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Meet The Creative Team of

THE 39 STEPS

JOHANNA MCKENZIE MILLER

ANGIE WEBER MILLER

RACHEL BOYLAN

LEE FISKNESS

ANTHONY CHURCHILL

RAY NARDELLI

CASSY SCHILLO

CHARLIE BAKER

SAMMI GRANT

JULI HROVAT-WALKER

LARRY BAKER

BIOGRAPHY

JOHANNA MCKENZIE MILLER (Director) is delighted to return to Drury Lane after directing SHREK (TYA) and STEEL MAGNOLIAS (Jeff Award for Best Ensemble Play-Large) last season. Other directing credits include A PECULIAR INHERITANCE and ROMANCE EN ROUTE, the 91st & 92nd Annual Waa-Mu shows at Northwestern University, KISS ME, KATE, WIZARD OF OZ (TYA), & JUNIE B. JONES (TYA) with Marriott Theatre, HOW TO LOBSTER with Steppenwolf LookOut Series, and SHREW’D! with First Folio Theatre. She will also be directing ELEPHANT & PIGGIE WE ARE IN A PLAY at Marriott Theatre (Summer 2023), SHREK at Music Theatre Works (Winter 2023) ,and co-directing BEAUTIFUL at Paramount Theatre with Jim Corti (Spring 2024).  Acting credits include MARY POPPINS, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN with Drury Lane Theatre,  HELLO DOLLY, FOOTLOOSE, HOLIDAY INN with Marriott Theatre and ALL MY SONS with Court Theatre. Ms. McKenzie Miller is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Lombard Children’s Theater Workshop and proud mom to a Madison Bulldog and Glenbard East Ram.

BIOGRAPHY

ANGIE WEBER MILLER (Scenic Design) is a Chicago area designer who enjoys working in venues large and small. Her set for Steel Magnolias at Drury Lane last season was nominated for a Jeff Award and she looks forward to working on Ring of Fire immediately following The 39 Steps. Angie was an Artistic Associate at First Folio Theatre for sixteen years, where she designed dozens of productions and earned another nine Jeff nominations. She has also designed at Paramount, Porchlight Music Theatre, Peninsula Players, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Mercury, Black Ensemble, Theater Wit, among others. She has been a guest artist at several colleges and universities. Angie began her career in design for corporate theatre with a range of “household name” clients. She has an MFA from Northwestern University and is a proud member of USA829. 

BIOGRAPHY

RACHEL BOYLAN (Costume Design) is excited to return to Drury Lane, where you may have seen her work in Grease, Elf, and Forever Plaid. Other local design credits include : Pippin (Jeff nomination), Shear Madness, Avenue Q, I Left My Heart, Mary Poppins (Mercury Theater), Wordplay Gala (Writers Theatre), Hello Again (Theo Ubique), Leavings (Polarity Ensemble Theater), Hello & Goodbye (Bluebird Arts). When not designing, you can find Rachel working around town as a design assistant/associate at theater like Steppenwolf, Writers, COT, and here at DL. Rachel earned her MFA from UC CCM and is a proud member of USA 829. rachelboylan.com

BIOGRAPHY

LEE FISKNESS (Lighting Designer) has designed a dozen shows at Drury Lane including: Holiday Inn, Forever Plaid, An American in Paris. Chicago credits: Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Lyric Opera, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Lightscape at Chicago Botanical Gardens. Regionally: Kennedy Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Cincinnati Playhouse, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep. Opera: San Jose, Dallas, Colorado, Portland, Kentucky, Florentine Opera, Lyric Opera. International; The Jurassic World Exhibition (China), Le Nozze di Figaro (Japan), Movement Stories (Abu Dhabi). Lee was the Lighting Director at The Santa Fe Opera where he worked for 18 seasons. www.leefiskness.com

BIOGRAPHY

ANTHONY CHURCHILL (Projections Designer) collaborates on media for theatre, events, and installations. Selected collaborations include work with Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre, Marriott Theatre, FeverUp Productions,Chicago Timeline Theatre, Music Theater Works, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, the U.S. State Department, Rivendell Theatre, The Cher Show, Q Brothers, and the Museum of Broadcast Communications.  Tony has been nominated for seven Jeff Awards for Projections, and awarded one. When not working on media, he enjoys sculpting tiny astronauts in peril, and exploring with his beautiful wife Sara, and rescue pitbulls Cheetoh and Douglass. www.artlabchicago.com

BIOGRAPHY

RAY NARDELLI (Sound Designer) Previous Drury Lane credits include Grease, A Chorus Line, Elf the Musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I, An American in Paris, Mary Poppins, The Color Purple, And Then There Were None, Matilda The Musical, Mamma Mia!, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, South Pacific, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 42nd Street, Rock of Ages, The Gin Game, Chicago, Saturday Night Fever, Crazy for You, Hazel, Bye Bye Birdie, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Peter and the Starcatcher, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Young Frankenstein, Hello Dolly, Next to Normal, Sunset Boulevard, Hairspray, Spamalot, Funny Girl, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Miss Saigon (Jeff Award) Buddy, and The Full Monty.

BIOGRAPHY

CASSY SCHILLO (Props Design Supervisor and Warehouse Manager) is thrilled to be with the Drury Lane family and honored to be a recipient of the 2019 Jeff award in Artistic Specialization for Properties design.  Drury Lane credits include Grease, A Chorus Line, Elf the Musical, Murder on the Orient Express, Steel Magnolias, R&H The King and I, Evita, Holiday Inn, Forever Plaid, An American in Paris, Mary Poppins, The Color Purple, And Then There Were None, Matilda, Mamma Mia!, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, South Pacific, Joseph…, 42nd Street, Rock of Ages, The Gin Game, Chicago, Saturday Night Fever, Crazy for You, & Smokey Joe’s Cafe.  Jeff Nominated for DL’s Deathtrap as well as First Folio’s Salvage and All Childish Things. Designs in the Midwest include: productions for Marriott Lincolnshire, Theatre Wit, Theatre at the Center, Music Theater Works, Theo Ubique, Griffin, BoHo, Stage Left, Porchlight, Northwestern Opera, Piccolo, Sideshow, Black Ensemble, and Mammals. BFA from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and training at Tisch School of the Arts.  Founding member of To the Point, a theatrical combat troupe that specializes in sword fighting & storytelling. Gratitude and love to Rodion and my family for their eternal.

BIOGRAPHY

CHARLIE BAKER (Intimacy/Violence/Comedic Movement Director) is thrilled to be working with Drury Lane for the first time! Most recently Charlie completed his second year in the Actors Gymnasium Circus Professional Program with an emphasis in clown. They have also worked with Marriott, Court Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and a myriad of other companies and theaters around Chicago. When not intimacy directing or clowning around, Charlie is an intimacy instructor, gender educator and LGBTQIA+ advocate and speaker, and a magician. More information about Charlie and their work can be found at www.XploringGender.com

BIOGRAPHY

SAMMI GRANT (Dialect Coach) is a Chicago-based dialect coach and voice/speech teacher. Her previous Drury Lane Credits include Steel Magnolias, Little Shop of Horrors, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, South Pacific, Chicago, and Saturday Night fever. Other Chicago theaters she has worked with include: Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, The gift Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre, and many more. Film/TV Credits: Rescued by Ruby (Netflix); Patriot (Amazon Prime; The Exorcist (Fox). Sammi is a voice/speech teacher for The Theatre School at DePaul University. She holds an MFA with Distinction in Voice Studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

BIOGRAPHY

JULI HROVAT-WALKER (Production Stage Manager) has been associated with Drury Lane since 1989. An avid equestrian, nature lover, and advocate for sustainable living she shares her home with 2 exuberant dogs and 1 sleepy cat. You may often find surplus organically raised veggies in the green room during the summer months from her garden. She is celebrating 50 years of work in the theatre industry. Welcome to Drury Lane!

BIOGRAPHY

LARRY BAKER (Assistant Stage Manager) Favorite summer theatre credits: Melody Top in Milwaukee: Babes In Arms, Two By Two, 1940’s Radio Hour, She Loves Me, Somethings Afoot, Wisconsin State Fair, Flintstones Show at Universal Studios, Hercules Forum Of Fun, Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Festival Of Fools at Disneyland, From The Top with Carol Burnett, Annie at Rockford College, Dogman’s Last Stand at Victory Gardens, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change in Reno, Me & My Girl in Lake Tahoe, Guys & Dolls in Atlantic City, Naked Boys Singing

in Provincetown, Same Time Next Year at Drury Lane South, 42nd Street in Vienna and Steel Magnolias at Drury Lane. Thanks to Ronald & Jasper.