Anthony is a multi-award-winning writer. With his long-term collaborator, George Stiles, his writing credits include the international hits, Mary Poppins and Honk!, and the West End productions of Half a Sixpence, Betty Blue Eyes, and The Wind in the Willows. Other regional: Identical, Just So, Becoming Nancy, Soho Cinders, Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure, Travels With My Aunt, and a trilogy of children’s musicals, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. For my best friend George, without whom, like Maxwell Kane, I would have never picked up a pen.

As a composer, Ryan has written Freak The Mighty and The Good Hair Day, both with Anthony Drewe. His choral work, “Snow,” was premiered by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and his symphonic work, “Return to the City Overture,” was premiered by the San Antonio Symphony. As a music director, he has conducted the Broadway productions of Kinky Boots, Wicked, Back to the Future, The Notebook, Mean Girls, and the New York productions of Jasper in Deadland and The Man in the Ceiling. He has played piano for Hamilton, Wicked, Mary Poppins, and Sweeney Todd. For mom and dad. ryanfieldinggarrett.com

Rodman Philbrick grew up on the New England coast, where he worked as a longshoreman and boat builder. Inspired by the life of a boy who lived a few blocks away, he wrote Freak The Mighty, the award-winning novel, which has been translated into numerous languages and is now read in schools throughout the world. The book was adapted to the screen as The Mighty (1998). His Civil War novel, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, won a Newbery Honor. A play version of it premiered at the Kennedy Center. Rod is amazed by the astonishing talent that aligned to make this musical possible.

Michael Barakiva (he/him) is an Armenian-Israeli American director and writer based in New York City. He has directed many plays at many theaters, and served as the Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House, the Hangar Theatre, the Upstart Creatures, and the Leadership Initiative Project. His YA novels (One Man Guy, Hold My Hand, Keepers of the Stones and Stars—all published by Macmillan/FSG) have been named to the Rainbow List, Equality Family Council Reading List, and Barnes and Noble’s Perfect Valentine’s Day YA Novels List. Education: Vassar College, The Juilliard School. michaelbarakiva.com

Seattle Rep debut. Patrick McCollum is a Broadway choreographer, movement director, and intimacy director whose work spans theater, television, and film. Broadway credits include The Band’s Visit (Tony Award, Best New Musical), Angels in America (Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play), Wicked (North American Dance Supervisor), The Shark Is Broken, The Lightning Thief, and Oh, Hello! His work has also been seen on “Saturday Night Live,” “The Today Show,” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Love to DR. patrickmccollummoves.com

Patrick Sulken recently served as the Music Director of Little Shop of Horrors and Teeth Off-Broadway. Broadway: Hell's Kitchen, Death Becomes Her, & Juliet, Pretty Woman, Kinky Boots, Beetlejuice, Mean Girls, Anastasia, Something Rotten!, and Gigi. Regional premieres: Regency Girls (The Old Globe), Ten Brave Seconds (Pioneer Theatre), fuzzy (Barrington Stage), Double Helix (Bay Street Theater), Fly (La Jolla Playhouse), We Are the Tigers (Off-Broadway). As arranger/orchestrator: Disney's Dare to Dream JR. and Disney's Alice in Wonderland JR. patricksulken.com, @patricksulken

Broadway/Tours: Cost of Living, Pass Over (Drama Desk and Lortel Award nominations), Next Fall, Annie starring Whoopi Goldberg. World premieres: The Hunter S. Thompson Musical and The Family Album (La Jolla Playhouse), A Beat of Our Own (McCarter Theatre), Anne of Green Gables and Summer Stock (Goodspeed Musicals), Billie Jean (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Space Dogs (MCC Theatre), The Thanksgiving Play (Playwrights Horizons), Jonah (Roundabout Theatre Company). Opera: Turandot (Washington National Opera/Opera de Montreal), Lucia di Lammermoor (Lyric Opera of Chicago). @wilsonchindesign

Suzanne Chesney is a Brooklyn-based costume designer and is thrilled to be designing her first production for Seattle Rep. Recent productions include The Christine Jorgensen Show (Cleveland Play House), The Roommate (Arizona Theatre Company), The Bookstore (59E59 and New Jersey Repertory Company), A Christmas Story (Syracuse Stage), Have You Met Jane Goodall and Her Mother? (Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York). suzannechesney.com, michaelmooreagency.com

With Michael Barakiva: Into the Woods (Hangar Theater) and playtem tsuzamen (Josh Waletzky). Work exploring the disabled experience: the premieres of Teenage Dick (Ma-Yi/The Public Theater), All of Me (Barrington Stage), and The Penalty (The Apothetae). International: Art (Repertory Philippines – Philstage Award nomination) and Everyone is Gone (Alte Munze, Berlin). In New York: Seagull Machine and home/sick (The Assembly), This is Modern Art and Platonov (Blessed Unrest). Dance: Douglas Dunn, Dusan Tynek. Music: Grammy-winners Lila Downs and Rosanne Cash. M.F.A. Yale School of Drama.

Broadway: Aladdin, In Transit, Jekyll and Hyde, A Christmas Story the Musical, Scandalous, Newsies, Memphis, The Threepenny Opera, Barefoot in the Park, Steel Magnolias. Numerous New York and regional theaters/companies including The Old Globe, The 5th Avenue Theatre, McCarter Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, LA Center Theater Group, ACT (Seattle), Guthrie Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Playwrights Horizons, The New Group, New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theater, Signature Theater NYC, The Civilians, and Mabou Mines.

Ora Jewell-Busche is a Minnesota-based wig and makeup designer with over a decade of working in the field of opera, theater, and film. Regional: The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass Theater, Steppenwolf, Goodman Theater, and many more. Recent: Aida, Turandot, Carmen, The Magic Flute (Pacific Symphony); Les Uncomfortables, The Barber of Seville, Don Pasquale, Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of the North); Rusalka, Hansel and Gretel (Little LOON). Film/TV: Cash for Gold, Were the World Mine, Chicago Overcoat, “Prison Break,” and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

This former high school fencing champion learned the craft of fight direction and stunt coordination assisting on projects like Ben Hur Live in Rome and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises while gaining a B.F.A. in Cinematography from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Jeff Award for fight choreography in Athena in Chicago; Drama Desk Award for Pirates! The Penzance Musical on Broadway. Choreographed the sword work for Chappell Roan’s 2024 VMA performance of "Good Luck Babe." Broadway: Action design for Stranger Things: The First Shadow and The Lost Boys. sordeletinc.com, @sordeletinc

Hayley Jannielli (she/they) is Assistant Professor of Voice & Acting at Case Western Reserve University and former Head of Voice & Speech for CAP21 in NYC. Recent coaching: Tartuffe, Much Ado About Nothing, and Epiphany at Cleveland Play House. Hayley is a designated Linklater Voice Teacher, holds an M.F.A. in Acting from UC Irvine, and is a core officer of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA). Thank you for supporting live theater, where we all get to bask in the thrilling complexity of real, human voices! moveovoice.com, @moveovoice

Scott Wasserman’s Broadway credits include The Queen of Versailles, Redwood, & Juliet, Diana, Escape to Margaritaville, The Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Annie, Leap of Faith, and Wanted (upcoming). Regional orchestration credits include Working Girl (La Jolla Playhouse), Double Helix (Bay Street Theater), Gavin Creel’s Walk On Through (MCC, Off-Broadway). Select film, television, and album credits include Mufasa: The Lion King, The Greatest Showman, “Donkey Hodie,” Warriors, and Losing My Mind: A Sondheim Disco Fever Dream. For Meghan. scott-wasserman.com

Billy Jay Stein and Hiro Iida. Over 35 Broadway shows including The Lost Boys, Just in Time, MJ; The Great Gatsby, The Notebook, Shucked, Parade, Dead Outlaw, Kimberly Akimbo, Tootsie, Mean Girls, The Band’s Visit, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Fun Home, Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, and Jekyll & Hyde.

Seth Roseman is a director and theater maker who creates transformative theatrical events. He’s had the pleasure of working with Cleveland Play House, Alliance Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, The Hangar Theatre, Juilliard, Barrington Stage Company, Rattlestick, and the Sunrise Movement. He is a former Mass Live Arts Fellow and graduate of Simon’s Rock, the National Theatre Institute, and Northwestern University, where they just finished their M.F.A. in Directing. sethroseman.com

Recent: The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Assoc. Choreographer, Broadway/National Tour), A Chorus Line (Director/Choreographer, The Argyle Theater), A Chorus Line (Asst. Choreographer – New York City Center, Hollywood Bowl, National Tour), Unknown Soldier (Assoc. Choreographer), Playwrights Horizions, Arena Stage, Interstellar Cinderella (Choreographer, Theater Row NYC). Adjunct faculty member at Marymount Manhattan College. B.F.A. in Dance Performance at University of California, Irvine. Support the arts. We need it more than ever. This is for you, Diana. @francine.espiritu

Ian is a Hong Kong-Canadian music director, arranger/orchestrator, and composer. Broadway: Operation Mincemeat, Chess, Hell’s Kitchen, The Queen of Versailles, SMASH, The Heart of Rock and Roll, 1776. Off-Broadway/Regional: Radio City Christmas Spectacular, CATS: The Jellicle Ball (PAC NYC), Tale of the Gifted Prince (Theatre Calgary), Romy and Michele (Stage 42), See What I Wanna See (Out of the Box Theatrics), Walk On Through (MCC Theater). Ian’s musical, The Crossroads (co-written with Kalos Chu), is currently under commission at the Musical Stage Company. ianchan.net, @imianchan_

With offices in both New York and Los Angeles, The Telsey Office casts for theater, film, television, and commercials. Current Broadway includes The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titanique, Dog Day Afternoon, Ragtime, Maybe Happy Ending, MJ, Hamilton, and Wicked. Off-Broadway includes Heathers, Atlantic Theater Company, Encores!, Lincoln Center Theater, MCC Theater, Primary Stages, and Vineyard Theatre. National tours include Suffs, The Notebook, The Sound of Music, Some Like It Hot, and Kimberly Akimbo. thetelseyoffice.com

Sofiya Cheyenne is a New York-based multi-disciplinary artivist, teaching artist, and creative access consultant. She has facilitated workshops and consulted for many organizations such as M.A.C., CO_LAB, The Public Theater, and Disney Theatrical Group, as well as Broadway’s Water for Elephants. Sofiya is thrilled to be working on Freak The Mighty with her partner Talleri. She is the co-chair of the Dwarf Artist Coalition and the Executive Producer of the feature documentary entitled The Tallest Dwarf. sofiyacheyenne.com

Talleri A. McRae (she/her) is based in Louisville, KY. As an access educator, consultant, and dramaturg, she partners with several organizations including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and La Jolla Playhouse. In her work she advises plays in development, shares examples of good access practice, and explores representations of disability. Talleri holds a B.S. from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. She sends love and thanks to her family (siblings, parents, Jeremy, and Kieran – age 9), and to her “Freak The Mighty,” Jenn.

Jessica (she/her) is delighted to be back at Seattle Rep. Regional theater highlights include Mother Russia, The Skin of Our Teeth, Little Women, Lydia and the Troll, Bruce, Teenage Dick, Indecent, Tiny Beautiful Things (Seattle Rep); Once on This Island, Becoming Dr. Ruth (Village Theatre); The Secret Garden, Disney’s Aladdin, and A Christmas Story: The Musical (The 5th Avenue Theatre); The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Seattle Children’s Theatre); A Christmas Carol (ACT); Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika (Intiman); King Lear (Santa Cruz Shakespeare).

Select stage management credits include The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, The Odyssey (Seattle Rep’s Public Works); The Servant of Two Masters (Seattle Rep, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, ArtsEmerson); Appropriate, Come From Away (2025), Fat Ham, MAC BETH, Here Lies Love, A Raisin in the Sun, All the Way, The Great Society, The Piano Lesson, Boeing Boeing, Fences, Gem of the Ocean (Seattle Rep); Sweeney Todd, Beauty and the Beast (The 5th Avenue Theatre); Angels in America, A Doctor In Spite of Himself (Intiman Theatre); and A Raisin in the Sun (Pittsburgh Public Theater).

Tyree J. Franklin (he/him) is a Cleveland-based stage manager and artist with his B.F.A. in stage management from Wright State University. His recent stage management credits include Sankofa: An Epic Adventure at Playhouse Square, Next to Normal at Nearwest Theatre, Choir Boy (Karamu House), Fat Ham (Cleveland Play House), and Much Ado About Nothing and The Cherry Orchard (Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House). He would like to thank his family and friends for their continued love and support!

Jenn (she/her) is excited to make her Seattle Rep debut on Team Stage Management. She has a B.A. in Stage Management from Santa Clara and has been stage managing for 30 years. Jenn is the Client Services Manager at Hammer Theatre Center in San Jose and is grateful for her coworkers’ support, allowing her to do both jobs. Jenn was Company Manager for Renegade Theatre Experiment and is a proud Access Asset. Thanks to Team Access and Junkyard Dog Productions for including her; she is proud to be moving theater forward in the name of accessibility. Remember, it’s okay to be Friends with a Freak!

Harter Clingman (he / him) is thrilled to bring Freak The Mighty to Seattle Rep after an excellent run at Cleveland Play House. Previously in Seattle: Fission, Cut From Away (Seattle Rep); King Arthur in Camelot, Brigadoon (Village Theatre); Something’s Afoot, Mary Poppins (The 5th Avenue Theatre). Harter played Oz and Others for nearly 1,300 performances on the first Broadway Tour of Come From Away, and played Alf on the first Broadway Tour of Peter and the Starcatcher. All my love to Ashley, Charley, friends, and family! harterclingman.com, @harter.clingman 

Spencer LaRue (he/him) is proud to bring this special show to Seattle. Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (James Jr./Cedric Diggory, u/s Scorpius Malfoy). Regional credits: Disney’s Frozen (Prince Hans, Alabama Shakespeare Festival), West Side Story (Tony, Pittsburgh CLO/KC Starlight), Footloose (Ren, Arkansas Rep). Spencer is a proud graduate of The University of Michigan, B.F.A Musical Theatre. Thank you to his fiancé Griffin, his family, and the entire team at DGRW. Thank you to the creative, stage management, and casting teams for continually allowing him a seat at the Round Table. For Sam.