The Postman’s Daughter

Composer

Justin D. Cook is a Minneapolis-based composer, music director, and sound designer with an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His original work has been seen at Lincoln Center, Circle in the Square Theater School, UCLA, Syracuse University, Musical Theater West (Long Beach, CA), York Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater, Macalester College, Nautilus Music-Theater, and others. He was a participant in the long-running Composer/Librettist Studio (Nautilus Music-Theater) and a two-time NMTC semifinalist. As a music director, he has often worked with Children’s Theater Company, ILLUSION THEATER, Nautilus Music-Theater, UCLA, University of Northwestern – St. Paul, among many other theaters and universities.

[photo credit: Lauren B Photography]

Lyricist

Danielle Koenig is a queer writer, actor, and comedian based in New York and Los Angeles. Their full-length work has been developed at Second Stage, Musical Theater Factory, Circle In The Square Theater School, Prospect Musicals, and more. They have been commissioned by FUSE Theatre and multiple times by the Brooklyn Children’s Theater and are a proud graduate of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program and a member of UNTITLED Musical Writers Group. Their standalone songs have been seen at theatrical venues across New York City and beyond including Joe’s Pub, Rattlestick Playwright's Theater, 54 Below, Lincoln Center, Imagination Stage in Washington DC, and more. 

IG: @danielle_koenig | DanielleKoenig.com

Director (A Pickle, The Postmans’s Daughter, Scarecrow on Fire), Executive Producing Director

Michael founded ILLUSION THEATER in 1974. Over the past 50 years, he has guided nearly 500 plays to production. Most recently Michael directed T. Mychael Rambo's PRESENT, Judy, Joan & Joni (conceived by Michael and Roberta Carlson), the premiere of Michael Egan's stage adaptation Five Minutes of Heaven, and In This Moment...Now. Favorite projects he has directed include Allison Moore’s Ivey award winning My Antonia, Bill W. & Dr. Bob by Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey, James Still’s Miranda, Kate Guentzel in The Pink Unicorn, and Jeffrey Hatcher and Chan Poling’s A Night in Olympus. With Roberta Carlson, Michael created the musical Only One Sophie. Michael is part of the team that created ILLUSION’s Education/Prevention program in 1977 starting with the award-winning play Touch. Michael received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Ivey Award.

[photo credit: Lauren B Photography]

Daughter

THEATER: Ten Thousand Things Theater: The Spitfire Grill, Iphigenia at Aulis, Ten Thousand Voices; Guthrie Theater: The Parchman Hour, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Christmas Carol, King Lear; Theater Latté Da: Scotland, PA; Illinois Shakespeare Festival; Montana Shakespeare in the Parks; The Playwrights’ Center; The Jungle Theater; Theatre L’Homme Dieu; Virginia Repertory Theatre Company; Kansas Repertory Theater; Fulton Opera; Opera Montana among others. Katherine is happy to call both Minnesota and the East Coast her artistic homes. In addition to performing, Katherine is a musician and composer - she most recently composed music for The Hatmaker’s Wife with Ten Thousand Things Theater. TRAINING: University of Minnesota / Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program.

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

[photo credit: Lauren B Photography]

Postman - The Postman’s Daughter

Bradley Greenwald is a singer, actor, writer and director. For over thirty years he has performed with almost every theater, dance company and music ensemble in the Twin Cities. He adapted Madeleine L’Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time into a libretto for Libby Larsen’s opera; wrote the book and lyrics for C. (adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac), and Johnny Skeeky, or The Remedy for Everything, (adaptation of the Puccini comedy with Steven Epp), both produced by Theater Latté Da. Bradley has curated and written narratives for innovative spoken word/music concerts for Open Eye Theater, Schubert Club Mix, Music Saint Croix, St. Cloud Symphony, Oratorio Society of Minnesota and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. He is the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in music, the McKnight Fellowship for Theater Artists, and the Ivey Award. Bradley is Co-coordinator of MacPhail's Prelude: Singer-Actor Lab for high school students. 

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

[photo credit: Lauren B Photography]

Music Director

Benjamin Emory Larson is a playwright, composer, lyricist, music director, and pianist in the Twin Cities. His work has been commissioned and performed throughout the country in over a dozen states, and he has worked as a music director and pianist on cruise ships, at amusement parks, and in dozens of theatrical productions and cabarets. Two of his shows have been semi-finalists for The National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, and he has been nominated for two Portland Area Musical Theater Awards: Outstanding Original Musical and Outstanding Original Score. His work has been programmed, workshopped, and performed by Theater Latté Da, The Los Angeles LGBT Center, Teatro Latea in New York, Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, Casa 0101 in Los Angeles, A Little New Music, Nautilus Music-Theater, and Theatre Elision.

Lighting Consultant; Lighting Design (The Postman’s Daughter)

Dante (they/she/any) is a freelance lighting designer and technician based in Minneapolis who is excited to return to the ILLUSION. Previous ILLUSION design credits include Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot, Red and the Mother Wild, and In This Moment Now. Recent design Credits Included: A Jumping Off Point (Jungle), The Pinballs, The Imaginators (Black Hawk Children's Theater) Assistant design credits include Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, Annie (Children’s Theatre Company). The Song Poet (Minnesota Opera), Rusalka; Pelleas et Mellisande; The Flying Dutchman (Santa Fe Opera Festival) Sound of Music; The Jungle Book (Glimmerglass Opera Festival)

Scenic Design

Sarah Harris (she/her) is delighted to join ILLUSIONonce again after Properties Designing Nobody, No Time. She is a Minneapolis based Properties and Scenic Designer who has worked at Theatre Mu, The Guthrie Theater, MN Opera, and Frank Theatre. She recently moved from Phoenix, AZ where she was the Properties Manager for The Phoenix Theatre Company.

Sarah spent eight years in NYC working for such companies as Jerard Studio, Theater for the New City, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bone Simple Designs. She was also the Properties Master at STAGES St. Louis.

She has designed throughout the country since receiving her MFA in Stage Design from SMU in 2019. Favorite Scenic Designs include Constellations (The Phoenix Theatre Company); The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The God of Hell, and Bug (The Constructivists); Waitress (Lincoln Community Playhouse); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (The Black Theatre Troupe of Phoenix); Spring Awakening, The Cherry Orchard, and Alcina (SMU). Sarah is also an Administrator for Urban Sketchers - Twin Cities. See her work at www.sharrisdesigns.com.

Stage Manager - A Pickle; Frederico, My Love; The Postman’s Daughter

Joelle Coutu is excited to be back with ILLUSION THEATER. Joelle has been a stage manager in the Twin Cities for over 20 years for various large and small companies.  She has worked for such places as the Theater Latte Da, Lyric Opera of the North, Skylark Opera, History Theater, Guthrie Theater, Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, Park Square Theater, Triple Espresso, among others.

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States