Bios

Cindy Binnicker (Stage Manager) is happy to be stage managing her 10th show for Chapin Theatre Company. Previous shows she’s stage managed include Beauty and the Beast, Bah Humbug! A Christmas Carol and Closed for the Holidays. She continues to remain active with the Chapin Theatre Company Board of Directors as they continue improving their new building.  Lou Clyde (Nana on May 6, 12, 14, 19, 21) is a Buffalo, New York transplant who hates Columbia summers. She enjoys playing crabby old ladies and specializes in roles that require her to be carried around on stage. Come back in October to see her newest comedy, Stilt Girl, as part of CTC’s 2023 season. Lou loves comedy and her humor has been influenced by the works of Erma Bombeck, David Sedaris, and Jenny Larson. She thanks Glenn for casting her from the other side of the world!

Lou Clyde (Nana) (May 6, 12, 14, 19, 21) is a Buffalo, New York transplant who hates Columbia summers. She enjoys playing crabby old ladies and specializes in roles that require her to be carried around on stage. Come back in October to see her newest comedy, Stilt Girl, as part of CTC’s 2023 season. Lou loves comedy and her humor has been influenced by the works of Erma Bombeck, David Sedaris, and Jenny Larson. She thanks Glenn for casting her from the other side of the world!

Craig DeFelice (Avery Sutton) is thrilled to return to the stage after a three-year break. His last show was Chapin’s 2019 Christmas Show, Bah Humbug, in which he played young Scrooge. Just after the run of that show, his third daughter was born (which has kept him quite busy)! He has loved working with Glenn and the rest of this cast, lovely people one and all! He thinks it deserves to be mentioned that he is excited for the Chapin Theatre Company. They have worked hard to get their own space. He is especially proud of his father, Jim DeFelice, who has worked for this goal most of Craig’s life. Love you, Pops!

Glenn Farr (Director) returns to directing after a four-year break due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he retired from his “real” job, created a weekly blog called “AfterThoughts” (write to glennfarr1955@yahoo.com to subscribe) and drafted three novels. He hopes to self-publish one of them via Amazon later this year. Glenn has directed some of Chapin Theatre Company’s most technically complex shows, including Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Noises Off, Unnecessary Farce, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Leaving Iowa. Consequently, he has welcomed the nearly non-existent technical challenges and gentle pacing of 37 Postcards. He last appeared on stage as the “gay dad” in Chapin’s Motherhood Out Loud (2015) but is probably best remembered as Captain Hook in in Town Theatre’s Peter Pan (2006).

Rae Kostal (Aunt Ester) is enjoying her fourth production with Chapin Theatre Company. She previously appeared in A Little Princess, Leaving Iowa, and most notably as Becca in Rabbit Hole, one of her favorite roles. Other favorites include Miss Casewell in The Mousetrap, Kate Keller in The Miracle Worker, and Edith Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank.  Rae would like to thank Glenn Farr for returning to the director’s chair and placing his trust in her. This is their fifth production together, and she has enjoyed every one of them.

Kelsey McGarrigan (Gillian Moore) is making her second appearance in a Chapin Theatre Company show after her debut in Beauty and the Beast (Ensemble). Other favorite credits include The Wizard of Oz (Ensemble), Godspell (Ensemble), and The Jungle Book (Shere Khan) with Our Gang Players. She is thrilled about the opportunity to portray a Jersey girl alongside an incredibly talented and hilarious cast and crew. Thank you to Glenn for the chance to tell this story and dive into this character. You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey out of the girl. Kelsey would like to dedicate this performance to her family who inspire her daily and whose craziness helped her relate to the Sutton family. Please enjoy this lovely, LOVELY show!

Leilani Phinney (Nana) (May 5, 7, 11, 13, 18, 20) is extremely excited to be returning to theatre after COVID shut everything down. She has been in numerous productions with Chapin Theatre Company, as well as other local theaters since she started acting again back in 2011. Area audiences may remember her as Nurse Willie in The Curious Savage at Chapin and Jimmy DeAnne in Second Samuel at Village Square in Lexington. Her most recent role was her favorite to date -- Olive Madison in The Odd Couple: Female Version at The Ritz Theater in Newberry. Leilani would like to thank her husband, Robert, for supporting her in pursuing her favorite hobby. 

Sandy Steffen (Evelyn Sutton and Costume Advisor), in remembering her past in theater with this cast, was a little surprised to realize how long she’s been involved in stage productions. Fun in most ways, challenging in a lot of ways, but always loving and memorable. This “new home” is the fourth venue where Chapin Theatre Company has presented shows in which she’s participated. Such a pleasure to have the opportunity to work in front of, and behind, the curtain for those many years. So, after many years, welcome home, once more!

Frank Thompson (Stanford Sutton) is happy to be back on stage with CTC, having just directed Death by Design. Chapin audiences have also seen him as Lumiere in Beauty and The Beast, Professor Plum in Clue, Dr. Watson in The Hound of The Baskervilles and Freddie/Philip in Noises Off, as well as both installments of the Ten-Minute Play Festival. His other stage credits include Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Thenardier in Les Miserables, and Thurston Howell III in Gilligan's Island: The Musical. Many thanks to Glenn for another chance to work and play with such an outstanding group.

Blair Walt (Skippy) is thrilled beyond belief to be making her acting debut in 37 Postcards. She follows in the paw prints of her uncle Kevin who (fun fact) once shared the stage with director Glenn Farr in Workshop Theatre’s production of Anything Goes. Blair enjoys following her person (Linda Walt) around, eating treats, and looking cute.