Unknown Soldier

DANIEL GOLDSTEIN

Book and Lyrics

Daniel Goldstein (Book and Lyrics) is thrilled to be making his Arena debut. Unknown Soldier has previously been seen at Williamstown Theatre Festival and Playwrights Horizons. His musical Row, about Tori Murden McClure, the first woman/American to row across the Atlantic, was produced by Williamstown and is also available on Audible. Upcoming projects include Joan, a play about the late Joan Rivers at South Coast Rep, and Kane and Abel, a musical written with Frank Wildhorn and Nathan Tysen based on the best-selling novel for toho Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. His plays include Orange Crush, commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company, about Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of The Art of the Deal. With Friedman, he is also the author of The Song of Songs, an adaptation of the Sholem Aleichem novella. Daniel is the winner of the 2016 Kleban Prize for most promising musical theater librettist. As a director his work includes many productions on and off-Broadway and at theaters around the United States and internationally. He is a graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Performance Studies. This one is for Melissa, without whom nothing would be possible.

MICHAEL FRIEDMAN

Music, Lyrics, and Orchestrations

Michael Friedman (Music, Lyrics, and Orchestrations)'s credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Broadway and Public Theater) Unknown Soldier, The Fortress of Solitude, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Mr. Burns. With The Civilians: Canard Canard Goose, Gone Missing, Nobody’s Lunch, This Beautiful City, In the Footprint, The Great Immensity, Paris Commune, Pretty Filthy, and The Abominables. He was the Artist-in-Residence and Director of the Public Forum at The Public Theater and Artistic Director of City Center Encores! Off-Center. He received the 2007 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Music as well as a star on the Playwrights’ Sidewalk at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

TRIP CULLMAN

Director

 Trip Cullman (Director) Also at Arena: Exclusion. Broadway: The Rose Tattoo, Choir Boy, Lobby Hero, Six Degrees of Separation, Significant Other. Select Off-Broadway: I Can Get It for You Wholesale (CSC); Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow, Yen, Punk Rock [Obie Award], A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City (MCC); Days Of Rage, The Layover, The Substance of Fire, Lonely I’m Not, Bachelorette, Some Men, Swimming in the Shallows(Second Stage); Unknown Soldier, The Pain of My Belligerence, Assistance, A Small Fire [Drama Desk nomination], The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons); Choir Boy(MTC); Murder Ballad (MTC and Union Square Theatre); The Mother, I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard (Atlantic); Roulette (EST); The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing (Rattlestick); The Last Sunday in June (Rattlestick and Century Center); Dog Sees God (Century Center); U.S. Drag (stageFARM); and several productions with The Play Company. London: The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, PA (Tricycle). Select regional: Berkeley Rep, Geffen, Alliance, Old Globe, La Jolla, South Coast Rep, Bay Street, Williamstown Theatre Festival. 

PATRICK McCOLLUM

Choreographer

Patrick McCollum (Choreographer) Arena Stage debut! Credits as choreographer/movement director: The Band’s Visit (Tony Award for Best Musical 2018), Angels in America (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play 2018). Other Broadway credits include Wicked as North American Dance Supervisor; The Shark is Broken; The Lightning Thief; Oh, Hello! starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. Off-Broadway and Regional credits: The Tempest (LA Philharmonic/Old Globe); Unknown Soldier (Playwrights Horizons, Williamstown Theatre Festival); To My Girls, Man from Nebraska (Second Stage); A Case for the Existence of God (Signature Theatre); A Marvelous Order (Opera). As associate choreographer for Broadway/Off-Broadway: The Last Ship (music by Sting), Peter and the Starcatcher, Rocky, Murder Ballad. Love to DR for the love and encouragement. For Michael.

MARCO PAGUIA

Orchestrations/Music Supervision

Marco Paguia (Orchestrations/Music Supervision) is a music director, arranger, orchestrator, and pianist based in New York most recently seen on Broadway in Gutenberg! The Musical!. He is the MD, arranger, and orchestrator of Buena Vista Social Club, which premiered at Atlantic Theater last winter. He music directed the Broadway productions of Girl From The North Country, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Everyday Rapture. Other Broadway credits include The Wiz (2024), SpongeBob SquarePants, Sunday in the Park with George (2017), Tuck Everlasting, If/Then, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Addams Family, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He was the MD for Goddess (Berkeley Rep). Marco played on the soundtrack to Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

JULIE McBRIDE

Music Supervision

Julie McBride (Music Supervision) is currently the music director for Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. Other Broadway credits:SpongeBob SquarePants (music director), Ink at Manhattan Theatre Club (music director), Head Over Heels (music director),Pretty Woman (associate conductor), Amazing Grace (associate conductor), Finding Neverland (assistant conductor). Off-Broadway/Regional: Teeth (Playwrights Horizons), A Transparent Musical(Mark Taper Forum),Unknown Soldier (Playwrights Horizons), Row (Williamstown), Next to Normal (Second Stage), These Paper Bullets! (Yale Rep, Atlantic Theater Company), Deathless (Goodspeed), Miss You Like Hell (La Jolla, Public Theater), Daddy Long Legs (11 regional productions). Film/TV: West Side Story (dir. Steven Spielberg), Little Voice (Apple TV+), The Path (Hulu), Rise (Amazon Prime).

CHRIS KONG

Music Director

Chris Kong (Music Director) [he/him] is a New York City-based pianist and music director. Most recently, Chris served as the conductor for the first national tour of Mean Girls. Broadway credits include Some Like It Hot, Disney’s Frozen, Mean Girls, Pretty Woman, The Prom, Miss Saigon, Allegiance, Kinky Boots, and Disney’s Newsies. Off-Broadway credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Far From Heaven, Carrie, Silence!, and Altar Boyz. Other tour credits include Disney’s Frozen and The Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary). Regional work includes Life After (Goodman Theatre, The Old Globe) and Allegiance (The Old Globe). Chris is a proud member of MUSE (Musicians United for Social Equity). He is a San Francisco Bay Area native and graduate of the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific. “It’s an honor just to be Asian.” – Sandra Oh

MARK WENDLAND

Set Designer

Mark Wendland (Set Designer) Broadway: Rose Tattoo, Six Degrees of Separation, Significant Other, Heisenberg, If/ Then, Merchant of Venice (Tony nomination), Next to Normal (Tony nomination), Talk Radio, An Almost Holy Picture, Death of a Salesman. New York: The Gardens of Anuncia (Lincoln Center); Murder Ballad (MTC); The Mother (Atlantic); Unknown Soldier (Playwrights Horizons); Moscow Moscow Moscow..., Yen, Punk Rock (MCC); I Can Get It for You Wholesale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Hamlet (CSC); The Layover (Second Stage); The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide..., Satellites, Fucking A, Pericles, A Dybbuk, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Cymbeline, Timon of Athens (Public Theater); Angels in America (Signature). Faculty: Interim Head of Design and Production, Fordham University Theater Program.

JACOB A. CLIMER

Costume Designer

Jacob A. Climer (Costume Designer)’s recent credits include scenic and costume design for Love for Three Oranges (Des Moines Metro Opera) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Olney Theatre Center). Additional costume highlights include new musicals with John Kander (Kid Victory) and Sarah Ruhl (Melancholy Play) and the contemporized production of Les Misérables at Dallas Theater Center. Opera scenic and costume highlights include Midsummer Night’s Dream, Platée (Des Moines Metro Opera), Steve Jobs (performed in the US and Canada, coming to DC next season), and Flying Dutchman (The Atlanta Opera/Cincinnati Opera/Houston Grand Opera). Jacob is also the Creative Director and costume and scenic designer for the annual Texas Rose Festival (2020-present). His work on the latter was covered by the New York Times Style section. www.jaclimer.com Instagram: @jaclimerdesign

BEN STANTON

Lighting Designer

Ben Stanton (Lighting Designer)’s Broadway credits include The Notebook, Mary Jane, Days of Wine and Roses, Good Night, Oscar (starring Sean Hayes), The Collaboration, A Christmas Carol (starring Jefferson Mays, TONY™ nomination), The Rose Tattoo (starring Marisa Tomei), Derren Brown: Secret, Regina Spektor: Live On Broadway, Fun Home (TONY™ nomination), Junk (TONY™ nomination), Six Degrees of Separation, Deaf West’s Spring Awakening (TONY™ nomination), Fully Committed (starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson), An Enemy of the People, and Seminar. Ben serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College, and he’s the founder and principal designer at Stanton Collaborative, a full-service design firm specializing in concerts, events, and lighting installations. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, the projection designer Lucy Mackinnon, and their two children.

LEON ROTHENBERG

Sound Designer

Leon Rothenberg (Sound Designer) Arena: Turn Me Loose, Pullman Porter Blues. Broadway: Hillary and Clinton; The Waverly Gallery; Mike Birbiglia’s The New One; The Boys in the Band; A Doll’s House, Part 2. Off-Broadway: Playwrights Horizons, Classic Stage Company, 59E59, NYCC, Primary Stages, Second Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, Public Theater. Regional: Arizona Theatre Company, Huntington. International: Cirque du Soleil, National Theatre of Cyprus, Dijon International Festival. Tony Award for Sound Design for The Nance. klaxson.net

LUCY MACKINNON

Projection Designer

Lucy Mackinnon (Projection Designer) is a projection designer and video artist who lives in Brooklyn. She is a two-time Tony Award nominee whose Broadway design credits include The Notebook, Kimberly Akimbo, A Christmas Carol, How I Learned to Drive, Jagged Little Pill, The Rose Tattoo, Lifespan of a Fact, Six Degrees of Separation, and Deaf West’s revival of Spring Awakening. As a graphic artist, Lucy has contributed to exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. She teaches projection design at Brooklyn College, and has previously taught at Ithaca College and Fordham University.

J. JARED JANAS

Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer

J. Jared Janas (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer) Arena Stage: Ride the Cyclone. Broadway: Mary Jane, Prayer for the French Republic, Purlie Victorious, Good Night, Oscar, Sweeney Todd, Ohio State Murders, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, Topdog/Underdog, How I Learned to Drive, American Buffalo, Jagged Little Pill, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Gettin' the Band Back Together, Bandstand, Indecent, Sunset Boulevard, The Visit, The Real Thing, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Motown, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, All About Me. Recent Off-Broadway: Sally & Tom, Dead Outlaw, Sunset Baby, Jelly's Last Jam, Once Upon a Mattress.

SUSANNA WOLK

Associate Director

Susanna Wolk (Associate Director) is a New York-based director. She is currently the Associate Director of the hit musical & Juliet on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Waitress, Choir Boy, Lobby Hero, Significant Other, and Finding Neverland. Favorite directing credits include Jessy Tomsko’s In Emily’s Words (Wharton Center), Justine Gelfman’s In Sisters We Trust, or My Fucked Up American Girl Doll Play, Jenny Waxman and Ben Page’s Leaving Eden (NYMF, winner Best Musical), the short film A New Chapter, and the 2nd National Tour of Waitress. BA: Harvard University. She is thrilled to be working on this wondrous show for the third time. Infinite love and gratitude to Trip, Danny, and her brilliant friends and family. www.susanna-wolk.com Instagram: @susannawolk

FRANCINE ESPIRITU

Associate Choreographer

Francine Espiritu (Associate Choreographer) couldn’t be more grateful to revisit this show! Recent credits include The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Assoc. Choreographer for Broadway, National Tour), A Chorus Line (Director/Choreographer at The Argyle Theatre), A Chorus Line (Asst. Choreographer for New York City Center, Hollywood Bowl, National Tour), Unknown Soldier (Assoc. Choreographer at Playwrights Horizons), Interstellar Cinderella (Choreographer at Theatre Row NYC). BFA in Dance Performance at University of California, Irvine. All the gratitude to Patrick, the creative team, my family, friends, MSA and M for their love and encouragement. Support the ARTS. We need it more than ever. This is for you Diana. Instagram: @francine.espiritu

PETER LEIGH-NILSEN

Associate Music Director/Conductor/ Piano

Peter Leigh-Nilsen (Associate Music Director/Conductor/ Piano) is thrilled to be joining this team at Arena Stage! Select work includes Harmony (Broadway, Off-Broadway), the national tours of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Anastasia, The Bodyguard, My Fair Lady (China), The Producers, Guys and Dolls, Bring It On: The Musical (US, Japan), Dreamgirls (China), and Aida (Taiwan). He has recorded on OBC albums for Sony Masterworks (Grinch) and Ghostlight Records (Harmony).

OTIS RAMSEY-ZÖE

Dramaturg

Otis Ramsey-Zöe (Dramaturg) is a care worker, dramaturg, director, theater arts educator, and Literary Manager at Arena Stage. He has developed new works at such institutions as Sundance Institute, Kennedy Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Center, and National New Play Network. He has held posts in Dramaturgy at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and Carnegie Mellon University, Theatre at Northeastern University, Women’s Studies and Honors Humanities at University of Maryland, Performing Arts at American University, and Theatre Arts at Howard University. He was Associate Artistic Director at banished? productions, Future Classics Program Coordinator at The Classical Theatre of Harlem, Literary Manager at Center Stage, and an Allen Lee Hughes Senior Fellow at Arena Stage.

JOSEPH PINZON

Casting Director

Joseph Pinzon (Casting Director) is the founder and creative producer of the contemporary circus company Short Round Productions and its award-winning show Filament. With over 25 years of performing experience, he has worked internationally with renowned companies such as Cirque Éloize, Compagnia Finzi Pasca, Cirque du Soleil, and The 7 Fingers. He holds an MS in Arts Leadership from USC, a BA in Psychology from UCLA, and graduated from the National Circus School in Montreal with a specialization in aerial techniques. He was the casting and resident director for Chamäleon Productions (Berlin) and Constellation Immersive (CAA’s experiential affiliate). He is also a member of the Creative & Independent Producer Alliance and a founding board member of the American Circus Alliance. You can see him causing chaos on season 6 of Nailed It! on Netflix, where (spoiler alert) he is a part of the series’ first three-way tie.

THE TELSEY OFFICE

New York Casting

The Telsey Office (New York Casting) With offices in both New York and Los Angeles, The Telsey Office casts for theater, film, television, and commercials. The Telsey Office is dedicated to creating safe, equitable, and anti-racist spaces through collaboration, artistry, heart, accountability, and advocacy. thetelseyoffice.com

LISA ANN CHERNOFF

Stage Manager

Lisa Ann Chernoff (Stage Manager) Broadway: Once Upon a One More Time, The Great Society, My Fair Lady, Oslo, The King and I, Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy,Catch Me If You Can,Women on the Verge..., Ragtime,Shrek. San Francisco: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. National Tour:Spamalot. Off-Broadway: Unknown Soldier; Pocatello; Detroit; Rapture, Blister, Burn; Prayer for My Enemy (Playwrights Horizons);Spain (Second Stage); Mary Jane (NYTW); Kingdom Come (Roundabout); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages). Regional: Pasadena Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Long Wharf, Intiman, Seattle Rep, Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

DAYNE SUNDMAN

Assistant Stage Manager

Dayne Sundman (Assistant Stage Manager) is happy to be back at Arena Stage. Some favorite past shows at Arena include POTUS, Angels in America: Part One, Millennium Approaches; American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words; Catch Me If You Can; and Anything Goes. Select other credits include Jane Anger, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (STC); Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Sense and Sensibility (Idaho Shakespeare Festival). Baldwin Wallace University 2015. 

HUNTER ARNOLD

Producer

Hunter Arnold (Producer) Select Broadway: Hadestown (Tony), Moulin Rouge! (Tony), The Inheritance (Tony), The Heart of Rock and Roll, Cabaret, The Notebook, A Beautiful Noise, Back to the Future, Purlie Victorious, Dear Evan Hansen (Tony), A Doll’s House, Company (Tony), A Strange Loop (Tony), Kinky Boots (Tony), Once on This Island (Tony). Select West End: Cabaret (Olivier), Hadestown, Plaza Suite, Back to the Future (Olivier), The Inheritance (Olivier), Kinky Boots (Olivier). Select Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors. Instagram: @huntercarnold