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While Northeast Ohio audiences are used to seeing BW music theatre graduates in national touring companies, one upcoming show includes five grads, with three in leading roles.
When the national touring company of the Tony-nominated hit musical "& Juliet" arrives at Cleveland's Playhouse Square in March, audiences will welcome home a quintet of talented Baldwin Wallace University music theatre graduates.
The five performers in a single company showcase the depth of BW music theatre (BWMT) talent as well as the speed with which music theatre grads often find success on big stages.
The BWMT cast members include three in leading roles, starting with Broadway veteran Corey Mach '10 as Shakespeare. The production also features fresh-faced Texan Camille Brooks '24, who booked a spot in the ensemble within a week of her May graduation from BW.
In addition to Mach as Shakespeare, the other leading players are Nick Drake '20 as May and Mateus Leite Cardoso '23 as Francois.
Rounding out the five BWMTs in the cast is Shelby Griswold '20, who just wrapped up a part in "The Jellicle Ball," a smash off-Broadway version of "Cats" at New York's Perlman Performing Arts Center.
While the five represent a 15-year span of talented BW grads, there is overlap as well. Drake was assigned to mentor Cardoso during his first year at BW. They'll be playing love interests in "& Juliet."
Drake dazzled audiences as the star of BW's 2019 academic premiere of "Kinky Boots" and debuted on Broadway in "Back to the Future" after graduation. The multi-faceted performer also works as an assistant choreographer for Broadway and touring productions.
Cardosa appeared at Playhouse Square as a college student, starring as Peter in "Bare," BW's 16th annual partnership production with Cleveland's Playhouse Square in 2023. They also quickly made their way to Broadway in "A Beautiful Noise."
Mach, who hails from Strongsville, Ohio, has a deep performance resume that includes roles in Broadway's "Merrily We Roll Along," "Kinky Boots," "Hands on a Hardbody" and "Godspell," the First National tours of "Flashdance the Musical" and "Wicked" and national and international tours of "Rent."
He is the creator and producer of the acclaimed "Broadway Sings" concert series which features Broadway stars performing new arrangements of iconic pop music (with fellow BW graduates often in the mix).
According to Playbill, the hit Tony-nominated "& Juliet" "flips the script on the William Shakespeare classic, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn't ended it all over Romeo." Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from "Schitt's Creek," the production features a host of pop music anthems.
The 30-city "& Juliet" tour launched on September 22 at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre. The Cleveland run, part of Playhouse Square's KeyBank Broadway Series, runs from March 4-23 at Connor Palace.
The next opportunity for audiences to catch a rising music theatre star on BW's campus starts next month.
BW's fall music theatre production, "Jesus Christ Superstar," the renowned rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, comes to life on the Kleist Mainstage starting November 14.
The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as "Superstar," "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Gethsemane."
Performances run Thursday-Saturday, November 14-16 and 21-23, at 7:30 p.m. each evening, with Sunday matinees November 17 and 24 at 2:30 p.m.
