Disaster! The Musical Cast

Paula has performed in several WHATCO productions, most recently in last season's Trivia Night Murder Mystery. She has long been active in community theatre in and around Hudson county. Some of her favorite roles have been Sue Smith in No, No, Nanette,Aunt Abby in Arsenic and Old Lace, Domina in Forum and Fiona in Brigadoon. She is happy to be singing and dancing in Disaster! The Musical.

Melissa Broder (Shirley) has been performing in community, regional and off-Broadway shows since she was a kid and has been featured in countless productions through the decades. She is pleased to be making her WhatCo debut. A few recent favorite roles include Dee Dee Allen in The Prom and Judy Steinberg in It Shoulda Been You at Old Library Theatre; Woman 2 (Songs for a New World), Princess Puffer (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Penny Sycamore (You Can’t Take it With You) and Rona Lisa Peretti (Spelling Bee) with the St. Bart’s Players. Melissa is a proud Lifetime Member of the St. Bart’s Players, NYC’s longest running community theater group, and has served on its Board for more than 25 years. Much love and thanks to her incredibly supportive husband, Michael, with whom she lives in Hoboken, NJ with their two endlessly amusing cats, Penny and Puffer.

He has performed in a wide variety of roles during his career. a character actor, Dwyer has given life to characters ranging from law enforcement to a mobster, a psychiatric patient and a counselor; Lurch, “The Addams Family;” an elf (yes, elf), a not so pretty stepsister; a pig and a Big Dog to name a few. Some of his favorite roles are The Creature, “Frankenstein;” Riff Raff, “The Rocky Horror Show;” Ghost of Christmas Present, “A Christmas Carol;” and The Mikado, “The Town of Titipu.”

Samantha is excited to return to the stage with WhatCo! Her previous WhatCo credits include You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Peppermint Patty - u/s Lucy), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), and Puffs (Ginny, Frenchie, etc.). As a vintage fashion lover and collector, Samantha was ecstatic to design costumes for And Then There Were None earlier this year alongside her friend and Disaster castmate, Roman. Before moving to New Jersey, Samantha acted and directed in numerous local and community theatre productions across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Samantha would like to thank her husband, Brian, and their pup, Winston, for their support.

Judy Espaillat (Ensemble/Levora, understudy) is ecstatic to return to the stage in a musical after a really long hiatus & is so incredibly grateful to be a part of WhatCo's production of Disaster! The Musical. Recently, she performed the role of the Countess in the Studio Playhouse's production of Puss and Poots and previous stage credits from a long, long time ago include a variety of different roles, in both straight plays and musicals including Truvy (Steel Magnolias), Mrs. Mushnick (Little Shop Of Horrors), Wicked Witch of The West/choreographer (The Wizard of Oz) & Mrs. Bumble/choreographer (Oliver), just to name a few. She also recently stage managed A Night Of Disney at The Players Guild of Leonia. During the day she works in project management and cannot wait to sing and boogie her booty in this production & with this talented cast! Break a leg, cast & crew!

Gunnar Holmberg is over the moon to be working with WHATCo for the first time! He is just finishing up an Associate's in Theatre at Bergen Community College. He has previously appeared there in The Laramie Project and She Kills Monsters (Narrator/Farrah), as well as A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck) with Bergen Alumni Theatre. They also perform regularly with the Cosmic Light Cabaret (Frank N Furter and Riff Raff). Gunnar would like to thank Jessa for being an amazing director, mentor, and friend, as well as everyone at WHATCo for creating such a welcoming environment!

It's time to boogie to the max space cadets! John Jesse Jeffords returns to the WHATCo stage as Tony Delvecchio after appearing in their previous productions as The Narrator in Puffs and Blore in And Then There Were None. He is thankful for the support and encouragement from his family and the WHATCo community! While this is John's third show with Whatco it's his first musical; hopefully it won't be (will be) a Disaster! Can you dig it?!

My name is Maisie Kelly, I am Fourteen and am excited to play Ben/Lisa in Disaster The Musical, the second WhatCo show I've been apart of, the first being The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. When I was younger I took classes at the Papermill playhouse and found a way to further express my passion with the WhatCo. Our cast and crew have been working hard to make Disaster a wonderful experience, I hope you enjoy our show!

Roman is excited to take on his first ever musical as Scott in WHATCo's production of Disaster! The Musical. Previously Roman has gotten the pleasure of bringing life to Damien in Deadly Dessert Championship and Chip in Trivia Night Murder. When Roman isn't on stage he can be found behind the scenes costuming for shows like Puffs, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and Agatha Christie's: And Then There Were None.

Maggie is thrilled to be back on the WHATCo stage! She was previously seen as Hannah and Professor McG in Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, and as Cora Cork in Deadly Dessert Championship. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, you can find her teaching at TAL Academy in Rockaway Beach, NY, and by night, she calls Harrison home with her husband (Ashley Nichols), her dachshund (Chewbacca), her Shih Tzu (Charley), and her Orange Tabby (Rey). She attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts for Drama and has a BA in Drama from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is excited to be among such a talented cast and crew! She is over the moon and back to be able to be married onstage and off to the one and only Ash! Many thanks to Jessa for taking a chance on her.

Matt is thrilled to be appearing on the West Hudson Arts and Theater Company stage again. This is Matt’s sixth time on the WHATCo stage. Previously Matt could be seen in NOISES OFF, Unlucky Clover and Almost Maine, The Great Gatsby Radio Play, Trivia Murder and And Then There Were None. Other acting credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Drop Dead, Dracula, Loves Labor's Lost, The Real Inspector Hound, Merry Wives of Windsor, Taming of the Shrew and A Soldiers Play. Directing credits include Neil Simon’s Rumors, Drop Dead Virtually the Last Super as part of WHATCO’s virtual one act festival, and most recently WHATS previous Stage production A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other directing credits include Much Ado About Nothing with Babbling Brook Players, Hamlet with Secret Notebook Productions, and Quite Contrary, which was a part of the Barn Theaters Summer One Act festival. Matt has a BA in Acting from Ramapo College of NJ. he is also a member of the American Fight Directors where is certified in unarmed combat, single sword, small sword, sword and shield, quarter staff and knife fighting.

Meet Lily, a content creator and cosplayer with a passion for theatre! She was featured on ABC Nightline for her online content recreating Proud Family and cartoon scenes, on News 12 Bronx as a princess, and she's partnered with Regal Movies, Marvel, and Lionsgate for fan cosplay events! She loves bringing a bit of her creativity to every show she's a part of. She was recently in Puffs and Deadly Dessert Championship at WHATCO and can't wait to dazzle and disco in Disaster as Levora, a character she says teaches her confidence!

is happy to be making her WHATCo debut! She recently portrayed Abuela Claudia in the Perry Award nominated production of In the Heights at Cranford Dramatic Club. Other notable credits include: Seussical (Cat in the Hat), Leader of the Pack (Annie Golden), and The Addams Family (Grandma Addams). Many thanks go to the WHATCo staff and also to my family/friends for their continued love and support.

This is Dylan’s fifth production with WhatCo. You may remember him as Drools the butler in Drop Dead, Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wayne Hopkins in Puffs, and Sonny in Deadly Dessert Decision. He loves to sing wild off-the-wall songs at karaoke, and he is very excited to put those skills to the test in a musical!

Jessica Nelson is an actress, singer, spoken word poet, handmade collage artist, and creative weirdo from Jersey City. She studied at HB Studios and received her B.A. in Musical Theatre with a minor in Gender Studies from New Jersey City University. She is thrilled to be back on stage making her WHATCo. debut!

This is Ash’s second WHATCo production. He was previously Stage Manager/Props Master/Visual Effects/”Catering Staff” for Deadly Dessert Championship this season. He brings with him years of experience with fan costume organizations and a love of theater. He is excited to appear on stage for the first time and is thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and crew! When he is not working or in rehearsals, he can be found at Devils or Red Bull games. will be appearing in Disaster! The Musical with WHATCo later this spring

This guy is ready to get his groove on and act a fool again in another WHATCo production ... "Disaster!" You may be watching this show and thinking "Why are Frankie and Chad the same person?" Well he can't make sense of it either, thinks it might just be the emotional baggage shining through. Some of his favorite roles include Schroeder (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), Lysander (Midsummer Night's Dream), William Barfeé (Spelling Bee), Shrek (Shrek the Musical), and Beast (Beauty & The Beast), just to name a few. Frankie would like to thank everybody who's supported his antics on and off stage ... especially those who can't differentiate between Chad's and his emotional woes, you're part of the reason he can channel these 🎶Feelings🎶 Now get ready to boogie down to all the Hot Stuff you're about to see happen on the one and only, Barracuda Floating Casino!

After a long hiatus, Amanda Regan has recently appeared in Man of La Mancha (Ensemble, Rosinante) and Antigone (Muse). Years ago, she had the lead role in a number of musical comedies (including Lizzie in 110 in the Shade, Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady, and Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls), but she’s enjoying the fun of being part of the ensemble. Amanda also sings with the Ember Choral Ensemble, a semi-professional chorus with performances in New York and Montclair.

Maria Ruppert is extremely excited to be back on the WHATco stage! She has loved theater since she was a little girl. She is very excited to be back for more fun! Some of her favorite past roles include as Sally Brown (You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown) & Sally Perks/Bippi/etc (Puffs) at WHATco, Narrator (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat) at Trilogy Repertory, Mayzie (Seussical) at St. Anne Stages, Mayor of Bikini Bottom (SpongeBob Squarepants) and Sister Mary Leo (Nunsense) at RosenPAC, Nadine (Wild Party at OLT), Florika (Hunchback of Notre Dame), Adella (The Little Mermaid), Enid Hoopes (Legally Blonde), and Tommy Boy (Newsies) at Rhino Theater. She is also a member of Triad Choir, The Players Guild of Leonia, and a virtual theater group called Enter Stage Left. In her off-stage life, Maria has a BS and MS in chemistry and music and works as a Senior Application Lab Chemist (Personal Care) at Gattefossé, sales manager and coach at MudSweatTears, and a Princess for parties and events. (#doallthethings) She loves her friends, family, Juan and obviously her dogs Lucas & Columbia.

Holly Stefanik is ecstatic to be back on the WHATCo. stage! Recent performance credits include: Midsummer (Helena), Beauty and the Beast (Mrs. Potts), Carrie (Miss Gardner), Almost Maine (Gayle), Charlie Brown (Violet, Blanket, Sally U/S) and Legally Blonde (Margot). Recent directing credits include: the upcoming WHATCo. One Act Play Festival, 21 Chump Street and Tony Ricci Has Acid Reflux at Drew University where she graduated from Drew with her B.A. in Theatre Arts and M.A in Teaching. She also won the Oxnam Playwriting Award and worked off-off-Broadway stage managing Bro-tox in 2020. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported and helped me grow along my journey!

This is his 16th production with WHATCO, having just played General McKinsey in And Than There Were None. Also played Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, other favorite rolls here were in , Little Shop of Horrors, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Schoolhouse Rock, ELF, and Beauty and the Beast. The Little Mermaid, Arsenic and Old Lace, It’s A Wonderful Life, Bleacher Bums, Godspell, Cinderella, the 2 radio plays, and A Christmas Carol, and he directed The Fantasticks. Theater has always been a big part of my life since I started in my early teens at the Halfpenny Playhouse on Midland Avenue. Over the years I have traveled far and wide to perform and I’m happy to have a theater group in Kearny again and the chance to be a part of it.

Leo is Thrilled to be making his WhatCo debut! He has been dancing for 31 years and loves sharing his passion for entertainment with others. He recently played Simeon in Joseph and…Dreamcoat with Trilogy players, and was the Dance Captain for Be More Chill with Brook Arts Center Community Players, as well as tap dancing all over the internet. Check him out @LeoV7373 on Instagram!

Danúbia began her acting journey later in life, fueled by a lifelong passion for the art. A theater major aiming for a Master's in Film, she makes her musical debut with WhatCo. Supported endlessly by her husband and cheered on by their son, Danubia is excited to explore the magic of theater and storytelling on this new stage.