The Prom Cast

Lola, a sophomore at Stamford High School and is so grateful and excited to be playing Emma Nolan in The Prom!! Her past productions include ASM’s Wizard of Oz (Munchkin), Matilda (Older Kid), and Something Rotten (Portia), Curtain Call’s The Pajama Game (Poopsie), Scrooge (Urchin) and Matilda (Older Kid), As well as several cabarets including SHP’s Knight Of Cabaret. Off the stage, Lola partakes in her duties as an Animal Ambassador at the Stamford Nature Museum and is a proud member of the Black Knight Student Council! Lola would love to thank her incredible parents, friends, and her amazing vocal coach Madison, as well as all coaches she has worked with alongside Badiene Magaziner Vocal Studio and Denise Simon SC!! She would also love to thank Tommy, Steven, Ms. Dunn, Jerold, and Caitlin for being so supportive and encouraging throughout this process. Lastly, she would like to thank the amazing cast and crew of this incredible show for making this season so special!!

Max is currently a senior at Stamford High School and is the President of the Strawberry Hill Players. Max is thrilled to be performing in his last SHP production, The Prom! In addition to SHP’s productions of Curtains (Won the 2022 Halo Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for the role of Aaron Fox), Bad Auditions by Bad Actors, Put on a Happy Face (Nominated for the 2021 Halo Award for Best Standout Male Performance), Our Place (Stanley), It’s a Wonderful Life (George), The Bald Soprano (Mr. Martin), and the canceled production of James and the Giant Peach (Ladahlord), some of Max’s favorite roles include West Side Story (Tony), Sunday in the Park With George (George), Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd), Heathers (JD), Something Rotten (Shakespeare), Seussical (Cat in the Hat), and Cabaret (Emcee). Over the summer, Max performed a solo with members of the New York Pops, conducted by Jason Robert Brown. Max also recently directed a scene from The Bald Soprano for the Strawberry Hill Players' production of Senior Scenes. Additionally, you can catch Max playing Melchior in Spring Awakening at the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill, New York with Random Farms Kids Theater on May 19th and 20th. Max would like to thank everyone involved with SHP for giving him the most magical experience for the past four years. The Strawberry Hill Players will always and forever be his family.

Hayden, a sophomore at Stamford High, is beyond excited to be playing Dee Dee Allen in the Prom!! Hayden has been doing musical theater since she was 4 but she mainly got her theater education at Professional Performing Arts Middle School in New York City. Some of her past productions include Senior Scenes (#25), Something Rotten (Bea Bottom), Curtains (Featured dancer and U/S Bambi), High School Musical (Sharpay), Frozen (Elsa), Sound of Music (Maria),and Fiddler on The Roof (Chava). She has also performed in a number of cabarets including SHP’s Knight of Cabaret. When Hayden isn’t doing theater, she is a witness on the SPS mock trial team, a member of the SHS Debate team, an executive board member in the Black Knights Student Council, and running her own club Stamford for Tully. Hayden would like to thank her family, friends, vocal coach Andrew, and her performing arts teachers at PPAS for always supporting her and making her the performer that she is today! She would also like to thank Tommy, Stephen, Jerold, Caitlin, and Ms.Dunn for giving her the opportunity to play this amazing part. Lastly, she’d like to thank the fantastic cast and crew who have made this experience unforgettable!!!

Cooper is a sophomore at Stamford High School! She is so excited to be playing Alyssa Greene! Some past shows Include Senior Scenes (Kayla), Steel Magnolias (Annelle), Curtains (Featured Dancer), Senior Scenes (Sandrine), Once on This Island (Ti Moune), Frozen (Middle Anna), Matilda (Lavender), Into the Woods (Little Red), Willy Wonka (Featured Kid), Mary Poppins (Jane Banks), and The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy). She would like to thank her friends and family for putting up with her singing songs from the prom for 8 months straight as well as Tommy, Steven, Jerold, Caitlin, and Miss Dunn for giving her this opportunity and being so supportive through the process. She congratulates her fellow cast mates and crew members on their accomplishments  and on putting on a really great show!

A junior at Stamford High, Leo is beyond excited to be performing in his eighth show with the Strawberry Hill Players. Past shows include Willy Wonka (Charlie Bucket), Matilda the Musical (Bruce Bogtrotter), and Something Rotten! (Nigel Bottom) with the Stamford All-School Musical, as well as It’s a Wonderful Life (Young George/Newspaper Boy/Pete Bailey), Put On A Happy Face (Soloist/Ensemble), Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (Taggart), Curtains (Bobby Pepper), and A Piece of My Heart (The American Men) with the SHP. Leo is captain of the Strawberry Hill Improv Players, is on the SHS debate team, is the junior secretary of the Black Knight Student Council, is a member of the SHS Orchestra, and is secretary of the SHS Tri-M Music Honor Society. He also co-hosts a podcast called Weekly Political Pep Talks in his free time! He would like to thank the cast, crew, and everyone else who helped make The Prom happen!

Adele Samsonas is a sophomore at SHS and is thrilled to make her official debut with the Strawberry Hill Players! This is her first musical with SHP, previously being in Senior Scenes (Natalie, Bright Eyes). On the stage since 7 years old, she has always had a love for singing, dancing, and acting. Some of Adele's past productions include Cinderella (Narrator), Sleeping Beauty (Maleficent), Dear Edwina (Myra/Fairy Forkmother/Franks Ma/Sonoma), The Little Mermaid (Sebastian), Annie (Miss Hannigan), The Addams Family at TCHS (2020) and ND Fairfield (2022). Outside of theater, she enjoys volleyball and anything nature related. She also has experience in karate. As a transfer student, she would like to thank Tommy, Stephen, Jerold, Caitlin, Miss Dunn, cast, and crew for welcoming her to the club with open arms, as well as family, Brian Bianco, Mr. Chuba, Karen Randazzo, Mrs. Crilly, and Miss Ruth Rolander for helping to get her where she always wanted to be. Adele also reminds that if your hands are shaking, just turn 'em into jazz hands!

Pierce is a senior at Stamford High, and is the Vice President of the Strawberry Hill Players. He is excited and saddened to be performing in his last show with the club. Pierce has previously performed in Elephant’s Graveyard (The Clown), Bad Auditions By Bad Actors (Rogers), and A Piece of my Heart (The American Man) at Stamford High, in addition to his Halo-nominated performance as Christopher Belling in Curtains. Outside of theatre, Pierce is an Eagle Scout, and a member of the Stamford Mock Trial team. He would like to thank everybody on the production team for all of their hard work, and hopes that you enjoy the show!

Chloé Naudet (Mrs. Greene) Chloé is an AITE senior and is so excited to be performing in her fifth and final SHP production! Her past SHP shows include Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (Amy), Steel Magnolias (Shelby), Curtains (Olive/Oscar Shapiro), and A Piece of My Heart (Martha). She’s also the secretary of the SYT board at Curtain Call, where she’s performed in SYT’s The Drowsy Chaperone and Groundhog Day (Jess). She’d like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her!

Kate Morton is a sophomore at Stamford High School. She is so excited to be doing her first musical at Stamford High! Kate loves to dance and sing. Some of her previous shows have been, Senior Scenes 2023, Heathers, Heather McNamara with ACANY 2022, Nutcracker, snow queen, 2021, Once on This Island, TiMoune at Rogers international School 2020, Nutcracker, Clara, 2019, and Sound of Music, Gretl at Rippowam Middle School 2019. Kate wants to thank her friends, family, Tommy, Steven, Jerold, Caitlin, and Ms.Dunn for supporting her. Break a leg to the Strawberry Hill Players!

Kaylee is a sophomore at Stamford High. Along with being an active member of the Strawberry Hill Players, Kaylee has been in five All School Musical’s, including the most recent, Something Rotten. She is also a competitive dancer at Norwalk Academy of Dance, where she studies jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop and pointe. In her free time, she loves to run track. Kaylee would love to thank Stamford High for another amazing opportunity to be on stage, Tommy, Stephen, Caitlin, Ms. Dunn and everyone involved, and her parents for all the time and support!

Ava Wagner-Nast is a junior at Stamford High School, and this will be her fifth show with the Strawberry Hill Players. She was recently Wendy in bad auditions by bad actors, Sherry in Our Place, a part of the ensemble in Curtains, Mrs. Thompson in It's A Wonderful Life and Annie and a part of the ensemble in Put On A Happy Face. Ava also performed in The Knight of Cabaret also with the Strawberry Hill Players. She has performed In four Stamford All-School Musicals: The Wizard Of Oz (Lead Munchkin), Willy Wonka (Oompa-Loompa and Astronaut), Matilda (Mother, Older Student, Ballroom Dancer, PE Student) and All Together Now (soloist). She has also performed in nine Open Arts Alliance musicals: Annie (Officer Ward and NYC dancer), Frozen (Princess and Oaken), Mary Poppins (Bird Woman) The last Five Years (Cathy), Clue (Wadsworth), A Christmas Carol (Fred, Fezziwig, maid), Cinderella (Fairy Godmother), Anne of green gables (Mrs. Barry), Matilda (Mother and Russian spy) and very soon Ava will be playing Glinda in The Wizard Of Oz. She would like to thank everyone in the cast and crew for making this show one to remember!

A sophomore at Stamford High School, Michael is extremely excited to perform in his second SHP Spring Musical. His past productions include the All School Musical’s Willy Wonka (Featured Kid), Matilda (Featured Kid), and Something Rotten! (Brother Jeremiah); as well as the Strawberry Hill Players performances of Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (Agent & Criminal), Curtains (Daryl Grady), and The Bald Soprano from Senior Scenes XXIV (Mr. Martin). Michael is an active member of his Boy Scout Troop in which he serves as the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and is on the Executive Board of his class’s Student Council. He would like to thank Tommy, Stephen, Caitlin, Jerold, Ms. Dunn, and the rest of the production team for making The Prom such an enjoyable experience!

Justin is really excited to continue his second year with the Strawberry Hill Players. He previously played Harv/Ensemble in last year's production of Curtains. In his free-time, he loves to go outside whether it's on a hike or hanging out with friends. He would love to thank everyone who has supported him, especially his Mom!

Keyli Maldonado is very excited to be a part of this year’s spring musical, The Prom for her junior year. Some past shows include Elf Jr. (Charlotte Dennon), Frozen Jr.(Elsa), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Violet Peterson), SHS’ Senior Scenes both her freshman and sophomore year, “A Piece of My Heart” (Whitney), and Curtains (Joanie Harmon). This is her third year with SHP as a junior at Stamford High School. Some of her hobbies include listening to The Cranberries, making friendship bracelets, and baking. She would like to thank her friends, family, and the rest of SHP for the wonderful experiences she’s had so far!

Ella is super excited to be back on the Stamford High stage with the Strawberry Hill Players in The Prom! An eleventh grader at AITE, Ella has been studying ballet, hip-hop, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and pointe for eleven years with the New Canaan Dance Academy, where she dances in their competition team. She is also a member of the Tap City Youth Ensemble in lower Manhattan. When she isn’t on this stage, Ella performs with the Stamford All School Musical, participates in Interact and MYLC, volunteers on the Curtain Call youth board, and is a songwriter in her spare time. Thank you to Tommy, Ms. Dunn, Caitlin, and Jerold for making this production possible!

Grace is a senior and VP of acquisitions for SHP. She has been in multiple of the school plays including A Piece of My Heart (Whitney), Steel Magnolias (Ouiser), Bad Auditions by Bad Actors (Yasmine), It’s a Wonderful Life (Mother Bailey), Elephant's Graveyard (Preacher), and several senior scenes. She’s also the vice president of the SYT board having been involved in their productions of The Pajama Game (Mae/Steam Heat Dancer), Drowsy Chaperone (Reporter), and more. Outside of school and theater Grace takes dance, plays lacrosse, and is a part of the art club and Environmental Activism Committee. She wants to give her thanks to her family, Katie Priscott (as always), and the whole cast and crew of The Prom!

Sabina Farley is excited for her fifth Strawberry Hill Players production. Sabina has been acting in the theatre since age 6, when she performed in the Wizard of Oz, as a member of the Lullaby League. Some of her previous performances include, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Schroeder) Pippin (Theo) Matilda (Alice) Sound of Music (Marta Von Trapp) Suessical (Sour Kangaroo) Kiss me Kate (Hattie) Beauty and the Beast (Belle) Her last performance was the Knight of Cabaret last December. Sabina has studied voice, dance and acting. She would like to thank Tommy, Jerold, Steven, Caitlin and her cast mates for making this an amazing experience!

Sophia Truglio, a Freshman at SHS, is ecstatic to be in her first ever musical, as well as her first show with Strawberry Hill Players. Sophia knew that she wanted to be a part of an SHP musical after she attended last years musical, Curtains, and loved it!! In her free time, she really enjoys playing guitar and going to concerts with friends. Outside of the Strawberry Hill Players, Sophia is also a member of the Stamford High field hockey team in the fall. She would love to thank Ms. Dunn, Tommy, Stephen, Caitlin, and Jerold for producing this amazing show as well as the entire cast and crew for making this such a positive experience. She would also like to thank her friends and family for being so supportive!! She hopes you enjoy the show!!!

Ella is a freshman at Stamford High and is very excited to be making her debut on the SHS stage as a featured dancer. She dances at LPAC in First Company, Focus, and LED. She would like to thank her mom, dad, her sister, Lina, her friends, and this amazing cast for always supporting her. She’s so excited to be performing and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!

Willow is 15 years old and a freshman at Stamford High School. Notable credits include Matilda in Matilda, featured soloist in St. Catherines Follies, and Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka. Willow is so excited to be making her SHP debut! She would like to thank her parents, siblings, and friends for all of the love and support they have given her over the past years and for helping her continue to do what she loves. 

Ashlyn Rufus(ensemble) is thrilled for her second musical production with Strawberry Hill Players. She is a junior and this is her second year with the Strawberry Hill Players but has acted in musicals throughout middle school. She portrayed Fawn in Peter Pan Jr., was a New Yorker in Elf Jr., had the role of Oaken in Frozen Jr., and was a featured dancer in Curtains. She is very happy to be back this year. She would like to thank Tommy, Jerold, Stephen, Caitlin and her cast mates for such a wonderful and enjoyable time. She is lucky to have made friends with many of her cast mates at Stamford High while going to AITE, and is very grateful for the experience!  

Connor Armstrong has been in the RIS productions of Into the Woods as the Baker, and Once on this Island as TonTon Julian. He is extremely excited to do another production since he hasn't done anything since Covid hit. He is super proud of the cast and crew this year, and is very thankful to the people who pushed him to audition for the Prom.

Emily Wainwright is a sophomore at Stamford High School and is so excited to be participating in her second show with The Strawberry Hill Players! Emily is a part of the company program at Rising Stars Performing Arts and studies voice with Joe Santaniello. Some past shows she’s done are Once On This Island (Papa Ge), Little Women (Mrs. Kirk), The Pirates of Penzance (Isabel), and Shrek Jr.(Princess Fiona). She’d like to thank Tommy, Joe, Jess, and the entire cast of The Prom.

Mia is a 10th grader at Stamford High School. She is very excited to have been casted in The Prom. Previous productions include Les Miserables (Young Eponine and Towns Girl), It’s a Wonderful Life (Zuzu), Miracle on 34th Street (Susan), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Candy Man Kid, Oompa Loompa), The Sound of Music (Louisa Von Trapp, Sister Berthe), Matilda (Ensemble), Footloose (Ariel Moore) Mia has sang in a cabaret at the historic Triad Theatre in New York City. She has walked on the runway in New York fashion week. She has also appeared in many print ads for numerous major companies. Big thanks to the cast and crew for their hard work and dedication. Break a leg everyone!

Sebastian Colfer is a freshman at Stamford High School. He has been in several musicals and plays before. For example, the Stamford All School Musical’s production of Willy Wonka in 2018, the Stamford All School Musical’s production of Matilda in 2019 he Stamford All School Musical’s production of Something Rotten in 2022, and Stamford High School’s 24th Senior Scenes. Sebastian is excited to be a part of the Prom with all of his friends, and his brother Pierce Colfer, who’s playing Hawkins. PS: Join SHIP!

Joa is a freshman at Stamford High and is excited to be in his first ever show with SHP. Joa was previously in “Matilda” at the All-School Musical. He likes playing soccer and doing graphic design in his free time. Joa would like to thank his parents, his brother, and all his friends that have always supported him.

This is Ava Carney, a freshman who joined the drama club this year. She was previously in senior scenes which was her first ever show! Ava is a part of SHIP and is in the SHS band as a clarinet player. She has been especially looking forward to this show as it will be her first ever musical!

Nevaeh is a freshman and is in the teen ensemble. This is her first show and is very exciting to be part of the prom. She is a hip hop dancer and goes to LPAC. She also did taekwondo for 3 years. She is a transfer student & has been trying her hardest to fit in at SHS. Nevaeh is very grateful to everyone in the cast for making her feel welcome and glad to be friends with.

Thamar J. Mercius is a 10th grader. This is her second production with SHP, and she is thrilled to be involved. She's grateful for her mom and this incredible cast, and is excited about what the future holds.

Jane McNamara is a sophomore at SHS and it is her first show with Strawberry Hill Players. When she isn’t at school or rehearsal, Jane loves playing guitar and going to concerts. Besides from SHP, she is an active member of HUGS. She would like to thank Ms. Dunn, Tommy, Stephen, Caitlin, Jerold, the entire cast, crew, and everyone else that helped to produce this show. She would also like to thank her friends and family for always motivating her to do her best and supporting her throughout this production.

James Carlton, a Sophomore at AITE, is more than grateful to be with Stamford High for this performance. They have participated in a handful of shows. Madagascar: Melman (Northeast Elementary School | 5th Grade), Our Rotten Town: Romeo (The Harvey School), Bad Auditions By Bad Actors: Coach (Stamford High School), Senior Scenes #24 & #25 (Stamford High School). James has had a blast working with everyone in the Strawberry Hill Players. They would like to thank Tommy and Ms. Dunn for running such a fantastic club, their family for giving them motivation and support through the past two years with the Drama Club, and everyone else within the Drama Club. This is an experience they could never forget.

Zoe Guaman is in love with our production of The Prom. The message this show gives to people is something she believes so strongly in. With past credits as Leeann in APOMH and The Carpet in Aladdin, she is thrilled to bring all she has to this production. She would like to thank her parents for supporting me and the lovely cast for making this show become a reality

Reilly is overjoyed to be working and performing with such an amazing cast in this year’s production! Reilly is 15 years old and has performed with the Rogers International School Drama Club before in their production of “Into the Woods”. She has worked in various improv groups. When Reilly isn’t working with the Strawberry Hill Players, she spends her time playing softball, guitar, and the viola. She thanks the cast, crew, and supporters for making this show possible. Reilly is looking forward to performing in future productions.

Miranda Rotstein is a 10th grade student at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering and this is her first year performing with the Strawberry Hill Players. She has always had a passion for the arts, and especially theater and music. She is devoted to her parents, and they always support her in whatever she chooses to do.

Minh Ho would like to thank their family, friends, and everyone who made this production possible! For fun, they enjoy watching movies, drawing, and annoying their sister. Past shows they have been in are Goldilocks (Goldilocks), Dolan Jukebox (Shrek), and A Piece of My Heart (Leann)

My name is Jayra Chavez. I am a freshman, this is my first show and I am very excited about it. I want to thank my mom, as well as my cousin Rebecca who always thought that I could be in a show!