About Les Miserables Cast

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  AARON BALLARD AARON BALLARD (Jean Valjean) is a proud Arizona native with a strong background in musical theatre and vocal performance. His favorite roles have been Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel and most recently as Shep in The Price of Freedom. He is the proud father of four children and the lucky husband to his pianist extraordinaire-wife, Jenica. Playing the role of Jean Valjean is a life-long dream come true.

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  GLENN M. BENNETT (Bishop) is a graduate of Stetson University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice. He completed his Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he studied with Dr. Jack Coldiron & Dr. James McKinney. Presently he is serving on the faculty of Mesa Community College – Red Mountain Campus, as Professor of Music, Director of Choirs and Assistant Chari of the Music Department. In addition to his responsibilities at Mesa College, Dr. Bennett continues to pursue his career as a tenor soloist. He has sung roles with the Ft. Worth Opera, Lyric Opera of Dallas, Arizona Opera and has also performed with the Casa Mañana Theatre in Ft. Worth and the Dallas Summer Musicals Summer Stock program, both in Texas. His choirs have performed such major works as: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, the requiem masses of Johannes Brahms, Maurice Duruflé, Gabriel Fauré, John Leavitt, Wolfgang Mozart, the Magnificats of J.S. Bach & John Rutter, Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances and several concert versions of the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan. Dr. Bennett is active in NATS and ACDA and has been an adjudicator for the Arizona NATS auditions and has served as a guest clinician for several ACDA regional choral workshops in Arizona. He presently resides in Mesa with his wife Vicki. They have four children and three grandsons.

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  Jackson Clark

  JACKSON CLARK (Gavroche) is thrilled to be back at Copperstar where he got his start as "Flounder" in The Little Mermaid. He has recently been seen as "Michael" in Mary Poppins and "Oliver" In Oliver. Jackson enjoys acting and singing and teasing his sisters.

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  Alex Crossland

  ALEX CROSSLAND (Grantaire) is a sophomore studying musical theater at Arizona State University, and he has performed in musicals regularly since age 7. Alex is very excited to be performing at Copperstar in a show that's close to his heart. He local credits are at mostly ASU, and he'll be featured as Tulsa in Scottsdale Musical theatre's production of Gypsy this August. Back home in Northern California, he performed at schools and area community theaters. His favorite roles include The Baker in Into the Woods, Cosmo Brown in Singin' in the Rain, Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, and Henry in Next to Normal, to name just a few! He was most recently featured in Anything Goes at ASU and understudied for the same production at Phoenix Theatre.

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  ASHLEE CARESS DUTSON

  ASHLEE CARESS DUTSON (Fanitine) currently lives in New York City. She studied Musical Theatre Performance at Hofstra University in Long Island, NY. Ashlee has been seen across the country in multiple regional and local productions. Ashlee is thrilled to be back in Arizona joining the cast of Les Miserables at Copperstar. Some recent and favorite credits include: (Les Miserables) at Phoenix theatre. Betty Schaefer " (Sunset Boulevard) "Cinderella" (Into the Woods). Ashlee has has also toured Arizona with Showtune Productions with multiple shows, Including: "60's-70's show", "Sounds of Christmas" and "Country Girls". She would like to thank friends and family for support, Mary-Jo for the opportunity to perform in a dream role. A big thank you goes to her amazing husband Dylan for his constant love and encouragement. For more info on Ashlee's upcoming shows and more show credits visit www.ashleepoynter.com

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  Aaron Ford

  AARON FORD (Bamatobouis) has been seen in productions across the valley including, but not limited to: A Christmas Carol, Phantom, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Shrek: The Musical, Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast and The Music Man. Aaron would like to thank Mary-Jo, Laura, and the entire creative staff, as well as the cast and crew that help bring this fantastic show to life.

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  Austin Larsen

  AUSTIN LARSEN (Marius) is delighted to be returning for another show with Copperstar Repertory as Marius. His past roles have included “Snoopy” (You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown) and “Naphtali” (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). He is a graduate of Mesa Community College and is currently a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where he is studying business and French.

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  Andrew Mckee

  ANDREW MCKEE (Javert) has played several roles in musical theater and opera over the last 20 years. Some of his personal favorites include “Sweeney” in Sweeney Todd, “Arthur” in Camelot, “Neville” in The Secret Garden, and “Colline” in La Boheme. The best role of all, however is “Javert”. He is thrilled to be fulfilling his dream to play this role in the full production since finding an unlabeled cassette tape in a small apartment in Denmark where he was serving a mission for his church. That tape contained a recording of Les Miserables and a love for musical theatre was born!

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  Jeff Montomery Jr.

  JEFF MONTGOMERY JR. (Valjean, June 27 at 2pm) was born & raised in Mesa, AZ. He graduated from Mesa High & now lives in Mesa with his wife & 4 kids. Jeff started singing in 2010 with Debbie West Coon doing performances all over the valley & other parts of Arizona. Jeff has never had any formal vocal training at all, just an incredible natural talent that he has been developing since 2010. He sang as Marius in the Gilbert production of Les Miserables in Nov 2010, sang in Rob Gardner's "The Lamb of God" in 2011 in Arizona & Utah, joined a local Doo-wop Acappella group, MC6, in 2012 as one of their lead singers & has been working on writing his own songs and hopes to have a CD out soon. Jeff loves singing & performing & sharing his talents with everyone he can.

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  Mary-Jo Okawa

  MARY-JO OKAWA (Madame Thenardier) is delighted to make her Copperstar debut. As Copperstar’s founder and Artist Producing Director, she has been extremely busy behind the scenes and raising two amazing children. So, getting back on stage in a show such as Les Miserables with great friends and her beautiful daughter is a dream come true. Mary-Jo would like to thank her family for tirelessly ssupporting her dreams and loving her unconditionally.

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  Shanti Okawa

  SHANTI OKAWA (Eponine) is a junior honor student at ASU in the Interior Design program. Favorite roles include "Nancy" in Oliver, "Gabriella" in High School Musical and "Wednesday" in The Addams Family. Shanti would like to thank her family for their support and the Copperstar Family for a wonderful eight years!

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  Tina Reynolds

  TINA REYNOLDS (Madame Thenardiere - 2pm, 6/27 and Featured Ensemble) Tina is thrilled to be working with Copperstar again. She spends her days teaching 6th grade for Gilbert Public Schools and took up theatre a few years ago to fulfill her love of singing. Some of her favorite roles include Alice Beineke in The Addams Family and Martha Watson in White Christmas. Over the last 5 years Tina has been in 15 musicals and participated in Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. She sends a huge Thank You to the directors, talented cast, and her incredibly patient husband.

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  Steven Ricks

  STEVEN RICKS (Enjolras) is excited to be performing one of his dream roles. A 17 year old senior at Perry High School, Steven has appeared as “Uncle Fester” in The Addams Family and as “The Cowardly Lion” in The Wizard of Oz”. Steven is training to be an opera singer, and has recently attended a classical singing competition in Chicago where he was awarded the highest honors and offered five full scholarship awards. He dreams one day to perform in operas all over the world, and help inspire people to find the joy in music that he finds. He would like to thank his family for being “the bomb.com”, and his friends for always being there to encourage him. Du Bist Die Welt Fur Mich!

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  Ralynne Riggs

  RALYNNE RIGGS (Cosette) received her BFA in Vocal Performance from BYU. She has appeared in The Music Man, Into the Woods, Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and was featured as Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera, in the BYU Young Ambassador’s Broadway Rhythm North Western US and International China Tour. Her opera credits include Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Carmen Ghia in The Stoned Guest, Susanna in Le Nozze Di Figaro, and a featured coloratura soprano in concerts throughout Austria. Her voice and love of performing took her to the stages of Walt Disney World, where she sang lead vocals in Disney’s High School Musical 3, Disney Channel Rocks, and The Hoop Dee-Doo Musical Revue. Ralynne and her four sisters record in their vocal group, Relativity, and just released their first album entitled “Never Alone.” She would like to thank her Heavenly Father for the gifts and opportunities He has blessed her with, her husband, Gavin Johnson, for being her number one fan, and her family for their endless love and support.

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  Stephen P. Wertz STEPHEN P. WERTZ (Thenardier) has had a long and successful career in both Theatre and
  Education. Stephen graduated from Loretto Heigts College in 1984 with a Bachelor
  of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre Performance. Stephen performed all over
  Denver while earning his degree and after graduating moved to Salt Lake City after being Cast in the title role in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Stephen spent 3 years in Salt Lake City performing with many of the local theatre companies such as The Pioneer Theatre Company and Starlight Theatre. He was cast in the tour of Pirates of Penzance and became a member of Actor’s EquityAssociation.
  In 1988, Stephen moved to the New York City. Stephen was see regionally in
  numerous productions including Chicago, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Starmites and eventually became the director/performer of the Off-Broadway Revue, Our Life and Times Revue (laterrenamed Newsical, The Musical).
  In 2001, Stephen moved to upstate NY where he began a 14 year career as a Theatre and Music Teacher in Marlboro Central School district. As head of the High School Theatre program Stephen directed over 30 shows. Stephen holds a Masters in Music Education from UCONN and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in School Leadership and Administration. He is currently an Assistant Principal at Jessie Whaley Maxwell Elementary for the Denver Public School District.

Brynna Anderson (Ensemble, U.S. Eponine)	Savannah Bassett (Featured Ensemble)	Annahi Blea (Ensemble)	Jake Bonar (Featured Ensemble)	Anne Brenchley (Ensemble)	Jorian Chait (Ensemble)
Kylan Chait (Ensemble)	Max Christensen (Ensemble, U.S. Gavroche)	Tyler Christensen (Ensemble)	Laura Christian Brown (Ensemble)	Grant Clausen (Ensemble)	McKenna Clausen (Ensemble)
Natalie Davis (Ensemble)	Kelly Evans (Featured Ensemble)	Lynn Flanagan (Ensemble)	Shaylee Flanagan (Ensemble)	Brad Helgeson (Farmer, Forman, Revolutionary)	Kara Houser (Ensemble)
Sam Lasky (Featured Ensemble)	Megan Longton (Ensemble)	Doug Marks (Featured Ensemble)	Tiana Marks (Featured Ensemble)	Danielle Mendelson (Factory Girl, Ensemble)	Thomas Muglia (Combeferre, Fauchelavant)
Kate Nienstedt (Ensemble)	Timothy Pung (Constable, Ensemble)	Allie Rederick (Ensemble)	Lizzy Ricks (Little Cossette, June 25 & 27- 7:30pm)	Rachel Ricks (Featured Ensemble)	Jamie Ricks (Ensemble)
Rebekah Ricks (Ensemble)	Tara Roberts (Featured Ensemble)	Veronica Roberts (Ensemble)	Ladd Stewart (Featured Ensemble)	Lorie Stewart (Featured Ensemble)	Nichole Tassainer (Ensemble)
Dallas Thornton (Constable, Feuilly)	Riley Thornton (Ensemble)	Angela Wheeler (Ensemble)	Ava Willis (Little Cosette, June 26 -7:30pm & 27 -2pm)	Daniel Wyatt (Featured Ensemble)	Connie Young (Ensemble)

Orchestra

Violin
Kim Bittinger, Serena Chang, Megan Fraser, Victoria Gonzalez, Monica Kennedy, Nikki Procela, Michael Samuel
 
Viola
Ritika Bharati, Monica Christiansen
 
Cello
Moria Bogardus, Jo Cleland, Sabrina Leung, Julia Liu, Jim Stanley
 
Bass
Byron Edgar, John Flumerfelt, Eric Nakamoto,

Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
Nancy Sowers
 
Oboe, English Horn
Marcie Kneisley
 
Eb Clarinet, Bb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Tami Bruce
 
French Horn
Tom Alongi, Martha Sharpe
 
Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Lee Engle
 
Trombone
Wade Redding
 
Tuba
Gene Anderson
 
Percussion
Tim Ryan
 
Keyboard
Jennifer Johnson, Ahtanya Riggs
 
Conductor
Martin Province