Nelson Abrego

Chip Tolentino

Nelson Abrego is thrilled to return to Dakota Stage for another musical. This will be his first one in almost three years and he couldn’t be more excited to show you all the hard work everyone has put into the show. Nelson has previously been seen onstage at DSL in their productions of Arsenic and Old Lace, The Last Five Years, and Spamalot. He wants to dedicate this performance to his lovely wife, Sierra, his cats, his family and his friends.

Austin Saxowsky

Leaf Coneybear

Austin Saxowsky is a 16 year old sophomore at Bismarck High School. This is Austin’s first Dakota Stage production and he’s so excited to be a part of this amazing show! Recent roles you may have seen him in: Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz (BHS) and Jean Michael in Cinderella (Sleepy Hollow.) He would like to take a moment to thank all the people in his life that have supported him and his crazy dreams!

Drew Pengilly

William Barfee

Drew Pengilly is a community member entering his 3rd season with Dakota Stage! He has previously been seen in productions of Sweeney Todd, The Underpants, Crimes of the Heart, and Carrie: The Musical. Whenever he’s not on stage, he can be found behind the counter at Rock 30 Games, where he plays the role of assistant manager. In his free time, he enjoys a little reality escapement in the form of sports and video games with a little music listening thrown in for good measure. Special shout out to his dog, Finn. He’s the best spaniel a boy could ask for. Hi Mom and Dad! Love y'all more than I could express!

Jaelynn Mason

Marcy Park

Jaelynn has been involved in theater since her freshman year of high school, with roles including Maleficent in "Descendants," Ronnie in "Annie," and The Vending Machine in "Brain the Comet," which got 3rd place at the WDA One Act competition. This is her debut performance with Dakota Stage. She extends her gratitude to her family and friends for their support and hopes you enjoy the show!

Rachael Bosch

Olive Ostrovsky

Rachael is a Senior at Legacy High School, and this will be her 19th show! She just played Clarisse in Percy Jackson, and has played several other memorable characters. You may have seen her as Ursula in the Little Mermaid, The Witch in Into the Woods, and the Maid in Mary Poppins. Rachael would like to thank her family for always being there for her, especially her little sister who ever fails to make her laugh. She would also like to thank her boyfriend, Christian, for never failing to inspire her to push forward and be her best.

Dana Morrison

Rona Lisa Peretti

Dana is excited to return to the new and improved DSL stage, having last appeared in The Odd Couple: Female Version (2021). Other roles in the Bismarck area include Gwendolen in Capitol Shakespeare's The Importance of Being Earnest, Myra in TruNorth's Ghost Writer, and Cinderella in Sleepy Hollow's Into the Woods. She also directed and received a Brady Award for DSL's Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (2022). Dana would like to thank Chris for his unending support (and for making us all look good under the lights) and the incredibly talented cast and crew for a joyous process.

TJ Doll

Vice Principal Douglas Panch

TJ is a recent recurring character actor at Dakota Stage who loves the challenges and variety of roles offered at Dakota Stage. It's a marvelous environment to grow and learn while making new friends. He is deeply humbled for the opportunity to work with such talented actors and feels very fortunate to be invited back. No matter what the role, he seeks to hurl himself into the role and create a memorable experience for the audience. He welcomes laughter of all denominations.

TJ would also like to thank his beautiful wife for her support and thank LaDonna and Dakota Stage for the opportunity!

Juan Gelpi

Mitch Mahoney

Juan Gelpi is thrilled to be back at The Dakota Stage, after his most recent performance as Polonius, at Capitol Shakespeare. This is his fourth performance in two years, after a long hiatus away from the stage. In an interesting bit of coincidence, the role of Mitch was previously played by Juan‘s younger daughter in college, making this the first legacy role in his family. He would like to thank his incredibly talented directors, cast, and crew for making the Spelling Bee a reality. In addition, as always, Juan would like to thank his beloved wife, Barbara, and his ridiculous little dachshunds, Bruno and Berta.

Jed Geer

Olive's Dad/Carl's Dad/Leaf's Dad

Jedediah “Jed” Geer is excited to be back on stage at DSL as Stanley Hornsby/Carl Grubenierre (Carl Dad)/Olive’s Dad. This is his 4th or 5th Dakota Stage show, but the first in a very long time. You may recognize him from previous roles such as Pseudelous in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and Father Virgil in “Nuncrackers.” He found his love for the stage at a very early age thanks to the Middle River Community Theater in his hometown. Jed is an 19 year insurance agent with Farmers Union Insurance in Bismarck, owns 1st Geer Driving School and since he had a little time left on his hands he decided to open up Send It 24/7 Cornhole/Chuckers Bar in Mandan. In his extra free time he enjoys volunteering for the North Dakota Leadership Seminar, the North Star Lions Club and singing in church. He would like to say a special thanks to his wife Nicole for giving him permission to audition for another show and his late mom, Barb for getting him on stage while he was growing up so he could “act up” and not get in trouble!

Becky Crisman-Smith

Olive's Mom/Leaf's Mom

Becky Crisman-Smith is a middle school English teacher by day, and an exhausted woman by night. Becky has always loved theater, and her lifelong dream has been to perform in musicals. ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is her first musical, second overall production. She'd like to thank her husband for his patience and support, and would like him to know that she didn't fall THAT often during rehearsals.

LaDonna Carpenter

Director

Since joining Dakota Stage 8 years ago, LaDonna has become a regular both on the stage and behind the scenes. She is a three-time winner of Dakota Stage’s Brady Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role having been honored for her performances in Next to Normal (Diana Goodman), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Sonia), and A Doll’s House Part II (Nora). Her last directing effort was Crimes of the Heart which was named Production of the Year for Season 44 at Dakota Stage. She is a graduate of Chadron State College with a major in Vocal Music and a minor in Theater Arts. LaDonna would like to thank her employer, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, for their support of Dakota Stage and her husband for his continued support of her theater habit.

Zach Turner

Music Director

Zach Turner is a junior studying Music Education with a minor in Special Education at the University of Mary. Recently he has performed in University of Mary’s production of The Music Man and played Papageno in University of Mary’s production of the Magic Flute. In addition, he has recently directed Arioso Music Academy’s production of The Lion King Jr. and Aladdin Jr. Zach is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with this amazing and talented cast. He would like to thank his parents, Nancy and David Turner, his friends, as well as his past director and mentors: Erin Weichel, Kathy Ring, and Nikkita Star.

Nia Lighter

Choreographer

Originally from Minnetonka Minnesota, Nia has a B.A. in Theatre and Dance from Winona State University, where she was a recipient of the Jacque Reidleberg Performing Arts Scholarship. She has training in ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, modern, Tap, choreography, theater, musical theater, directing, and makeup design.

She has been on staff at Northern Plains Dance for the last three seasons , helping to choreograph 6 full length Ballets in that time. Nia’s is celebrating her 25th year teaching the art of ballet.

This marks Ms. Lighter’s first show at DSL!

ErinJean A. Gannon-Litton

Stage Manager

ErinJean is honored to be a part of this production as stage manager, and even happier to be working with LaDonna again after doing Arsenic and Old Lace last season together. Along with Arsenic , she was part of the casts of Sweeney Todd and Christmas Carol last year at DSL. She has also appeared in shows at Capitol Shakespeare and Bismarck State University. ErinJean wants to thank her husband, Chad, and their boys for all their support.

Klarissa Pudwill

Assistant Stage Manager

Klarissa is glad to be back after a brief hiatus from the stage. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance with an Emphasis in Musical Theatre from Minnesota State University Moorhead. You might recognize her from Dakota Stage’s “Young Frankenstein” where she was Inga or Deirdre in “I Hate Hamlet.” She has performed all over with some favorite performance credits including MSUM’s Straw Hat Players: Marian the Librarian in “the Music Man,” Sister Mary Amnesia in “Nunsense;” with Bismarck State College: Madge Owens in “Picnic,” Hope Cladwell in “Urinetown;” and formerly, a Singing Gondolier at the Venetian Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. She is enjoying getting back to some tech experience with this show with her former directing credits being with DSL, Shade Tree Players & MSUM. Klarissa is thankful for her years growing up involved in Shade Tree Players and Sleepy Hollow and how they helped shape her passion for theater. She highly encourages anyone to get involved in any arts program or Spelling Bee!

William Finn

Music & Lyrics

Mr. Finn is the writer and composer of Falsettos, for which he received two Tony Awards, Best Book of a Musical (with James Lapine) and Best Original Score. He has also written and composed In Trousers, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland (Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, two Los Angeles Drama Critic's Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Lucille Lortel Award, and Guggenheim Fellowship in Musical Composition). Mr. Finn wrote the lyrics to Graciela Daniele's Tango Apasionado (music by the great Astor Piazzolla) and, with Michael Starobin, the music to Lapine's version of The Winter's Tale. His musical, Romance in Hard Times, was presented at the Public Theater. Recently, he wrote Painting You for Love's Fire, a piece commissioned and performed bye the Acting Company, based on Shakepeare's sonnets. For television, Mr. Finn provided the music and lyrics for the Ace Award-winning HBO cartoon "Ira Sleeps Over," "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina," "Pokey Little Puppy's First Christmas," and, with Ellen Fitzhugh, two "Brave little Toaster" cartoons. Mr. Finn has written for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and The New Yorker. A graduate of Williams College where he was awarded the Hutchinson Fellowship for Musical Composition, Finn now teaches a weekly master class at the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theatre Writing. His most recent projects include Elegies, A Song Cycle (Lincoln Center) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which ran on Broadway and has been produced nationally and internationally, as well.

Rachel Sheinkin

Author

Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Tony, Drama Desk awards); Off Broadway: Striking 12 (Lucille Lortel nomination), Off-Off: Serenade. Regional: Guthrie, Little House on the Prairie; Center Theater Group, Sleeping Beauty Wakes(Los Angeles Ovation Award); London: Blood Drive. Residencies, fellowships, commissions include: Eugene O'Neill National Theater Center, Baryshnikov Dance Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Manhattan Theatre Club, Deaf West, McCarter Theatre, Playwrights Horizons. Rachel is a volunteer mentor for TDF's Open Doors program, a visiting instructor at Yale School of Drama, and adjunct faculty member of NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.

Rebecca Feldman

Concept

Rebecca Feldman is the conceiver of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for which she won a Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk and Tony Nomination for Best Musical. She directed its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company in the summer of 2004.

Rebecca is Associate Producer on TRANSPARENT, the MUSICAL FINALE and served as Staff Writer on the finale as well. She is currently developing an episodic drama with Big Kid Pictures, called LA COYOTE, which has been selected to the WeForShe’s 2019 Writeher List.

She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab as well as the AFI Directing Workshop for Women where she won the Jean Firstenburg Award for Best Short.

Her short films include, MY FIRST TIME DRIVING (AFI Jean Firstenburg Award, Best Short at Lake Arrowhead Film Fest, Best of Shorts at Outfest), A/V CLUB (TV Pilot, NYTVF), UBER ALICE (Woodstock Film Fest), DEAD CAT (Producer, Tribeca Film Fest) and IRVING (Official Selection Rhode Island Film Fest, Official Selection USA Film Fest, Ft. Lauderdale Film Fest, Atlanta Jewish Film Fest).

Jay Reiss

Additional Material

Jay Reiss is playwright. He is a Julliard graduate and provided additional material to the book for THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Reiss appeared in the original workshops, Off-Broadway cast, and Broadway cast of the musical as Vice Principal Douglas Panch.

James Lapine

Originally Directed by on Broadway

JAMES LAPINE is a playwright and director. On Broadway he has worked with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; and Passion. He also conceived and directed the musical review Sondheim on Sondheim. With William Finn he created Falsettos recently revived by Lincoln Center Theater; Little Miss Sunshine; Muscle; and directed Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other Broadway credits include his play based on Moss Hart's memoir Act One (also LCT), Amour, The Diary of Anne Frank, Golden Child, and Dirty Blonde. He has written the plays Table Settings, Twelve Dreams, The Moment When, Fran's Bed and Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing. Lapine has been nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning on three occasions. He has also been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, SDC's Mr. Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater, and inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.