A conversation with Jeanmarie Simpson, Founding Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Matters

Jeanmarie Simpson
Photo by Dan Bishop

by Gil Benbrook

For over a decade, Arizona Theatre Matters has carved out a distinctive place in the Valley's arts community by producing thought-provoking work and embracing the idea that theatre can be both artistically engaging and socially meaningful. At the center of that mission is Jeanmarie Simpson, the company's Founding Artistic Director, whose career as an actor, playwright, director, and educator has given her a unique perspective on the many ways theatre can connect, challenge, and teach.

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought live, in-person performances to a halt, Arizona Theatre Matters found a new way to reach audiences by making its work available online as free, fully acted out audio plays with sound effects and featuring American Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning. That evolution reflects Simpson's continuing interest in accessibility and in expanding the ways audiences can experience theatre. It also speaks to the company's belief that artists can serve as teachers, helping us better understand history, one another, and the world around us.

As Arizona Theatre Matters looks toward its next chapter, including the inaugural Glendale International Fringe Festival next February, Simpson remains as creatively active as ever. In this interview, she discusses the company's beginnings and future, her prolific playwriting career, her fascination with historical figures, the challenges facing theatre today, and the opportunities she sees ahead for artists and audiences alike.

Over your career you’ve worn a lot of hats, including playwright, actor, director, and educator. Why do you think it’s important to have experience in various aspects of theatre, and which of these titles is the one you most enjoy?

Jeanmarie Simpson: "I began making original work when I was twelve and directing when I was fifteen. Acting, directing, writing, producing, and teaching have never felt like separate forms to me. I can only say that when I write, the actor, educator and director are there, too. We’re all me, and I can’t compartmentalize myself.

Since shortly after the advent of Covid, I have been visited by a muse who seems to have moved in for good. That still astonishes me. Some plays come to me in the night. My last half a dozen plays essentially arrived and wrote themselves.

I used to crochet, knit, quilt, garden, and bake bread. Now I become antsy and go back to writing. I no longer have hobbies. I have tributaries.

So the title I most enjoy is theatre artist, and what I most want to do tomorrow morning is write."

You are also the Founding Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Matters, which started in 2012. What was the impetus for Arizona Theatre Matters?

"The fuse was lit in 2003, when I was still running the Nevada Shakespeare Company. We opened a production at the brand-new Nevada Museum of Art, a supposedly state-of-the-art building, and I was gobsmacked by what they were calling accessibility. There was Braille at the elevators, but why wasn’t it alongside the English interpretation in the galleries? Then the museum opened a world-touring Frida Kahlo exhibition without Spanish-language interpretation or multilingual wayfinding in a state with an enormous Latin American population. This was 2003, not 1957.

I tried to move Nevada Shakespeare toward universal design, and it was a battle. My board could barely wrap its collective head around mixed casting. When I cast an Asian actor as Demetrius, I thought I was going to be fired. Directors scoffed at the idea that universal access had anything to do with theatre and turned down work rather than engage with it.

I left Nevada in 2007. Five years later, I was back in my native state, living in Tucson, and still finding theatres without basic things like elevators or doorways wide enough for wheelchairs. People who used wheelchairs were segregated from the rest of the audience, and there was almost no consideration of Blind and Deaf artists or audiences.

So in 2012, I founded Universal Access Productions, which became Arizona Theatre Matters. I planned to produce live theatre with and for people who had been excluded from it. I quickly discovered that even wildly expensive institutional theatres were simply not made for everyone."

Around the tenth anniversary of Arizona Theatre Matters, shortly after Covid shut all live, in-person theatre performances down, you shifted to having a YouTube presence where all of the works are available, for free, as ASL-described audio plays. How did that decision happen, and what have you learned from it?

"Covid did not create our interest in digital theatre, but it removed any possibility of postponing it. I had spent years trying to bring more people into buildings that had never been designed for them. Suddenly, none of us could enter the buildings.

The form developed through the artists themselves. Diana Kimetto founded Radiant Voices, our Blind voice-acting ensemble, and Ololade Adekanmi founded Hands in Harmony, our Deaf Artistic Sign Language ensemble. Bringing those artists together gave us something much more interesting than a conventional play recorded for the internet.

I should clarify one point in the question: the productions are not “ASL-described audio plays.” The spoken performance, Artistic Sign Language, audio description, captioning, sound, and visual environment are distinct elements. Our Deaf performers are not translating a finished audio production. Their work is one of the performances from which the production is made.

The audience grew production by production. Heretic: The Mary Dyer Story and Pineapple and Other Options each reached tens of thousands of viewers. Our six-production digital festival in 2022 received more than 150,000 views. We now have more than 120,000 subscribers, over 2.5 million views, and viewers in 194 countries. Our captions can be experienced in more than 300 languages.

What surprised me most was the continuing life of the work. A live production closes, the set comes down, and the audience becomes a memory. Our YouTube productions continue finding new viewers months and years after they premiere.

I no longer think we must choose between digital and live theatre. GIFF brings us together physically in Glendale’s public libraries, while our YouTube channel allows people everywhere else to participate. The two forms feed each other.

Everything on the channel is free. Subscribers are also the first to know when something new arrives."

The Arizona Theatre Matters team on a break while recording in 2024 at Albion Studio in Mesa

Why does Arizona Theatre Matters believe artists are our teachers?

"This belief begins with my own uneven mind.

I know from my life that ability is not a fixed quantity that appears in exactly the same way under every set of conditions. Shortly after Covid, I began writing with a force and frequency I had never experienced before. I had not suddenly acquired a different mind. Something in the conditions had changed, and play after play began to emerge.

That experience led to the question at the heart of Uneven Minds: What becomes possible when conditions change?

It has also changed the way I understand artists. My job is not to construct a room, invite an artist into it, and then judge what that artist can do under the conditions I have established. I need to learn from the artist what conditions allow their work to emerge, and then allow their presence to change the room.

A Blind actor does more than identify a place where my narration is unclear. That actor may reveal an entirely different way for the story to inhabit sound. A Deaf Artistic Sign Language performer does more than provide another means of receiving words. That artist may uncover the visual, spatial, rhythmic, and emotional life of the play. The production changes because that particular artist is making it.

When we call ourselves apprentices to the artists with whom we work, we mean that we expect our assumptions to be challenged. We expect the process, the structure, and sometimes the work itself to become something we could not have designed before those artists entered it.

If all I learn from an artist is how to make my original idea work, I have been so busy protecting the blueprint that I missed the shooting star."

Jeanmarie Simpson in A Single Woman
The Culture Project, Off-Broadway, 2005

Throughout your career, including your most well-known work, “A Single Woman,” you’ve often focused on historical figures. Why are you drawn to them, and why do you think it’s important for these stories, many that we already know, to be told again?

"I begin when someone gets under my skin and refuses to leave.

In 2002, I was on the Carnegie Hall website for an entirely unrelated reason when I encountered Jeannette Rankin. I considered myself a reasonably well-informed feminist, yet I had never heard of the first woman elected to Congress. I was astonished, and annoyed. Then I saw her statement, “You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.” I knew I had found the theatrical voice I had been searching for throughout my adult life. Her Montana-Western speech patterns felt familiar to me. Her feminism and pacifism were not abstract positions; she had allowed them to determine what she did when the consequences were enormous.

I bought every book I could find and printed all 283 pages of her oral history. 

For much of my acting life, I had found myself standing up for the character I was playing. With Rankin, I found a character who stood up for me.

Writing A Single Woman and then performing it again and again, across years, states, and countries, made my relationship with Rankin extraordinarily intimate. The public version of her can be reduced to a few phrases: the first woman in Congress, a pacifist, the lone vote against entering World War II after Pearl Harbor. All of those things are true, but they are not a human being.

That’s why Jeannette bakes bread and makes lemonade during A Single Woman. I wasn’t interested in polishing a statue. I wanted political courage to occupy a body, with hands, habits, humor, irritation, appetite, and work to do while the audience was experiencing her life.

I am often drawn to the person standing just outside the familiar historical frame. Most people know Joan of Arc. I became fascinated by her mother, Isabelle Romée, who lived for twenty-four years after her daughter’s execution and then petitioned the Church to clear Joan’s name. We know the girl at the stake. I wanted to know the mother and the rest of the family after the crowd dispersed.

Mary Dyer is remembered as a Quaker martyr, if she is remembered at all. I needed to encounter the woman and mother who understood precisely what awaited her in Boston and continued walking toward it. I wanted to understand why she left her family, including a six-month-old child, for seven years, and why she went to the gallows in Boston rather than returning to home, hearth, and safety in Rhode Island.

The moment someone becomes entirely admirable, symbolic, or safely dead, I lose interest. Most people do.

If I can make only a saint or a villain, there is no play. I research until the facts become part of my nervous system, and then I listen for the contradictions, private costs, unanswered questions, and choices that still feel alive. I always learn, and every project compels me to keep learning.

We may believe we already know these stories, but often what we know is a caption beneath a photograph. I don’t tell them again because they are old, or because “history repeats itself.” I tell them because the version we inherited is too small.

Also, if I don’t write them, I’ll die. It’s a medical condition, this inspiration disease."

You’re a prolific playwright, so let’s talk about some of your recent works, how you got the idea for them and what you hope audiences take away from them?:

 - “On Track,” your new play about peace activist S. Brian Willson, and the challenge of dramatizing a life still being lived.

I began working on On Track twenty-two years ago because I was fascinated by the enormous distance Brian had traveled within a single lifetime. He grew up wanting to be an FBI agent. He believed in American exceptionalism and supported the war in Viet Nam. He entered the Air Force, witnessed what that war was doing to civilians, and found himself unable to continue believing what he had been taught.

Years later, he sat on the railroad tracks at the Concord Naval Weapons Station to prevent munitions from being shipped to Central America. The train ran over him, nearly killed him, and took both of his legs.

That is the event of which most people are aware. I wanted to understand everything that made it possible for Brian to be sitting there, and everything required of him after he survived.

My first problem was that Brian has actually lived many lives, and I tried to write all of them. At one point, On Track was a two-and-a-half-hour epic with seventy-five characters. It had the scope of a five-volume Russian novel.

Mathew Zimmerer accepted the role of Brian in that version. Mathew is a fantastic Phoenix Metro actor, and I knew immediately that he could handle the contradictions in Brian without trying to resolve them for the audience.

When I knew GIFF was going to happen, On Track became part of the Festival from the outset. I also knew the existing play could not simply be squeezed into a Fringe time slot. It needed a different form. I sculpted the two-and-a-half-hour, multi-character epic into a one-hour solo piece for Mathew.

It is not merely a shorter version of the old play. The center of gravity changed. Instead of watching several characters surround Brian and describe parts of his world, the audience remains with Brian while that world moves through him. Memories, letters, military evaluations, government communications, and encounters with other people all enter the performance, but Mathew does not present a parade of impersonations. He remains Brian while allowing those other forces to be heard.

That makes the role much more demanding. Mathew must move through the child Brian was, the young patriot, the military officer, the veteran, the resister, and the older man examining all of them. He also has to let us see that these are not tidy stages in a moral ascent. The earlier selves do not disappear when the later Brian understands more. He carries them all.

Brian recently watched a video of our latest rehearsal of Mathew’s solo performance. His response confirmed what I had believed from the beginning: Mathew is tremendous in the role. That meant a great deal to me because Brian was seeing Mathew carry the entire play alone.

Writing about someone who is still alive means the subject can remember differently, disagree, reconsider, or tell me I have something factually wrong. Brian and his friend and assistant, Preston Harp, have examined the play with a fine-toothed comb and helped make the historical record as accurate as possible. That kind of cooperation is an extraordinary gift.

It does not remove the playwright’s responsibility. Facts still have to become theatre. I have to decide what belongs in the hour, where memory gives way to documentation, what the audience needs to witness, and what can remain unspoken. The life belongs to Brian. The dramatic composition is mine. I have to honor both truths at once.

As I wrote, one image emerged: Brian carrying water. I don’t mean that as a grand declaration. I mean the repetitive work of responding to what he knew, day after day, after the attention had moved elsewhere. That interested me more than treating the action on the tracks as one isolated heroic gesture.

I don’t want audiences to leave thinking that Brian was born with some moral clarity the rest of us lack. He wasn’t. He was ambitious, prejudiced, patriotic, capable of violence, and eager to believe the national story he had inherited. What distinguishes him is that he eventually allowed what he witnessed to change the way he lived. That is why I regard him as a spectacular example of humanity. Not because he was born morally clear, but because he wasn’t.

On Track will receive its first full staging at GIFF, with Mathew performing the solo eleven times before a live audience. Afterward, we will record it for Arizona Theatre Matters’ YouTube channel so it can be experienced free by audiences around the world.

I have spent twenty-two years trying to find the theatrical form for Brian’s story. GIFF finally gave me the reason to make the hardest and most liberating change: trusting one actor, one hour, and the audience’s ability to remain in the room with him."

 - “Mackers,” a haunted backstage send-up of Shakespeare’s Scottish Play.

"Mackers came overnight. Literally. I woke up in the middle of the night, started writing, and had a first draft by morning. I wasn’t looking for the idea. It arrived with Frankie, an Italian American stage manager from the Bronx, and an entire theatre company in crisis.

The play follows the first preview of The Scottish Play. Shakespeare’s scenes unfold while Frankie narrates and tries to keep the production alive. Each time the forbidden name is spoken, something goes wrong. By intermission, the company is frightened enough to consider removing the name from the remainder of the performance, which presents certain difficulties when it belongs to the title character.

What interests me is what pressure reveals about the company. These people are skilled, vain, exhausted, superstitious, profane, loyal, and completely dependent upon one another. They can be fighting viciously backstage and still catch whoever is falling when the cue comes.

I never try to decide what audiences should take away from a play. Once it reaches them, it belongs to them. I hope they laugh very hard and become invested in whether this impossible company reaches curtain call. Whatever else they find about superstition, Shakespeare, backstage labor, loyalty, or the perils of “the show must go on” is theirs.

We originally planned to release Mackers this Halloween, but the production has been postponed until 2027. I am choosing not to interpret that as evidence. It will premiere free on Arizona Theatre Matters’ YouTube channel, assuming the Scottish Play permits it."

- “Uneven Minds,” and the question at its heart: What becomes possible when conditions change?

"Uneven Minds is different from the plays because it is an evolving interdisciplinary inquiry. I spoke earlier about the personal and artistic experiences from which it grew, so I won’t retrace them here.

The question at its center, “What becomes possible when conditions change?”, is not rhetorical. I don’t know the answer, and I don’t want the initiative to manufacture one. If we already knew what people would discover, whose capacities would emerge, or how the work would change, we would be demonstrating a thesis rather than pursuing an inquiry.

The October presentation includes a humanities response and public conversation because the inquiry must be changed by the people who enter it. It has already expanded through Rosemarie’s involvement. She is a supernova: scholar, professor, Poet Laureate of Phoenix, with an undergraduate degree in anthropology. I mean, talk about refusing to be pigeonholed! I’m so excited to have a public discussion about this work with her."

Coming up next February you’ll be presenting the inaugural Glendale International Fringe Festival. How did that come to be, what are some of the details around the festival, and what do you hope it will contribute to Arizona’s cultural landscape?

"The inaugural Glendale International Fringe Festival will run February 12–28, 2027, with 50 free performances at the Glendale Main Library and Foothills Library, along with digital broadcast and livestream access.

The Festival will bring artists from the Phoenix Metro area and beyond into Glendale’s public libraries for 50 free performances. On Track will receive its first full staging there before being recorded for our YouTube channel.

The lineup is thrilling. Phoenix artist Kristin Joy Moran’s Futakuchi Onna, which combines Japanese folklore, solo performance, original music, live piano, and film, won Best Drama at the 2024 Tucson Fringe Festival and Outstanding Drama at the 2025 San Diego Fringe Festival. Florida writer and performer Jesse Bradley-Amore brings How I Learned [NOT] to Drive, winner of the Jill Meirsch Spirit Award at the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival and a Frontrunner Pick at the 2025 Philly Fringies. It is his funny and vulnerable account of confronting a lifelong fear of driving at forty.

Mathew Zimmerer performs On Track, my solo play about peace activist S. Brian Willson. International physical-theatre artist Wolfe Bowart and Xochitl Martinez bring The WoBo Show, an all-ages world of comedy, mime, illusion, and visual storytelling. Arizona’s Sketchy Women offer an hour of original sketch comedy created entirely by women. Brelby Productions, founded here in Glendale, will premiere a new ensemble work created especially for GIFF.

Across the festival, Artistic Sign Language, captioning, audio description, livestreaming, and other ways of participating will be incorporated as the individual productions are developed. Audiences can attend one performance or spend the day moving among artists and forms. There will be food trucks. The festival will conclude February 28 with a closing celebration and awards.

What I hope GIFF contributes to Arizona’s cultural landscape is a cultural invitation without an asterisk.

“Everyone is welcome” is easy to print. I want GIFF to mean it in the way the festival actually works. I want people who have learned to examine every invitation for the hidden “except you” because of cost, architecture, communication, sensory conditions, illness, disability, age, or simply the feeling that the room was built for somebody else to discover that GIFF has been expecting them. Not accommodating them around the edges. Expecting them.

I want someone who has spent years reading “everyone is welcome” as “everyone but you” to come to GIFF and, for once, not have to ask.

That is what I want GIFF to contribute to Arizona. Just the radical fact that nobody has to ask whether the invitation includes them.

Boluwatife Makanjuola in Unyielding Voices, 2025

What do you see next in Arizona Theatre Matters’ future?

"What comes next is one path with three parallel trajectories: Mainstage, Education, and Festival. Each one feeds the others. A play can open an educational inquiry. An educational inquiry can change how we make the next play. The Festival creates a live home for work that may later travel through Mainstage to audiences around the world.

The next public step is An Uneven Mind: Trauma, Creativity, and the Human Experience on October 24, 2026, at the Glendale Main Library. It combines performance and autoethnography with a humanities response from Rosemarie Dombrowski and a public conversation. The event will be recorded and later shared through our YouTube channel. Beyond that presentation, our artists and artist-educators are developing Uneven Minds through workshops, professional development, facilitator training, and our What Becomes Possible? methodology.

Around the Winter Solstice, Midnight at the Algorithm & Blues will premiere free on our YouTube channel. The play takes place at Grant’s Tomb and brings Ulysses and Julia Grant into contact with the America that followed them, including an America increasingly informed, framed, and sold by algorithms.

Then the Fringe Festival in February. Someone can enter this path through an educational event at the library, a Mainstage production online, or a Festival performance in Glendale. If they join us in October, subscribe for Midnight around the Winter Solstice, and come to GIFF in February, they won’t be sampling three unrelated programs. They’ll be traveling the path with us."

What are some of the challenges you feel are most pressing to post-COVID theatre?

"We are living in a post-Covid world, and theatre is different because we are different. We learned so much about ourselves and one another: how desperately we need connection, how differently people can experience the same circumstances, how much unseen labor holds our lives together, and how quickly “normal” can vanish.

We learned that gathering in a room is precious. We also learned that presence doesn’t require everyone to be in the same room. Theatre crossed borders, entered people’s homes, and reached audiences who had rarely, or never, been able to enter our buildings. I don’t want us to retreat into an argument about whether live or digital theatre is the real thing. They create different kinds of encounters. Both are real. Both matter.

We also learned that people are not inexhaustible. Theatre has romanticized low wages, punishing schedules, and sleep deprivation for far too long. I have never believed in “hell week.” Keeping people at work until three in the morning is not evidence of artistic commitment. Usually, it is evidence that somebody made a terrible schedule. We can make extraordinary work without devouring the people who make it.

Then there is money. Artists must be paid. Production costs have risen. Audiences are struggling too. If our only answer is to keep raising ticket prices, theatre will keep shrinking its own public. We need public investment, civic partnerships, and new models that don’t make artists and audiences finance the entire future of the form between them.

The greatest challenge may be remembering what we learned. I don’t want theatre to spend the next decade trying to reconstruct 2019. Covid forced us to become inventive, flexible, attentive, and sometimes far more humane. We proved that theatre could transform overnight when it had no choice.

Now comes the fabulous part: choosing to transform because we have lots of choices."

What is the one thing that most excites you about the theatre community today?

"The artists. Always the artists.

What excites me most is their refusal to accept the limits they have inherited. They are not waiting for institutions to give them permission. They are creating work in libraries, online, in storefronts, on sidewalks, in languages and forms the old systems never learned how to recognize. They are finding one another across geography, discipline, age, culture, and ways of communicating, then making something none of them could have made alone.

I see artists asking better questions. Who has been missing from the room? Who was expected to adapt before being allowed inside? What happens when sign, sound, captioning, movement, language, technology, and lived experience are present from the beginning of the creative process? Not added afterward. Not treated as services. Present at conception.

That thrills me because every time the room changes, the art changes. It becomes stranger, funnier, more beautiful, less obedient, and far more alive.

After all these years, I still walk into a room with artists and think, “I have absolutely no idea what is about to happen.”

That is my favorite place in the world."

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Talking to RENT director Chris Chávez about Mesa Encore Theatre's upcoming production of this groundbreaking musical

Chris Chávez

 

by Gil Benbrook

For nearly three decades, Rent has remained one of the most influential and emotionally resonating musicals in contemporary theater. With its unforgettable score, groundbreaking LGBTQ+ representation, and unflinching portrayal of artists struggling with love, loss, identity, and survival during the height of the AIDS crisis, Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical continues to connect with audiences across generations. 

Bringing a new production of Rent to the stage requires balancing the musical’s iconic status with the challenge of making it feel immediate and relevant for modern audiences, particularly younger performers and theatergoers who did not experience the era in which the story is set. For Mesa Encotre Theatre's upcoming production, that runs May 15-31, that responsibility falls to director Chris Chávez, whose background spans both plays and musicals, giving him experience in handling emotionally driven storytelling as well as the large-scale energy and movement that Rent demands. 

In between rehearsals, Chávez sat down to answer some questions about Rent, including how the musical continues to resonate after 30 years, how younger cast members have responded to the material, and the ways this production seeks to honor the musical’s legacy while still finding fresh perspective within it. 

The Cast of Mesa Encore Theatre's production of Rent in rehearsal
photo courtesy Mesa Encore Theatre

Rent has been connecting with audiences for decades. What do you think continues to make its story and themes resonate today?

Chris Chávez: "I believe audiences have been connecting with this piece of theatre for years because, for many, it was/is the first time seeing authentic people on stage in a world that also reflects the real world we/they live in.  And as artists, every bit of the starving-artist aesthetic, marginalization, and struggle are very real and easy to connect with."

The musical explores issues like community, loss, love, and resilience. Which of these themes feels most urgent or relevant for audiences right now?

"I have a strong belief that in times of uncertainty and perceived darkness that it is community that will save us.  That is why this show is so utterly important right now.  This show is about love and loss, but at its core it is about your community, your found family, those who accept you for who you are and through it all:  love, life, and death, they are there, they are the ones that save you."

For younger cast members and audience members who may not have been born or didn't live through the time period depicted, what have you done to help make the social and historical context feel immediate and meaningful?

"When being contracted to direct this show, I approached my vision with a sense of bridging 1989/90 with 2026.  Finding the commonalities of the social issues in the show and making a correlation/connection with the social issues of today.  We are still dealing with the marginalization of people of color, addiction, homelessness and yes AIDS.  The stigma as it relates to HIV/AIDS may not be as overt as it was 30 years ago, but it is still prevalent. So to see the same issues depicted on stage in 2026 automatically makes that context feel immediate and meaningful."

I have to imagine that many of your cast members were not alive when Rent premiered 30 years ago. What has it been like guiding actors who know the show but are still discovering the realities behind its themes?

"You are correct in that most of these actors were not even alive at the time that this show came out, much less when the issues depicted were occurring. I was able to provide a lot of personal insight and reflections as a Queer man myself growing up during the beginning of the AIDS crisis. Also, I previously directed Angels In America: Millennium Approaches at Fountain Hills Theatre in which I had to do a lot of research around the same material (AIDS/NYC/1980s) which proved to be both insightful and helpful in directing RENT.  Additionally, for RENT I did a lot of research specific to the artists and events that occurred in The East Village at the time the show takes place.  I was able to provide my cast with a lot of personal knowledge as well as information I found along the way that I provided them to read/watch/listen to outside of rehearsal.  I feel this has really helped the actors gain a better perspective of the characters they are portraying."

How have those younger performers brought their own perspectives to the material in ways that might differ from earlier productions people have seen?

"When working with actors I always feel it is necessary that they bring a part of themselves to the material in order to make a connection and make the work feel more personal.  One way I have really noticed this is in the way these actors sing the material.  The way Musical Theatre actors sang 30 years ago is very different from the vocal talents we have today, so with that we as working artists also have to advance and adjust.  I find it very refreshing that my music director, Elise Stoffer, has allowed the actors the vocal freedom to bring a new and refreshing sound to the same material."

What is your experience with the show and how have you brought that perspective and knowledge to this production?

"My experience with this show goes back many years.  I was first introduced to it when I picked up the double-CD from a store in the mall (I’m aging myself).  The following year I saw one of the first national tours in Texas and was absolutely blown away.  It was fresh, it was invigorating, it was loud,  everything that the Megamusicals of the 80’s weren’t.  For me it was love at first sight.  Since then I have seen probably 20 or more productions.  The thing is many (not all) productions try to recreate the magic that happened on stage 30 years ago with the same set, staging, et. al.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but because of this I have tried as best I can to not be a carbon copy of everything I have seen previously.  I suppose it will be up to the audience to come and decided if that shows."

What conversations have come up in the rehearsal room around the themes in the show and the period it takes place, along with the musical's portrayal of friendship, chosen family, and artistic expression?

"Since day one of rehearsal we have had conversations on the themes and the time period of RENT.  One thing that I think was surprising to a lot of actors (especially younger) is how similar the social issues are in relation to 2026.  In this show we touch on issues of gentrification, the rising cost of housing, homelessness, addiction, terminal illness, all which are still very much prevalent today.  That being said, it was not just the sadder themes that are important but how friendship, chosen family, and living life as who you truly are get you through those rougher times."

At this stage in time, Rent is now a period piece with the stigma of HIV, which at the time the musical premiered was a terminal disease,now considered to be a manageable chronic condition due to advancements in modern medicine. It's also a beloved, classic musical with many well-known songs. What have you done with this production in approaching the iconic music, characters, themes, and staging while still making it feel fresh and specific to your cast and the current time period?

"One word I used with my production team was “gritty.”   I often felt that Rent can be put on like a traditional musical which can be shiny and polished.  I think with Rent a lot of the seedy grit from The East Village was missing. The set will be exposed platforms in which all the props and furniture comes from almost acting like a repurposing of trash.  While that set will be littered with political and AIDS related posters that, although period, could easily relate to the current time. In one scene a few actors have protest signs that have statements of the time that are still relevant today.  "

The Cast of Mesa Encore Theatre's production of Rent in rehearsal
photo courtesy Mesa Encore Theatre

What can you tell us about the significance of your PRIDE night performance and what it means for your production to celebrate and support the local LGBTQ+ community?

"Rent is one of the first mainstream musicals that had Queer characters of color as part of the central story.  Additionally, when it premiered New York was still in the middle of the AIDS crisis.  Those two attributes alone attracted many members of the LGBTQ+ to the show.  I believe what helped RENT attain a Queer following is the show’s depiction of genuine, unconditional, Queer love and also its portrayal of community, the found family many of us had to create in order to remain safe, and alive.  As these ideas are central I thought it important to have a Pride Night in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.  With Pride Night we will have three organizations from the local LGBTQ+ community sponsoring the night in which they will have information tables in the lobby and will also speak briefly at curtain time.  RENT is and will always be a story that will be cemented in LGBTQ+ history."

When audiences leave MET's production of Rent, what do you hope they carry with them about the show’s message and its continued importance?

"With this show I really hope that audiences are able to take the time to think about the issues portrayed on stage and how they continue to affect the community. I hope that people can conclude that protesting, resisting, and standing up are not acts of solidarity but only work when we come together and make change together.  AIDS, although a chronic illness was considered a death sentence in the 1980’s.  Today people with HIV/AIDS can live out a long and healthy lives with minimal complications.  Many of the drugs and interventions available would not have happened  were it not for many in the LGBTQ+ community.  In the end, it is community that saves us.:"

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs May 15-May 31

FROZEN JR’s Fearless Sisters: Meet the Teens Behind Anna and Elsa in East Valley Children's Theatre's production

Jolee Casey and Ayden Armbrust
photo courtesy East Valley Children's Theatre

By Gil Benbrook

For many young performers, stepping into a Disney role is a dream come true, but for the two talented teenagers bringing Anna and Elsa to life in Disney’s Frozen JR at East Valley Children's Theatre it is something even more special. The beloved tale of sisterhood, courage, and discovering one’s true self has captured the imaginations of audiences for over a decade, and now these rising stars are taking on the challenge of portraying its iconic heroines onstage. 

Jolee Casey and Ayden Armbrust take on the beloved characters of Elsa and Anna, respectively. With big songs, big emotions, and the responsibility of honoring characters adored by millions, this production marks a major milestone in their young careers.

As opening night approaches and the cast prepares to bring the magic of Frozen JR to life, the two young leads sat down with to answer some questions about their characters, their favorite moments, and what they hope audiences of all ages take away from this beloved story. 

Jolee Casey (Elsa) 

Both Anna and Elsa have such strong emotional journeys. What part of your character’s story do you connect with the most, and how has that influenced your performance?

"When it comes to Elsa's story/journey, I heavily connect with her desire to be her authentic self. This similarity between us has influenced my performance by allowing me to have a deeper connection with her as a character in helping me portray her journey to finding her true self. "

The relationship between the sisters is the heart of the show. How did the two of you work together to build that bond onstage?

"Ayden and I have known each other long before Frozen started. Ever since casting, we have definitely grown closer over the past couple of weeks, which has allowed us to continue to build our chemistry on stage. Honestly, I could not think of a better Anna to my Elsa. "

The score includes some powerhouse songs like “Let It Go” and “For the First Time in Forever.” What has been the most exciting or challenging musical moment for you?

" "Let It Go" is a beast of a song and has come with its challenges. The song is 100 percent mind over matter. Getting in my own head about the song sounding "perfect" has been my biggest challenge as a performer. The entirety of the song is exciting. The dancing, the lights, the fog, everything. There isn't a single dull moment. "

Frozen JR has a lot of magical elements. What stage moment or special effect are you most excited for the audience to experience?

"By far the most magical moment in the show is Elsa's quick change during "Let It Go". I am so excited to see the audience's reaction. "

What do you hope audience members take away from seeing Frozen, JR at EVCT?

"As a performer I hope the audience leaves the theater really feeling that Disney magic. I also hope they see how much work has been put into this show. Not just by the amazing cast but also our director, costumer, choreographer, stage managers, make-up designer and technical team. Without them, this show wouldn't be possible.  "

Ayden Armbrust (Anna) 

Both Anna and Elsa have such strong emotional journeys. What part of your character’s story do you connect with the most, and how has that influenced your performance?

"When Anna begins her journey towards finding her sister Elsa, I believe that is the strongest connection I have with Anna, her determination. In the show, she does not let anybody get in the way of finding her sister. The determination she has which is made out of love and hope in which she has for her sister is the same determination and love that I have towards my brother and I feel that is strong."

The relationship between the sisters is the heart of the show. How did the two of you work together to build that bond onstage?

"Honestly, Jolee and I hung out with each other almost every second of every rehearsal. I did know Jolee beforehand but this show has truly given us a stronger connection with each other. It definitely makes a difference to have someone you love play your big sister and I couldn’t ask for any other than Jolee."

The score includes some powerhouse songs like “Let It Go” and “For the First Time in Forever.” What has been the most exciting or challenging musical moment for you?

"I believe that “For the First Time in Forever” has its little belting moments and I did struggle with that at first, but it is definitely one of my favorites. One of the things that made me struggle was worrying if I could even hit those notes but what really ever holds you back is yourself. If you open up and don’t care what comes out in the moment nothing can stop you. The main thing I know is that this is what makes me happy and it’s all for fun!"

Frozen JR has a lot of magical elements. What stage moment or special effect are you most excited for the audience to experience?

"One of the most magical moments that I enjoy is towards the end of the show when Anna freezes and every moment after. As Anna thaws and true love saves the day I love to see the way EVCT makes the ice around us thaw. Even bows are magical, even though they may not have any special effects hearing the amazing audience cheering, laughing, tearing up is the most magical moments for fellow actors!"

What do you hope audience members take away from seeing Frozen, JR at EVCT?

"I hope that the audience feels inspired. Knowing that kids are doing a show like Frozen Jr. shocks me! So, I hope that kids or even adults would see someone on stage that really gives them that spark. Not only do I wish it gives kids who want to be an actor inspiration, but I also want people who are into doing the backstage magic of the show to be inspired too because everyone who helps is truly so so so amazing and couldn’t be done without them."

CLICK HERE for more information on this production,which runs through December 14

Talking to Rebecca Weinstein about Bringing Joy, Music, and Mazel to the Holidays with "Oy to the World: A Hanukkah Musical Revue" at The Bridge Initiative

Josh and Rebecca Weinstein

by Gil Benbrook

This holiday season, Phoenix audiences are getting something fresh, festive, and long overdue. The Bridge Initiative is premiering "Oy to the World: A Hanukkah Musical Revue." a one-night-only celebration of Jewish music, humor, and heritage taking place on December 1, 2025, at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center and presented by The Bridge Initative. With tickets already on sale and excitement building, the production promises to offer a vibrant alternative to the usual lineup of Christmas classics that dominate the month of December.

At the heart of the project are its creators, Rebecca and Josh Weinstein, two local theatre artists who saw a cultural gap in the Valley’s holiday offerings and decided to fill it with joy, music, and community. Their 90-minute cabaret-style concert blends Hanukkah favorites such as “Hanukkah Blessings” by Barenaked Ladies with Broadway crowd-pleasers like “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway…” from Spamalot, along with winter standards penned by Jewish composers including “Let It Snow.” Backed by a full band and a cast of powerhouse vocalists, the show weaves storytelling, comedy, and spirited singalongs into an evening designed to uplift and entertain.

Beyond its musical variety, "Oy to the World" carries a meaningful mission. At a time when Jewish stories are rarely centered in seasonal programming, the production steps in to provide representation, connection, and celebration. “Oy to the World is about joy and belonging,” co-creator Rebecca Weinstein explains, emphasizing the importance of holding space for Jewish traditions during a season dominated by other holidays. With its blend of humor, heart, and cultural pride, the revue aims not only to entertain but to spark a new tradition in Arizona’s arts scene. As the concert approaches, Rebecca sat down with us to share the inspiration behind the show, her and Josh's creative process, and what audiences can look forward to on this unforgettable night.

Rebecca, what inspired you and Josh to create a Hanukkah-centered musical revue for Arizona audiences?

Rebecca Weinstein: "Last year, while Josh was performing in ATC's production of Scrooge, I found myself thinking about the countless Christmas shows we have both done over the years. (So many Nutcrackers and A Christmas Carols!) I kept coming back to the idea that the Valley really deserved its own Hanukkah show! Around that same time, I went to a Bridge Initiative performance and heard they had an opening for a December cabaret. It felt like fate! I pitched the idea, they believed in us, and once they said yes, we hit the ground running. It has basically been Hanukkah at our house since the summer!"

How did you approach selecting the mix of Hanukkah songs, Broadway numbers, and winter classics for the concert?

"We joked that the first rule was to look for "songs that did not sound like they were written by a cantor in 1887". In reality, we wanted a true mix. Some classics. Some songs that feel warm and familiar. A little Broadway. A few winter standards. And a handful of newer pieces that we hope will become future favorites. The idea was to create a set list that feels lively, inviting, and full of variety!"

What can you tell us about the personal and professional experiences you bring to the show that shaped its tone and storytelling style?

"Both of us have spent years in theatre, and we have always gravitated toward shows with great music and/or great stories. We wanted the show to feel approachable, quick-paced, and full of joy. Something that music lovers, theater lovers, and Jewish folks looking to celebrate with their community could all enjoy. Josh's favorite thing about being Jewish is the humor so he brought plenty of that into the writing. The tone ends up somewhere between Homer Simpson, Seinfeld, Mrs. Maisel, and a healthy dose of millennial self-deprication."

In what ways do you and Josh hope "Oy to the World" will contribute to Arizona’s cultural landscape during the holiday season?

"We wanted to give Arizona a holiday experience that celebrates something not often represented onstage. If the show helps people learn a little, laugh a lot, and enjoy a night out with their favorite people, that means the world to us. And truly, there are not many opportunities to pull out your ugly Hanukkah sweater, so we hope this gives everyone a perfect excuse."

What can y-ou tell us about the band and vocalist you'll have and how you collaborated with them to craft the cabaret-style atmosphere you’ve envisioned?

"We are incredibly fortunate to be working with musicians who play beautifully and understand the heart behind what we are doing. Our cast is entirely Jewish, so they connect deeply with the stories and jokes about being the only Jew in the room. Our musicians are not Jewish (minus Josh on the drums), but from the very beginning we talked with them about creating an atmosphere that feels relaxed and friendly, like a holiday gathering where every song holds a little memory. They have shaped the arrangements with so much care, giving each number its own bit of sparkle. We feel lucky to have these six wonderful artists sharing their talents with us!"

What do you hope audiences take away from seeing "Oy to the World"?

"I hope people walk out having laughed, grooved, and enjoyed ninety minutes of fun. Hanukkah carries themes of resilience, joy, and the light that gets us through the darker days of winter. If people leave with a smile, maybe humming something new, and feeling like they shared a moment of connection with the room around them, then we have done what we set out to do."

CLICK HERE for more information on this one-night only cabaret on December 1

Talking to Michael Maisano, Founder of The Silent Survivors Project/Arizona Frontline Theatre about MEDAL OF HONOR RAG

 CJ Mascarelli and Michael Bundy II
in Medal of Honor at Arizona Frontline Theatre
photo by Kailey Mattheisen

by Gil Benbrook

Michael Maisano has dedicated his life to giving a voice to those who too often go unheard. A veteran and psychologist, he founded The Silent Survivors Project as a way to use live theatre to raise awareness around the mental health challenges faced by those who serve. Now, through Arizona Frontline Theatre, he is bringing Tom Cole’s searing drama Medal of Honor Rag to the stage beginning this week and running through November 1, continuing his mission of shedding light on the invisible scars of war.

In Medal of Honor Rag, audiences meet D.J., a decorated Black soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, whose time in Vietnam has left him haunted and broken. His sessions with a psychiatrist in an army hospital quickly unravel into a battle of words, exposing pain, guilt, and truths neither man can easily face. The play offers a raw and emotional look into trauma, survival, and the hope for healing, and Maisano believes it is exactly the kind of story that needs to be shared.

Maisano’s path to this work is both professional and deeply personal. With a Doctorate in Psychology and years of experience studying the unique needs of veterans, he has long been committed to understanding how service leaves its mark. His own journey as a veteran showed him firsthand the struggles many face when returning home. Out of this passion, The Silent Survivors Project was born, and with it, a commitment to creating theatre that informs, challenges, and ultimately helps communities better understand those who have sacrificed so much.

Can you give us some details about how your founded The Silent Survivors Project, your work with the organization, along with your goals for Arizona Frontline Theatre? 

"Arizona Frontline Theatre is a fundraising mechanism for the Silent Survivors Project. Proceeds from each ticket purchased will go to support our mission to fight the stigma of mental health in our military and Veteran communities. The mission of The Silent Survivor’s Project is to fight the stigma of mental health in our Veteran and Military communities through entertainment, education and research.  I started the nonprofit in 2024. "

What drew you to present Tom Cole’s Medal of Honor Rag, and why do you believe this particular play is important to present now? 

"I was drawn to the story about the impact of combat on a Medal of Honor winner.  Mr. Cole’s psychiatrist is a strong representation of a good mental health professional working with a Veteran who suffers from PTSD.  Even though it was written over 45 years ago, the story is still viable today.  We could change the war from Vietnam to Iraq/Afghanistan and it would be a very similar story. "

As both a veteran and a psychologist, how did your personal and professional experiences inform your decision to stage this powerful story? 

"I have similar experiences as both the characters of the Doctor and the Veteran.  I could tell several stories similar to this story."  

 

Medal of Honor Rag confronts the emotional aftermath of war in an intense, one-on-one setting. What do you hope audiences take away from this emotional confrontation? 

"I believe an audience will be moved by this story and some Veterans will be able to align with the Veteran in the play. I hope the audiences will leave the performance and then talk about the story with their family and friends.  I hope that anyone who has not served in the military will have a greater appreciation what the cost of going to war has on many of our Veterans. "

What unique challenges and opportunities come with presenting such a psychologically complex piece on stage?

"I believe the hardest part about telling stories that are very emotional, not many people want to work on a project that is so raw. "

 CJ Mascarelli and  Michael Bundy II
in Medal of Honor at Arizona Frontline Theatre
photo by Kailey Mattheisen

How do you approach working with actors to ensure the emotional weight of the story is delivered authentically while also safeguarding their mental well-being during the process? 

"I believe that the actors are the most important part of a project like this one.  They have to have their own ideas as to what the character’s journey was and how they came to this point in time.  I want the actors to make the character real for the audience. "

 

What role do you think live theatre can play in advancing public understanding of veteran mental health issues? 

"I was told by a playwright and Navy Veteran that we can talk and preach about the importance of mental health, but when you tell a story the impact is greater.  This show and the shows we have planned next year will entertain and educate.  We hope to raise awareness and keep the conversation going. "

 

Beyond the October production of Medal of Honor Rag, what are your future plans for productions to fit into the larger goals of The Silent Survivors Project and your ongoing work in veteran mental health advocacy? 

"In 2026, we plan to bring five shows to the valley.  We will produce two shows in the Spring, one in the Summer and two in the Fall.  Many of the shows are works written by military Veterans.  We hope to launch our Summer of Shorts.  These are short plays about military service and the sacrifice families face when a military member goes to war. We are planning our fundraising Gala for January of 2026 and this will be where we announce the 2026 shows."

 

What advice would you give to other theatre makers or organizations who want to use the arts to explore and elevate mental health awareness, particularly within military communities? 

"You have to go for it.  Don’t be afraid of mental health.  I believe that mental health is as important as physical and spiritual health.  Not all military stories have a negative mental health component.  We should highlight the mental toughness, grit and resiliency of our Veterans.  Mental health is not a dirty word. 

CLICK HERE for more information on Medal of Honor Rag, which runs October 9-November 1

An Inside Look: The Actresses Bringing GRACE AND GLORIE at Black Theatre Troupe to Life

Ryan L. Jenkins and Shari Watts
Photo by Laura Durant

by Gil Benbrook

In Tom Ziegler’s heartfelt play Grace and Glorie, two very different women form an unlikely bond that changes them both in profound ways. Set against the backdrop of rural Virginia, the story follows Glorie, a former high-powered New York City executive who relocates with her family to the South, and Grace, a fiercely independent elderly farm woman who has returned to her cherished home to spend her final days. Their connection begins when Glorie becomes Grace’s hospice volunteer, but what unfolds is a touching and often humorous exploration of friendship, resilience, and the lessons we learn from one another.

Black Theatre Troupe brings this tender and funny story to life on stage with Shari Watts and Ryan L. Jenkins as Grace and Glorie, under Chanel Bragg's direction, with performances at Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center from September 5-21.

In between rehearsals, Watts and Jenkins sat down to answer some questions about this production and share their thoughts on stepping into these complex roles. They also reflect on the challenges and joys of bringing such richly drawn characters to life, the emotional resonance of the play’s themes, the moments of humor and humanity that make Grace and Glorie so moving, and what they hope audiences will take away from this intimate and meaningful story.

Shari Watts

What can you tell us about the character you play and what do you find most compelling about her story?

"I play Grace, a feisty opinonated ninety-year-old illiterate widow with cancer from the Appalachian Mountains area in Virginia. She has never been more than 50 miles from her farm.  She left her church 50 years ago but keeps a tight hold on her relationship with God. She has come home from the hospital after refusing further treatment to live out her final days among her land even as it is being bulldozed away after she had to sell it. All that was enough to be compelling to an actor let alone the rest of the story between the two women and the playwrights’ words"

How did you approach portraying the emotional journey these women go through while still bringing out the humor in the script?

"To have Chanel (Bragg) as our director and Phoenix (Jacob) as our stage manager create a truly safe process where we can be vulnerable and express our emotions to each other and then find the needed moments that create the humor our characters share out of the circumstances and their differences, is a gift to actors."

The play explores themes of unlikely friendships, aging, loss, and personal growth. Which of the themes resonates most strongly with you and why?

"Grace resonates with me in so many ways according to my own life. Aging, loss of the family farm, loved ones passing, moving away from organized religion but staying spiritually connected to a higher power and finding connections with other people of all ages and walks of life in various unlikely ways."

Did the two of you work together before or know each other? How do you work together to create the believable bond that develops between Grace and Glorie?

"I have followed Ryan since I first saw her in a small part at Stray Cat Theatre. She held me with her presence.  Then I really saw her huge talent in Sunset Baby at Black Theatre Troupe. I have seen her perform many times since and I have gone up to her at auditions and expressed how I would love to be able to work with her.  I truly think somehow this was meant to be and I am so grateful. "

What do you hope audiences will take away from experiencing this play and these two characters at Black Theatre Troupe?

"I hope the audience takes with them the beauty of life. What we all have in common being human when the heart opens and guides us. Lord knows, we sure need that now more than anything!"

Ryan L. Jenkins 

What can you tell us about the character you play and what do you find most compelling about her story?

"Gloria Whitmore has worked hard to define success on her terms. She wants to be respected, and for her efforts and talents to be acknowledged. The way she voices her opinion, vocally advocates for others, and challenges traditional ideals of gender roles and religion have been fascinating to investigate and craft."

How did you approach portraying the emotional journey these women go through while still bringing out the humor in the script?

"All the pain, fear, uncertainty, and brevity is rooted in the truth of these character's lives and the moments they share. They connect through their explorations of the beautiful AND ugly sides of life itself, through the lenses of their respective lives. Allowing space for us to express heavier emotions as raw and messy as they can be gives the humorous and touching moments a deeper resonance as well."

The play explores themes of unlikely friendships, aging, loss, and personal growth. Which of the themes resonates most strongly with you and why?

"Currently, aging and loss are resonating most with me. The concept of time and change is ever present, and brings aging and loss with it. We lose loved ones as we age, and at times we lose parts of ourselves (for better and worse) as we experience life. Aging is a temporary privilege that is too often stigmatized and feared, while a person's life is equally too often celebrated at its end. "

Did the two of you work together before or know each other? How do you work together to create the believable bond that develops between Grace and Glorie?

"This is my first time working with Shari, and I've been a fan of her work for years now. The rehearsal process has granted us time to personally connect in addition to crafting these characters and their stories."

What do you hope audiences will take away from experiencing this play and these two characters at Black Theatre Troupe?

"There is strength in caring for others, AND caring about others."

CLICK HERE for more information on Grace and Glorie at Black Theatre Troupe, which runs September 5-September 21

Telling an Epic Story: Talking to the Lead Actors and Director of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT at TheaterWorks

Vinny Chavez and Scott Seaman

by Gil Benbrook

Bringing the stage adaptation of the animated film The Prince of Egypt to the stage is both a monumental challenge and an extraordinary opportunity. The story, beloved by audiences worldwide, is one of faith, family, and destiny, set against a score of powerful music written by Stephen Schwartz,. 

At the center of TheaterWorks' upcoming production are two actors, Scott Seaman and Vinny Chavez, who take on the iconic roles of Moses and Ramses, brothers whose bond is tested as their paths diverge. Their characters drive the heart of the story, balancing epic spectacle with deeply human emotion.

Guiding the production is Chris Hamby a director with a clear vision of how to translate the sweeping scope of the tale into an immediate and moving stage experience. With careful attention to both the grandeur of the story and the intimacy of the relationships within it, Hamby is working to ensure that audiences are not only dazzled by the spectacle but also touched by the humanity of the characters. 

Before the curtain rises on the upcoming production, the trio sat down in between rehearsals to share insight into the challenges and rewards of bringing The Prince of Egypt to the stage, from shaping these iconic roles to creating a production that is vast in scale, deeply personal and should resonate with audiences in fresh and meaningful ways.

Scott Seaman

While most people are familiar with the character you play, what are some of the aspects of Moses and which ones do you identify with most?

Scott Seaman: "First of all, I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity to portray Moses in this production with TheaterWorks, alongside Vinny Chavez as Ramses. We hit it off early on during the rehearsal process, and it has been such a joy to work alongside such a talented artist, and to find a new friend and brother as we work on this project together.

This is a story about identity and family for Moses. His world is shaken when he finds out he is actually a Hebrew and not part of the royal family—so Ramses is not his brother! He is lost and alone for awhile, but he finds new family in his Hebrew family and with the Middianites during his time in the desert. He marries an amazing woman, Tzipporah—played by the lovely Sarah Wiechman in this production—who is by his side for the rest of the show, especially as he carries the enormous burden of freeing the Hebrews from bondage. 

While I’ve never gone through an identity crisis to the level that Moses goes through, I think we all have aspects of ourselves that we have to learn to accept and even love, in order to make peace with ourselves. I get that. I’ve had my own journey with that. And as far as family goes, I definitely understand the need for connection and belonging. I’ve had moments in the show that have reminded my how lucky I am to have 3 amazing sisters that have been a huge support to me, especially since our mom passed away 6 years ago. And I’m incredibly fortunate to have an amazing woman as my partner and wife, who has stood by me through some of the toughest parts of my life. And while I’ve never had a brother, I count myself lucky to have had some of the best guy friends in the world over the years, and I definitely consider them my brothers, and I have felt that bond. 

Your characters begin as brothers but ultimately become enemies, how did you approach building that complex relationship on stage, and how does it evolve throughout the show?

I think it’s really important that the brothers have no idea at the beginning of the show that they would ever become enemies. And they have no idea that Moses is actually not Ramses’ brother. To them, they are true brothers, and they have a deep bond as brothers do, sharing the same experiences, watching out for each other, fighting, playing, teasing, and growing up together. Chris Hamby, our amazing director, has worked with us on creating that dynamic and that connection between the brothers. We’ve had some good laughs, as Chris has actually had to direct us to stop standing so close to each other in some scenes, and has had to pull us apart and space us out more on the stage! But I think it’s important that that pull is always there. It’s a thread throughout the story. As the show progresses and they are torn apart by fate and the different paths that they choose, they eventually have to confront each other when those paths collide. What I love about this version of the story, as portrayed in the musical adaptation, is that their brotherly bond ultimately wins in the end. They come together and work things out in a beautiful way, and it reminds us, I think, that ultimately we are all brothers and sisters on this planet, and that we have a stewardship for each other, and that we can choose peace over war. In our portrayal of all that, I hope audiences can feel a real connection between the two brothers, and can see how that love and that brotherhood win over all else. 

The musical demands both powerful vocals and intense emotional moments, what’s been the most rewarding or challenging aspect of portraying Moses/Ramses in such a dynamic production?

It is a very emotional journey for Moses throughout the show. With yes, big vocal demands to help the audience feel the highs and lows he is experiencing in those intense moments. For me it is all about being in the moment, in those moments—vulnerable and exposed. I have to trust and let go, and go there with him, and surrender to the emotions, and trust my vocal training and muscle memory to not damage my voice. Luckily, I have incredible castmates and a caring crew that catch me on the other side of that, and quite literally lift me up and put me back together to keep going throughout the show. There is a beautiful moment where this happens on stage during the song “When You Believe.” It is so powerful to have this entire cast of 40+ voices singing this song to me, as Moses, and to feel life and hope and faith and love pouring into me from them. I quite literally couldn’t do it without them. 

The story of The Prince of Egypt is deeply rooted in faith, identity, and legacy. What personal connections have you found with your character’s journey?

"The musical version of Prince of Egypt explores a different side of Moses that wasn’t really explored in the animated film. It asks questions like—how did Moses feel about God asking him to send down plagues on his brother Ramses and his people? Did Moses feel torn between following God and loving his brother? Especially after the death of the firstborn of Egypt, including Ramses’ own son—did Moses feel any guilt or regret for being part of such a horrific crime? The musical goes there, and explores these questions. Seeing Moses wrestle with all this definitely humanizes him. He has doubts and questions about himself and about God—like many of us do. I’ve definitely faced some of that. I come from a very religious background, and I’ve had to wrestle through some of my own feelings about God and religion the past several years. I can definitely relate to Moses on this one. I've faced some life events and even tragedies in our family that have put me on a journey the past several years of transitioning from seeing things as very black and white for most of my life, to now finding myself in more of a grey zone—leaving lots of room for nuance and uncertainty on things that I thought were absolute. And yet I feel more peace and trust and hope than I ever did before. I am in a very different place than I ever imagined I would be, and it has opened me to more love, tolerance, and connection to people than I ever thought possible. How amazing is it that we get to share our experience on this planet with people from every race, culture, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion—and there is room for all of us! In the show it is so beautiful to see Moses come out of a very dark place of struggle and ultimately choose love—love for his family and for his people, and love for Ramses and his people—above all else. I love portraying that. It really is a prayer for peace and harmony between all people and all nations in the end.

Vinny Chavez

While most people are familiar with the character you play, what are some of the aspects of Ramses and which ones do you identify with most?

Vinny Chavez: "I definitely relate to Ramses in several ways, especially his determination to make his family proud. While my situation isn’t as dramatic as his, I share that strong sense of loyalty to my family. I also connect with the rapid growth in his maturity—being forced to take on more responsibility than he was truly prepared for is something I’ve experienced as well."

Your characters begin as brothers but ultimately become enemies, how did you approach building that complex relationship on stage, and how does it evolve throughout the show?

"Working opposite Scott from the beginning has made the entire rehearsal process so smooth. We connected quickly and already have a natural, playful energy between us.

As for the arc of their relationship in the show, it can definitely be challenging at times—especially when we have to fill in the blanks for moments that aren’t shown on stage. It’s up to us to justify those shifts and make them feel real and grounded, which I actually find really exciting as an actor.

It adds layers and keeps the work from feeling one-note. There are some really interesting changes in their dynamic—the way they start the show in one place and, by the end, it’s as if they’ve completely swapped roles."

The musical demands both powerful vocals and intense emotional moments, what’s been the most rewarding or challenging aspect of portraying Moses/Ramses in such a dynamic production?

"Being part of any production at TheaterWorks is always such a pleasure—they truly pull out all the stops. With the production quality being top-tier, it really sets the stage (literally) for us to step into character with ease.

The score is absolutely beautiful, and getting to sing this music with a cast of 40 brings so much power and energy to every performance.

The most challenging part? Hitting all those high notes! I like to call myself a wannabe tenor. Luckily, our music director Lincoln—who I’ve had the joy of working with for almost 15 years—believes I can hit them. So I must be doing something right!"

The story of The Prince of Egypt is deeply rooted in faith, identity, and legacy. What personal connections have you found with your character’s journey?

"I knew The Prince of Egypt on a surface level growing up—I saw the movie when it first came out in theaters, and as a kid raised in the Catholic Church, I was familiar with the basic story.

Now, being much older and not as actively involved in religion, I find it amazing that the story still resonates with me. I connect more deeply now with the themes of faith and belief. One of our cast members said it best during our first read-through: it’s not so much about believing in one specific thing, person, or being—it’s about having the freedom and power to believe in something. That message really motivates me.

I’m also excited for audiences to experience this musical version of the story. Ramses is often portrayed strictly as the villain in the movie and in the broader narrative, but here, there’s time to explore and flesh out a more complex, fully realized human being with a more layered arc. I think people will be surprised and moved by that."

Chris Hamby

For those unfamiliar with this musical, how would you describe The Prince of Egypt?

Chris Hamby: "At its core, The Prince of Egypt is an epic journey—both in scale and in spirit. It’s a story about two brothers, raised in privilege and power, who find themselves on diverging paths that ultimately define their destinies and the fate of a people. The musical blends sweeping music with timeless themes—identity, freedom, responsibility, and the deep struggle of letting go in order to lead. It’s deeply human, spiritually resonant, and, quite simply, breathtaking in scope. If you think you know the story, this musical will surprise you with its depth and emotion."

The Prince of Egypt tells a powerful story of identity, faith, and liberation. Why do you think this story, which is set in ancient Egypt, still resonates so strongly with audiences today?

"This story resonates because at its heart, it’s about transformation and courage in the face of impossible odds. Every generation grapples with what it means to find one's voice, to challenge injustice, to break cycles of oppression. Moses’ journey is intensely personal—he goes from being a man of privilege to a leader burdened with responsibility, guided by a deep calling. And Ramses, in his own way, is equally complex. These are not cardboard characters from history books—they’re us. They’re every leader, every dreamer, every person forced to reckon with change. That’s why this story still moves us—it speaks to our yearning for purpose, for truth, and for freedom."

What can you tell us about your cast, especially the actors who play Moses and Ramses?

"We have an extraordinary cast—artists who are not only gifted performers but deeply thoughtful collaborators. Our Moses brings a remarkable vulnerability and inner fire to the role. He doesn’t just play transformation—he lives it every night on stage. And our Ramses… wow. He embodies the full complexity of a man torn between friendship, legacy, and power. Their dynamic is electric. You feel the brotherhood, the love, the heartbreak. The entire ensemble pours everything into this piece. It’s one of the most emotionally generous and vocally powerful casts I’ve ever had the joy to work with."

The show explores deep emotional and spiritual themes. How did you work with your cast and creative team to ensure these moments felt authentic and impactful? And what was your approach to balancing the grand, biblical scale of the story with the more intimate human relationships at its core?

"We started from the inside out. Before we tackled the spectacle, we have tried to ground ourselves in the emotional truth of each scene. We talk a lot in production meetings and rehearsal about legacy, about personal faith, about what it means to be called to something greater than yourself—and what it costs. We have made space for vulnerability in the room.

In terms of scale, we leaned into contrast. The grandeur—plagues, miracles, exodus—has weight because we root it in deeply human stakes. Every towering moment is anchored by an intimate one: a brother’s plea, a mother’s prayer, a child’s hope. That duality—that's where the magic lives."

Based on the biblical story of Moses, the Exodus, and the giving of the Ten Commandments, The Prince of Egypt tells a similar story to the one depicted in the beloved, Oscar winning film The Ten Commandments. Did you draw inspiration from that film or any other productions or interpretations of this story, either on stage or screen, for your production?

"Absolutely—how could we not be influenced by The Ten Commandments? It’s iconic. But rather than trying to replicate it, we let it be part of the conversation. I also revisited the original Prince of Egypt animated film, of course. Its emotional beats and score are powerful touchstones. We have also been inspired by the large West End production as well. But I was just as inspired by more contemporary retellings of ancient stories, like Aida—productions that find new relevance without losing reverence. Our goal was to honor the tradition while offering something fresh: a production that feels timeless but also urgent and alive."

What creative opportunities and challenges have come with presenting such an epic, cinematic story for the stage?

"The challenge is also the gift. This story asks a lot of you as a director and especially the choreographer—it demands vision, precision, and a deep respect for the source material. Translating rivers that part, voices from burning bushes, and plagues into theatrical moments forces you to get creative. But the stage has its own kind of magic. With the right combination of lighting, movement, and performance, we can suggest the miraculous in ways that are deeply affecting—sometimes more so than CGI ever could be. The opportunity lies in letting the audience use their imagination again."

Audiences may be familiar with the iconic songs from the film, like “When You Believe.” How does the stage musical expand the score, and what are some of the differences from the 1998 animated film that many people know and love?

"Stephen Schwartz has expanded his original film score with over a dozen new songs for the stage—and they are stunning. There’s a depth and maturity to the musical that allows characters to explore their inner worlds in a way the film didn’t have room for. “When You Believe” is still the emotional centerpiece, of course, but now it's surrounded by new material that gives the story more breath, more tension, more heart. It’s no longer just a film brought to life—it’s a full, rich theatrical experience in its own right."

This is a grand and expansive story. Any behind-the-scenes insights you’d like to share in terms of what audiences can look forward to visually?

"Oh, we’ve dreamed big with this one. The media design is bold but fluid—it transforms as the story unfolds, almost like it’s alive. Our lighting design is key—it evokes heat, mystery, divinity. And the choreography! It’s both ritualistic and narrative-driven. Every movement tells part of the story, particularly in the ensemble-driven moments like the plagues or the crossing of the Red Sea. Audiences will be transported, but they’ll also feel grounded in something real."

In directing this production, were there any specific historical or cultural elements you wanted to emphasize or reimagine for the stage?

"I would say, no. We approached this production with strong conversations both externally and internally. However, I looked at Hebrew and Egyptian storytelling traditions, and the symbolism embedded in both. I had a great research trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. We have leaned into the anachronism of the play and world we are creating. We have made room to reinterpret—to bring in a more universal, almost timeless aesthetic. Our costuming, for example, nods to history but doesn’t live strictly within it. We wanted this world to feel both specific and expansive—rooted in the past but resonant with now. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just a story about ancient people—it’s a story for us, today."

What do you hope audiences walk away with after seeing The Prince of Egypt on stage at TheaterWorks?

"More than anything, I hope audiences walk away feeling moved—deeply, personally moved. This isn’t just a story about plagues and miracles; it’s a story about finding your voice, facing your truth, and choosing compassion over fear. I hope people leave reminded that liberation—whether personal or collective—often begins with a single, quiet act of courage.

I also hope they see a bit of themselves in these characters. That they recognize the cost of growth, the pain of letting go, and the beauty of believing—especially when belief feels hard. At TheaterWorks, we always strive to tell stories that matter, stories that challenge and uplift. The Prince of Egypt does both. If someone leaves the theater feeling a little more connected—to their faith, their family, their sense of purpose—then we’ve done our job."

CLICK HERE for more information on The Prince of Egypt at TheaterWorks, which runs August 29-September 15