Joe Alkire ·
Bob Bowen ·
Gwyneth Bruch ·
Jim Croghan ·
Martha Dickman
Lenore Heinson ·
Stephen Peithman ·
Lenore Sebastian ·
Peter Shack
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Joe Alkire has appeared with the Davis Comic Opera Company as Georg in She Loves Me, Jack Point in Yeomen of the Guard, Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore, Nigel in Something's Afoot, and Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance. He has appeared at the Woodland Opera House as Charles in Blithe Spirit, and as T.R. in Tintypes. He also appeared at the Davis Musical Theatre Co. as Harold Hill in Music Man. Other favorite roles include Cervantes in Man of La Mancha and Georges in La Cage Aux Folles. Most recently, Joe appeared as Emile in South Pacific and as Amos in Chicago at the Magic Circle Theatre in Roseville. |
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Bob Bowen is the Promotions Manager for the City of Davis. In addition to creating the Davis Children's Nutcracker, Bob has been involved in theatre productions with the Davis Comic Opera Company, the Woodland Opera House, Davis Players, and the Best of Broadway. He has played roles in everything from Naughty Marietta and She Loves Me to Dames at Sea, and choreographed the DCOC production of Something's Afoot. The married father of four children, Bob has also written, directed, and choreographed works for children's theatre. In his free time, Bob enjoys attending Cal football and San Francisco Giants baseball games. His son Spencer recently played the romantic lead in the Emerson Jr. High production of Lend Me a Tenor. |
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Gwyneth Bruch has played an active role in theatre throughout the Sacramento area, including productions at the Sacramento Theatre Company, the Woodland Opera House, the Davis Comic Opera Company, and the Davis Musical Theatre Company. She is the winner of several Elly Awards and Chesley Awards for her performances. She also appeared in a new play in the Black Swan Theatre in Ashland, Oregon. Gwyn is the head of the drama department at Davis Senior High School, where she also teaches English to at-risk sophomores and Science Fiction to seniors. She recently worked with community activist Jann Murray-Garcia and her 'Catalyst for Social Justice', a diverse group of DSHS students, who helped create the class 'Race and Social Justice', a new form of history offered for the first time at DHS this year. She is most proud of the documentary her son Andrew is making about the creation of this course. She is grateful to her husband Russ and to Andrew for their constant love and support. |
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Jim Croghan may be most familiar to local audiences for his onstage roles in such Davis Comic Opera Company productions as A Little Night Music, Iolanthe, Candide and Kismet, but he also has worked as a pianist at Max's Opera Cafe, and has accompanied such productions as last year's Oy Vey! Broadway! (created by Lenore and Gil Sebastian) at the Chautauqua Playhouse. In real life, he is Senior Traning Manager for the Raley's supermarket chain. |
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Martha Dickman's degree in voice from the University of Montana led her to a weekly radio show, recitals, and singing with two dance bands. In 1944 she married Marine Corps officer James Gasser and for the next twenty-five years lived in six different U.S. states, Guam, and Thailand. Wherever they were, Martha continued performing and directing choirs. When her husband died suddenly in 1970, she came to Davis and has been involved in music here as a vocal director, producer, and performer with the Davis Comic Opera Co. and other groups especially the CWC performances. For many years, she has taught private voice lessons. Her second husband, Avrom Dickman, died in 1981. Her longtime companion, Richard Cramer, died in 2000. Now semi-retired, she enjoys going to concerts, traveling, and visiting her children and grandchildren. |
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LENORE HEINSON has pursued her love of music and theatre at both the community and professional levels, with nearly 40 years of study and experience. A private voice and piano instructor, Lenore has stage-directed and vocal-directed award-winning productions for the Davis Musical Theatre and the Woodland Opera House. In addition to performing many roles spanning the musical theatre, opera, operetta and liturgical repertoire. Lenore has taught at the UCD Music Department, at Douglass Junior High School and at Woodland High School as a vocal coach and choral director. Lenore thanks her students who constantly inspire her and her family for their constant support. |
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Stephen Peithman is the host of Musical Stages, broadcast Saturdays at 8:00 PM on KXPR-FM (90.9). A charter member of the Davis Comic Opera Co., he performed and directed for that company for over 30 years. He also has worked with the Woodland Opera House and the Davis Musical Theatre Company. The author of eight books, he has been an editor for Sunset and San Francisco magazines, and is consulting editor of Stage Directions, a national theatre magazine, which he co-founded in 1988. He has served on the board of the American Association of Community Theatre for 12 years. In his Òreal lifeÓ he is Director of Community Relations for American River College in Sacramento. |
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Rebecca Plack has played Mary Turner in Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing with the Ithaca Opera and recorded Gershwin songs for radio in Ferrara, Italy. Other roles include the Witch in Into the Woods, Yum-Yum in The Mikado and Maria in West Side Story - and in opera, the title roles in Handel's Semele and Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea. She holds degrees in voice from Manhattan School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory and in musicology from Princeton and Cornell universities, and has performed with the Aspen, Caramoor and West Marin Music Festivals. Last spring, Rebecca made solo recital debuts in London and Budapest as vocal winner of the 2004 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. For news of her upcoming performances visit her web site www.rebeccaplack.com. |
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Lenore Sebastian is honored to perform in her 15th CWC benefit concert. She has been a singer, actor, and director in the Northern California performing arts scene for 27 years, tackling more than 40 roles in opera, operetta, musicals and plays. She recently appeared as Mrs. Potts in DMTC's Beauty & the Beast, for which she received her 7th Elly nomination (winning 2). She has directed productions of Camelot, Kismet, Amahl & the Night Visitors, Taming of the Shrew, Inherit the Wind, and Stalag 17. Favorite roles: Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Mama Rose (Gypsy), Charlotte (Moon Over Buffalo), Grandma Kurnitz (Lost in Yonkers), and any role with Gil Sebastian, her wonderful husband and partner-in-all-things. "I dedicate everything I do to the memory of our darling granddaughter Zoe, whose great heart and joy of Life continue to inspire all who knew her." |
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Peter Shack is a native New Yorker who grew up with healthy doses of music at Carnegie Hall. He graduated from Columbia with a major in history and a minor in music, but seemed to spend most of his time rehearsing for something or other. He went on to Georgetown Law School and the Peace Corps. Peter performed in many productions for the late, great Davis Comic Opera Company. His favorites have been The Mikado (Koko), A Little Night Music (Fredrik) and Die Fledermaus (Eisenstein). A 26-year resident of Davis with his wife Kathryn and son Steven, Peter was in the Attorney General's Office for 30 years, and now is of-counsel with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. He is a Board member of Citizens Who Care. |