The Three Musketeers

Norman Allen’s work has been commissioned and produced by the Kennedy Center, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre (VA), Olney Theatre Center, Adventure Theatre, and the Karlin Music Theatre in Prague. Recent projects include Alix in Wonderland: A Gender Journey Down the Rabbit Hole for The Theatre Lab, A Lump of Coal for Christmas for Adventure Theatre-MTC, and the inter-disciplinary Once Wild: Isadora in Russia, named “a bold new work of art” by the Washington Post.

Norman received the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for In The Garden. His solo drama Nijinsky’s Last Dance won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Play prior to productions across the U.S., Europe and South Africa. His work in musical theatre includes the concert adaptation of Sweet Adeline at Encores!, New York City Center; The Christmas Carol Rag, featuring a classic ragtime score, and Frank Wildhorn’s Carmen, which has played for more than a decade in Prague and been produced in Austria, Lithuania, South Korea, and Japan.

Norman’s essays and feature stories have appeared in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Houston Chronicle; in Smithsonian and Washingtonian magazines; on WAMU-FM; and on numerous blogs including OnFaith, OnBeing, Howlround, and Tin House. His work for television includes PBS documentaries on Vincent Van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, John Singer Sargent and the Phillips Collection of Modern Art.

Norman received his Masters of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in May 2018, was ordained by All Souls Church Unitarian in March 2019, and now serves as Minister to the Davies Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Camp Springs, Maryland.

Alexandre Dumas was born in Villes-Cotterêts. His grandfather was a French nobleman who had settled in Santo Domingo (now part of Haiti); his paternal grandmother, Marie-Cessette, was an Afro-Caribbean who had been a black slave in the French colony (now part of Haiti). Dumas’ father was a general in Napoleon’s army who had fallen out of favor. After his death in 1806 the family lived in poverty. Dumas worked as a notary’s clerk and went in 1823 to Paris to find work. Due to his elegant handwriting he secured a position with the Duc d’Orléans, later King Louis Philippe. He also found his place in theater and as a publisher of some obscure magazines. As a playwright Dumas made his breakthrough with “HENRI III ET SA COUR” (1829), produced by the Comedie Francaise. It was a huge success and Dumas went on to write additional plays, of which “LA TOUR DE NESLE” (1832) is considered the greatest masterpiece of French melodrama. He wrote constantly, producing a steady stream of plays, novels, and short stories. As a writer of historical novels Dumas was enormously prolific and—with the help of seventy-three assistants—produced some 250 books, including “The Three Musketeers” (1844) and “The Count of Monte-Cristo” (1844-45). As a master dialogist, Dumas developed character traits, kept the action moving, and composed the all-important chapter endings, which were essentially teaser scenes that maintained suspense and made readers interested to read more. Dumas lived as adventurously as the heroes of his books. He took part in the revolution of July 1830, caught cholera during the epidemic of 1832, and traveled in Italy to recuperate. He married his mistress Ida Ferrier, an actress, in 1840, but he soon separated after having spent her entire dowry. With the money earned from his writings, he built a fantastic Château Monte Cristo on the outskirts of Paris. Dumas spent two years in exile in Brussels (1855-57), and then returned to Paris. In 1858 he traveled to Russia and in 1860 he went to Italy, where he supported Garibaldi and Italy’s struggle for independence (1860-64). He then remained in Naples as a keeper of the museums for four years. Dumas died of a stroke on December 5, 1870, at Puys, near Dieppe.

Jerry Lee is Sierra Rep’s Artistic Director. He’s appeared in the SRT productions of Misery, Sunday in the Park with George, Elf The Musical, Shrek The Musical, Camelot, Cabaret, Route 66, Intimate Apparel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Man of La Mancha, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair, and The Drowsy Chaperone. As an actor: I Love You…Change, Forbidden Broadway (California Musical Theatre); Life Could Be a Dream, A Christmas Carol (CenterREP); A Little Princess, The Fantasticks (Sacramento Theatre Company); West Side Story (Mountain Play); Orlando, An Iliad, A Tale of Two Cities (SacImpulse Theatre). As a soloist: Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration (Sacramento Choral Society); Billy Bigelow in Carousel in Concert (Sacramento Philharmonic). As a director: HAIR, Little Shop of Horrors, Mean Girls JR., Sh-Boom! A Christmas Miracle (World Premiere), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Twelfth Night, Jersey Boys, Clue, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh KIDS, Elvis The Musical (West Coast Premiere), Dogfight, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Steel Magnolias, Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka KIDS, I Love You…Change, The Wizard of Oz, Holiday Jukebox, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The Robber Bridegroom (SRT); I Love You…Change (STC). Lee began his association with Sierra Rep in 2010 when he stepped in as a replacement in Guys and Dolls.

In 2019, Lee created SRT in Schools, a touring program that brings live professional theatre to Tuolumne County schools at no cost to the schools, students, or their families. In 2023, the program branched out to include Stanislaus and Calaveras counties.

Charlie Munday is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and a Broadway World–nominated choreographer for his work on Mamma Mia!, Elf: The Musical, and Young Frankenstein. Originally from Australia, Charlie has loved creating work that celebrates storytelling through movement. Some other choreography credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Frozen, Dogfight, [title of show], and Nunsense. Charlie is grateful to the artists he collaborates with and sends his love to his parents, family, friends and husband Justin.

Dane Oliver is a lifelong lover of all things swashbuckling. He has a background in olympic fencing, Shotokan karate, Hema, parkour, and gymnastics. He lives in LA, working as an actor and choreographer. Choreography credits include She Kills Monsters, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Women Beware Women, and about three quarters of the Shakespearean canon. He was most recently seen at SRT as Sam Phillips in Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. His favorite weapon set will always be saber and tomahawk.

Sean is a composer and pianist based in Los Angeles. Originally from Sonora, he attended USC for Jazz Performance studying with Milcho Leviev and Cedar Walton. After finishing his degree, Sean spent a year in Glasgow, Scotland, playing in hotels and working with the Lothian Gaelic Choir. Then, after working in San Francisco with jazz and pop groups, he returned to Los Angeles and a career as a composer and pianist. He has music directed dozens of productions at various theatres including Sierra Rep, Milwaukee Rep, PCPA, The Odyssey, The NoHo Arts Center, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and has played and produced music for Disney and Universal Studios. Sean recently scored the award-winning feature Refuge, SMP’s production of Deathtrap, and received ASCAP’s Harold Arlen Award for film scoring.

Select credits include – Sierra Rep: HAIR, The Wizard of Oz; CCAE Theatricals: The Curious Incident of the Dog…, Witnesses, Once, Every Brilliant Thing; Cygnet Theatre: The Lehman Trilogy; San Diego Musical Theater: Matilda, Legally Blonde; Rubicon Theatre Company: The 39 Steps, Bonnie & Clyde, Crazy Mama, Once, Cowboy Lullaby. Arizona Broadway Theatre. Regional Assistant credits – La Jolla Playhouse: Escape to Margaritaville (Walt Spangler), Summer (Robert Brill); Berkeley Rep: Ain’t Too Proud (Robert Brill). M.F.A. in Scenic Design from UC San Diego.

Cameron Filepas is a NJ/ NYC based lighting designer for Theatre. Selected Designs: Waitress (Titusville Playhouse), Waitress (Omaha Community Playhouse), Beauty and The Beast (Arizona Broadway Theatre), Mrs. Stern (59E59/ Women’s Project Theatre), The Last Match Tour (Temple Theatre), Spring Awakening (EPIC Player’s), RIFT or White Lies (Luna Stage), A Raisin In The Sun (Bristol Riverside Theatre), White Christmas (Arizona Broadway Theatre), The Prom (Axelrod PAC), Into The Woods (EPIC Player’s), Torn Asunder (Luna Stage).

Brenda O’Brien began her theater career in San Diego, where she was seen as Judas in Godspell, Louise in Gypsy, Nicki in Sweet Charity, and Viola in Twelfth Night (to name a few). She received awards for her roles as Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation, Joan in Dames at Sea, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, and Electra in Gypsy. Brenda then went on to perform as Svetlana in the 1st National tour of Chess. Soon after she began portraying Carmen San Diego on the PBS television show and video games. In addition to acting, Brenda is an accomplished make-up artist and hairdresser for TV, Film, and Theater. She received her 25 years on Broadway pin in 2019 for her work on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Les Misérables, Jekyll & Hyde, and Disney’s The Lion King. SRT Audiences might remember her as Tanya in Mamma Mia (2018), or as Tootie in Meet Me in St. Louis (2021). So glad to be back!

Shaun Carroll has been a staff member of the Jewel Theatre Company in Santa Cruz, CA since 2015. There he has appeared onstage in Me & My Girl, The Odd Couple, All My Sons, Sylvia, Fallen Angels, and Woman in Mind. Previously, he has appeared around the greater Bay Area with TheatreWorks, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals, Willows Theatre Company, and CapStage, among others. Shaun is also the prop master for Jewel Theatre Company.

Maggie Braun (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back at her theatre home! SRT: Steel Magnolias, Murder on the Orient Express, Route 66, The Wizard of Oz, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, and Million Dollar Quartet. With her associate degree in Theater from Modesto Junior College, she is proud to have her dream job here in Sonora. She would like to thank her family, best friends, and Connor for supporting her in her journey of chasing her dreams. “Look ma, I made it!”