Miss Saigon Cast and Crew

0: Greer, SC

Joseph Bach
Role: Chris

Joe is ecstatic to be playing the role of Chris this season at Western Playhouse.

Previous credits include three seasons at The Lost Colony (Manteo), A True History by Psittacus Productions in The Venue Theatre, and both John and Jen (John) and Proof (Hal) at the University of South Carolina.

Joe currently studies Music Theatre at Elon University.

1: Patsita Jiratipayabood - Bloomington, IL

Patsita Jiratipayabood
Role: Kim

Patsita Nice Jiratipayabood was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. After she convinced her parents to let her fly the nest, she hopped on the plane to the States and is now finishing up her BFA Music Theatre degree at Illinois Wesleyan University.

She is ecstatic to be making her professional debut in the Western Playhouse’s production of Miss Saigon. She is currently in the Seven Deadly Sins Dance Concert and is in a workshop of All the Kids Are Doing It, a new musical by Joey Contreras and Kate Thomas as Drea Jones.

Her previous works include the Nurse in Hello Again and Kathy in 9 to 5.

She loves spending her free time with her favorite cat, a cup of tea and a good book.

She would::text like to address special thanks to her family, friends, teachers and colleagues for all the love and support.

2: Sarasota, FL

Heather Kopp
Role: Ellen

Heather is thrilled to be a part of Miss Saigon.

Regional credits include both Pre-Broadway premiers of Bonnie & Clyde (Trish, Blanch u/s) and A Tale of Two Cities, as well as A Winters Tale and My Fair Lady (directed by Frank Galati) at the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Other credits include Godspell at Actors' Playhouse in Miami, Joseph... Dreamcoat (Narrator), I Do! I Do!, The Marvelous Wonderettes (Cindy Lou) at the Golden Apple, Under Six at Florida Studio Theatre, and the 2010 Summerstock season at the Arundel Barn Playhouse in Arundel, Maine.

Heather is a member of Actors' Equity.

Everlasting thanks to her family, friends and her loving husband, Craig.

3: Titusville, FL

Johnathan Shepherd
Role: John

Johnathan is blessed to be making his professional debut in the Western Playhouse production of Miss Saigon!

A native of Danville, IL, he now resides in Central Florida, where he is a resident choreographer and dance instructor.

He studies voice with instructor Priscilla Bagley and dance with Galmont Ballet and Fuzion Dance Centre.

For their endless love and support, he would::text like to thank all of his wonderful friends and family.

He is excited to be taking part in this new adventure with the cast and creative team of Miss Saigon.

Previous credits; Beef House Dinner Theater: Forever Plaid (Smudge). Danville Light Opera: Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Cocoa Village Playhouse: Big River (Jim), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey II).

4: Morgantown, WV

Cody Wilson
Role: Thuy

Cody Wilson is excited and couldn’t be more pleased to have his professional debut here at Western Playhouse.

Originally from Fairmont West Virginia he is an upcoming senior at West Virginia University in the BFA acting studio program.

He is extremely enthusiastic about working on Miss Saigon and getting a whole new perspective on his Vietnamese heritage by viewing it through the magic of theater.

He has been seen in West Virginia University’s productions of The Cherry Orchard as Firs, Blood Wedding as Woodcutter and Youth, and The Visit as Kobby.

He would::text like to thank all of his friends and family for a life time of support and Western Playhouse for giving him the role of a lifetime!

5: Kansas City, MO

Vi Tran
Role: Engineer

Vi Tran is equal parts sea salt and wheat fields. A storyteller, performing artist and arts advocate, Vi was born near Sai Gon, Vietnam and raised in southwestern Kansas. He began performing as a toddler in the refugee camps of southeast Asia. Other refugees took pity on the young (and literally starving) artist, giving him what food they could spare.

Vi earned his MA in Theatre Directing and BA in Theatre/English, both from Kansas State University. Theatre credits: Starlight Theatre, Coterie Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, Crossroads Theatre Company, Playhouse on the Square and the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts’ Summer Playwriting Intensive. Kansas City Star theatre critic Robert Trussell selected him as an Emerging Theatre Artist of 2007.

As a proud resident of Kansas City and a working artist himself, Vi is passionate about arts advocacy and spreading art’s role in the community. He has served as a facilitator for Artist, INC, a professional development seminar for local artists, for Coterie Theatre's "Reaching the Write Minds" playwriting-in-the-schools program, has written as a music columnist for The Deli Magazine and KCMetropolis.org, and hosts Hello Art's monthly First Friday art tours of the Crossroads Arts district.

As a both a solo musician and bandleader of the Vi Tran Band, he has garnered a warm reception from audiences as well as The Kansas City Star, INK Magazine and Present Magazine. The Pitch, Kansas City's alternative press weekly, nominated the Vi Tran Band as Emerging Act of 2011 for their annual Pitch Music Awards. Goodbye, Summer, his debut recording, was included in Best of 2010 lists by KCUR 89.3 FM and KKFI 90.9 FM and led to his invitation to play the Kauffman Center for the Performing Art’s 1Year2Go Celebration, headlined by Chaka Khan. He has performed and emceed The Midwest Music Foundation's Midcoast Takeover, an unofficial showcase of bands from the Midwest, at The SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX. The Midcoast Takeover has garnered national attention, including Vi's featured interview in USA Today. The Vi Tran Band will release their next album, American Heroine, in August 2013. Their music can be heard at www.vitranmusic.com.

Vi’s original work has been described as earnest, intimate and inspiring. He considers it an open-ended refugee story and All-American tale, full of sea salt and wheat fields; landlocked sailors and broken lovers; discovery and loss; but most of all, hope.

6: Robbinsville, NJ

Alyssa McAnany
Role: Gigi

7: Highland Heights, KY

Jessica Adamson
Role: Female Chorus

Jessica Adamson is a student at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights Kentucky. She is proud to be working with Western Playhouse for the first time in Miss Saigon.

Her recent past credits include Vivienne in Legally Blonde, Rizzo in Grease, and Queenie in Wild Party.

She wants to thank her family and friends for supporting her in everything she does, and God for gracing her with the ability to entertain. "Break a leg, Ya'll!"

8: Mission, TX

Alyssa Cavazos
Role: Female Chorus

9: Oklahoma City, OK

Kate Moore
Role: Female Chorus

10: Nashville, TN

Alexandra McNamara
Role: Female Chorus

This is Alexandra's first time working with the good people of Western Playhouse, and coincidentally the most West she has ever been!

She received a BA in Theatre at Middle Tennessee State University this past May.

Her favorite roles include "Maureen" in Rent, "The Witch" in Into the Woods, and "Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre" in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

She dedicates her performance to her brother, Thomas. Enjoy the show!

11: Harrisonburg, VA

Maddie Arthur
Role: Female Chorus

Maddie Arthur is thrilled to be making her premier at Western Playhouse this summer in Miss Saigon performing as a member of the ensemble as well as understudying the role of Ellen.

Maddie just recently graduated from James Madison University where she studied musical theatre. Some of her favorite roles while she was there include, Ilse in Spring Awakening, Woman/Norma in A Girl Called Vincent and Clara/Heartbreak Girl in Bright Lights, Big City.

She originally hails from Potomac Falls, Virginia and is looking forward to experiencing the town of St. Joseph, Missouri.

12: Natchitoches, LA

Alisha Munds
Role: Female Chorus

13: Murfreesboro, TN

Stephen White
Role: Male Chorus

Stephen White is currently seeking a Bachelors Degree at Middle Tennessee State University, in Theatre and Music.

He has been featured in several productions including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Hero, Guys and Dolls as Rusty Charlie, and Into the Woods as Rapunzel’s Prince.

He has received vocal training under the direction of Dr. Christine Isley-Farmer. He plans on pursuing theatre and music performance as well as writing music. He is excited about where life will take him and to be a part of this cast and production!

14: Orlando, FL

Will Browning
Role: Male Chorus

15: Oxford, MS

Justin Charles
Role: Male Chorus

16: Salters, SC

17: Grain Valley, MO

Kyle Minx
Role: Male Chorus

Kyle Minx is a Missouri Western graduate with a degree in music education. He has been heavily involved with theatre both at Missouri Western and St. Joseph’s residential theatre.

He has most recently played as Bert Healy and President Roosevelt in MWSU’s production of Annie.

Kyle is ecstatic to be spending another summer with Western Playhouse and is thrilled to be working with this cast of talented actors.

18: Elon, NC

Nick Martinez
Role: Male Chorus

19: Abilene, TX

Tyler Dunnington
Role: Male Chorus

Tyler Dunnington just finished his Junior year at Abilene Christian University.

His hometown is Grapevine, Texas where he began studying theatre his junior year in high school.

His passion for theatre led him to ACU where he has had the opportunity to participate in musicals such as The King and I, and 42nd St., and most recently Footloose.

After graduation Tyler plans to move to New York City and pursue a professional career in theatre.

20: Tuscaloosa, AL

Wen Powers
Role: Male Chorus

21: Rock Hill, SC

Jonathan Hoskins
Role: Male Chorus

22: Jagger Bowers - Springfield, MO

Jagger Bowers
Role: Male Chorus

Jagger Bowers recently finished his freshman year as a BFA Acting Candidate in Missouri State University's Theatre and Dance Department.

He graduated from Central High School in St. Joseph Missouri, where he played the roles of Enjolras inLes Miserables, Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods, Ellard Simms inThe Foreigner, and Tommy Keeler inAnnie Get Your Gun.

He is thrilled for the opportunity to work with the Western Playhouse.

23: Kearney, MO

Thomas Delgado
Role: Male Chorus

24: Kent, OH

Seth Hunter
Role: Male Chorus

Seth Hunter is an upcoming Senior Musical Theatre major at Kent State University. He is very excited to be a part of this wonderful cast and crew of Western Playhouse.

Past roles have included: Roger in Rent, Jesus in Godspell, and Ash in Evil Dead: The Musical.

He would::text like to thank his family for being so supportive of him throughout the years as well as his fiancé whom he could not live without.

25: Arab, AL

Will Vickers
Role: Male Chorus

26: Atlanta, GA

Mark Cabus
Role: Stage Manager

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota but raised in Northeast Tennessee, Mark Cabus is a skilled actor and director, classically trained in England and in New York City. He has performed all over the world in film and television as well as Off Broadway and in regional and children's theater.

A graduate of Belmont University, he received additional training and study at the National Shakespeare Conservatory as well as Columbia and Oxford Universities and the Roundabout Theater’s Theatrical Teaching Institute.

Mark is recognized in his home of Atlanta for his work with the Alliance Theater, Georgia Shakespeare, Theatrical Outfit, Actors Express and Theatre Emory and in Tennessee with the Clarence Brown Company, Tennessee Repertory Theater, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and his own company, Naked Stages. Mark’s movie and TV credits range from the Warner Bros. blockbuster The Client and HBO's Emmy Award-winning film Against the Wall to the CBS pilot High Lonesome.

His short film, The Important Things, co-written and directed by Belmont University film department chair Will Akers, won the “Cut to the Chase” Award at the 2009 Eugene International Film Festival.

His column, “Naked Pages” is a bi-monthly feature for online magazine, The Clyde Fitch Report: A Nexus of Art and Politics.

An educator of merit, Mark served on the faculties at Belmont University, the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, the Nashville Film Institute, the GA Shakespeare High School Conservatory, and as a guest lecturer and teaching artist at Vanderbilt University and the University of the South as well as with Tennessee Performing Arts Center Education.

He is currently the Director of Education at Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta. Twice, The Tennessean and the Nashville Scene honored Mark as the city’s Best Actor and Director (2000, 2008), the only artist in that city to be distinguished as such.

He was awarded the Tennessee Arts Commission/Ingram Industries Individual Artist Fellowship for 1992 and the Tennessee Williams Fellowship for 2003 from the University of the South. Mark is an avid reader and Internet surfer, but his friends prefer his cooking.

27: Carrollton, GA

Jenna Sargent
Role: Assistant Stage Manager

28: Demorest, GA

Caroline Harmon
Role: Scenic Charge

29: Richmond, VA

Mackenzie Ellis
Role: Sound Designer

30: Brooklyn, NY

Joseph Gourley
Role: Scenic Designer

31: Chicago, IL

John Bone
Role: Master Carpenter

32: St Joseph, MO

Anna Brockman
Role: Female Chorus

Anna is thrilled to be a part of her first Western Playhouse production.

She is a 2013 graduate of Central High School in St. Joseph. In the fall, she plans to attend Millikin University to obtain a BFA in Musical Theatre.

Her most recent roles include Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Eponine in Les Miserables.

She would::text like to thank the Robidoux Resident Theatre for allowing her to grow through 17 amazing productions since the time she was 10. She thanks Tee Quillin and Mark Pennington for giving her this new opportunity to grow as an artist. She would finally::text like to thank her friends and family, especially her mother, Karla, for their unconditional love and support.