Joshua Harmon (Playwright) Joshua Harmon’s plays include Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight, and Prayer for the French Republic. He and Sarah Silverman co-wrote the libretto for The Bedwetter based on her memoir. His plays have been produced on Broadway and the West End; off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theater Club and Atlantic Theater Company; across the country at Geffen Playhouse, Speakeasy, Studio Theatre, Theater Wit, About Face, Actor’s Express, and The Magic, among others; and internationally in a dozen countries. He is a two-time MacDowell Fellow and an Associate Artist at Roundabout. Graduate of Juilliard.

Dave Cooperstein (Charles) is thrilled to be joining NJT once again, after appearing in Cabaret last season as another old Jew (St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominee). He’s grateful to have graced the stages of NJT, as well as other theaters around St. Louis, over the past 28 years. He’s honored to be part of this wildly talented ensemble, and thanks Rebekah for the incredible opportunity to bring this important story to the stage. When not performing, Dave spends his days designing theme parks and attractions around the globe. He thanks Alisa for her unwavering love and support, and Grace for her inspiration.

Adam Flores (Lucien) is happy to return to the J after last being in TheTale of the Allergist’s Wife in 2008. He has performed with most recently with Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, ERA, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. In 2020 he was in The Thanksgiving Play at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis where he won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Performer in a Comedy.

Ben Hammock (Young Pierre) is thrilled to be making his NJT debut! Ben is a current second year at Webster University, where he is studying Musical Theatre (BFA ’28) and has recently been seen in The SpongeBob Musical (Ensemble) directed by Lara Teeter. Recently, he also collaborated in The Second Hurricane (Gyp) at Stray Dog Theatre directed by Gary Bell. Ben appreciates the support from his family and is grateful to the cast and crew of NJT who’s given him the opportunity to bring Young Pierre to life. IG: @benjamin.hammock

Bob Harvey (Pierre) Bob is thrilled to be back onstage at the J playing Pierre. Yes, you’ll have to wait until Act 3 to see him, but the character has depth and Bob hopes he can bring him to life. Most recently you might have seen Bob in a national USAA commercial or (if a fan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in season 3 on background.  In addition to the NJT, Bob has been cast in: The Tennessee Williams Festival, Insight Theatre Company, St. Louis Actors Studio, Stray Dog Theatre, West End Theatre, and more.  Bob thanks you for supporting local live theatre and his wife for putting up with him.

Lilah Kreis (Molly) Prayer for the French Republic marks Lilah Kreis’ debut with NJT! A recent Bradley University graduate with a concentration in Theatre Performance, her final college role was Beth in John Proctor is the Villain. Based in Chicago, Lilah studies improv at Second City and iO, and posts online as @thesequelnobodywanted, where she’s built a following of over 890,000 people across multiple platforms. She is thrilled to work with director Rebekah Scallet and thanks her professor Dan Matisa for encouraging the 10+ hour audition drive. And of course, her mom for actually doing the driving.

Hailey Medrano (Elodie) is a St. Louis-based actor and teaching artist, most recently seen in Cabaret at NJT. Some other credits include: First Impressions (Prison Performing Arts), Boozy Bard: Drunkbeth (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival), A Doll’s House (ERA), We All Fall Down (NJT), and Tribes (St. Louis Actors’ Studio). When she’s not on stage, you can find Hailey in classrooms across St. Louis as Metro Theater Company’s Associate Director of Education. Hailey holds a BFA in Acting from the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.

Bryce A. Miller (Daniel Benhamou) is happy to be back for his fourth show at NJT! He was most recently seen in Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville, where he won the St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy. Other NJT appearances include: The Wanderers and Trayf (St. Louis Theatre Circle Nominations), along with work at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Upstream Theatre, The Black Rep, and many more! BFA in Acting: Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts. Endless thanks to Rebekah, Will, the cast, and the creative team! Thank you for supporting local art.

Jenni Ryan (Marcelle) was last seen as Rose Cavendish in The Children at West End Players Guild. Some of her favorite roles include Gloria Steinem (Gloria: A Life); Kate Jerome (Broadway Bound); Olympe de Gouges (The Revolutionists); M’Lynn (Steel Magnolias); Queen/Belarius (Cymbeline); Charlotte (Moon Over Buffalo); Sarah Daniels (Spinning into Butter); Shelby (The Spitfire Grill); Sarah (Time Stands Still); Faye (Chapter Two); Tessie Tura (Gypsy); Ilona (She Loves Me); and Gloria (Grace & Glorie), which earned her a Kevin Kline Award. Jenni is grateful and glad to be back at NJT.

Kathleen Sitzer (Irma) is the Founding Artistic Director of New Jewish Theatre (NJT), a role she held for 22 years. She is beyond thrilled to return to NJT on stage with this talented cast and especially with Rebekah as director. She is a member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA, and has been seen on many local stages including: NJT, Upstream, the Black Rep, Ozark Actors Theatre, and others. Currently, she is a Docent for Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and is involved in multiple theatre related projects. Kathleen has received the J Pro Visionary Award, the St. Louis Arts Visionary Award, the St. Louis Theater Circle’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Cultural Leadership’s “Troublemaker of the Best Kind,” and others.

Bill Stine (Adolphe) is an actor, director, playwright and dramaturg. He is a St. Louis native and has acted and directed professionally in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and across America and the United Kingdom as the director of The DaVinci/Michelangelo Experience. He holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Missouri, an MFA from Illinois State, and did his doctoral work in Performance Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has taught theatre at the university and secondary levels. It is with great pride and joy that he joins the cast of Prayer for the French Republic for his first role with NJT. He is represented by the TalentPlus agency in St. Louis.

John Wilson (Patrick, Intimacy Coordinator) is making his St. Louis acting debut with NJT.  He taught performance courses for 20 years while chairing the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Central Missouri. He was the fight director in residence for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre for a decade and has over 50 acting credits in commercials, films, television and on stage. He is the current on-camera and voiceover spokesperson for Communication Federal Credit Union out of Oklahoma City. Wilson is the Director of Cultural Arts at the J and has provided dialect coaching and fight and intimacy direction for six previous NJT productions.  

Suzanne  Greenwald (Irma understudy) Suzanne has been active in St. Louis for over 30 years. Her last role at NJT was many years ago in Women’s Minyan. She’s also performed for Stray Dog Theatre, Kirkwood Theatre Guid, and Clayton Community Theatre among others. In real life, Suzanne is a retired psychotherapist.

Will Shaw (Pierre 4/25 & 4/26, understudy)

Rebekah Scallet (Director, Artistic Director)is in her third season with NJT, where she has directed Cabaret (winner of St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Production and Director of a Musical), We All Fall Down and The Immigrant, and co-directed Two Jews Walk Into a War…  Other credits include: The Roommate at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Moliére’s The Learned Ladies for the Sargent Conservatory at Webster University, The Tempest at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, and The Winter’s Tale for Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Prior to moving to St. Louis she was the Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) where she directed many plays of the Bard, some of her favorites being Twelfth Night, King Lear, and Macbeth. Rebekah also lived and worked in Chicago, where she was a member of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, and worked with Northlight Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and others. Rebekah is the recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship in Directing. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English from Brandeis University and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from Illinois State University.

David Blake (Scenic Designer)has designed sets for NJT’s Cabaret, Fully Committed, District Merchants and I Now Pronounce. Other work: Afflicted: Daughters of Salem (Nashville Children’s Theatre); Twelfth Night, The Heart of Robin Hood (Door Shakespeare); Stray Dog Theatre’s Ragtime, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Spring Awakening, and Gypsy; Metro Theater Company’s Ghost, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, And In This Corner Cassius Clay, The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane, Bud Not Buddy and Afflicted: Daughters of Salem; Shakespeare Festival STL’s Winning Juliet; SATE’s Mary Shelley Monster Show and Young Liars’ Titus Androgynous.

Michele Friedman Siler (Costume Designer)has been designing costumes for NJT since 2001, productions including Cabaret and The Heidi Chronicles (St. Louis Theater Circle Award Nominee), Baskerville, Trayf, All My Sons, Into the Woods, The Immigrant (St. Louis Theater Circle Award Nominee), Brighton Beach Memoirs (St. Louis Theater Circle Nominee) and The Whipping Man. Recent credits include: The Rose Tattoo, The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire for the Tennessee Williams Festival (St. Louis Theater Circle Nominee); The Sound Inside (Moonstone Theatre); Hamlet, The Tempest for St. Louis Shakespeare; Into the Breeches (St. Louis Theater Circle Nominee) Shakespeare in the Streets: Winds of Change for the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis: An Orchard for Chekhov, Life is a Dream (St. Louis Theater Circle Nominee), A Human Being Died That Night for Upstream Theater; Blithe Spirit (St. Louis Theater Circle Nominee) and Waiting for Godot for St. Louis Actors’ Studio. Michele was named “Best St. Louis Costume Designer” in the 2016 Post- Dispatch GO! List and was named a 2022 “Unsung Hero” by the St. Louis Jewish Light. Michele wishes to honor the memory of Gary Wayne Barker whose artistic integrity and kindness was a blessing to St. Louis theatre.

Heather Reynolds (Lighting Designer)

Mary Robinson (Sound Designer/Composer)is a sound designer and composer for a variety of mediums, including theatre, radio drama, and games. She is a regular designer for Kansas City Actors Theatre, undertaking productions such as The Lehman Trilogy, Little Women, and Uncle Vanya. Her work as an audio designer can also be heard on the Kansas City Actors Radio Theatre podcast series. In addition to her theatrical endeavors, she enjoys working as a composer and music producer for fixed and interactive media. More info on her previous projects can be found at marylrobinson.org. She is thrilled to be here for her first NJT production and gives special thanks to all that have inspired and supported her!

Dorian Stuber (Dramaturg)

Laura Skroska (Assistant Set Designer/Technical Director) is proud to be in her 12th season of working with NJT and her seventh as Technical Director. In addition to her work with NJT, Laura works with programs across the J, including Youth Theatre and Theatre Unlimited. Outside of the J, she works as Props Master for Winter Opera St. Louis and Gateway Center for Performing Arts. Laura studied theatre at Northwestern University and SIUE and holds an MFA in Painting from Fontbonne University. Much love to Phil and Ted for their support.

Sarah Luedloff* (Production Stage Manager) is returning to NJT after We Are The Levinsons, Time Stands Still, New Jerusalem, Never the Sinner, and Old Wicked Songs. Other local work includes Hamlet, As You Like It, and Romeo & Zooliet (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival), Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, It’s A Wonderful Life – A Live Radio Play and A Christmas Carol (St. Louis Rep), and 27 shows/10 seasons at Stages St. Louis. Sarah has also worked with Tuacahn, Riverside Theatre, Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Playhouse at Westport Plaza, The Muny, Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed, and several National Tours. BFA from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Emma Glose (Assistant Stage Manager) Emma Glose is thrilled to be back at NJT! She is a theatre artist who graduated from Saint Louis University. Previously, she’s been the assistant stage manager for The Wanderers and Trayf with NJT. She has previously worked with St Louis Actors Studio, NJT, ERA, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, SATE, and Tennessee Williams Festival Saint Louis in multiple capacities. Thank you for supporting live theatre!

Elaina Houston (Props Supervisor) graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in the spring of 2025.

Hattie Barrieau (Wardrobe Supervisor)

Dennis Milam Bensie (Wig Designer) began his wig career in the Seattle theatre scene over thirty years ago after completing an apprenticeship at Los Angeles Opera. His work continued at over twenty-five other regional theatres across the country including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, and the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Bensie’s recent film and TV wig credits include HBO’s Three Busy Debras, Hulu’s The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special, and the indie feature film Potato Dreams of America. Bensie is the head of the wig and makeup program at Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. Instagram: @DennisMilamBensieWigs

Tony Anselmo (Electrician) works all over the St. Louis area to create theatrical art. He acts as a lighting electrician for companies like Winter Opera and NJT. He also designs lights for other groups like the Midnight Company, and Tesseract Theater. Tony also works with two local high schools to produce several shows a year, Nerinx and Principia. Past favorite lighting designs include The Year of the Bicycle at Upstream Theater, and Souvenir at Max and Louie Productions.

Cameron Tesson (Paint Charge) is thrilled to return for his seventh season as a charge artist with NJT. His paint work has been seen on many NJT shows including Two Jews Walk Into a War…, The Heidi Chronicles, Cabaret, Into the Woods, The Immigrant, Gloria: A Life, and Broadway Bound. He holds a BFA in Scenic Design and Painting from Missouri State University. Cameron has a deep love for St. Louis theatre and has worked with many of its local companies including COCA, Union Avenue Opera, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Decorum, Circus Flora, Moonstone Theatre, Washington University, and the Americas Birthday Parade.

Natalie Martin (Board Op)

Jack Kalan (Electrician) is a local Lighting Designer as well as an Actor and Fight Choreographer who strives to tell truthful stories on and off the stage. Jack has been working lighting events for over a decade and is thrilled to be a part of helping this production come to life! He has worked all over the STL area and beyond working with companies like COCA, Leverage Dance Co., Resilience Dance Co., The Fringe Festival STL, Art’s Mission Oak-Cliff (Dallas), Moody Performance Hall (Dallas), and more. Check out Jackkalan.com for more updates!