Class Notes
Many Boston University alums worked on the Broadway play Good Night, Oscar, starring Sean Hayes, which opened at the Belasco Theater on April 24, 2023. From left: Jillian Oliver (’06) (stage manager), David Lurie-Perret (’01) (production stage manager), John Zdrojeski (’12) (cast, playing the role of George Gershwin), Greg Bird (’14) (deck automation), and Alex Wyse (’09) (cast, playing the role of Max Weinbaum). Not pictured: Ken Elliot (’00) (associate lighting designer), Alex Brandwine (’09) (advance carpenter), and Ana Rose Greene (’04) (production manager). Photo by Greg Mills
Class Notes
Winter 2024
1960s
Susan Surman (’60), an award-winning playwright and actress, published the romance novel Trade Off (Indigo Sea Press, 2022).
Barbara Owen (’62) had a 40-year tenure as director of music at the First Religious Society of Newburyport, Mass. In January 2023, the First Religious Society, with the support of the Methuen Memorial Music Hall, celebrated Owen’s 90th birthday with 10 distinguished speakers and 7 well-known organists. She was honored for her accomplishments in organ building, preservation, scholarship, history, and music. Owen is curator and founder of the Organ Library of the Boston American Guild of Organists located at Boston University.
Micaela Amateau Amato (’68) had her work featured in exhibitions in 2022 and 2023, including Silver Stories, SOONOQO, Mi Korazon Sospira, and Neti Neti. She also created the illustrations for the book Zazu Dreams: Between the Scarab and the Dung Beetle, A Cautionary Fable for the Anthropocene Era (Eifrig Publishing, 2017) by Cara Judea Alhadeff.
Carolyn Michel (’68) portrayed all five family members in the play Family Secrets, which explores the joys and tribulations of parenting, childbirth, and octogenarian romance. Michel’s husband, Howard Millman, directed the play, which ran in March 2023 at the Sarasota Jewish Theatre.
Vernon Miller (’69) is a composer, arranger, songwriter, producer, teacher, and performing musician whose work has been released on Warner Brothers, Epic/Sony, and various independent US and European record labels. Miller, along with writing/recording collaborator Jeiris Cook, released a five-song EP, The Jeiris Cook/Vern Miller Project. In 2023, Miller also published an academic paper, “‘The Sound of Silence’: A Comparative Analysis of the Recordings by Simon and Garfunkel and Disturbed.”
1970s
Stewart F. Lane (’73) and his wife Bonnie Comley received the Ambassadors for the Arts Award as founders of BroadwayHD at the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards, presented at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in May 2023.
Phil Brown (’74) directed the postpandemic revival of the Swinging Epiphany Celebration with the Swing North Big Band in St. Johnsbury, Vt., in January 2023. Brown originally conceived Swinging Epiphany in 2012. The “lessons and carols” celebration features the traditional Christmas and Epiphany scriptures interspersed with jazz carols and swing standards performed by an 18-piece big band. Swinging Epiphany was offered annually in communities across northern Vermont and New Hampshire through January 2020.
Lesley Cohen (’74) had her new work featured in a solo exhibit, Light Matters, at Bromfield Gallery in Boston, Mass., in April 2023. The series of drawings serves as a metaphor for the possibilities of joy that can be received as people reenter and reengage with the world outside following pandemic-era lockdowns.
Boaz Sharon (’76), a professor of piano at CFA, performed a concert in March 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil, for Casa Thomas Jefferson, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting understanding between Brazilians and Americans.
Robert Stuart (’77) had a solo exhibit, his tenth, which opened in November 2023 at the Reynolds Gallery in Richmond, Va.
Julie Ridge (’78) is featured in Zac Norrington’s documentary Breathe, about her double swim around Manhattan and life navigation of bipolar disorder. The film has been presented at the Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival. In addition, her one-woman show, Bipolar & the English Channel, was produced multiple times off-Broadway and was presented at Temple Israel in Sharon, Mass., and at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in Sedona, Ariz., in May 2023.
William Spencer (’78,’85), a published composer, plays bassoon in the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra in Baltimore, Md. Spencer is a business analyst working on a large-scale system modernization project for the Maryland State Department of Education.
Marsha Goldberg (’79) exhibited her work in a solo show, Authentic Reminiscence of Light, at Adah Rose Gallery in Kensington, Md., in summer 2023. Goldberg also showed her work in the small group show Abstract Configurations at West Strand Art Gallery in Kingston, N.Y., in summer 2023.
Patricia Randell (’79) played the female lead in the sold-out reading of Paula Pizzi-Black’s play The Spaces in Between in February 2023, as part of the LAByrinth Theater Company’s Barn Series at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.
1980s
Jason Alexander (‘81, Hon.’95) directed The Cottage on Broadway, featuring a cast including Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy, and Lilly Cooper, which ran July through October 2023. The comedy tells a tale of sex, betrayal, and love in 1920s London after the revelation of an extramarital affair. Alexander was also featured in Hulu’s History of the World: Part II, which premiered in March 2023.
Ronna Kress (’81,’84) was the casting director for the Netflix romantic comedy Your Place or Mine featuring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher.
Margo (Fisher) Lemieux (’81) is a professor emerita at Lasell University. She coordinated an exhibit at the Bảo tàng Mỹ thuật Đà Nẵng–Danang Fine Arts Museum in Vietnam in April 2023 featuring 38 artworks by members of the Boston Printmakers artists association, around the theme of “peace, love, and understanding.” The exhibit also featured a show of works by artist and Vietnam War veteran David Thomas called “Finding Parkinson’s,” in which he grapples with his experience with the disease. Thomas is the founder of the nonprofit Indochina Arts Partnership, which promotes cultural exchange between Vietnam and the US.
Roman Alis (’83) was a company actor with the Virginia Shakespeare Festival and helped found the York County School of the Arts in Williamsburg, Va. He has recently retired as a theater arts educator with the York County Public Schools and The College of William & Mary. He actively devotes his time to playing piano for children’s hospitals.
Paul Carlson (’85,’98), a pianist, was the visiting artist at the Thurston Consort’s concert in April 2023. The concert, held at the Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg, Mass., celebrated the music of New England composers Amy Beach, Margaret Ruthven Lang, and Jennifer L. Jones. Carlson is music director of the Peregrine Consort, an ensemble that presents the Bach Cantatas on period instruments, along with other works, and teaches at the Lexington Music School in Lexington, Mass.
Brett Johnson (BUTI’79, CFA’85) joined the Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Wakefield, Mass., as its 21st rector. Johnson leads the church’s weekly in-person and virtual worship as well as weekly evening prayer.
Mark Ortwein (’89) has been assistant principal bassoon in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and has done solo appearances and recordings with many different groups, including playing John Williams’ Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra with Williams conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Ortwein has a newly released jazz album, It Was Time, which can be heard on all streaming platforms.
1990s
Peter Paige (’91) is the coshowrunner of the seventh season of ABC’s Station 19 after being the executive producer for the sixth season of the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off.
Lauren Ambrose (BUTI’94,’95) portrays Adult Van in season two of Showtime’s Yellowjackets. The series follows a team of high school girls’ soccer players who survive a plane crash deep in the remote Canadian wilderness. Ambrose also played Dorothy Turner in Apple TV+’s M. Night Shyamalan series Servant, which concluded in March 2023.
Sedrick Huckaby (BUTI’95, CFA’97) and Letitia Huckaby, artists and cofounders of Kinfolk House, a collaborative project space that inhabits a 100-year-old historic home where community and art converge, participated in a June 2023 virtual event hosted by the BU Office of the Senior Diversity Officer and CFA, which was moderated by Dean Harvey Young. The Huckabys discussed the legacy, mission, and current projects at Kinfolk House and how the values and vision of the nonprofit align with the commemoration of Juneteenth.
Sue Wagner (’97) was nominated for two 2023 Tony Awards for her work as producer of both Ain’t No Mo’ and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. Ain’t No Mo’ was nominated for Best Play and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window was nominated for Best Revival of a Play.
Nicole Pond (’99) is a lecturer in art and art education at CFA’s School of Visual Arts. She was recognized as one of the recipients of the Belmont Public Schools 2023 Outstanding Teacher Awards. Outstanding Teachers are recognized for their excellence in the classroom and for consistently making a difference in the lives of Belmont’s students. Pond has been an elementary art teacher in Belmont, Mass., for more than 20 years and is a practicing visual artist.
2000s
Eight Boston University alums worked on the new Broadway play Good Night, Oscar, starring Sean Hayes, which opened at the Belasco Theater on April 24, 2023. The Terriers involved in the production include, from left: Jillian Oliver (’06) (stage manager), David Lurie-Perret (’01) (production stage manager), John Zdrojeski (’12) (cast, playing the role of George Gershwin), Greg Bird (’14) (deck automation), and Alex Wyse (’09) (cast, playing the role of Max Weinbaum). Not pictured: Ken Elliot (’00) (associate lighting designer), Alex Brandwine (’09) (advance carpenter), and Ana Rose Greene (’04) (production manager).
Moritz von Stuelpnagel (’00) directed Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy in a premiere production of Theresa Rebeck’s I Need That at the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway in fall 2023.
Chris Chou (’01), Sachiko Akiyama (’02),and Kayla Mohammadi (’02) had work featured in their group exhibition From the Heart, which ran in February and March 2023 at AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.
Philippe Treuille (BUTI’01) presented the world premiere of his composition, Live Forever, in May 2023 at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City. Live Forever, a concerto for flute and orchestra, celebrates the resilience of diverse people confronting challenges together. The concert also featured Rejuvenation in Red and Tessellations, two other compositions by Treuille.
Missy Mazzoli (BUTI’98, CFA’02) is the Mead Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and one of the first two women to be commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera. Mazzoli returned to Boston University Center for New Music in March 2023 for a three-day residency to engage with students.
Joel Christian Gill (’04) is chair of CFA’s visual narrative graduate program. He collaborated with Ibram X. Kendi, the founding director of BU’s Center for Antiracist Research, on the new graphic version of Kendi’s book Stamped from the Beginning, a nonfiction story of the origins of systemic racism in America.
Ryan Guzzo Purcell (’04) is founding artistic director of The Williams Project,a national professional theatre ensemble. Purcell directed Intiman Theatre and The Williams Project’s coproduction of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in February 2023 at Erickson Theatre in Seattle, Wash. This was the first professional production of the show in Seattle.
Teresa Wakim (’05) Grammy-winning soprano, was the featured guest vocalist in the Musicians of The Old Post Road’s two productions of Baroque Diva: A Tribute to Faustina Bordoni in Wayland, Mass., and at Boston’s Old South Church in March 2023.
Yevgeny Kutik (BUTI’00, CFA’07) was a guest soloist at Mozart at McClaren, formerly known as Festival Amadeus. The annual classical music festival was presented by Glacier Symphony at Flathead Valley Community College in Montana in June 2023.
Rachel Lambert (’08) directed the film Sometimes I Think About Dying, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023. The film tells a story of love for the socially awkward and emotionally challenged.
Clare Maloney (BUTI’03, CFA’08) released her debut album in December 2022 with her rock band, Clare Maloney & The Great Adventure. The debut LP Daybreaker was hailed as “stunning” by Relix magazine, praising its “brilliant vocals, rocking band, and polished songwriting.” Maloney got her start on the opera stage at CFA and went on to perform at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, and at concert halls throughout Europe and Asia. She eventually found her way back to her roots as a rock musician, sharing the stage as a first call vocalist with members of The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Allman Brothers Band, Hall & Oates, and the E Street Band along the way. Her new original band can be seen and heard in music clubs and at festivals across the country. Find the tour schedule and album at claremaloney.com.
Alex Neumann (’09), the lead sound designer for Into the Woods, was nominated for the 2023 Best Sound Design of a Musical Tony Award. Neumann won the 2023 Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical Drama Desk Award for the production.
Jonny Watkins (’09) cofounded and is a director of the National Youth and National Children’s Concert Bands, leading youth wind bands in the UK. In addition to a busy freelance performing and teaching career, he also runs two nonprofit children’s bands in his hometown of Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
Alex Wyse (’09) directed the LGBTQIA+-themed horror-comedy Summoning Sylvia. It tells the story of a gay bachelor party that takes an eerie turn when sinister spirits are summoned. He also helped create the Emmy-nominated digital series Indoor Boys.
2010s
Shannon Chrisco (’12) has been teaching elementary visual art in Kentucky for 18 years, and was awarded the Kentucky Art Education Association Elementary Art Teacher of the Year award for the 2022–2023 school year.
Rachel Juszczak (’12,’14), Aija Rēķe (’15), Jennifer Wang (’19,’25), Caroline Samuels (’22), Milos Bjelica (’23), Valentina Pulido Pardo (’24), and Dan Casso (’26) performed in “Fanfare for Composing Women,” a concert that celebrated the great contributions of women composers throughout history, which took place in June 2023 at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, Mass.
Alicia Link (’12) showed her multimedia art installation, when it starts, we will let the host know you are waiting, at The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery in spring 2023. The installation addresses inequity through the visual language of the gynecologist’s office and waiting room.
Gail Shalan (’12) and Erin Ruth Walker (’13) narrated the audiobook version of House Party, edited by Justin A. Reynolds (Penguin Random House Audio, 2023).
Becca Jewett (’15), Jon Vellante (’16), Aja M. Jackson (’18), and Victoria Omoregie (’22) worked on Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s acclaimed comedy Fairview in February and March 2023. Vellante played the character Jimbo, Omoregie (right) portrayed the character Keisha, while Jewett was the production’s costume designer and Jackson was the lighting designer. Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Egle Jarkova (’16) founded the international summer music festival Vivace Vilnius in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2012. The event brings musicians from all over Europe and the United States to Vilnius for master classes and concerts, all free of charge. In 2022, the festival’s 10th anniversary, the event brought many sponsored students fleeing war-torn Ukraine to Lithuania. The festival provided scholarships and an additional stipend for transportation, lodging, and food for those Ukrainian students whose lives had been interrupted. Jarkova’s goal is to provide opportunities for young musicians to advance their studies and their musical growth while making new connections and creating lasting memories.
Brittany Lasch (’16) was appointed assistant professor of music in trombone at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in August 2023. Lasch has appeared as a soloist with ensembles such as the US Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. She also performs as principal trombone of the Detroit Opera Orchestra.
Kamal Ahmad (’16) curated Intersections at Boston’s Piano Craft Gallery in June 2023, a first-of-its-kind group exhibition of recent painting graduates. The show brought together works by graduate students from MFA programs around Boston, including from BU. Ahmad relished the challenge of curating works across four schools, seven programs, and by 43 graduate students—24 of which were from BU. Photo by Sophie Yarin
2020s
Kevin Dunn (’23), Alyssa Jewell (’23), Sasha Marlene Nemi Lato (’23), Nia Safarr Banks (’23), and Steven Velasquez (’23) are five CFA School of Theatre MFA design & production alums who presented at the 2023 National Design Portfolio Review, an introduction of talented emerging designers to the industry.
Ami Okazaki (’23) was selected by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Prague Quadrennial 2023 jury and curators to be featured in the June 2023 USITT PQ 2023 Emerging Exhibit in Prague, Czech Republic.
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