
The Songs of Courtney Christison
Concert At 54 Below - March 10, 2025
Welcome to an evening of original music from up-and-coming composer/lyricist and playwright, Courtney Christison (Father's Day, Wicket Hall Lane, Mole Town: An Underground Love Story), and arranger and music director Brad Gardner (Mean Girls, Disney’s Aladdin national tour, Disney’s Frozen national tour).
MUSICAL NUMBERS
No Such Thing As True Love - Jennafer Newberry Peery
Kiss Me - Keisha Gilles and Justin Showell
Every Lovely Thing - Jennafer Newberry Peery
Without You - Ben Fankhauser
All That I Am - Q. Smith, Anne Thomas Fraser and Laura D'Andre Mapp
The Death of Mr Happy - Reese Britts, Austin Lesch and Lauren Chapman
Battleground - Q. Smith, Anne Thomas Fraser and Laura D'Andre Mapp
SONG SELECTION FROM
MOLE TOWN: An Underground Love Story
More To Me - Lauren Chapman and Reese Britts
Everything Feels So Right - Philippe Arroyo
The Crusade - Keisha Gilles
Moments - Nicholas Ward, and full cast
Featuring:

PHILIPPE ARROYO
Philippe Arroyo is a proud alumni of Carnegie Mellon University. Broadway/Theatre credits include: & Juliet (Francois Dubois), Kennedy Center’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip), Disney’s Aladdin national tour (Omar), The York Theatre’s Penelope (Telemachus), Joe Iconis’ Punk Rock Girl (Dudley), The Karate Kid Musical (Freddie), Into the Woods first national tour (Jack), Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), TUTS’ In the Heights (Sonny). TV credits: “Uncoupled” on Netflix, “Evil” on CBS, “Helpsters” on Apple Plus, and “Truth Slash Fiction!”

ANNE FRASER THOMAS

REESE BRITTS
Reese Britts is excited to make his 54 Below debut with this wonderful celebration of Courtney Christison’s music. He can be seen on Broadway in & Juliet as Lord Capulet and understudying Lance and Shakespeare. Select Broadway/Theater credits include: Disney’s Frozen (National Tour), Jelly’s Last Jam (NYCC Encores!), Tootsie (Ogunquit Playhouse), Twelve Angry Men: A New Musical (Theater Latte DA). Love to Ryan, always.

KEISHA GILLES

LAUREN NICOLE CHAPMAN
Lauren Nicole Chapman is New York based actor, singer and dancer most recently known for her 7 year journey with Disney’s Frozen on Broadway and the North American tour. Freshly off the road from playing Anna, she is so thrilled to be back performing in NYC. Her favorite past credits include Kinky Boots on Broadway and first national, Audrey in Little shop of Horrors, Serena in Legally Blonde, and Corrie Bratter in Barefoot in the Park.

AUSTIN LESCH

LAURA D'ANDRE
Laura D’Andre can currently be seen in The Play That Goes Wrong at New World Stages. She was a recent guest star on “Law & Order” and can be spotted in various commercials. Broadway national tours: Hair, Grease. Encores!: Annie Get Your Gun, Zorba. Select Regional: Hair (Sacramento Music Circus), Legally Blonde (Ogunquit), Triangle (world premiere, TheaterWorks), Smokey Joe’s Café (Capital Rep). She is repped by Avalon Artists Group & Take 3 Talent. All the love to Benjamin, Josephine, & Ada.

JENNAFER NEWBERRY

BEN FANKHAUSER
Ben Fankhauser is best known for playing Davey in Newsies in the Original Broadway Company & in the movie. Ben has been seen on the National Tours of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Spring Awakening. Ben has been seen on TV in “The Deuce,” “Indoor Boys,” and The Tony Awards. Ben is a frequent guest performer at many cabaret venues in New York City including 54 Below where his solo concert Ben’s Fank’d Up Broadway had a sold out run. Make sure to check out Ben on Spotify/Itunes/Youtube!

JUSTIN SHOWELL
Anne Fraser Thomas was last seen as Molly Brown in the off-Broadway hit Titanique. Originally from California, she loves collaborating on new works with musical theatre writers. Her credits include Clotho in Hercules, Fantine in Les Misérables, Mama Who in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and more. But her favorite role? Being mom to her daughter Violet, who’s turning 7 on St. Patrick’s Day!
Originally from Massachusetts, Keisha Gilles is a powerhouse vocalist, actor and dancer most known for her roles in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway and Ms. Rachel on Netflix. She is currently the Fortune Teller in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway, featured as the Foreperson in an episode of “Law & Order,” and can be seen singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the latest episode of Ms. Rachel. Keisha’s warm and engaging stage presence has also been seen in high-profile productions like The Book of Mormon on Broadway, Dreamgirls national tour, and A Christmas Carol at The Hanover Theater in Massachusetts. de: & Juliet (Francois Dubois), Kennedy Center’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip), Disney’s Aladdin national tour (Omar), The York Theatre’s Penelope (Telemachus), Joe Iconis’ Punk Rock Girl (Dudley), The Karate Kid Musical (Freddie), Into the Woods first national tour (Jack), Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), TUTS’ In the Heights (Sonny). TV credits: “Uncoupled” on Netflix, “Evil” on CBS, “Helpsters” on Apple Plus, and “Truth Slash Fiction!”
Broadway: Disney’s Frozen (Weselton), Something Rotten! (Tom Snout), Violet, Billy Elliot. Off Broadway: Altar Boyz (Luke). New York City Center Encores!: Violet. National tour: Altar Boyz. TV/Film: “Peter Pan Live!,” Across the Universe, Dish. Check out his original music on all streaming platforms as Boo Riley.
Jennafer Newberry is an American actor and singer most known for her work as the Glinda Standby in Wicked on Broadway. She joined the Broadway cast after playing Glinda in the National Tour of Wicked. She is also know for her role as Gretchen in Disney’s Freaky Friday (Multi-City Tour) and Nemo in Finding Nemo the Musical (Walt Disney World). Other notable credits include Shelley in Bat Boy, Clara in The Light in the Piazza, Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Martha Jefferson in the Orlando Premiere of the all female 1776. She also frequently sings in concerts at 54 Below and voices new work in readings and developmental labs. Originally from Houston, Jennafer received her B.F.A. from N.Y.U. When she is not touring the country she resides on the UWS with her husband Zach, their daughter, Parker, and their French Bulldog, @shilohthefrenchie
Justin Showell is so excited to be a part of this fabulous evening of music. He has performed in the North American national tour of Hamilton, the Off-Broadway productions of Buena Vista Social Club (Atlantic Theatre Company) and A Sign of the Times, and will be making his Broadway debut this spring in Floyd Collins. Unending gratitude to Mom, Dad and the Divine Maker. Peace and love to all!

Q. SMITH

NICHOLAS WARD

KIRSTEN JERMÉ
Cellist

BRAD GARDNER
Music Director

MELISSA RUIZ
Producer
Q. Smith was most recently a standby in the West End to Broadway transfer Hills of California. Q. Created the role of Hannah and others in the Tony Award® winning musical (for Best Director) Come From Away. She is also in the film version on AppleTV+. Q. has toured with the North American Broadway show A Night With Janis Joplin, playing the roles of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone. Before Come From Away, Q. closed the Broadway production of Mary Poppins and was in the 1st revival of Les Miserables, and Off-Broadway she performed the role of Mabel Washington and recorded the soundtrack for Fame: On 42nd Street. Other noted credits include Abyssinia: A Gospel Celebration with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center, Showboat in concert at the renowned Carnegie Hall, guest soloist for Hillary Clinton’s Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards at the Kennedy Center, and guest soloist Barack Obama’s inaugural ceremonies. She has shared the stage with Gladys Knight, Rita Coolidge, and Gary U.S. Bonds in Smokey Joe’s Café, as well as Ledesi and Loretta Devine, and has traveled the world with various productions including Central America, Germany, and the entire USA. Not only is she an entertainer, but a passionate educator. Q. and her husband Lawrence created a coaching company called Your Stage. Your Moment! Where they offer workshops , private coachings, and masterclasses for all ages and levels across the country. Her goals are to build a performing arts school integrated with the juvenile system, open a bed and breakfast in Hawaii, travel the world, continue her concert work and voice-over career, and publish her book Queens of the Theatre.
Broadway: Lempicka, The Music Man, Disney’s The Lion King, Disney’s Frozen, In Transit, On the Town. Lincoln Center: Disney’s Anastasia, I Am Harvey Milk. City Center Encores!: Brigadoon, 1776, The Golden Apple, Cabin In The Sky, Zorba!, Paint Your Wagon, Pipe Dream, Annie Get Your Gun. Tours: Show Boat, Porgy and Bess. Regional: A Little Night Music, Camelot, The Who’s Tommy, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Jesus Christ Superstar, Big River, Ragtime, Man Of La Mancha, Once on This Island, Little Shop, Smokey Joe’s Cafe. Film and TV Soundtracks: Wicked, Disney’s Frozen 2, Shmigadoon
A devoted collaborator and educator, New York City-based cellist Kirsten Jermé enjoys an eclectic freelance life that has brought her to stages from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Radio City Music Hall, Roulette and the United Nations. She performs with ensembles including the Harlem Chamber Players and has appeared as guest cellist with the Cassatt String Quartet and as a sub in the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Orchestra and Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Formerly cellist of the Larchmere String Quartet, she performed across the U.S., in Canada and Italy and recorded for Naxos while serving as Eykamp String Quartet Faculty Artist-in-Residence at the University of Evansville and Principal Cellist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. Kirsten has also served as Applied Lecturer of Cello at North Carolina State University. Her collaborations include North Country Chamber Players, Carolina Ballet, Chamber Music Raleigh with Mallarmé Chamber Players, and Living Arts Collective Ensemble at the National Gallery of Art. A passionate proponent of chamber music pedagogy, Kirsten recently joined the faculty of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program and has served on the faculty of the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute and Kidznotes, among others. She also helped develop a chamber music course at the University of Evansville and run a string quartet mentorship program for members of the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. She has taught cello students of all ages and stages at numerous institutions in New York and beyond including Riverdale Country School, Hackley, 92NY School of Music, and Greenwich House Music School. Kirsten received her B.A. from Stony Brook University, where she studied with Colin Carr and the Emerson String Quartet, and her M.M. at Eastman School of Music as a student of Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott. She is currently a D.M.A. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she studied with Marcy Rosen and received coaching from Tania León and Mark Steinberg.
Brad Gardner is a conductor, music supervisor, vocal coach and pianist with a focus on live entertainment and TV/film. From 2020-2023, he was a music production executive for Netflix Original Films, where he oversaw over 40 films through the orchestral scoring and music production process. He regularly conducts and plays piano for recording sessions in Los Angeles, in addition to running a private vocal coaching studio in Los Feliz /Hollywood. He has worked as a conductor and associate music director for the national tour of Disney’s Aladdin, Disney’s Frozen, and the 1st National Tour of An American In Paris. In 2019, he was the music director for the Asian premiere of An American In Paris in Tokyo, Japan, overseeing the translation of the score and the recording/production of the soundtrack. He continues to work as a resident conductor at the Imagination Campus at Disneyland, in Anaheim, CA. Some of his other favorite endeavors have included: Mean Girls (Broadway); A Christmas Story (Ahmanson/DTLA); Something Rotten! (National Tour); Silence! the Musical (Off-Broadway); Little Shop of Horrors starring Megan Hilty (Kennedy Center); and the world-premiere of the musical The Nutty Professor, directed by Jerry Lewis, with an original score by Marvin Hamlisch.
Melissa Ruiz is a dynamic public speaking coach and strategist who’s been captivating audiences from college campuses to the esteemed TEDx stage. With a Master’s in Social Work from Rutgers University and nearly a decade of experience in higher education, Melissa has seamlessly transitioned into empowering leaders to conquer their public speaking fears and amplify their impact. Her journey from the Miss New Jersey pageant circuit to coaching professionals showcases her unwavering commitment to helping others find their authentic voice. Melissa loves to empower women and help them tell their stories. She works to make sure women’s words are heard no matter how they package them – in speeches or songs, on a stage or in a boardroom. In 2021, she was New York’s strongest woman, taking first place after deadlifting a car, pulling a truck and moving some other heavy stuff. She lives in New York City with her husband, dog and almost 9 month old son.