Kolby (any pronouns) is a rising junior at Roosevelt University en route to their BFA in Musical Theater! They are absolutely thrilled to be making their Chicago and professional debut this summer with Kokandy. They want to thank their Family, Kara, and Sebastian for their unconditional love and support in every venture. @KOLBYYYCARDWELL

Maddison (she/her) is overjoyed to be making her professional debut with Kokandy! Maddison graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Columbia College in 2020. She was most recently seen in Haven Theatre’s Rocky Horror Picture Party (“Columbia”).  Some of her favorite roles include: The Wild Party (“Kate”), Allegro (“Charlie Townsend”), Flight (“ensemble”), and performing with The Beautiful City Project. “I couldn’t do this without Jayce, Bryce, and my wonderful parents.” To stay updated, follow @MaddisonDenault and watch for future performances (very soon!) at MaddisonDenault.com

Niki-Charisse (she/her) is a Chicago native and a University of Iowa Theatre Alumni. She is so excited to be making her Kokandy debut this summer! Her favorite past credits include: Heather’s: The Musical (“Heather Chandler”), American Idiot (“Whatsername”), Striking 12 (“The Little Match Girl”) and Spring Awakening (“Ilse”). As always, Niki-Charisse would like to thank her family and friends who have supported her all these years!

Lucas (he/him) is a French/ American actor, drummer, who holds a BFA from The Chicago College of Performing Arts. He was in the 2020 and 2021 production of Hundred Days with Kokandy and is excited to be working with them again. Other past projects include: Theatre- Peter and the Star Catcher (Prentis), Murdering Macbeth (Doctor). Film- Sour Patch Kids (York Productions), The Big Leap (FOX) Lacy’s Christmas Do-Over (Golan Productions), Games for children ( M&C Productios), and Write B!tch (Snack Shack Productions). He’d like to thank his family and friends here and over seas for the endless support. Spread Love. DDO Artists Agency.

Elizabeth (she/her) is so excited to be working with Kokandy for the first time! Liz is a proud ensemble member with Hell in a Handbag. Some of her favorite roles include: Miracle! (“Annie Sullivan”), Lady X the Musical (“Emmy Lou”), Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical (“Linda Rogo”), and The Drag Seed (“Wendy Breeze”) which recently had a two week run at La Mama Experimental Theater Club in NYC. Much love to Danni, Grayson, Hazel, and Emy!

Justin (he/they) is a Non-Binary performer and a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance. They are so excited to make their professional debut with this fun, flirty world and fantastic cast and team! Some past on-campus credits include: A Man of No Importance (“Ensemble/Baldy u/s), Allegro (“Ensemble”), and Roll With It: A New Musical (“Theo”). Justin is also a Burlesque Performer at The Annoyance Theatre. They want to thank their mother, and partner for always believing in them!

David (he/him) is thrilled to be making his Kokandy debut in Cruel Intentions! Past Credits Include:  Don’t Dress For Dinner “Robert” (Brightside Theatre) Bomber’s Moon “Lloyd” The Elephant Man “Dr. Frederick Treves” (Williams Street Rep) A Christmas Carol “Fred/Young Scrooge” The Mousetrap “Giles” (Metropolis Performing Arts) Heathers “J.D.” (Theater Pops). Special thank you to all friends and family, and of course Abby for all their continued support. Enjoy the show!

Anabella (she/her) is elated to be making her Kokandy debut this summer with Cruel Intentions! As a recent graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts (BFA Musical Theater), she is eager to begin this new chapter in her professional career. She would like to thank her friends and family for their continuous love and support.

Jimmy (he/him) is totally stoked to be making his Kokandy debut in Cruel Intentions. His Chicago credits include: Legally Blonde (“Warner Huntington III”), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (“Costard”). He recently graduated from The Chicago College of Performing Arts with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Endless applause for the entire Cruel team, the Chopin Theatre, and the audience who make it all happen. Love to my family, always! DDO Artists Agency. @romanojimmy

Erika (she/her) is a Chicago-based singing actor and is absolutely thrilled to be making her debut in the Chicago scene with the Kokandy team. Erika graduated from DePaul University School of Music in the heat of the pandemic in 2020 with a masters in vocal performance and has sung and performed in concerts and operas throughout Europe and the UK.

Maxel (he/they) is a Chicago based performer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, Maxel was heavily involved with community based organizations focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Chicago credits include “Simon” in the World Premier Musical: Mary Rose, “Solomon” in Speech and Debate, “Bob” in Bob: A Life in Five Acts. Tulsa credits include Henson in Ragtime and Annas in Jesus Christ Superstar. Maxel graduated with his B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt in 2022.

Jaxson (he/him) is a current sophomore at Roosevelt Chicago College of the Performing Arts where he is studying for a BFA in musical theater with a dance concentration. This is his first professional experience, and debut show in Chicago. He is so excited to be working with the company and the amazing cast. He could have not asked for a better first experience in the city.

Josh (he/they) is thrilled to be making their Kokandy Productions debut! Some credits include: Evita (Drury Lane Theatre), Ragtime (Music Theater Works), Dex & Abby (Pride Films and Plays), Hello Again (Theo Ubique), and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Metropolis). Josh blurs the lines between TV, Film, and Theatre and you may have recently seen them in McDonald’s newest hiring campaign. Josh earned their BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Columbia College Chicago. Special thanks to their dad and Westley, “your constant support is my fuel!” Follow their journey: @joshpabloszabo. Represented by Shirley Hamilton Inc.

TJ (she/her) is so excited to make her Kokandy debut with Cruel Intentions! Her performance credits include Kiss Me, Kate (Marriott Theatre), Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway, DoReMi (Porchlight Music Theatre); Legally Blonde (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre) and she is a graduate of Chicago College of Performing Arts, BFA Musical Theatre: Dance. Thanks Ma! @tj.tapp

Kelcy (she/her) is a recent graduate of the musical theatre program at Columbia College Chicago. She is ecstatic to be making her professional Chicago debut in Cruel Intentions alongside this incredible team of creatives. Some of her favorite credits include: The Addams Family (“Wednesday”), Cabaret (“Lulu”), and Seussical (“Sour Kangaroo”). Kelcy is forever grateful for her support system for always standing by her side.

ROGER KUMBLE (he/him) began his career as a playwright in 1993 with the Hollywood satire Pay or Play, which garnered him the LA Weekly Award for Best Comic Writing. His second play, 1997’s d girl, starring David Schwimmer, earned him four Drama-logue Awards. In 2003, Kumble completed his Hollywood trilogy with the critically acclaimed Turnaround, again starring David Schwimmer, which sold out its entire run in Los Angeles. His 2011 play, Girls Talk was a satire on LA private schools and was mentioned by the LA Times as one of the best plays of that year. Kumble made his feature-film-directorial debut with 1999’s Sony Pictures box-office hit, Cruel Intentions, his adaptation of Choderlos De Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair; his screenplay transposed the French classic to modern New York. He followed with the Sony Pictures comedy The Sweetest Thing, starring Cameron Diaz & Christina Applegate; New Line Cinema’s Just Friends, starring Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris; Disney’s College Road Trip starring Martin Lawrence; Furry Vengeance, Netflix’s Falling Inn Love and Voltage Picture’s After We Collided, which was one of the most profitable films of 2021. He recently wrapped production on Voltage Pictures’ Beautiful Disaster, which he adapted and directed from the novel. Television directing credits include episodes of Entourage, Suits, and Pretty Little Liars. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Mary and three children.

LINDSEY ROSIN (she/her) is a professional writer, director, lyricist, producer and author. She recently sold a half-hour television pilot entitled Lexapros and Cons to AwesomenessTV, which she co-wrote along with Aaron Karo based on his YA novel of the same name. She is set to write and executive produce the forthcoming series. She is also currently writing a jukebox musical feature film for Netflix and developing a soapy, one-hour TV series with Lionsgate and Temple Hill. She was a writer on season one and two of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and was nominated for an Emmy in 2021 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for a song she co-wrote for the series entitled “Crimson Love.” In the past few years, she has written and developed numerous tv pilots, including projects for ABC, NBC, CBS, Freeform, MTV and Syfy. In 2016 she co-wrote, and co-executive produced a television pilot for NBC based on the movie Cruel Intentions. She also co-created and directed Cruel Intentions: The Musical, which originally premiered in Los Angeles in 2015 before running off-Broadway from 2017-2018 and embarking on its first national tour in 2019. In the summer of 2019, the show premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Theater Festival where it won an audience award for Best Musical. An Australian production of Cruel Intentions: The Musical will tour Melbourne and Sydney in 2022. Lindsey’s debut novel, Cherry, a coming-of-age, laugh-out-loud tale of first times, last chances, and the enduring friendships that make it all worthwhile, was published by Simon Pulse in 2016 and has since been published in the U.K., Italy, Spain and France. Lindsey began her writing career as a young playwright, having won numerous statewide and nationwide young playwriting competitions. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Josh, her almost two-year-old daughter, Helen, her two-month-old son, Judah, and her adorable poodle-mix, Dodger. She is a member of the WGA and ASCAP and is represented by ICM, Underground Management and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.

JORDAN ROSS SCHINDLER (he/him) is a Writer/Producer from the Philly suburbs who is unapologetically stuck in The WB-era of television and proud of it. He got his start in musical theatre in 2015 as the co-creator of CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE ʻ90S MUSICAL. Since then, Cruel has played Off-Broadway, recorded an original cast album, toured nationally, and its first UK company won BroadwayWorldʼs Best Musical Production at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After co-writing NBCʼs 2016 “CRUEL INTENTIONS” sequel pilot, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jordan joined the writersʼ room for the final season of Eʼs THE ROYALS. Currently, heʼs developing a dramedy pilot for MGM TELEVISION and is a Co-Producer on Netflix’s upcoming teen drama MY LIFE WITH THE WALTER BOYS.

Laura (she/her) has associate choreographed and dance captained at: Marriott Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and Drury Lane Theatre. She is a Jeff nominated actress and has performed in over 35 productions across the Chicagoland area. Laura also appeared on and choreographed for Fox’s hit show EMPIRE. Upcoming: Zorro at Music Theatre Works and Rent at Porchlight Music Theatre. @lauramsavage www.laura-savage.com

Uriel (he/him) Design credits include the Chicago premieres of The Madres, The Wolf At The End Of The Block, Parachute Men (Teatro Vista);  De Troya, The River Bride (Halcyon Theatre); Mike Pence Sex Dream, Refrigerator, Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (First Floor Theatre) and many more. He would like to thank his friends, and family for all their support. For more information & designs please visit ugomez.com

Max (he/him) is a lighting & visual media designer based out of Chicago. and a full time instructor at Northeastern Illinois University. He is the NEIU Stage Center’s Resident Lighting & Projections Designer and has received an Instructor Excellence Award for teaching. After a decade in Chicago, Max has created over 200 designs on over 125 professional & educational productions. A founding member of Another Door Theatre Project, he worked for 3 years as their Head of Production/Resident Scenographer. Max also spent 2 summers designing lighting for La Musica Lirica, a touring opera company in Novafeltria, Italy. Awards & Nominations: Non-Equity Jeff Award Best Musical Boho’s Big Fish, Lighting & Projection; Jeff Nom. Best Projection for American Blue’s The Absolute Brightness…; Non-Equity Jeff Award Nom. Best Projection for Black Button Eyes’ Ghost Quartet; Non-Equity Jeff Nom. Best Lighting for Boho’s Cyrano & Urinetown. Favorite design projects at Mercury, American Blues, Theatre at the Center, Cincinnati Shakespeare, Kokandy, BoHo, Steppenwolf Garage, Black Button Eyes,, NEIU, Northwestern, & DePaul. ivMaxin.com | YouTube- IV Real Productions | Twitter- ivReal1

Michael (he/him) is a Jeff Nominated sound designer and is thrilled to be back working with Music Theater Works. He has worked with other theaters including Kokandy Productions, Chicago Shakespeare, Theater at the Center, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. He has designed and engineered numerous corporate events for companies, including Facebook, Wintrust, Pfizer, Baird, Verizon, and Abbvie. Michael is also the president of Concert Sound Systems, a Chicago-based audio-visual, equipment rental, and installation company serving theatrical and corporate needs. For further information, please visit Michaeljpatrick.com

Kirsten (they/them) is a multifaceted theatre hustler focused on intimacy design, theatre education, and playwriting. Selected choreography credits include The Magnolia Ballet (Aboutface Theatre) Sugar in Our Wounds (Richmond Triangle Players), Airline Highway (Illinois Wesleyan University), and Stonewallin’ (Richmond Triangle Players). They have consulted on productions and developed consent-based workshops with The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, For Youth Inquiry, Life Span, and Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline. Kirsten is a proud member of the Intimacy Coordinators of Color cohort and About Face Theatre’s Green Room Collective. Kirsten is an advocate for creating a culture of consent and harm reduction in every aspect of theatre. They center their work around the joy and liberation of marginalized people. For more info, check out kirstenbaity.com

Katie (she/her) is a maker and sewer residing in Chicago. With a degree in Film, she is drawn towards visual storytelling and world building and extends that interest into theater. When not working on productions she is making and selling wares under the artist name K8e’s Playhouse.

Emily Marrazzo (she/hers) is thrilled to be making her Kokandy debut with Cruel Intentions! She has been stage managing throughout Chicago for the past three years, and could not be more grateful to the Kokandy cast, creative, and production teams for welcoming her into this process. Many thanks to her friends, family, and Abby for all of your love and support. Let’s make this a cruel summer!

Alan (he/him) is very excited to be returning to Kokandy Productions where he previously built the sets for Hundred Days and Grand Hotel. Recent Chicago credits include The Luckiest, and The Last Pair of Earlies (Raven Theatre); Rasheeda Speaking (Shattered Globe Theatre); Laced (About Face Theatre); and Godspell, Once Upon a Mattress and 8-Track (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre).

Kendyl (they/them) is stoked to be apart of this incredible team for the summer! This is their first show with Kokandy. Previously, they’ve ASM’d for Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre and stage managed multiple productions in college at CCPA, where they graduated from in 2020. They’d like to thank their family friends cats and superstar sm emily for asking them to be part of all this nonsense. IG: @kendylmakenzi 

David (he/him) is pleased to join Kokandy’s team. Previous painting for Chicagoland companies include- Big Noise Theater, The Metropolis Performing Arts Center, Music Theater Works, and The Mercury Theater. When David is not performing he works year round as scenic designer, properties master and costumer for children’s theater, throughout the northwest suburbs.

Brennan (he/they) is excited to be working with Kokandy again, but this time behind the scenes. B has recently appeared with Kokandy on stage in Hundred Days. Previously B had been acting and directing around Chicago and is currently performing Shakespeare out in the mountains. Congrats to the extremely talented cast and crew 🙂 For more check out www.brennanurbi.com 

DEREK VAN BARHAM (he/him) is thrilled to be producing his second full season at Kokandy. He previously served as Associate Artistic Director of Pride Films & Plays and Artistic Director of The Ruckus. Directing credits include Head Over Heels (Kokandy); The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre); Three Days of Rain (Boho Theatre); Miracle by Dan Savage, Poseidon, Skooby Don’t (Hell in a Handbag); Hot Pink, TRASH (New American Folk); Taylor Mac’s A Walk Across America for Mother Earth (CCPA); From These Fatal Loins (The Ruckus); Homos, or Everyone in America, Perfect Arrangement, Angry Fags in Steppenwolf Garage Rep, Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination), and PRISCILLA, Queen of the Desert (PFP). He was named one of Windy City Times 30 Under 30, recognizing individuals from Chicago’s LGBTQ community. MFA: Chicago College of the Performing Arts (CCPA) at Roosevelt University. www.derekvanbarham.com IG: @dvbarham