In The Heights Cast

Daniel, a senior, is excited to be performing in Saint Joseph High School’s production of “In the Heights” as Usnavi De La Vega. Daniel was previously seen in the school’s Cabaret “For Forever” as a host and featured soloist this past fall. Daniel is also a captain of the school’s varsity basketball and soccer teams. Daniel would like to thank his director Anthony Fellowes, and assistant Jacob Punturi for their endless support, as well as his castmates for making the rehearsal process so memorable and enjoyable. Daniel would like to thank his family and girlfriend Kimmie for their support in this new journey of his. He would like to give a special thank you to Julia Singleton for encouraging him to participate in the theater department. After graduating, Daniel plans to attend a four year university and major in business.

Julia, a senior, is thrilled to be portraying Nina in her 33rd musical “In the Heights!”. Some of her favorite previous roles include Yonah in “Children of Eden”, the White Queen in “Alice in Wonderland”, and Belle in “A Christmas Carol”. She has trained with Broadway Workshop in New York City and Act One Theatre School in Pittsburgh. Julia is still unsure where she will be attending college but plans to pursue theatre in the coming years. She would like to thank Anthony and Jake for their hard work and support, her castmates for making the past four years so enjoyable, her family for their love and support, and God.

Brody, a sophomore, is thrilled to be playing Benny in SJHS’s “In the Heights” this year! Previously, he has worked on stage crew for MQA’s “Peter Pan Jr.” and “Alice in Wonderland Jr.”, and has played Mufasa in MQA’s “The Lion King Jr.” and Shem in SJHS’s “Children of Eden”. He was also part of SJHS’s Fall Cabaret. He would like to thank his family for being so supportive and loving, his friends for tolerating his sporadic singing, and Anthony for allowing him to portray this amazing character. Brody hopes everyone hears him on the dispatch tonight, but please cut him some slack— it’s his first time doing this.

Alex is beyond excited to be apart of this production of In The Heights as Vanessa. She has also been in Children of Eden and The Little Mermaid. She would like to thank her directors Anthony and Jacob for helping her improve along the way. Alex would also like to thank her family and friends for all the love and support they have given and her parents for helping her express her love of performing.

Julia, a junior at SJHS, is ecstatic to be playing the role of Camila in this year’s production of “In the Heights”! Her previous roles include Aphra in “Children of Eden,” an ensemble member in “Hello, Dolly!” and Anastasia for her solo in the recent SJHS Fall Cabaret “For Forever.” She has also had the pleasure to play Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz” (CLO Academy), the Tyrant in “DMV Tyrant” (Pittsburgh Public Theater), and Pamina in Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” with the Eastern Area Youth Chorale. Julia would like to thank the cast and crew, Anthony and Jake, and her family and friends for always supporting her.

Anabel, a freshman at SJHS, feels honored to make her first appearance in a St. Joe’s musical and blessed to have such a wonderful cast who is like a second family. In the past, she has played roles in three musicals at Holy Sepulcher as well as participated in Children of Eden as a member of the youth ensemble. She would like to thank Anthony for giving his time to put on such an amazing show, the cast for always putting forth their best effort, her loving parents for always driving her back and forth for practices, her sister, Beatrix, for helping with costumes and her friends for their constant support.

Isabella is proud to be back on stage one last time as Abuela Claudia in "In The Heights". She would like to thank the lovely cast and crew of the musical department, those involved in her previous shows "Hello Dolly" and "Children of Eden", as well as her family and friends for giving her the courage to perform. She hopes to take the experiences she's gained over the years to pursue a career in the art field.

Olivia, a junior, is exhilarated to be playing the role of Daniela in "In the Heights" to broaden her experience and knowledge as a performer. She has danced in all styles competitively for years. Last year at SJHS, she was a Stage Manager for "Children of Eden" and this past fall she was a featured soloist in "For Forever". Olivia is currently signed with a modeling and acting agency and competes in pageants. Recently, she won a Miss Pennsylvania title as Miss Keystone State Teen. She is excited to continue challenging herself in the arts!

Hannah, a freshman, is ecstatic to be portraying Carla in "In the Heights" at SJHS! Previously she has played Peter Pan in Peter Pan Jr., the Dodo Bird in Alice in Wonderland Jr., Nala in Lion King Jr., Fiona in Shrek the Musical Jr., and an actress in SJHS’s fall cabaret. Hannah would like to thank her director, castmates, and family for encouraging and inspiring her everyday.

Olivia, a freshman, is thrilled to be performing as Graffiti Pete in this year’s production of IN THE HEIGHTS at Saint Joseph High School. Olivia has been in four prior productions as well as one summer camp at Mary Queen of Apostles School and a summer camp and Cabaret at Saint Joes. Olivia would like to thank Anthony, for pushing her to do her best, her family for the constant support, and her friends for cheering her on tonight!

Mary-Kate, a senior, is beyond excited to be playing Piragua Guy in SJHS's "In The Heights". For the past six years, she enjoyed performing in "Seussical Jr." as The Cat in the Hat, "Godspell Jr.", "Les Miserables", "Hello, Dolly!", and "Children of Eden". When she is not busy scraping ice, she is singing either in the choir or for fun or studying Latin. In the fall she will attend Franciscan University with a double major in Theology and Catechetics. She would like to thank her musical family for the fun times, Veronica for helping her to "keep scraping by", and her parents for their unending support. She would like everyone to sit back, enjoy the show, and buy some piragua.

Angelina, a sophomore, is ecstatic to be a part of her third SJHS production. She is happily playing the role of Yolanda and a member of the ensemble. Her previous roles include Tiger Lily in MQA’s “Peter Pan Jr.”, a Cheshire Cat in MQA’s “Alice in Wonderland Jr.”, and Sarabi in MQA’s “The Lion King Jr.” Her first SJHS production was “Children of Eden” playing the role of the Snake. She was a part of St. Joseph’s 2018 fall cabaret, “For Forever,” too. She has also assisted in choreography with MQA’s production the past two years as an alumnus. She took Chinese dance for 9 years at the Yanlai Dance Academy. Angelina is the sophomore class’ Student Council President, on the SJ Cheer team, and a lector and altar server at mass. Angelina would like to give a big thank you to her mom and the hardworking production team. Enjoy the show!

Veronica, a junior at SJHS, is excited to be performing in "In the Heights!" Previously, she was in the ensemble of "Children of Eden" and "Hello, Dolly!" and played the White Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland." She would like to thank everyone that put in the time to make this musical and her participation possible.

Dale, a sophomore, is thrilled to be in this year's production of In the Heights. Previously, in the drama department at Mary Queen of Apostles School he appeared as the King of Hearts ("Alice in Wonderland, Jr.", 2016), Timon ("The Lion King, Jr.", 2017), and was the co-host of "On Broadway", MQA’s 2017 summer cabaret. Dale has also been MQA’s stage manager for their spring 2018 production of “SHREK” and assistant directing their fall 2018 production of “The Little Mermaid Jr.’’ Previously at SJHS, Dale has appeared in “Children of Eden” and their fall cabaret “For Forever”. Dale would like to thank his director, Anthony, for putting valuable time and energy into making all of his productions worthwhile and enjoyable. He would like to thank his castmates and family for their support and encouragement. Lastly, he would like to thank God for all of His many blessings and opportunities. Enjoy the show!

Emily, a junior, is very excited to be a member of the cast in her second SJHS production. She has also performed as a member of the ensemble in the SJHS 2018 Spring Musical "Children of Eden". Emily would like to thank the wonderful stage crew and production team for their guidance and her mother, sister, and grandmother for their endless love and support.

Leeann, a freshman, is grateful and excited to be apart of “In the Heights.” This is her first year participating in a musical. She is also in the robotics club at SJHS and did PJAS. She would like to thank her friend for encouraging her to try out and her family for supporting her.

Casey, a junior, is an ensemble member in “In the Heights” and she is excited to perform her second show here at Saint Joseph HS. Casey has been performing in shows since she was nine years old. She would like to thank her parents, Timmy, her best friends and Kathy for always cheering her on. She would also like to thank her cast mates for “reminding her what it’s like at the top of the world.”

Samantha is a sophomore at Saint Joseph High School. She is thrilled to be in the ensemble as a part of this production of “In the Heights”. This is her second musical at Saint Joseph. Last year she was also part of the ensemble in “Children of Eden.” She has had experience in the past with grade school musical and dancing lessons. Samantha would like to thank Anthony and Jake for their hard work and dedication to this production!

Christian is thrilled to be involved with his first SJHS musical production. He has previously appeared in MQA’s Shrek Jr as Papa Ogre, a Duloc performer, Papa Bear and a tap dancer. Last year he was cast in The Little Mermaid as Prince Eric. In 2018, Christian attended the St. Joseph’s summer drama camp. He is very excited to be performing again and looks forward to performing in the future. He would like to thank his parents and fellow cast members for helping him to be the best he can be. Also he would like to express his gratitude to Anthony Fellowes for the amazing opportunities that he has given to him.

Lexi is an 8th grader at MQA who will be attending Pittsburgh CAPA in the fall for her 9th grade year in the Vocal Music Department. She is a CLO Mini Star who is in her fourth year at the CLO Academy where she is a pre-professional student of dance, voice and acting. Lexi has been a part of the MQA drama department; performing as Tinkerbell in Peter Pan Jr, Lily in Alice in Wonderland Jr, a soloist in On Broadway, Rafiki in the Lion King Jr., Sugar Plum Fairy Gingy and Dragon in Shrek Jr., and Ariel in The Little Mermaid Jr. She has also performed in 9-5 at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy and was featured as Young Fiona in the Pittsburgh CLO’s performance of Shrek the Musical at the Benedum Center. Lexi is thrilled to be in the cast of In the Heights and ecstatic to be under the direction of Anthony for another show!! She is grateful for every opportunity to be on stage, pursuing her dream of being a performer!

Branden is so happy to be singing and dancing in front of an audience with SJHS. Branden enjoys swimming, singing, and dancing. Taylor Swift is the reason for his love of music. He used to play the clarinet for St. John’s band. Branden would like to thank his mother, grandparents, and aunt for their support of his love for music and dancing.

Livia Rocco is passionate about musical theater and performing. Livia attends East Catholic, participates in the Fine Art Program, and sings the National Anthem for numerous school and local events. Recent roles include Ralphie in A Christmas Story- Seasonal Celebration and Violet in Willy Wonka Jr (Premier Performing Arts). Livia was part of the youth ensemble in SJHS’ performance of Children of Eden. Livia just got casted for Little Allison in Fun Home, produced by Front Porch Theatrics. The performance will debut in August of 2019. Besides singing and dancing, Livia plays volleyball and basketball, and participates in synchronize swimming. Livia is honored to be part of the youth ensemble in “In the Heights” at SJHS and loves the experience working with the students and meeting new friends.

Abby is thrilled to be in SJHS presentation of In the Heights. She is currently a student at Mary Queen of Apostles School. Abby has been in several musical productions such as Lion King, Young Fiona in Shrek, and Jetsam/Arista in The Little Mermaid. Abby would like to thank Anthony for this wonderful opportunity.

Peter is blessed to be in the youth ensemble. He has been in a musical since second grade for Holy Sepulcher. This is his first time performing for Saint Joseph's. He wants to thank his parents for continued support and his siblings for helping him with musical.

Leah Troiano is thrilled to be in the youth ensemble! In the past, she has been a part of Aladdin and High School Musical at the Penn State New Kensington Theater Camp. She LOVES to sing, act, and dance! She would like to thank her family, friends, and of course, Anthony!