American Prophet

CAROLYN AGAN

Ensemble / Swing

Carolyn Agan (Ensemble / Swing)’s favorite regional credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Parade, Freedom’s Song, Hello! Dolly, 1776, Liberty Smith, A Christmas Carol (Ford’s Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Olney Theatre Center); Two Gents: A Rock Opera (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Pinkalicious! (Adventure Theatre MTC); Ragtime (Craig Noel Award - Lead Actress), South Pacific (San Diego Musical Theatre); Wild Goose Dreams, Home of the Brave (La Jolla Playhouse); The Phantom Tollbooth (Kennedy Center TYA); 1776, Man of La Mancha, Bold Girls, The Hostage (Keegan Theatre). She is a teaching artist and acting coach having worked with Levine Music, Shakespeare Theatre, Smithsonian Associates, La Jolla Playhouse and The Old Globe. Carolyn is also the lead singer for local pop/rock cover band, Vertigo Red. IG: @Vertigo_Red

ERICA AUBREY

Mary Todd / Ensemble

Erica Aubrey (Mary Todd / Ensemble) is honored to be making her Arena Stage debut. She played Mrs. Newton in Amazing Grace (Chicago out-of town) and Off-Broadway she has been seen in Far From Heaven (Playwrights Horizons) and Music in the Air (City Center Encores!). Some regional credits include roles at New York Stage and Film, Ogunquit Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse, Flat Rock Playhouse, and Theatre Aspen. Her TV credits include Jessica Jones and the Late Show with David Letterman. An accomplished studio singer, her voice is in Disney theme parks, on video games, and recordings for Music Theatre International. She holds an MA in musical theatre from NYU Steinhardt, and is a professor in the musical theatre BFA program at Belmont University. Instagram: @erica_aubrey

KURT BOEHM

Reverend Gore / Ensemble

Kurt Boehm (Reverend Gore / Ensemble) last appeared at Arena Stage as Enoch Snow in Carousel. Regional credits include Born for This (Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, Broad Stage & ArtsEmerson). Previous Arena credits include Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma! and She Loves Me. Additional D.C. credits include Daddy Long Legs, Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor (Monumental Theatre Company); Assassins, Billy Elliott, West Side Story, Cabaret, Les Misérables, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Signature Theatre); South Pacific, A Chorus Line, Godspell, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Producers (Olney Theatre Center); Little Shop of Horrors (Ford's Theatre); Chicago, The Full Monty, (Keegan Theatre). He holds a B.M. from Catholic University. @Kurtb617

ZOË BRYANT

Ensemble / Swing / Betsey u/s

Zoë Bryant (Ensemble / Swing / Betsey u/s) is excited to be making her Arena Stage debut after graduating from Howard University’s Musical Theatre program in 2022. She last appeared as Minnie in Howard University's production of Flying West. This is Zoë’s first professional show and she is excited to begin her journey. She hopes to return next season so she can keep chasing her dreams. Instagram: @Zoe_jillian 

CICILY DANIELS

Betsey Bailey / Elizabeth

Cicily Daniels (Betsey Bailey / Elizabeth) is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut, particularly since she originally hails from Potomac, Maryland. She appeared most recently on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Once on This Island. Her other Broadway credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid (original cast), All Shook Up and Rent.She has performed throughout the country on the National Tours of A Night with Janis Joplin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Caroline, or Change.Her film and television credits include Dear Edward, Mozart in the Jungle, Ugly Betty and Across the Universe. Cicily has appeared in commercials, and recorded voice-overs for companies including Ford Fusion, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Covergirl. Cicily is a graduate of Yale University.  She would like to thank her agents, and her family for their amazing support.

Cicily Daniels (Betsey / Elizabeth)

KRISTOLYN LLOYD

Anna Douglass

Kristolyn Lloyd (Anna Douglass) is a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning actress. Her directing credits include Dainty (BOLD Festival, The Garden Workshop), Nick & The Prizefighter (Modern Works Festival), A Patriots Place (B-Street Theatre, BOLD Festival) Acting credits include Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen; Off-Broadway: Confederates, Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), Fairycakes (Greenwich House), Little Women (Primary Stages), Blue Ridge (Atlantic); Hamlet (The Public Theater), Invisible Thread (Second Stage Theater), Heathers The Musical (New World Stages), Cabin In The Sky (Encores! City Center); Selected Regional: Paradise Blue (Williamstown), Witness Uganda (A.R.T.), Hairspray, Rent (Hollywood Bowl). TV: Random Acts of Flyness (HBO), Elementary, Kevin Can Wait, Madam Secretary, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS), ER (NBC) and Lie to Me (FOX).

CHRISTOPHER B. PORTLEY

Demby / Ensemble

Christopher B. Portley ( Demby / Ensemble) last appeared at Cleveland Play House as Haemon in Antigone. Christopher recently received his MFA degree from the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House Acting Program. Last summer he made his Chautauqua Theater Company debut playing De’Andre in Dominique Morisseau’s Blood at the Root directed by Stori Ayers, and Zanni and Flavio in Commedia Dell’Arte directed by Andrew Borba. Other theatre credits include Light It Up! (Cleveland Play House); Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) (African American Repertory Theater); The Tempest and Measure for Measure (Shakespeare Academy at Stratford); and Memphis (Music Theatre of Denton). Christopher’s film credits include Sing Canary, Sing. Instagram: @christopherbportley

 

CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL RICHARDSON

Ensemble / Swing

Christopher Michael Richardson (Ensemble / Swing) is an actor, director, and teaching artist in the Washington, D.C. area, and he is excited to be making his Arena Stage debut! His most recent theater credits include Our Town (Shakespeare Theatre Company) and the pre-Broadway run of A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). Christopher is the creator/composer of Everyday Magic (Arts on the Horizon), and some of his other favorite D.C. credits include Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (The Musical) (John F. Kennedy Center TYA), Matilda (Olney Theatre Center), The Book of Will (Round House Theatre) and his Helen Hayes-nominated performance in The Wiz (Ford’s Theatre). He holds a B.A. in English and Theatre from The College of William & Mary. Instagram: @chrismichrich www.cmrich.me

CHRIS ROBERTS

John Brown

Chris Roberts (John Brown) is a Grammy-nominated, multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter from Nashville, TN. He was in the original Broadway cast and National Touring company of The Civil War. His songs have been recorded by artists like H.E.R., Ashley Mcbride, Matt Stell, Ashley Campbell and others, and used for film and TV in spots like the Super Bowl, Assasin’s Creed, Fox Baseball, Nashville, Reign, Call of Duty, 12 Strong, Audi and others. Chris was a founding member of the band One Flew South. Signed to Decca/Universal, the band released its album Last of the Good Guys in 2008 to much critical acclaim and played Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and the Newport Folk Festival with Jimmy Buffet. As a solo artist, Chris has released an album of bluegrass songs called Mountain Standard Time and a pop/folk album, The Way West. His writing for the theater includes a musical commissioned by the Smithsonian for their D-Day Museum in New Orleans called The Boat that Won the War. Love to Wendy, Emily and Abby and thanks for letting me spend the summer in D.C. with this wonderful show! Instagram: @discohiker

BRENDON SCHAEFER

Ensemble / Swing / Abraham Lincoln/John Brown u/s

Brendon Schaefer (Ensemble / Swing / Abraham Lincoln/John Brown u/s) is proudly making his Arena debut! His most recent jaunt across the boards was as Fox in P. Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical (Imagination Stage). Other D.C. credits include Fame (GALA), Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Twelfth Night (STC), Plays From the Front Lines (Theater J). Before making D.C. home, Brendon spent some time with the National Tours of Pippin (King Charles), The Wedding Singer (Glen Gulia) and All Shook Up. Internationally, Hear Our Song played the Black Ship Festival in Japan, and Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Illusionarium showed him the wonders of Central and South America. He thanks his parents for being so supportive of his artistic quest. Go Further! Instagram: @beyond_the_realm

THOMAS ADRIAN SIMPSON

Abraham Lincoln / Garrison

Thomas Adrian Simpson (Abraham Lincoln / Garrison) Is ecstatic to be back inside a theater and at Arena Stage, where he first performed more than 30 years ago. Favorite Arena appearances include collaborations with Molly Smith: Whitney in Anything Goes, Pickering in My Fair Lady, Roy in  A Light in the Piazza; and Tazewell Thompson: Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun and Lincoln in Mary T. & Lizzy K. Favorite regional credits include: El Gallo in The Fantasticks with Infinity Theatre, Caiaphas in Jesus Chris Superstar at Signature Theatre and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd at Olney Theatre Center. Tom can be seen in season 4 of Netflix’s House of Cards and is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

CORNELIUS SMITH JR.

Frederick Douglass

Cornelius Smith Jr. (Frederick Douglass), proud native of Detroit, MI, is delighted/grateful to be making his debut at Arena Stage. After completing his MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and one of the last classes hand-picked by Zelda Fichandler, Cornelius booked a contracted role on All My Children which landed him a nomination for a Daytime Emmy and an NAACP Image Award. Other TV credits include Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, God Friended Me, SelfMade, Forever, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Manhunt: Deadly Games. Cornelius can next be seen leading opposite Vera Farmiga in Apple TV+’s limited series Five Days at Memorial from Carlton Cuse and John Ridley and ABC Signature. Big ups to my loving/supportive wife Stephanie. This one is for Legend! Instagram: @corneliussmithjr

CORREY WEST

Ensemble

Correy West (Ensemble) is a native of Dallas Texas and attended Northwestern State University. His credits include: Broadway: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Imperial Theatre), South Pacific (Lincoln Center); National Tours: Love Never Dies (1^st National - US Premiere), Anything Goes (1^st National), 42nd Street, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Chicago/Toronto); NY Theatre: The Ballad of Johnny and June (Workshop - Des McANuff), The Right Girl (Workshop - Susan Stroman), Show Boat (NY Philharmonic/Live from Lincoln Center), Lunch (NYMF), An Evening with Jason Robert Brown (The Cooper Union); Regional: Oliver (Virginia Stage Company), The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arkansas Rep Theatre), Smokey Joe's Cafe (Capital Rep Theatre), Shrek (NSMT). Instagram: @CorreyWest

CURTIS WILEY

Gabe / Ensemble / Frederick Douglass u/s

Curtis Wiley (Gabe / Ensemble / Frederick Douglass u/s) is overjoyed to be making his Arena Stage debut in American Prophet under the direction of Charles Randolph-Wright, and is thrilled to be creatively reunited with Marcus Hummon, TUT (New York Musical Festival). He made his Broadway debut in the Original Broadway Company of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. Other NYC credits: The Total Bent (Public Theater). Rothschild & Sons (York Theatre Co.); Straight Faced Lies (FringeNYC); Pageant: The Musical (Off-B'way Revival); The Great Society (York Shakespeare Co.); King Lear (Exit, Pursued by a Bear). Other musical credits: Diner: The Musical; Jersey Boys; The Lion King. Curtis is an alum of Sundance Institute Theatre Program, Wig Out! (Tarell Alvin McCraney). Stay in touch on IG:@Curtis_Wiley

KANYSHA WILLIAMS

Ensemble / Anna u/s

Kanysha Williams (Ensemble / Anna u/s) is so excited to be spending her summer at Arena Stage! A Washington, D.C. area native, Kanysha's most recent credits include Drumfolk (Arena Stage), A.D. 16 (Olney Theatre Center), Acoustic Rooster's Barnyard Boogie (The Kennedy Center), Always...Patsy Cline (Creative Cauldron) and Sister Act (Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre). Kanysha is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and George Mason University. Offstage, Kanysha is a voice and piano instructor, and a recording artist. Be on the lookout for her debut single, "ALIVE", coming to streaming platforms this summer! To God Be The Glory! Twitter: @KanyshaMusic Instagram: @StrawberrySings