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Season Sponsored

by APS

2008/2009
Season
 

Romantic Comedy
by Bernard Slade
Directed by E. E. Moe
Nov. 6 - 23, 2008

Lilia!
Written and performed by Libby Skala
Jan. 10, 2009

A Time To Dance
Written and performed by Libby Skala
Jan. 17, 2009

Last of the
Red Hot Lovers
by Neil Simon
Directed by Petey Swartz
Feb. 5 - 21, 2009

SPECIAL EVENT

Oscar Night Party!

A fabulous night of entertainment and fun. Why watch the Oscars at home when you can come celebrate with us?
Proceeds benefit Desert Foothills Theater and Foothills Community Foundation.

February 22,  2009

The World
Goes 'Round

Music By Fred Ebb
Lyrics by
John Kander
Directed by
Dee Dee Wood

Mar. 26 - Apr. 5, 2009

American Association of Community Theatre

Chris Fidler (Tenor) Since the age of fifteen, Chris Fidler has entertained audiences in one venue or another, from film to television to live theatre. His greatest satisfaction is in sharing his gifts with others. He is especially pleased to marry his abilities with the considerable talents of his fellow cast members for this show. Chris’ last foray at Desert Foothills Theatre was in this November's A Grand Night for Singing.  He also appeared as the loveable patriot Richard Henry Lee in 1776, which garnered him an award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Role. A special thank you to all the wonderful people in his life that make his time in theatre possible.

Charlie Jourdan (Baritone). Charlie was recently seen at the Copperstate Dinner Theatre in "Broadway Jukebox" or you might have caught him performing with "The Dickens Carolers" over the holiday season. He's also performed in "A Beautiful Noise" at the Fountain Hills Community Theatre. He's spent the past few years playing in night clubs, casinos, cruise lines and weddings as a solo singer/guitar player. Some of his favorite roles have been Capt. Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Jud Frye in Oklahoma, Li'l Abner in Li'l Abner, Tony in Westside Story and Sheriff File in 110 in the Shade. His day job is as a superintendent for Kraus-Anderson. Charlie dedicates this and all his performances to his wonderful wife, Toni and his best buddy and son, Nick.

Elizabeth “Lizz” Reeves
(Alto) - Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Lizz first appeared with Desert Foothills Theater in November's A Grand Night for Singing. Her musical theater credits include Broadway Jukebox, Somewhere in the Night - The Barry Manilow Songbook, The Odd Couple, Nuncrackers and Smokey Joe's Café for the Copperstate Dinner Theater, A Beautiful Noise - The Neil Diamond Songbook and Godspell for Fountain Hills Community Theater, and From Berlin to Brooks for the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. Lizz plays piano, guitar and mandolin. Other related music credits include singing for President Ronald Reagan and for Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. During the day, Lizz is a Web Developer for a major financial institution. Lizz would like to thank her parents for their continual support and encouragement and her friends for dealing with her insane schedule.  Check out Lizz' wonderful website with DFT's performances listed!!!

Valerie Saunders (Soprano)
In early 2003, Valerie was online waiting for her credit union website to download. It was taking quite a while, so she decided to check on any auditions posted online. Low and behold, there was the announcement about Desert Foothills Theater’s production of Sweet & Hot. When she read about Dee Dee Wood, she jumped at the chance to audition. Her greatest love since childhood has always been movie musicals. She thanks her credit union. Dee Dee called her a few months ago and asked if she'd be interested in this revue. Valerie just produced her one-woman show at Rawhide, which premiered in December. She incorporates yodeling, AZ history, and Hollywood. A year ago she played the lead Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the AZ Broadway Theatre. She is also a tour guide at Taliesin West.

Shannon Wallace (Mezzo Soprano) This is Shannon’s debut in local theatre. Since 1995, Shannon has been working the local jazz circuit performing at concert venues, corporate functions, charity benefits, private parties, weddings, nightclubs, restaurants & wine bars. For the past 6 years, she has fronted the 20-piece big band C.C. Jones Orchestra as the lead female vocalist. Shannon has also formed her own jazz band working primarily for private engagements. Throughout recent years, she has sung statewide, nationally at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV and internationally in Bellagio, Italy with small jazz trios. Her vocal credits include local and national radio & television commercial jingles, National Anthem performances at the Wells Fargo Arena and the US Airways Center (formerly the America West Arena) for Phoenix Suns Basketball games and at WestWorld for the Thunderbird Balloon Classic. From 1990-1996, Shannon worked with the Miss America–Miss Arizona Pageant system in a variety of capacities that included contestant, entertainer, dancer, emcee and studio recording work. She has a great passion for jazz, blues and old standards which includes the works of Cole Porter himself.

Cast

Chris Fidler

Charlie Jourdan

Elizabeth "Lizz"
       Reeves

Shannon Wallace

Valerie Saunders

Bill Moore

Artistic Staff

Dee Dee Wood

Bill Moore

Bryan Rosen

Diane Welle

Toby Payne

Barbara Allen

Artistic Staff

Dee Dee Wood (Director and Choreographer) - Dee Dee Wood, with her extensive background in Hollywood and New York City for film, stage and television, started as a dancer on Broadway (Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Lil'Abner, Destry). She soon turned to choreography. Her work can be seen in the films Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Beaches with Bette Midler, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Her television extravaganzas include The Statue of Liberty's 100th Birthday - Closing Ceremonies for which she won an Emmy Award; the 1984 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies; and numerous Super Bowl Half-Time shows. Dee Dee received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1998 American Choreography Awards in Los Angeles and was honored at the 2003 Dance Masters of America Awards in Las Vegas. She is on the Board of Judges for the Emmy's. In 2005, Dee Dee was inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Ms. Wood has directed six shows for Desert Foothills Theater: All Night Strut, Sweet and Hot, Guys and Dolls, Forever Plaid, and A Grand Night for Singing and Hot 'N Cole.

Bill Moore (Musical Director) - BILL P. MOORE (Musical Director). Theatrical experience began with a church youth group production of Little Mary Sunshine in Glendale, AZ, where he was born. He has since musically directed Working, Minnie's Boys, Pump Boys & Dinettes, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Godspell, in addition to appearing in Tintypes, Evita, The Amorous Flea and Something's Afoot at Phoenix Theatre and A Funny Thing…Forum at NAU. Recently retired from Honeywell, Bill is happily searching for additional musical opportunities with his newly-won freedom from that long-running "day-gig", and is thrilled to be working with Dee Dee and the talented cast members on Hot 'N Cole.


Bryan Rosen (Stage Manager) - Bryan has been working with Desert Foothills Community Theater for a few years now, first stage-managing the hit musical Grease in 2003 and the world premier of Buzzard Ball in 2004, not to mention last season's Forever Plaid. He also stage-managed The Boyfriend, Phantom of the Soap Opera, and Arsenic & Old Lace for Cactus Shadows High School. He is very excited to be working with Dee Dee Wood for the 4th time and is looking forward to doing it again with Hot & Cole. He would like to thank his family, friends, and Toyota for helping to get him where he is today.

Diane Welle (Costume Design) - Diane has received two AriZoni Awards, one for her costume design for DFT's production of Lend Me a Tenor and one for hair and makeup for DFT's production of Breaking Legs. Last season, she designed the hair, wigs, and makeup for DFT's productions Into the the Woods and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. She has also designed costumes for DFT's productions of Moon Over Buffalo, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Breaking Legs, Fame: The Musical, Footloose, and Guys and Dolls for which she received an AriZoni Award nomination for Best Costume Design of a Musical and also for DFT’s AriZoni Award-nominated musical Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen. She has 29 years of costume design experience including figure skating competitions, ballroom dance competitions, and couture evening gowns for private clientele.

Toby Payne (Sound Design)
Toby Payne is a Phoenix native whose career in theatrical lighting and sound dates back to high school. While involved in West High productions, he was also working at Phoenix Little Theater as well as Sombrero Playhouse. He studied lighting design under John Paul at Phoenix College and toured Europe with the Phoenician’s entertaining our troops. He founded Stage Sound of Arizona in 1963, and toured with numerous top acts such as Andy Williams, Sammy Davis, Jr., Luther Vandross, Bobby Vinton and Johnny Carson. Stage Sound grew into a major staging company along with Audio Visual America, supplying audio visual, sound and lighting rentals, sales, design and installation worldwide to Fortune 500 companies such as CBS, Warner Brothers, PolyGram, Microsoft, Este Lauder, Fed-X, and General Motors. Stage Sound also supplied the sound systems for such events as The Papal Visit at ASU Stadium, World's Fair in New Orleans, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Colorado State Fair and the New Mexico State Fair. Toby retired from this business in 1995. For many years, Toby taught at the International Communications Industries Association "Infocom" Institute for Professional Development and was a member of the ICIA Professional Education Committee. He obtained his CTS (Certified Technical Specialist) certification in 1978 from ICIA. Since moving to Cave Creek, Arizona, in 1992, Toby devotes a great deal of time to working with the community in a variety of ways including mentoring high school students in theatrical lighting and sound, and served four years on the Governing Board of the Cave Creek Unified School District. He has worked for 18 years with the Desert Foothills Theater, Musicfest, the Film Society, high school productions in the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, the Cave Creek Christmas Pageant and many other community events and local churches.


Barbara Allen (Assistant Stage Manager/ Backstage coordinator) - A graduate of Arizona State University, Barbara retired as a bank vice president and started devoting her time as a community volunteer with various not-for-profit groups. She started doing backstage work with DFT in 1998 on the play Mousetrap and found that she truly enjoyed the experience. She has been a volunteer ever since on many DFT productions. Ms. Allen is a recipient of DFT’s “Outstanding Contribution by a Volunteer” award.

Artistic Staff

Dee Dee Wood

Bill Moore

Flora Mogerman

Bryan Rosen

Diane Welle

Toby Payne

Ashley Elliot

Barbara Allen

___________________________________________________

A Grand Night For Singing Cast/Crew

Cast

Chris Fidler (Tenor) Since the age of fifteen, Chris Fidler has entertained audiences in one venue or another, from film to television to live theatre. His greatest satisfaction is in sharing his gifts with others. He is especially pleased to marry his abilities with the considerable talents of his fellow cast members for this show. Chris’ last foray at Desert Foothills Theatre was as the loveable patriot Richard Henry Lee in 1776, which garnered him an award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Role. A special thank you to all the wonderful people in his life that make his time in theatre possible.

Amy Powers (2nd Soprano) Amy is so excited to be a part of this talented cast! She has most recently been seen at DFT as Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, a role that recently won her an AriZoni award. Other roles at DFT include Doatsy Mae in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Ms. Bell in Fame. Favorite roles include Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde, Rose in Secret Garden, and Marty in Grease, all of which won her AriZoni Award nominations. Other credits include a solo Christian CD titled Grace, 2-time National Anthem performer for the Diamondbacks, as well as various social and charity events around the valley. By day, Amy is a Physical Therapist working primarily with the geriatric population. She would like to thank her family, friends, and co-workers for putting up with her crazy schedule, and to Dee Dee and Flora for giving her the chance to be a part of this great production!

Elizabeth “Lizz” Reeves
(Alto) - Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Lizz is pleased to perform her first show with Desert Foothills. Her musical theater credits include Broadway Jukebox, Somewhere in the Night - The Barry Manilow Songbook, The Odd Couple, Nuncrackers and Smokey Joe's Café for the Copperstate Dinner Theater, A Beautiful Noise - The Neil Diamond Songbook and Godspell for Fountain Hills Community Theater, and From Berlin to Brooks for the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. Lizz plays piano, guitar and mandolin.
Other related music credits include singing for President Ronald Reagan and for Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. During the day, Lizz is a Web Developer for a major financial institution. Lizz would like to thank her parents for their continual support and encouragement and her friends for dealing with her insane schedule.  Check out Lizz' wonderful website with DFT's performance listed!!!

Janine Smith (Soprano)
Janine is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, and relocated from Utah to Arizona seven years ago. Some of her favorite roles have included Mona Stangley in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (AriZoni Award), the Witch in Into the Woods (AriZoni Award), Lily Craven in The Secret Garden (AriZoni nomination), Abigail Adams in 1776 (AriZoni nomination), Princess Leonide in Triumph of Love (Wobie award) and Emma Carew in Jekyll & Hyde. She has performed in many musical reviews including Broadway Jukebox and Cole. Being a part of A Grand Night For Singing is a dream come true for Janine, as she LOVES Rodgers & Hammerstein music. A big thank you and lots of love goes out to Dick, Rachel and Erik, her very patient and loving family, for all of their love and support!!!!!

Brian E. Sweis - Brian has been a valley resident since the wee age of three and has been performing for years, though it was only 5 years ago that he decided to get involved in local theatre. Since then, he has had the privilege of working with Phoenix Theatre, Cookie Company, ASU's Second Stage West,
Fountain Hills Community Theater, Is What It Is Theatre, iTheatre Collaborative, Stagebrush, and Theatre Works. Brian remains active in the local arts community and brought the character of Professor Flabberflaps to life in the new children's theatre production, Professor Flabberflaps' Actual Factual Magnetic Gathertorium, presented by Phoenix Theatre's Cookie Company last season. Other local theatre credits include The Nerd, Cabaret, A New Brain, The Dead, Assassins, The Secret Garden (AriZoni Award Nominee: Best Supporting Actor), Working, and The Pajama Game. Recent vocal performances include iTheatre Collaborative's Christmas Cabaret and “Straight From the Heart for the Arts”, a fundraising concert benefiting Tesseract School. Brian has performed the national anthem for the Suns, Diamondbacks, ASU, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and San Francisco Giants. While continuing to pursue his career in tv/film, Brian has worked on numerous films, industrial videos, voice-overs, and commercials and was thrilled to appear as a winning contestant on Wheel of Fortune- an experience he will never forget! Brian is represented by the Ford/Robert Black Agency.

Flora Mogerman (Musical Director--Grand Night for Singing) - Originally from Buffalo, New York, Flora is a graduate of Ithaca College with a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. Since coming to Phoenix, she has played piano and synthasizer for more than 350 musicals and reviews. She has played the national touring shows of Evita and Will Rogers Follies. She was the original pianist for a smash one year run of Six Women With Brain Death and also the premiere one year run of Nunsense I & II and Meshuganuns. She also had the pleasure of being part of “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda” and the original Alan Sherman Show that later went to Broadway. She has been nominated for seven AriZoni Awards and won for FHCT's production Seceret Garden, Stagebrush's Ain't Misbehavin, and Will Rogers Follies. Flora is a teacher at Scottsdale Community College as well as an accompanist at ASU and the Phoenix Boys Choir. A member of the American Federation of Musicians, she also teaches at home. Thanks to Desert Foothills Theater for allowing her to work with Dee Dee Wood and five fabulous vocalists.

Ashley Elliot (Lighting Designer) - This is Ashley's third production as lighting designer for Desert Foothills Theater, after Picasso at the Lapine Agile and Forever Plaid. She has worked as lighting operator for many DFT shows, including last season's Into The Woods. She is very excited to return to the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center and work another show. Ashley is currently a sophomore at ASU in Electrical Engineering. She would like to thank her family for putting up with the insanity, and a special thanks to her wonderful crew.

Cast

Chris Fidler

Amy Powers

Elizabeth "Lizz"
       Reeves

Janine Smith

Brian Sweis