Santiago Alfonzo-Meza is a Venezuelan singer and actor. He recently graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in music and Environmental Studies. He has been involved in ensembles, musicals, and operas in the DMV including The Gondoliers (Giusseppe), Mesdames de la Halle (Le Commissaire), and The Elixir of Love (Dr. Dulcamara). Besides performing, he likes serving his community and is excited to join Mini-Musicals! He also enjoys walks with his mischievous dog and playing his Venezuelan cuatro.
Daria Antonucci is so excited to be a part of Mini-Musicals on the Move®, and especially to share the stage with her husband, Larry Travis! Previous roles include Josephine in HMS Pinafore, Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Hope in Anything Goes, Nancy Twinkle in Little Mary Sunshine, Nimue in Camelot, Cousin Fan in Mame, a Kit Kat Girl in Cabaret, Annie in Calendar Girls, and as a featured performer in several British Players’ productions of Music Hall.
Jim Blackburn retired from a career in defense electronics. From childhood, Jim sang in church choirs with diverse congregations – calling himself a musical mercenary. There were dramatic roles such as Senator Titus Savage, the “most hated man in Congress” in The Curious Savage. He sings with the St. Columba Singers and, after loosening the surly bonds of work, has joined The City Choir. Eager to expand his repertoire, Jim is hitting the boards for the first time in decades.
Kevin Boteler, a lyric baritone, is beyond thrilled for the opportunity to serve with Mini Musicals on the Move® after taking a few decades off from musical theater for family and career. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Kevin performed in a wide variety of theatre roles there and in Florence, South Carolina. Featured roles include Alonso Quijana/ Don Quixote (Man of La Mancha), Emile de Becque (South Pacific), Captain Von Trapp (The Sound of Music), Count Carl Magnus (A Little Night Music), and King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors). He has also sung with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus under Robert Shaw – including three performances in Carnegie Hall – and in the Atlanta Civic Opera Association Chorus. In DC, Kevin has been member of the City Choir of Washington for the past seven years. After 30 years in the corporate world, Kevin is enjoying “giving back” through his employment with Goodwill of Greater Washington.
Alicia Braxton has been performing in community theatre and taking dance and voice lessons for many years. She has moved a lot and is excited to make the DC area home. She has had the pleasure of performing with various theatre companies; some of her favorite roles include Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, Pirates Daughter in Pirates of Penzance, Hot Box Girl in Guys and Dolls and Mayor of Munchkin City in the Wizard of Oz. She is thrilled to be a part of this talented group.
Jessica Cooperstock is a playwright and actress from the Washington, D.C. area with a B.A. in theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her theatrical experiences include Willy Wonka with the Port Tobacco Players, Beauty and the Beast with the Southern Maryland Players, and La Traviata with the Lyric Academy out of Viterbo, Italy. Jessica was most recently seen in the Port Tobacco Players’ production of Company. She would like to thank her west highland terrier for her unwavering support and snuggles.
Justin Cunningham is a fifth-generation Washingtonian. He returned to the city in 2003 after a 25-year hiatus. He has sung with the Bach Festival Choir of Winter Park, FL, the Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera, Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, The Washington Chorus, and The City Choir of Washington. He also sings with The Sapphires, and Bethesda Little Theatre. During the day, Justin is a kitchen and bath designer with Stuart Kitchens in Bethesda.
Jeffrey Hayes accompanied singers and shows growing up in Canton, Ohio, and continued when he moved to Washington in 1980. Highlights include being the musical director for The Ruby Glitz Trio and Duo Classico and accompanying the Census Bureau Chorale for 32 years, where he worked as a mathematical statistician. Most recently he enjoyed playing for the City Singers, the Sapphires, and Bethesda Little Theatre’s musical revues. Jeff also plays popular and eclectic tunes at fine hotels in Washington DC.
Erich Izdepski started in community theatre 10 years ago and has performed in 5 local productions with the St Andrew’s Players and Encore Stage and Studio. You will find him on Sunday morning playing keyboards and singing with his church band and other times at open mics or in his home recording studio. He is a software engineer and cloud architect and in his free time repairs vintage computers and synthesizers and designs fractals for his clothing store.
Carolyn Lichtenstein started as a classical pianist in Roslyn, New York, but discovered the joys of musical theatre here in Maryland as an adult. She was an accompanist and keyboardist for several community theatre musicals (including Man of La Mancha and Fiddler on the Roof) when her children were younger and she worked fewer hours. But as her children grew, she went back to working (as a contract evaluator of government social programs) too much to have time for community theatre. She is delighted to have returned to musical theatre and to be a part of Mini-Musicals on the Move®, working with such a great group of people.
Christina McAllister sang for many years in the Choral Arts Society of Washington with her husband, Doug, before embarking recently on new musical adventures in musical theater and jazz. She is thrilled to have joined Mini-Musicals on the Move® and is enjoying a jazz combo workshop at the Levine School of Music. She is a fan of the Heritage Signature Chorale here in Washington, DC, and an alumna of the Mixed Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge.
Cathy McCoskey is a mezzo-soprano. She received her BA in Theatre Arts at Susquehanna University and studied music at Montgomery College under Dr. Gerald Muller. She continued her vocal training with Raymond McGuire of Catholic University. She has been a professional soloist at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and performed her own musical reviews in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Colorado. She enjoys performing with community theatre as a soloist and in featured roles. Some of her favorite roles include Mayor Matilda Hyde in All Shook Up and singing the role of Norma from Sunset Boulevard in From Screen to Stage. She has been performing with Mini-Musicals on the Move® since 2010.
Carolyn Oxenford sang mostly in the car until her kids left home, and she began studying voice at the Levine School of Music. She primarily sings musical theatre and jazz and loves funny songs. Some of her favorite places to sing include Levine Music Theatre, Senza Nome women’s chorus, and Bethesda Little Theatre. She has been with Mini-Musicals on the Move® since 2009.
Marissa Papatola is thrilled to be a member of Mini-Musicals on the Move®! She loves performing and bringing music and joy to people. After college, she spent four years in her home state of Minnesota spending a copious amount of time with her favorite person in the world – her grandmother. She performed in a variety of shows while in Minnesota, favorite roles include Sister Amnesia (Nunsense!) and Fantine (Les Mis). Graduate school and work brought Marissa out to DC and while she loves Minnesota, she is happy to make her home in such a wonderful city. She is a strong believer in work-life balance and is constantly aiming to find that balance.
Cricket Parmalee went to college, drama school, and library school then discovered storytelling. She’s been telling stories for adults and older people around Washington for 15 years. Her other storytelling life is in Portland, Oregon, as the voice of her college’s award-winning oral history project. She was the storyteller for the original Mini-Musicals on the Move® group in 2008-9 and wrote the narration for Oklahoma!, which is still being used today. She is glad to be back.
Mark Pulling has an ear for trouble and a nose for chocolate. He’s had lots of hometowns – in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, and he’s performed in a huge variety of groups all of them! He’s done community theatre, show choirs, church choirs, chamber choirs, and barbershop quartets, and he’s not looking to quit any time soon! When he can possibly find the time, he holds down a job as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Connie Rhodes is elated to be a member of Mini-Musicals on the Move® and to be a part of such a wonderfully talented group of people. Connie is a classically trained singer and pianist with a BM and MM in performance from UNC-Chapel and FSU respectively. Her theatrical roles have included Marian in Music Man, Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Meg in Damn Yankees, Sonia in Godspell, and as a member of the Kander and Ebb Revue, The World Goes Round. Connie was fortunate to sing with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chamber Chorus under the late Robert Shaw for 11 years — including five performances at Carnegie Hall — and with the Choral Arts Society here in DC. A church musician for over 30 years, she currently serves as music director at Palisades Community Church in Northwest DC.
Michael Rudmann considers it a great blessing to be a part of the Mini-Musicals family. Favorite past roles include Hinckley in Assassins (Laurel Mill Playhouse), Prince Christopher in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Pumpkin Theatre), Father in Children of Eden (Penn Players), and Higgins in My Fair Lady (College of the Holy Cross). In 2022, he retired from the U.S. Navy after 21 years as a dental officer. Mike is excited to finally be able to spend more time at home with his wife and four kids – all of whom like to sing as well. He is also an unabashed board game geek.
Paul Seligman has been singing since he was 12 — from musicals and G&S productions in high school, to collegiate choruses and acapella groups including the Yale Whiffenpoofs. He conducted a high school chorus as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya and has been a member of the Washington Men’s Camerata since 2003. A retired physician and epidemiologist, Paul is excited to be a member of Mini-Musicals on the Move.
Doug Smith is excited and honored to be a member of Mini-Musicals on the Move. He has performed in the DC area since 1985 with Hexagon, The British Players, City in a Swamp Productions, and the vocal ensemble Brock and the Rockets. He also sings with Harmony Express, a barbershop chorus based in Germantown, MD. As a member of two different quartets, Doug has had the honor of singing the National Anthem at Camden Yards and Nationals Park.
Dennis Smyers has a wide range of experience in audio engineering, designing sound systems for a diverse group of venues from coffee shops and folk festivals to recording studios and sports arenas. He has been chief engineer of Homestead Recording Studio in the Berkshires, music engineer for Stage West in Springfield MA, and head of sound design at South Lakes High School. Even after transitioning from pro audio to computer science, Dennis has maintained his connection to music and theatre. His greatest joy is blending voices in performance.
Jocelyn Steiner has been singing, dancing & acting since the age of 3. Since then, she has been putting on shows from California to Florida, and from Uzbekistan (where she served in the Peace Corps) to Mongolia (where she practiced law as an ex-pat). Along the way, she sang & danced professionally with Debby Boone at EPCOT Center, starred as a teenager on the Nickelodeon sitcom, Welcome Freshmen, for four seasons, attended the University of Florida, earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, and has traveled to over 60 countries! Favorite past roles include Eve/Mama Noah in Children of Eden; Velma Kelly in Chicago; Smitty in How to Succeed in Business…; Luisa in The Fantasticks; and Sister Amnesia in Nunsense. When not on stage, Jocelyn enjoys producing and doing props & set dressing for several D.C. Metro Area theatre companies and the Madeira School in Northern Virginia.
Rachel Tester is excited to be a cast member of Mini-Musicals on the Move®!! A classically trained vocalist, Rachel holds a BA in Opera Performance from Shenandoah University and MA in Arts Management from American University. She is thrilled for the opportunity to return to her first love: music theatre. Favorite past performances include Into the Woods (Rapunzel) and Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel). Rachel is currently a member of the City Choir of Washington and The City Singers and has performed on such stages as The Kennedy Center, the Music Center at Strathmore, Wolf Trap, and Lincoln Center.
Larry Travis is very excited to be a member of Mini-Musicals on the Move®! He is new to theatrical performance, but those around him always knew he had the potential to ham it up. Larry has had a lifelong love of singing and has been singing jazz standards at a local restaurant for over five years. It was Larry’s dream to find a woman to share his singing interests, and now you can see him living his dream with his wife, Daria Antonucci!Theater. He wants to thank Tobi for all his support!
Tim White, a DC native, delights audiences throughout the area with his guitar playing and singing. Tim was Music Director at a local church community for many years and has published a collection of his compositions. He studied jazz and classical guitar at the Levine School of Music and likes nothing better than organizing and performing in concerts to benefit charities here and overseas.
Singing Keeps Minds Active! 