Patsy Cline Live! Today, Tomorrow, And Forever

John has been involved in the entertainment industry for nearly 40 years. He is a producer, director, choreographer, designer, actor, singer, dancer, administrator, and teacher. He is currently the Managing Artistic Director of the Waukesha Civic Theatre, as well as the owner of his own production company, Alleycat Enterprises, Inc., and a member of the Actors’ Equity Association. John has produced, directed, and choreographed for professional, educational, and community theatres throughout the United States. He has also produced, directed, and choreographed over 200 corporate events, multimedia, and industrial films. He has appeared at numerous theatres as well, including the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, the Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis, the Chimera Theatre, the Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, the Guthrie Theatre, the Red Barn Dinner Theatre, and the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Favorite roles include Harold Hill in The Music Man, George in George M!, Matthew in Cotton Patch Gospel and Michael in I Do! I Do! He lives in Waukesha with his amazing wife, Kelli, and their two exceptional children, Elena and Jude.

Kelli, a Waukesha resident, holds great respect for and feels honored to sing the songs of Patsy Cline. She was honored to portray Patsy in Always ... Patsy Cline which she performed with Archangel Productions at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center in Brookfield, and the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, IN. She has appeared with her husband John in Alleycat Enterprises’ production of I Do! I Do! at WCT and with nationally renowned composer David Friedman in Listen To My Heart, The Music Of David Friedman at the Miramar Theatre. Favorite Chicago credits include performances at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre as Prudie in Pump Boys And Dinettes, Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense, Becky in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Angel in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Mona Low in The New Yorkers, and Amanda McBroom’s Heartbeats. At the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace Kelli performed the title role in Annie Get Your Gun, for which she received a Jeff Award for Best Actress.

Lou has been working in the metro Milwaukee area for 25 years. Lou has played several national touring shows in Milwaukee including Hairspray and Mama Mia. Locally he’s worked at the Sunset Playhouse and Skylight Opera. Lou has also performed with Present Music. If you’ve ever been to the Pfister Hotel you may have seen Lou at the piano in the lobby lounge where he’s worked for over ten years. He’s also been on the music faculty of UWM’s Peck School of the Arts since 1999 where he teaches jazz piano and music theory.

Jeff, a native of the Milwaukee area, has a long list of professional collaborations that include Charles McPherson, Eric Alexander, David Hazeltine, Slide Hampton, Frank Morgan, Steve Allen, Ben Sidran, and Brian Lynch. In addition to recording, Hamann has several years of experience as an instructor and clinician. Currently Hamann teaches at his alma mater, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Recent tours include Japan, France, Monte Carlo, and India. Jeff is also the bassist for the Public Radio International radio show, Michael Feldman’s “Whad Ya Know?”

Gary is a freelance guitarist and music instructor in the Milwaukee area. He studied at the David Hochstein Memorial Music School in Rochester, N.Y. and was a Jazz Performance major in the Bachelor of Music program at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in the 1970’s. He has been an instructor in the Music Occupations program at Milwaukee Area Technical College since 1988 and maintains a private music studio as well. Gary has also worked for the Hal Leonard Publishing Company. Mr. Williams’ thousands of musical performances include Combo and Big Band Jazz, Broadway touring productions, and 20th century classical and pops concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He is also featured on the album “Let Me Be Frank” which includes his composition “Kiara’s Song.”

Aaron is happy to be back at WCT, where he has designed lights and/or sound for The Woman In Black, Two By Two, 42nd Street, The Taffeta’s, Cotton Patch Gospel, The Wizard of Oz, and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Aaron is also a member of the 1950's and 60's musical group, the Four Guyz in Dinner Jackets®.

A prominent guitarist, bandleader, composer, and educator in the area’s jazz scene over the last two decades, Mr. Silbergleit performed with Melvin Rhyne, Berkeley Fudge, Brian Lynch, We Six, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, among others. His two CD’s as a leader, “Silberglicity” and “My New Attitude,” made it onto the jazz charts with nationwide airplay. He is on faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Cardinal Stritch University, and was last heard with Kelli and John Cramer in 2007 along with Terry Smirl and the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra in a tribute to Les Paul.

In addition to leading his own trio, Mr. Smirl has performed with the area’s finest jazz musicians including Chuck Hedges, Berkley Fudge, Hattush Alexander, and Melvin Rhyne, as well as nationally known artists Bobby Shew, Anne Calloway, and Jim Pugh. He is percussionist with Present Music, one of the nation’s foremost New Music groups, Principal Timpanist with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and the Wisconsin Philharmonic, and a sub/extra percussionist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He’s performed at venues throughout the world including in New York City, Miami, Seattle, Tokyo, and Istanbul; and he’s recorded on Koss Classics, innova, Aoede, Albany Records, Changing Tone Records, Chameleon Records, and others.

Michael is excited to be designing at WCT again. He has been designing sets at WCT for over eleven years, past productions include; Alone Together, Crimes Of The Heart, Seussical, 42nd Street, The Philadelphia Story, Whose Wives Are They Anyway?, Over The Tavern, Arsenic And Old Lace, The Wizard Of Oz, Red Hot & Cole and many others.