12 ANGRY MEN

Cast Bios

Steven J. Anderson (Juror #10) has been acting in local theatre since the age of 13 when he appeared as the Fire Eater in the Community Circle Theatre's Lollipop Players production of Pinocchio. Among his many other credits are Jody in Lonely Planet, Mr. Noakes in Arcadia, and Mercer in Boy Gets Girl, all for Actors' Theatre. Other roles include Reuven in The Chosen and Benny in The Value of Names for Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids and Mr. Keseberg in Devour the Snow (for which he won a Grand Award) and Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer for Heritage Theatre. His roles here at Civic include Sam in Crossing Delancey and R. M. Renfield in Dracula.

Jesse Aukeman (Juror #5) first appeared on the GRCT stage with another group of angry men - the Second Continental Congress - in 1776. Additionally, he served as Assistant Director of GRCT's 2009 production of The Foreigner. Other stage credits include: Of Thee I Sing, The Matchmaker, Crazy for You, La Bête, The Mousetrap, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Dining Room. Jesse is thrilled to return to GRCT with the cast of 12 Angry Men!

Jay Brooks (Juror #12) is excited to be performing with such a talented group of actors on the Civic Theatre stage. Jay has been in many productions here through the years, most recently he was seen as Fulton in High School Musical 2 (09). In addition to acting on stage, Jay often volunteers in a lot of different roles back stage and also provides marketing and graphic design support to the theatre through his business, Affinity Marketing Services. “Thank you, Barbara, for always encouraging me to enjoy whatever creative endeavor I leap in to – I love you!”

Wally Fleser (Juror #9) is no stranger to the Civic. He has performed in show like, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Inherit the Wind, Anything Goes and Arsenic and Old Lace. Other community theatre credits include: Glangarry Glenrose with Actor’s Theatre and “‘Ring’ – Baby” with Circle Theatre. Wally is married to his lovely wife Antoinette, has five children and seven grandchildren.

Jon March (Juror #8) has appeared in numerous Civic Theatre productions. His personal favorite roles have been as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, George Haye in Moon Over Buffalo, and the Stage Manager in Our Town. Jon is a past President of the Civic Theatre Board of Directors and the 2004 Mitchell Award winner. He always feels privileged to appear on the Civic Theatre stage, but particularly with such a talented group of actors as the cast of 12 Angry Men. Jon dedicates his performance to the memory of Joe LaChappelle, a mainstay of Grand Rapids community theatre, who but for his untimely death in June of this year would almost certainly have been one of the jurors in tonight’s play. Jon is confident that Joe is watching in the wings.

Richard Mulligan (Juror #7) was first seen at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre in Arsenic and Old Lace in 2001. Since then he has appeared in Dearly Departed and To Kill a Mockingbird. His other community theatre credits include: A Christmas Carole, Cheaper by the Dozen and Arsenic and Old Lace with Master Arts Theater. Richard has also participated in several touring shows with MAT. He has also been on stage with GR Circle Theater, Caledonia Community Players, Thebes Players in Lowell and has acted and direct with Genesis UMC Drama Ministry Team for 15 years. Richard would like to thank Bruce for giving him this opportunity, the cast and crew for working so hard. “I have never had so much fun being so Angry. You are all an inspiration!”

Jim Musial (Juror #6) is making his Grand Rapids Civic Theatre debut in 12 Angry Men, but is no stranger to the show itself. In 2009 he was a part of the cast of 12 Angry Juror’s with Cedar Springs Community Players as Juror #8. He works for Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. as the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility. Jim sings Chinese Karaoke at the annual Year End party in Asia, and once sang in front of 6,000 factory workers at the Moon Festival celebration.

Todd Osbeck (Juror #2) made his Civic Theatre debut with Equus (78’). Following that he appeared in 1776 and Our Town (2010). His favorite credits around town include, Inherit the Wind and The Drunkard with Heritage Theatre, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Circle Theatre, and Fiddler on the Roof with Jewish Theatre. “Thanks to Paula for her love and support. This one’s for you Joe!”

Greg Rogers (Juror #3) has a long history with the Civic Theatre, making his first appearance in the 1972 production The Hobbit. Some Other favorite shows with GRCT include Journey’s End (my 1st lead), Sylvia (twice), Cinderella, The Foreigner, Arsenic & Old Lace, Kiss Me Kate, The Odd Couple, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and most recently in It's A Wonderful Life. Greg has also appeared in over seventy other community theatre shows such as; Marvin’s Room, Tent Meeting, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Urinetown:The Musical, Seven Passages: The Stories of Gay Christians, Lieutenant of Inishmoor, The Drawer Boy, and Opus at Actor’s Theatre, at Circle Theatre; The Real Inspector Hound, Shadowlands, Escanaba in Da’ Moonlight, The Vast Difference, Proof, Baby, Rounding Third, Escanaba in Love, and Noises Off, with Jewish Theatre; The Immigrant, The Choosen, with Opera GR Die Fledermaus and with Heritage Theatre, The Merry Wives of Windsor. He has worked many times in front of the camera in films, commercials, and promotional pieces, a recent mini-series being Backstage Drama, a web series being produced as a multi-theatre fundraiser by Fubble Entertainment. Greg has been nominated for many Grand Awards and has won several. He would like to dedicate his performance in 12 Angry Men first to his family, which should include his 2nd grandchild who should have entered our world by the time this play opens, and to Joe LaChappelle, one of the kindest, gentlest human beings he’s ever been privileged to have known and who passed way too early.

Mike Smolinski (Juror #11) has appeared in more than 60 productions at Civic, Circle, Actors, Heritage, Jewish Theatre, Grand Rapids Opera, and other theatres throughout Michigan. He has won Grand Awards for his performances in Denial and The Crucible. As a writer, Mike has had several one-act and full length plays produced in Grand Rapids and as far away as Washington State. He co-wrote the award-winning film documentary, The Reckoning. and his book with fitness specialist Sean Foy, titled The 10 Minute Total Body Breakthrough, is in bookstores across the country and on Amazon.com. Mike’s most recent stage appearance was in Actors’ Theatre production of Opus, which he dedicated to his Mom and Dad who both passed away last year.

Matt Tawney (Bailiff) is making his first appearance at the Civic in this production of 12 Angry Men. He has performed in many shows with Thebes Players in Lowell, some titles being: Death Trap, Moon over Buffalo, Barefoot in the Park, Beanie and the Bamboozling Book Machine, Dicken's Christmas, Jungle Book, Escanaba in Love and Sing On! Matt has also served as Director for Play On!, and Sing On! For Thebes Players. Currently Matt works for NTB, Inc. as the Director of Sales and Marketing.

Rodney TeSlaa (Juror #4) is no stranger to theatre, especially Civic Theatre. Most recently he appeared in Doubt and Sarah Plain & Tall in the 2009-2010 Season. He has appeared in numerous shows with Civic, three of which he was nominated for a Grand Awards as “Best Actor” -- these include, Camelot, 1776, and Night of the Iguana. Rodney has also appeared with Civic in, Of Mice and Men, and Much Ado about Nothing. Other community theatre productions include Lend Me a Tenor (Tito Merelli), and Man for all Seasons, for which he was again nominated as “Best Actor” by the Grand Award Committee. Professionally, Rodney spent years traveling across the country as an improvisational comic with his group, CPR Lifesavers. For ten years he has been the voice of Tom Richter on the radio show, Down Gilead Lane, and has also been a stand in for Val Kilmer in the movie, The Gun.

Rob Thomasma (Foreman) is happy to back on the Civic stage after last working behind the scenes as the Wig Master in Hairspray. He is a self-employed cosmetologist and make-up artist. He was last seen in The Diary of Anne Frank at GRCT. Forty-nine years ago, Rob made his stage debut at Civic Theatre in The Wizard of Oz as a munchkin and Norma Brink as Glenda. Since then he has appeared on or behind the scenes of every venue in West Michigan. His credits for Actors, Jewish Theatre, Heritage Theatre, Circle Theatre, Opera Grand Rapids and GVSU include: Pippin, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Hello Dolly!, The Philadelphia Story, Jeffrey, Wit, Noah’s Flood, Man of La Mancha, Carousel and Assassins. In 1988, Rob was honored with Circle Theatre’s Norma Brink Award for Community Service, and after 40 years – life came full circle when he appeared on the Civic Stage with Norma again in Arnesic and Old Lace.