Dan Chevalier – Buddy The Elf
Dan Chevalier is thrilled to reprise the role of Buddy, returning from last year’s production of Elf at The Rose! He was most recently seen on stage as Tom/Tibbles in Return to Niobrara. Over the past decade, Dan has appeared on stage at many theatres in the Omaha area, including the Omaha Community Playhouse, Bellevue Little Theatre, Chanticleer Theatre, and Shelterbelt Theatre. Some favorite roles include Snail in A Year with Frog and Toad, Bud in Gutenberg! The Musical!, and Alexander T. Wolf in The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Dan is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Regina Palmer – Jovie
Regina Palmer is an Omaha based actress, model, teaching artist, and licensed massage therapist. She’s had the amazing opportunity to perform on multiple stages in the Omaha, NE area including the Omaha Community Playhouse, the Blue Barn Theater, Nebraska Shakespeare, and The Rose Theater, as well as had the unique experience of performing In Traverse City, MI with the theater group Parallel 45. Some of her favorite roles include Ti Moune in Once on this Island with Snap! Productions, Quincy/Bart in Mr. Burns with Parallel 45 Theatre, and Dotty Moffett in Caroline or Change at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Regina is planning on relocating next Summer and looks forward to making art in her hometown until then.
Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek – Walter Hobbs
Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek is thrilled to be Walter Hobbs at The Rose Theater. He has been an actor and director in the Omaha metro for more than 20 years. Anthony is a previous Theatre Arts Guild Award, Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award, Elaine Jabenis Award, Barbara Ford Award, and Mary Peckham Award-winning actor. He has the honor of being the Principal at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School.
Melissa King – Emily Hobbs
Melissa King is thrilled to be back on The Rose Theater stage for this production, reprising her role as Emily Hobbs. She has been active in the Omaha theater community for the past several years, with some recent shows including Bernhardt/Hamlet (Brigit St Brigit- Rosamond Gerard), Matilda: The Musical (The Rose Theater- Miss Honey), Ring of Fire (Performing Artists Repertory Theater), Faust (Opera Omaha- Supernumerary), Bold Girls (Brigit St Brigit- Marie Donnelly), and Parade (OCP- Mrs. Phagan). As a bit of a Renaissance woman, she has been an artist of all kinds, from a nationally touring performer, to short film actor, costume and fashion designer, teaching artist, composer, and novelist. She graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s musical theater conservatory program with a CPPT, is a proud wife and mother, and is joyfully pursuing a career as a performer once again.
Tyson Bentley – Michael Hobbs
Tyson is so excited to make his debut at The Rose Theater! He has also been in many shows at the Omaha Community Playhouse including John in Fun Home and a Schoolboy in A Christmas Carol. Tyson lives in Carter Lake, Iowa with his parents and 2 annoying brothers and is an 8th grader at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, playing the clarinet, and going to school!
Karl Houser – Santa Claus
A veteran of nameless characters, (Dad- “Judy Moody“, Old Woman- “Madagascar“) Karl Houser is thrilled to be back again at The Rose. A trained alumni of the Backline Theatre for Improv, and currently studying with Big Canvas, Karl can be seen anywhere the Omaha art scene will allow him. You can find his recent work with Vanity Project on facebook @VanityProjectImprov. Online you can find Karl on Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Tiktok @VeryGreatKarl. In person you can see Karl performing most weekends at The Backline with house teams Bounce House, Interrogated and with Vanity Project. Karl would like to thank his lovely wife Jessica for everything and anything forever.
Sarah Gibson – Greenway/Store Elf
Sarah is delighted to appear in her sixth Rose production (previous: Elf,The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Sherlock Holmes and the First Baker Street Irregular, Peter Pan). Credits include Heathers (Ms. Fleming), The Blue Barn Theatre, Omaha, NE; The Light in the Piazza (Signora Naccarelli), Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN; Boeing Boeing (Gretchen), Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Bemidji, MN; Sunset Boulevard (Norma Desmond), New Century Theater, Minneapolis, MN; Carousel (Nettie Fowler) Bucks County Playhouse (PA). Regional: The Blue Barn Theatre (NE), Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (MN), Skylark Opera (MN), Lyric Opera of the North (MN), Mixed Blood Theatre (MN), Theatre L’Homme Dieu (MN), Pioneer Place on Fifth (MN), Park Square Theatre (MN), Fiesta Dinner Theatre (NJ), Pocono Playhouse (PA), and the historic Highfield Theatre on Cape Cod (MA). In addition to performing, Sarah maintains a private voice studio and teaches Musical Theater for The Rose.
Mary Carrick – Deb
Mary is delighted to reprise her role in this sparkle-jolly, ring-a-lingle, Holiday extravaganza. She’s always happy to return to The Rose stage, having delivered several other memorable performances including The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess – OEA Award Nominee), Seussical: The Musical (Sour Kangaroo – OEA Award), and Madeline’s Christmas (Mrs. Murphy). Mary is a familiar face and voice across the Omaha metro. Recent area credits include Amahl and the Night Visitors (Mother) with the Nebraska Opera Project, My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra with the PART Theatre, and the world-premiere of Stranger from Paradise, (Opera Omaha and the Great Plains Theater Conference). Other selected Opera Omaha credits include La Voix Humaine (Elle), Rigoletto (Giovanna), and Hansel & Gretel (Gertrude), and most recently Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San’s Mother). Mary has been a guest soloist with the Nebraska Wind Symphony and for the Holiday Lights Festival “Making Spirits Bright” concert. A Touring Artist with the Nebraska Arts Council, Mary maintains an active performance schedule as a solo artist and with her combo The Mary Carrick Collective in cabaret and concert settings across the Midwest. Mary wishes everyone a marvelous and joyous Holiday season!
Katie Aguilar – Sarah/Store Elf/Waitress
Katie is extremely excited to spread holiday cheer this season in her second production here at The Rose Theater. Katie’s first production at The Rose was Matilda and she is thrilled to have another opportunity to share her passion of performing with each and every audience. Katie attended performing arts college in Southern California and has since traveled to, taught, and performed in Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and all across America. She is currently a dance instructor at Broadway at The Rose – teaching jazz, hip hop, and musical theater and is also a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Shannon Duke – Hot Dog Seller/Manager
Shannon grew up and trained in Southern California. After graduating from school she joined The Young Americans to train and travel all over the world. After participating as a guest artist and educator in the US, UK, and Japan, she then took off to finish her education. As of this May, she graduated from Midland University with a Bachelors Degree in Arts Management. During her time there, she had the opportunity to play some noteworthy roles. Some of which included Mrs. Peacock (Clue on Stage), Queen Aggravain (Once Upon a Mattress), Mrs. Meers (Thoroughly Modern Millie), and Aldonza (The Man of LaMancha). She joined The Rose last season for her Debut at The Manager in Elf The Musical, and has since become a guest educator for Musical Theater Classes. She also recently joined the cast of Ella Enchanted The Musical as the bratty stepsister, Hattie. She sincerely hopes you enjoy today’s production, and thanks you for your support.
Sue Gillespie Booton – Sam/Mrs. Claus/Choreographer
Sue Gillespie Booton’s National tour credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Beehive, and Grease. Most recent credits include Elf (Sam/Mrs. Santa), World Premier of The Dollmaker’s Gift, (Pola/Rebecca), Rocky Horror (Columbia), Ring of Fire (Ensemble) and Always, Patsy Cline (Louise,). She was an original cast member in Omaha’s longest running musical, Beehive (Brenda Lee, Petula Clark, Janis Joplin), and appeared in shows on Royal Carribean, Carnival, Royal Viking and Europe’s Sally Cruise Lines. Other Rose stage appearances include Madagascar (Gloria), Cinderella (Fairy Godmother) and Cat in the Hat, (Thing #1). Choreographic credits include Elf The Musical, Matilda, Disney’s Newsies, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Madagascar, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Story, Tarzan, Narnia, Peter Pan, HONK! and Annie – The Musical. She won the 2019 Omaha Entertainment Award for “Outstanding Choreography” for Newsies and is the 2020 nominee for both Elf and Matilda. She was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hal of Fame summer, 2019 and is the 2014 recipient of the National Freddy G Award given to outstanding musical theater educators as well as the 2014 Theater Arts Guild Education Award winner. Sue is The Rose Theater’s Resident Choreographer and Director of BROADWAY at the Rose, which includes The Rose Brigade and Dance Lab at The Rose. She is thankful to return to Omaha and continue her professional career at The Rose Theater near friends and family.
Michael James – Store Elf/Office Worker
As a teaching artist Michael’s work is centered on taking what he has experienced as a performer, as well as his technical theatre training, and using these skills to successfully collaborate with other artists. Michael has been involved in the arts from a very young age. He trained in Ballet, Jazz, and Hip Hop before transitioning into acting and performing roles such as the role of Peter in Peter Pan and Nicely-Nicely in Guys & Dolls. After graduating high school, Michael shifted his focus to production design and stage management, receiving his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He then went on to be a Director and Choreographer for several children’s theater productions while teaching acting courses with The Coterie Theatre, and dance courses such as Musical Theatre Dance and Boys Dance & Conditioning with The Culture House. Michael is also a certified group fitness instructor. He has worked as production and creative staff in several locations in Kansas City such as The Coterie, The Culture House, Theatre in the Park, Kansas City Actors Theatre, Jewish Community Center, and Olathe Civic Theatre Association.
Lauren Krupski – Chadwick/Store Elf
Lauren is so excited to be back on stage at The Rose and appearing for the second time in Elf The Musical! Some notable roles at the Rose include Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical, Miss Shields in A Christmas Story, Penny in Honk!, and Julia in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. She also was a part of two world premiere productions at The Rose: Prancer and Pete the Cat. Lauren has also performed many times with the Omaha Symphony in their family and educational shows. She has been seen in their educational program Mission Imagination for two years, performing in The Misadventures of Melvin the Explorer and The Symphonic School Bus. Most recently she performed with the Omaha Symphony as concert host with the program Link Up! She has also been seen with the Sarasota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, and soon to be seen with the Lima Symphony and San Diego Symphony in Gold Rush, a family concert celebrating American Composers.
Joey Galda – Matthews/Fake Santa
As a lover of all things Christmas, Joey can’t believe how lucky he is to get to take part in this joyous show. Most recently he appeared as the nasty Miss Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical here at The Rose. Other recent credits include Ethel Merman in Christmas With The Crawfords (SNAP Productions), Madame de la Grande Bouche in Beauty and the Beast (Omaha Community Playhouse). When not onstage, Joey works with Gallup on the Client Support Team and plays a lot of video games with his husband Mark and their two dogs, Juli and Doctor, and cat, Sora. Much love to all 4 who deal with his absence ever so graciously.
Fran X. Adrianto – Jim/Store Elf/Fake Santa
Fran is a Midland University graduate from California who toured with the Young Americans for 6 years. He was a part of the nationally ranked collegiate dance team, the Warrior Wildfire Dance Team, and has 2 national championship titles under his belt. He is heavily involved in the arts in the Omaha community. He is pleased and grateful to be involved with his fourth production with The Rose Theater. Past credits include Romeo (Newsies), Jim (ELF), and Rudolfo (Matilda).
Keaton Eisenmenger – Businessman/Ensemble/Store Elf/Fake Santa/Buddy Understudy
Keaton is excited to be on stage with The Rose Theater for the first time! After receiving his degree in Arts Management and Voice, Keaton joined the Young Americans, performing and teaching for two years before returning to Omaha. Some favorite past roles include Edward Bloom (Big Fish), Simon/Peter (Jesus Christ Superstar), Beauxhomme (Once on This Island), as well as various roles in Aida and The Music Man. Keaton thanks his parents, family, and friends for always supporting him and the arts!
Jessica Burrill-Logue – Store Elf/Office Worker
Jessica is so thrilled to be a part of this holly jolly cast and can’t wait to spread Christmas cheer! She is originally from Maine and has been involved in professional theater since the age of 3. You may have seen her on stage or assistant directing shows here at The Rose, such as Good Night Moon, Babe The Sheep Pig, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, Curious George and The Golden Meatball, Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt Thumbelina, Go Dog Go, The Cat In The Hat and A Bucket Of Blessings. She is an ensemble member of Kerfuffle, has been the voice for commercials and videos in the Omaha Metro area as well as worked on shows for CBS and the Discovery Channel. She is a fiber artist and educator and when not directing, designing, writing or on stage Jessica enjoys spending time with her two amazing artistic daughters Jules and Jocey, her fluffle farm of adorable dwarf English angora bunnies, and knitting, spinning or weaving away every other free moment while finding joy always in the journey! She’d love to thank her family and friend for believing in her & allowing her to dance amongst the stars.
Francesca Kerkhofs – Elf/Intern/Store Elf
Francesca Kerkhofs is thrilled to return to Elf. She has previously appeared in Shrek at the Omaha Community Playhouse in 2018 and at The Rose in 2016. Francesca is a junior at Millard North High School and hopes to study musical theater in college. She is grateful for her family and their support and everyone at The Rose for the years of instruction, guidance, and opportunity to learn and grow in the arts.
Kami Upah – Office Intern/Store Elf
Kami Upah is a senior at Mercy High School. She has been a member of The Rose Brigade and The Dance Lab at the Rose since 2011. She is thrilled to be a part of this years production of Elf. She would like to thank her mom, dad, and bubby for all the support and love through the years.
Grant Petersen Jensen – Office Intern/Store Elf/Raccoon Puppeteer
Grant is so excited to be part of his first mainstage production at The Rose! Grant has been a member of The Rose Brigade for the last two years and had enjoyed classes and camps at The Rose. Grant would like to say thank you to his wonderful parents who for some reason pay for all of his classes and to his sister who drives him everywhere.
Jessie Meiers – Taxi Driver/Police/Intern
Jessie is a Junior at Duchesne Academy. I’ve been working with The Rose as a student since 6th grade. I love playing guitar and I want to be a music teacher when I grow up!
Mason Lindsey – Jogger/Police/Fake Santa/Salvation Army Bell Ringer
Mason Lindsey is an 8th grader at Buffett Middle School. His interests include cross country, percussion, soccer, and, of course, dancing and acting with Broadway at The Rose. Mason says the best part of performing is seeing his little sister’s face light up when he takes the stage.
Carter Pflug – Elf/NYC Sports Fan Kid/Rockefeller
I am very excited about this upcoming show. It is my second show and I am intrigued to perform in front of friends and family. Being in a special event at The Rose makes me feel like I am famous knowing that I am not.
Colin McMahon – Intern/Store Elf
Colin is an 8th grader at Grandview Middle School in Elkhorn. He is thrilled to be back on the mainstage for Elf The Musical again this holiday season. He has been a student at The Rose since 2018 and is a proud member of The Rose Brigade.
Josiah Hydeen – Charlie/Christmas Kid
Josiah is thrilled for the opportunity to return The Rose in Elf again this holiday season. His previous roles have been Michael Hobbs in last year’s Elf production and Claude Herdman in 2017’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Josiah lives in Gretna with his parents and two sisters. He attends the 7th grade at the Gretna Middle School. Besides acting, he enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing piano and percussion, singing in show choir, playing baseball, and cheering on the Chicago Cubs!
Maddie Smith – Shawanda/Elf/Christmas Kid
Maddie is excited to return to The Rose Theater after playing Matilda in Matilda The Musical this summer. She is an eighth grader at Brownell-Talbot School where she plays guitar in the Pep Band, participates in the middle school Speech Team. Maddie made her Rose Theater debut in The Doll Maker’s Gift earlier this year as Nora. Her previous theater credits include productions at the Omaha Community Playhouse, including Little Fiona in Shrek The Musical (2018) , James Trotter in James and the Giant Peach (2018) , Chip in Beauty and the Beast (2017) and A Christmas Carol (2015 – 2018) playing the roles of Girl with Sled, Belinda Cratchit and Fan. In her spare time, Maddie loves to read, play her guitar and ukulele, listen to her favorite music on Spotify (especially holiday classics), and spend time with her beloved dog, Mori. Christmas is Maddie’s favorite time of year and she is excited to sing loud with this amazing cast!
Camryn Jordan – Elf/Elf on the Shelf/Rockefeller
Camryn has been a Rose Kid since 2015 where she dances on the student dance company, The Dance Lab at The Rose. Being a Rose Kid has provided training and coaching from some of the best professionals around! Elf The Musical will be Camryn’s third live show on The Rose mainstage, having made her debut in Disney’s Newsies. She is happy to be reunited with friends and crew members for Elf this holiday season. She very much looks forward to each performance as an opportunity to share her love and passion for performing.
Nicole Poole – Elf/Elf on the Shelf/Rockefeller
Nicole Poole is a 7th grader at St. Margaret Mary. She has been a long-standing student of The Rose Theater with training focused in all forms of dance, tumbling, and voice. She is a member of the competitive dance team, The Dance Lab at The Rose for 4 years, competing and winning awards in solos, duos, and team competitions. She loves musical theater and performing.