MAX & WILLY’S LAST LAUGH

Conor Duffy has been working as a professional actor, writer, and producer for the last 20 years. Recent theater acting credits include Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton at The Pasadena Playhouse (LA Weekly Award winner for Best Ensemble) and UnRavelled at The Global Brain Health Institute (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nominee for Best Ensemble). Recent television credits include Superstore (NBC), The Mick (FOX), and Good Girls (NBC). He was also seen playing opposite John Savage in the film From A Place Of Darkness. Recent television writing/producing credits include both comedy and drama projects with TNT, Warner Brothers, and John Wells Productions. Conor is a graduate of The University of Washington School of Drama.

Jake Broder is currently an Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute (University of California San Francisco/Trinity College, Dublin), who commissioned his play UnRavelled. Our American Hamlet premiered at the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and was nominated for an IRNE award for Best New Play. Miravel won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) Award for Best Score, composed by Jake. He co-wrote and originated the role of Louis in Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Oscar-winner Taylor Hackford, winning Ovation and LADCC awards for Best Actor and Best Musical. His Royal Hipness Lord Buckley played Off-West End (Soho Theatre) and Off-Broadway (59e59). TV writing includes Typewriter Days and Black Hole Sun. He was also a fellow at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center under John McDaniel. Broadway/West End acting credits include Amadeus directed by Sir Peter Hall at The Old Vic and Music Box Theatre; When Harry Met Sally at Theatre Royal Haymarket; and Ophelia & Juliet in the Complete Works of Shakespeare at the Criterion Theatre. He also played Ira Gershwin and Einstein for director David Ellenstein. Jake recently shot The Patient (Hulu), was on The Morning Show (Apple TV+), and had a recurring role on HBO’s Silicon Valley. He earned a BA from Tufts University and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. jakebroder.com.

Some of Sheryl Kaller’s recent productions include A Walk on the Moon by AnnMarie Milazzo and Pamela Gray at George Street Playhouse, Bliss by Tyler Beattie and Emma Lively at Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre, and The White Chip by Sean Daniels at 59E59. She directed Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-nominated play on Broadway, Mothers and Sons, with Tyne Daly. Sheryl received a Tony Award nomination for Best Director for the Broadway production of Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts. Other projects include Frozen for Disney Cruise Lines, Our Town with Deaf West Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse, Sacred Valley by Josh Radnor at New York Stage and Film, Billy Porter’s play While I Yet Live at Primary Stages, Nick Blaemire’s A Little More Alive for Barrington Stage Company and Kansas City Rep, Roundabout Theatre Company’s Underground production of Too Much Too Much Too Many by Meghan Kennedy, and the LCT3 production of Mr. Joy by Daniel Beaty. She is currently in collaboration with playwrights Marilyn Ness, Francine Wheeler, and Josh Radnor, among others.

John McDaniel is a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning music director, composer, director, arranger, orchestrator, and producer, and is an Artistic Director at the Tony Award-winning Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Recently, John participated in a live Playbill concert event in Times Square welcoming back Broadway, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessica Vosk, and Chuck Schumer. He produced and directed a virtual concert of Sticks & Stones, for which he is also the composer, starring Audra McDonald and Javier Muñoz. He is also a camp director of Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Boot Camp. John directed Into The Woods and Hair in Concert at the historic Patchogue Theatre, Sondheim Originals at 54 Below, and Piano Men at Birdland. Broadway music credits include Bonnie and Clyde (Drama Desk Nomination, Best Orchestrations), Catch Me If You Can, Brooklyn (Producer and Orchestrator), Annie Get Your Gun (Grammy Award), Taboo, Chicago, Grease, Patti LuPone on Broadway, and Company—the Original Cast in Concert at Lincoln Center. His television work includes The Rosie O’Donnell Show (two Emmy Awards and eight nominations). John has collaborated with Cab Calloway, Shirley MacLaine, George Burns, Joel Grey, Carol Burnett, Betty Buckley, and Bette Midler, and has guest conducted at 15 symphony orchestras across America, including five concerts with his hometown St. Louis Symphony. John received a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jason Graae’s (he/him) Broadway credits include A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? Off-Broadway he has performed in Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (Drama Desk Award Nomination); Forever Plaid; Snoopy!; Spamilton, and more. For 1.5 years he played The Wizard in the National Tour of Wicked, and originated the role of Houdini in the LA production of Ragtime at the Shubert Theatre. He also won the LA Drama Critics Circle’s Joel Hirschhorn Award for Outstanding Contribution in Musical Theatre. On TV, he’s been seen on Friends, Frasier, 6 Feet Under, and Sabrina, among others, and for five years was the voice of Lucky the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms Cereal. Jason played Frosch in Die Fledermaus with the Washington National Opera, and guest starred in Holiday For the Troops w/ Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra on PBS. Find him on social media at @jasongraae (Instagram). jasongraae.com.

David Turner’s Broadway credits include Into The Woods, The Invention of Love, In My Life, The Ritz, Sunday in the Park with George (2008 and 2017), Arcadia, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, and The Boys in the Band. TV credits include The Good Wife (CBS), Lipstick Jungle (NBC), The Leftovers (HBO), The Get Down (Netflix), Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon), and Servant (Apple TV+). He also appeared in the feature film, Marriage Story. David is also a commercial pilot who provides free medical transportation to patients in need with Angel Flight.

Awa Sal Secka’s regional credits include Goddess(Grio) at Berkeley Rep. DC area credits include Gun and Powder (Flo), Blackbeard (Kali Maa), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon), Broadway in the Park, and Signature Vinyl at Signature Theatre; Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife) and The Wiz (Glinda/Dorothy u/s) at Ford’s Theatre; School Girls (Ama) and Caroline, or Change (Dottie) at Round House Theatre; Me…Jane (Maisie) and Chasing the Wind (Abby) at The Kennedy Center; Cinderella (Cinderella) and Charlie Brown (Lucy) at Imagination Stage; L5Y (Cathy), AIDA (Aida), and MEMPHIS (Felicia) at ArtsCentric; Glorious World (Lady 3) at Baltimore Center Stage; James and the Giant Peach (Sponge) at Adventure Theatre MTC; SILENCE! (Ardelia) at Studio Theatre; The Joy That Carries You (co-writer), Dessa Rose concert (Dessa), Children of Eden concert (Eve), and Avenue Q at Olney Theatre Center.

Harrison Smith (he/him) is making his Mosaic debut. Acting credits include Billy Elliot, Crazy for You, Jesus Christ Superstar, Assassins, and Passion at Signature Theatre; Elegies, Airness, Parade, American Idiot, and Dogfight at The Keegan Theatre; I’ll Get You Back Again at Round House Theatre; Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Imagination Stage; Me, Jane (National Tour) at The Kennedy Center; A New Brain and Floyd Collins at 1st Stage; World Builders and The Explorer’s Club at Prologue Theatre; Little Women at NextStop Theatre Company; Newsies (Helen Hayes nomination) at Toby’s Dinner Theatre; Urinetown at Constellation Theatre Company. He makes music as one half of the band, baseball hat; their debut album is available to stream everywhere now. On social media at @hhaarriissoonn. hhaarriissoonn.com.

Julieta Gozalo-Michaud (she/her) works professionally in the film and theater industries in New York and Washington, DC. She can be seen in Flying V’s VANISHING GIRL: A New Musical later this month. Select regional credits include What’s in a Name? at The Kennedy Center, Infinite Future: Bernstein’s Lasting Impact at Monumental Theatre Company, First Chair for The Keegan Theatre’s Boiler Room Series, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Strand Theater Company, Crystal Creek Motel at Flying V, Cat in the Hat and Winnie the Pooh at Adventure Theatre, and The Head that Wears the Crown at Ally Theatre Company. She attended the University of Maryland, where she received a BA in Theatre and Communications, with a minor in Professional Writing.

Jamie Smithson is thrilled to be working with Mosaic Theater Company for the first time. Some of his DC credits include: Holiday, Newsies, and Fiddler on the Roof at Arena Stage; Sense and Sensibility at Folger Theatre (Bedlam; Helen Hayes Nomination—Best Actor); Cake Off at Signature Theatre; The Wanderers at Theater J; Boeing Boeing for No Rules Theatre; Twist Your Dickens at The Kennedy Center, The Second City; and Fly By Night for 1st Stage (Helen Hayes Nomination—Best Actor). He has also performed in DC with Shakespeare Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Round House Theatre. Regionally, he has performed at Everyman Theatre, the Guthrie, American Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and The Acting Company. He will be performing Off-Broadway in the world premiere of Fall River Fishing with Bedlam in February. Jamie received his MFA in acting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Spiff Wiegand was born in Kentucky with two thumbs on his right hand and plays over 20 instruments. Jimmy Fallon and Brad Pitt have lip-synced to his yodeling. His accordion playing was featured on John Oliver. Spiff has music directed at Mount Gretna Playhouse, Florida Studio Theater, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Hartford Stage, and frequently works as an actor-musician. Regional credits include Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Buddy) at Music Theatre of Connecticut, Indecent for Palm Beach Dramaworks and Pittsburgh Public Theater, Ring of Fire at Actors Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre and Infinity Theater Company; Woody Sez at People's Light, Stages, Weston Theater Company; and Mark Twain's River of Song at Milwaukee Rep. New York credits include Red Roses, Green Gold at Minetta Lane, New York Animals at Bedlam, and Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre for a New Audience. He was part of the national tours for War Horse and Fame the Musical. patreon.com/spiffwiegand.

James Whalen (he/him) last appeared at Signature Theatre as Acosta in Daphnes’ Dive. His most recent DC area appearances include Shipwreck at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Heiress at Arena Stage, Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre, Fabulation and After the War at Mosaic Theater Company, and True West at Rep Stage. He has also performed locally with The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre Center, Everyman Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Theater J. Regionally, he played Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Some of his favorite TV and film credits include, House of Cards, VEEP, I Love You But I Lied, Money Matters, and A Beautiful Mind.

James J. Johnson’s (he/him) theater credits include The Playboy of the Western World at Solas Nua; The Joy That Carries You at Olney Theatre Center; Nathan the Wise at Theater J/Folger Theatre; Our Suburb at Theater J; Ruined at Arena Stage; Hero’s Welcome and The Royale at 1st Stage; Les Deux Noirs at Mosaic Theater Company; The Member of the Wedding at Ford’s Theatre; The Unmentionables at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Kingdom and Wedding Dance at African-Continuum Theatre; Zomo the Rabbit at Imagination Stage; and The (Mostly True) Adventures of Homer P. Figg at The Kennedy Center (Theater for Young Audiences). He earned a BFA in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University. James is also a founding member of Galvanize, a support network for local theater artists of color. Find him on social media at @jamesjjohnson1 (Instagram) and @mediocredope (TikTok). Jamesjjohnson.weebly.com.

A DMV native, Zachery Wynell Williams III has performed and recorded with various groups on multiple instruments and genres throughout the region, including a small tour with Top 10 American Idol finalist Joey Cook, as her bassist and musical director. He also had the privilege of taking a masterclass and performing with jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein. Zachery is the current bassist for big band The Hot Lanes, the 2021 Washington-area Wammie Award winner for Best Jazz Album. The group’s most recent recording was done at Grammy Award-winning Bias Studios in Springfield, VA. Prestigious venues where Zachery has performed include Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Pearl Street Warehouse, DC Jazz Fest, the Elk Room, Mr. Henry’s, and Twins, as well as the Embassies of Romania, France, and Russia.

Erika Johnson brings her unique musical versatility and voice everywhere, from cabarets to orchestral pits and stages. Most recently, Erika was the drummer for the Pulitzer Prize-winning, pre-Broadway run of A Strange Loop at Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company. Erika was also seen as the drummer and on-stage band member in Signature Theatre's highly acclaimed, Girlfriend, where she was described as a "marvel" (DC Theater Arts). A frequent performer of new music, Erika enjoyed introducing the West Coast to John Luther Adams' Drums of Winter, sharing the bill with percussionist Glenn Kotche as part of the inaugural season for Stanford Live in the Bing Concert Hall. Her virtuosic playing is highlighted on Tribute to Andrew Imbrie, a recording commemorating the composer's 80th birthday.

Chris Reardon is a woodwind musician in Washington, DC. A clarinetist in The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” he performs for military events at Arlington National Cemetery, The Pentagon, and The White House. As a freelance musician playing clarinet, saxophone, and flute, Chris has performed with The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra for productions with Washington National Opera, New York City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. He has also performed in concert with touring artists Andrea Bocelli, Hugh Jackman, and Idina Menzel. A regular in musical theater orchestras, Chris has performed at The Kennedy Center, The National Theater, Ford’s Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center. He holds a MM degree in Clarinet Performance from University of Maryland and a BM degree in Clarinet Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

Jason Seiler (he/him) is an award-winning freelance guitarist based in the DMV who performs in a wide variety of bands and contexts. Jason believes music can evoke beautifully nuanced emotions and connections with others. In the last six years, he has performed as the guitarist in countless musical theater productions ranging in style and setting. Jason loves sharing his abilities and passion for music both on and off the stage. Outside of his performing career, he also spends his time teaching music and guitar to kids and adults. When he’s not teaching or performing, Jason spends his time rock climbing, reading, running, playing video games, and spending time with his cat. Jason earned a Bachelor’s of Music from George Mason University.