MEET THE CAST
Steve Arcidiacono
(ERNIE CUSACK) – Steve has been performing and directing for more than 45 years in every aspect of the business -theater, television, radio, and movies. A member of SAG/AFTRA, he has performed in many local and area theaters, with favorite Barn roles including Max in The Producers, and Gomez in The Addams Family. Steve has also directed 48 shows, most recently First Date for the Barn in October 2019. Married with three adult children and now a proud first-time grandfather, his favorite vacation spot is home. My thanks to Marianne, my cast mates, and the entire production team for a wonderful experience, and to my wife Karen for her continued support!
Mark Ayers
(KEN GORMAN) – Longtime Dramateurs audiences will certainly remember his Golden Rooster award-winning performance as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors a generation ago! More recently, he was on the The Barn stage in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Thrilled to share the stage with new friends and old in this classic farce. Other favorite performances across the region include Emcee in
Cabaret and Father Flynn in Doubt. Thank you to Marianne for sharing her passion for Neil Simon's
comedy with me and giving me the chance to play in her sandbox! Eternal love to my gorgeous bride-to-be and even though we aren't believable enough to be a married couple on stage, I am so ready to share the rest of my life with you off stage! Can't wait for Rumors 2: Ken and Claire see the world together!
Eric Crist
(GLENN COOPER) – Eric is excited to be making his debut at The Barn and sharing the stage with such a great cast. He was most recently seen at Steel River Playhouse as Stan in Sweat, and as Eddie in Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. Audiences also saw him as Ray Bud in Dearly Departed at Allens Lane Theater where he ‘got his country on’. He has been most active at Players Club of
Swarthmore as Ben in Detroit, Jack in Outgoing Tide, Butch in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Joe in The
Best Man, Rev. Lee in The Foreigner, and Sam in Coyote on a Fence. Audiences ALMOST saw him in The
Stagecrafters production of In the Next Roomin June 2020, but...you know. Many thanks to Marianne for bringing laughter to our community with this ridiculous story. Much love to family and friends who continue to walk/run/skip/jump along with him in this raucous journey of life.
Harley Diamond
(LENNY GANZ) – Harley is a native New Yorker and retired here last year after a lengthy legal career. He recently made his Philadelphia area debut in Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest at the Old Academy Players. After graduation from Hofstra University and Stella Adler Conservatory, he performed in regional theatres from New Jersey to Iowa and also toured as Tartuffe. At St. Barts Players in New York, he played Frederick in A Little Night Music, Neville Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Joe in Merrily We Roll Along. At the Brooklyn Heights Players, he
performed in The History Boys, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Fiddler on the Roof, Call Me Madam and
Cheaper by the Dozen. At the Gallery Players, he performed in Grand Hotel, The Tempest, The Comedy
of Errors and The Front Page. At other Brooklyn theatres, he played Roger de Bris in The Producers and King Charlemagne in Pippin. He has also performed cabaret shows at several venues in New York. He is excited to make his Neil Simon debut at Dramateurs with such a talented cast and crew and a wonderful director.
Lauren Rozensky Flanagan
(COOKIE CUSACK) - It’s been a few years since taking on Mattie Fae in the Dramateurs production of August: Osage County,so Lauren is especially excited to be back here as Cookie, working/playing with another group of crazy-talented artists. Lauren is originally from the Chicago area and received her undergraduate degree in Theatre from Illinois State University. Finding theatre a place of healing, she morphed into a Therapist & Certified Psychodramatist. She is a founding member of Problem-Solving Theatre, a group of mental health professionals using psychodrama, improv and education in schools, business and public presentations. You may recognize Lauren from some of her favorite roles in area theaters including Rabbit Hole (Nat), Good People (Jean), The Dixie Swim Club (Lexie), Steel Magnolias (M’Lynn and, 10 years later, Clairee), Two Rooms (Ellen), I Never Sang for My Father(Alice) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Big Mama), The Children’s Hour, (Lily Mortar), Last of the Red Hot Lovers, (Elaine), Daughters(Tessie), Deathtrap (Helga), Pack of Lies (Helen), Incorruptible (Agatha), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Mrs. Gottlieb), Little Women (Aunt March), Love Letters (Melissa), Blanket of Stars
(Fern), and premier productions of Renewal(Katherine), Vanishing Tess(Tess), and The Best-Laid Plans
for Romance (Ruth). As always, Lauren dedicates her work to A&A, her “pocket bricks”. She embraces
her parents’ legacy of strength, humor, determination & love.
Aislinn Glassman
(OFFICER CONNIE PUDNEY) – Aislinn could not be happier, or more excited, to perform for the first time at The Barn Playhouse! She would like to specifically thank Director Extraordinaire, Marianne Green, for taking a chance on an unknown kid. Aislinn has loved this
experience working (and learning) with such a talented cast and crew. By day, Aislinn works in Talent Acquisition for a pharmaceutical company and has her degree in Human Resources. She would like to thank her incredibly handsome husband, Scott, for always supporting her and for making her life complete alongside their rescue dog, Madelyn. Special thanks also to her family and friends, Tracy, Trish, and Chrissy, for showing up and encouraging her to pursue a longtime dream. And please be kind
to all animals.
John Henken
(OFFICER BEN WELCH, RUMORS PRODUCTION COORDINATOR) – John is thrilled beyond
words to be back on the stage. He is a long-time Barn Board member and a veteran of more shows than
he cares to admit. In addition to his on-stage credits, John has directed, produced, stage-managed, and
run lights, and whatever else is needed. Thank you to Marianne, Sue, and Dee for the opportunity to be
in this extraordinary show. Thank you to my fellow castmates. You are an incredible group. I am
delighted to share the stage with you. At home, John has been happily married for 39 years. He has two
terrific grown children, one fantastic daughter-in-law, and three rescue pups.
Lauren Kerstetter
(CHRIS GORMAN) – Lauren is so happy to be back on The Barn stage again after playing Ivy in August: Osage County. Most recently she played Elsa in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 at Steel River Playhouse and Josephine in Urinetown at The Players Club. Other favorite roles include Blanche in Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Sheila in A Chorus Line, Fastrada in Pippin, Desiree in A Little Night Music, the Marquise de Mertueil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Nora in A Doll's House, Catherine in Pippin and Anna in Closer. Lauren works as a Physical Therapist at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. "Art is where we discover in the freedom of our imaginations what it is to be a human being." Charles L. Mee
Shelli Pentimall Bookler
(CASSIE COOPER) – Shelli holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Temple University, an M.A. in Theatre Arts from Eastern Michigan University and studied at The Actor’s Studio at The New School in New York. She has performed with theatres all around the Philadelphia area including Montgomery Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Naked Feet Productions, The BridgePhL, Simpatico Theatre, Stagecrafters, Steel River Playhouse, Without a Cue Productions and Swarthmore Players. In addition to acting, she is a director (These Shining Lives, Body of Water, Scotland Road, Twelve Angry Jurors), choreographer (Footloose, Cabaret, Wedding Singer, Sweet Charity) and playwright. She was a finalist in the New American Voices Playwriting Series in Houston, and also the Dayton Playhouse PlayFest. Her play Bird in the Window will be produced by Sewer Rats Productions in this year’s Fringe Festival. She is a dramaturg for Philadelphia Dramatist Center, and a member of the Dramatist Guild and Witherspoon Circle. Her play Call Me Abigail (The Porn Play) will be further developed with Out of the Box Theatricals in NYC this fall. She also is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Underbite Theatre Company, producing new, edgy, theatrical works with a social mission. Much love to Matt for his endless support, laughter, and encouragement, and her two crazy but entertaining pups.
Margo Weishar
(CLAIRE GANZ) – Margo is delighted to return to live theater with this wonderful cast and director. She is currently pursuing graduate studies in theater at Villanova. This winter she directed the studio show at Villanova Do You Feel Anger? as well as Silent Sky at Playcrafters in the fall. Favorite roles include Olive in The Odd Couple, Rose in Gypsy, Adelaide inGuys and Dolls, and Amalia in She Loves Me - twice- and the second time met her real life hubby-to-be Mark Ayers (Ken)!
Marianne Green
MARIANNE GREEN (Director) – Marianne is very happy to be making her debut at the Dramateurs as
Director of RUMORS. This is the 27th show she has directed,the list of which includes a mix of
comedies, dramas, and musicals. Marianne is a proud member of Actors Equity Association as well as a
former member of SAG/AFTRA,and has extensive performing experience in theatres on the east coast
as well as for cruise lines, in plays, musicals, commercials, industrials, and radio voiceovers. She wishes to thank all involved with this terrific production and sends love and gratitude to the wonderful “lighter” of her life, Don.