dir. David Esbjornson) and As You Like It (dir. Daniel Sullivan with music by Steve Martin). Regionally, Mr. Shiner was the resident production stage manager for six years at Shakespeare Theatre Company under Artistic Director Michael Kahn where he stage managed over 35 productions. He was also the resident production stage manager at Dallas Theater Center and spent three seasons at the La Jolla Playhouse. Internationally, Mr. Shiner has worked at the RSC in Stratford, England, and spent this summer with Franco Dragon’s circus production of The House of Dancing Water in Macau. Mr. Shiner holds his MFA in stage management from UC San Diego. stagemanager.net.