Laugh out Loud: A Comedy Cabaret – Saturday

Jane Rhodes got her start touring Michigan and California with the Young Americans while still a teenager. She attended MSU, where she obtained a BA in Theatre. She did the dinner theater circuit in Illinois and Florida and multiple leading roles with the Albuquerque Civic Light Opera before moving to Europe with her husband, Kevin. While there she made appearances with the Stadttheater Basel in Basel, Switzerland, the Schwäbisch Hall Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, and toured Germany in a production of Little Shop of Horrors. She loves enjoying all the beautiful nature TC offers and can often be seen cycling on the TART trail!

Eric Pinder has been active in the Central Florida arts scene for over 30 years acting, directing, and writing shows. Some of his favorite roles include Major General Stanley in Pirates Of Penzance, Officer Lockstock in Urinetown, Fagin in Oliver!, and Lucius in The Explorer’s Club. He has directed plays, musicals, operettas, and operas. He is the Artistic Director of Central Florida Vocal Arts and Opera Del Sol. He is classically trained, so all of his shenanigans are stylistically correct. He is looking forward to working with Kevin and Jane Rhodes again because the last show they did, the scenery collapsed.

Mary has been a musical theater performer for over 30 years, and has worked professionally for 20 of those. Favorite roles include Martha Jefferson in 1776, Alice Beane in Titanic, Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Marian in The Music Man, and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. She has been the Music and Theater director at Leland Public Schools for the past three years and has directed theater for over ten — more than 17 shows — and also focuses on vocal direction and choreography for many of the shows she directs.

Jackson is incredibly excited to be performing with this cast and Kevin. He recently just graduated from Wright State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre this May. This is Jackson’s first time with the Philharmonic, and is ecstatic to be performing so close to home. Outside of singing, Jackson likes to build computers, and does IT work as the intern at the county when home. Jackson would like to thank his parents Rick and Lynne Church for their unending support, and for dinner tonight.

Katie O’Connor (soprano) is a Traverse City-born vocalist whose powerful voice and infectious stage presence have delighted audiences around the region. Known primarily for her passion for Celtic music, Katie has shared the rich culture of the Irish through song and dance alongside local duo Rigs and Jeels and the artists of TC Celtic. She is excited to shift gears and indulge in her love for musical theater once again with the TC Philharmonic.

Steve McQuown is a Leland-based digital strategist dedicated to helping arts and culture organizations connect and flourish online. A Chicagoland native, he studied musical theatre and business at Northwestern University. After years exploring new creative paths, professional opportunities, and life’s evolving responsibilities, he’s delighted to return to the joys of performing.

Sarah Ruth Mikulski is a professional singer and actor based in New York City and is thrilled to be back with the TC Philharmonic! Sarah has performed with Disney Cruise Line, Opera Grand Rapids, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, College Light Opera Company, and The American Institute of Musical Studies (Graz, Austria), among others. Favorite roles include Ella (R&H’s Cinderella), Carrie Pipperidge (Carousel), The Wardrobe (Beauty and the Beast), and Lucy Brown (The Threepenny Opera). Sarah is from Traverse City, Michigan and holds an MM in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and a BM from Western Michigan University.

A lifelong musician and lover of the stage, Eric Fegan studied Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, later returning for a degree in Economics. He has performed on stages from Traverse City to Ann Arbor to New York and back again, as a singer, actor, and piano accompanist. Although he dabbles in saxophone, guitar, ukulele, accordion, and even the didgeridoo, Eric’s main focuses are voice and piano. He is the accompanist at Mission Hill Church in Traverse City, a voice instructor at Northwestern Michigan College, and frequently vocal-directs for the Old Town Playhouse Young Company. Eric lives for the nature of northern Michigan, and loves to share it with his wife, Julia, and their son.