Micheal Davenport (Owen Musser) played Richard Nixon in StageWest's Judy's Scary Little Christmas, and was last on this stage as Wykowski in Biloxi Blues. His theatrical credits include work at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic comedy theatres. A lover of stage and traveling, Michael spent the last several months touring Australia and Europe, where he was mesmerized by the Vatican and fascinated with the UK's Coronation Street.

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Dan Heck (Ellard Simms), a technical writer at GP Solutions, made his Play-house debut in The Wiz. Among his theatre credits is "the other Larry Shue play," The Nerd and South Pacific at ACTORS, and Macbeth and The School for Scandal at ISU Theatre, both in Ames. Dan enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and poker, and is a member of Mensa.

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Jeanne M. Hopson (Betty Meeks) made her Playhouse debut more than 40 years ago in Damn Yankees. Since then, she has acted, directed, taught and volunteered on virtually every backstage and front-of-house crew. She has also shared her love of theatre with her five children and 12 grandchildren. Jeanne and her husband, Bob, will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this summer.

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Kourtney A. Horner (Catherine Simms) is familiar to audiences from Burn This (Vaudeville Mews); Five Kinds of Silence and The Memory of Water (Drake University); and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Playhouse). Kourtney is owner of Paw Pros In-Home Pet Care and also teaches dance at Amy Peel Dance Avenue and Capitol City Dance Center. She enjoys spending time with husband Michael.

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Brian Kramer (Charlie Baker) is a writer, editor and consultant to several national book and magazine publishers, including Meredith Corporation. A recent transplant, Brian played Ellard in the Edevayan Repertory Theatre (Indianapolis) production of The Foreigner. Other credits include Tintypes (Franklin College, Franklin, IN); Lend Me a Tenor (Our Town Players, Franklin, IN); and The Last Sunday in June (StageWest, Des Moines). Brian enjoys reading, swimming and playing piano, and is a volunteer with Hospice of Central Iowa.

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Mark Maddy (Rev. David Marshall Lee) says his favorite role to date is Brad in The Rocky Horror Show (Drama Workshop). A favorite of local audiences, his shows include Cabaret and The Secret Garden at The Playhouse; Bat Boy and Gross Indecency at StageWest; and Blood Brothers at Drama Workshop. Mark is a publisher services account manager at CDS.

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Patrick Spenceri ("Froggy" LeSueur) has a variety of roles to his credit including Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing (Twelfth Night Theatre, Omaha, NE); Seymour, Little Shop of Horrors (Iowa State University, Ames); and Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Play-house). An account manager with Fast-Tax, Patrick and his wife, Cathy, keep busy with sons Alexander (9), Eric (6) and Joshua (3).

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Ron Ziegler (Director) is a freelance director and theatre artist based in Des Moines, where he served on staff of The Playhouse as associate director and also was the first managing director for the Kate Goldman Children's Theatre. He founded and managed the Iowa Fringe Festival, worked as executive director for StageWest Theatre Company and for a time was executive director for Orlando (FL) Repertory Theatre, a professional theatre for young audiences. Ron is a past president of The American Association of Community Theatre and was named an AACT Fellow. As a stage director, his credits include the recent Playhouse/ITTC production of Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Secret Garden, The Who's Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Equus and Dancing at Lughnasa, among others. Ron has adjudicated many state and regional theatre festivals across the country and abroad, and was recently named one of three adjudicators for the 2007 National AACTFest in Charlotte, NC. He also served as facilitator for the 2006 National Artistic Director's Conference in Tacoma, WA, and spent the early Spring on a six-week tour adjudicating plays on military bases throughout Europe.

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Angela Lampe (Costume Designer) is in her 13th season at The Playhouse, where her costuming credits include Ragtime, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Honk!, Children of Eden, Chicago and Shear Madness. She has created costumes for Iowa Lottery commercials and Terrace Hill (period costumes for tour guides and Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack). Angie also serves as a docent at the Des Moines Art Center.

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Alan Reynolds' (Scenic Designer) involvement in theatre, film and television spans more than 25 years and 175 productions: films True Lies, The Waterboy, Kermit's Swamp Years; television shows Sheena, Mortal Kombat Conquests, 21 Jump Street; theatrical associations with Harrison Performing Arts Center, Theatre Winter Haven, Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre, Mark I & II Dinner Theatres, The Pied Piper Players, The Playmakers of Tampa, Mad Cow Theatre of Orlando. He has had the honor of working on stage with such notable talents as Joshua Logan, Peter Larkin, Dom DeLuise and Howard Da Silva. Alan has served as adjunct professor/guest scenic designer at Florida Southern College.

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Virgil Kleinhesselink (Light Designer) owns VTEC Productions sound company, and is technical director at Des Moines Hoover High School, where he designed lights for their production of Les Miserables Jr. Virgil began his Playhouse career in 1979, and since then has been involved with more than 200 shows as designer or actor.

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Juliana Hale (Stage Manager) began her Playhouse career as a "weasel wrangler" for The Wind in the Willows. Since then, she's stage managed several shows including Number the Stars, and run lights and sound for numerous shows. Juli is a senior home economist with Better Homes & Gardens/Meredith Corporation test kitchens.

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