Meet the cast of ATI’s holiday love story, “She Loves Me”

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Actors Theatre of Indiana (ATI) presents the next in its 2024-2025 season: She Loves Me. This euphoric holiday-themed romantic comedy shares its source material with the classic movies The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime, and You’ve Got Mail.

Considered by many to be the most charming musical ever written, She Loves Me is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old-world elegance. Here is your chance to meet the cast of this musical, sure to get you into the holiday spirit.

Terrence Lambert is an actor, singer, improvisor and comedian based in New York City. Lambert is excited to be returning to his hometown to perform in one of his favorite musicals, She Loves Me. He can be seen around New York City doing various stand-up sets and improv shows with his all-black improv groups The Blacksmiths and Brothered Toast. He is a graduate of IU Indianapolis, formerly IUPUI, with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Credits include Dogfight, Violet, Newsies, and Hairspray.

Sophie Jones is thrilled to be making her ATI debut. Select credits include: Off-Broadway – Finding Madame Curie; Regional – Titanic, Into the Woods, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

Nathalie Cruz is thrilled to be back at ATI stage. She was last seen as one of the performers in A Grand Night for Singing. Other stage credits around town include: Sitelines Indy’s Side Man, The King & I at Beef and Boards, Small Mouth Sounds at American Lives Theatre, and Mary Jane at Summit Performance Indianapolis. Other show credits include: A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Urinetown, Into the Woods, Drowsy Chaperone, Pippin, and Les Miserables.

Josh Maldonado is excited to be a part of his favorite musical. Recent credits include: 12 Dancing Princesses, AYBT, The Nutcracker, AYBT, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Beef & Boards, and Phantom, Beef & Boards.

John Vessels is thrilled to return to ATI for this gem of a show. Recently, he was seen in the world premiere of These Tangled Webbs, a hilarious musical parody of 1960s soap operas. He also performed in Stage One Family Theatre’s production of Number the Stars in Louisville, Ky. When offstage, Vessels teaches voice and acting and writes shows of his own.

Jacob A. Butler is thrilled to be returning to the ATI stage for She Loves Me. Butler is a graduate of Ball State University where he received his degree in Telecommunications. ATI credits include: Mr. Confidential (World Premiere) and Exposed (Staged Reading). Other Regional Credits include: Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Beautiful, A Christmas Carol, Man of La Mancha, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Eric Olson is also thrilled to return to ATI this season, having previously been seen in Violet, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cabaret, and Route 66. Theatre credits include: First National Tour of Ragtime, Off-Broadway and regional theatres across America and Europe including Goodspeed Opera House, Trinity Repertory Company, Sacramento Music Circus, The Kennedy Center, American Stage, The Link Theatre Company, Gateway Playhouse, Theatre by the Sea, The Garry Marshall (Falcon) Theatre, Disney’s Hyperion, Eclipse, Phoenix Theatre, Constellation Stage & Screen and many more. Favorite appearances include Ada and the Engine, Indecent, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher, Fun Home, MacBeth, American Idiot, Evita, West Side Story, and Avenue. Film Credits include: Malum, Raising Helen and Strokes.

Elizabeth Akers is thrilled to be working with ATI this season. Originally from Indianapolis, she recently graduated from North Central College with a BA in Musical Theatre and now works as a Chicago-based actor. Recent credits include: Renascence, Mill Girls, Into the Woods, and The Pirates of Penzance. Akers is represented by NVTalent.

Darrin Murrell has worked as a professional actor, director, producer and educator for over 35 years with theatres all across the country including extensive work in Indianapolis, Chicago, and Portland, Ore. He has multiple credits as both actor and director at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre and Actors Theatre of Indiana, where he has been seen in The Odd Couple, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cabaret, The Big Bang, and My Fair Lady. He is the multi-year recipient of the Indiana Arts Commission’s Individual Theatre Artist Grant Award and served as Artistic Director of Nettle Creek Players Summer Tent Theatre from 2015 to 2019 and again in 2023. He is also honored to serve as ATI’s Associate Artistic Director.

Cynthia Collins was last seen on the ATI stage in their production of Forbidden Broadway. A proud member of Actors Equity Association since 1991, credits include: Off-Broadway, National & International Tours, Regional, Summer Stock, Cabaret, Symphony Orchestras, Dinner Theatre, Cruise Lines, Film, and TV. She has had the pleasure of working with such artists as: Ben Vereen, Sandy Duncan, Claude Aikins, Comden & Green, Cy Coleman, Avery Schrieber, Joel Grey, Cyndi Lauper, Fred Waring & his famous Pennsylvanians, Chita Rivera, Sutton Foster, Jerry Michell, Diane Rehm, Billy Stritch, and Patricia Wilson. A Native of New Jersey and long-time resident of New York City, Collins now resides in Carmel.

Carrie Neal is delighted to be making her ATI debut with She Loves Me and to be reunited with director Richard Roberts after working together on Sunday in the Park 25 long years ago. She has performed in over 30 productions at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, most recently appearing there in White Christmas. The past year has also found her on the Timber Lake Playhouse stage in Illinois, portraying Karin in Church Basement Ladies and Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping.

Brett Mutter is delighted to be back with ATI after appearing in Route 66 earlier this year. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Mutter spent the last decade performing around the country before making Indy his home base in 2022. Mutter most recently appeared in Indiana Repertory Theatre’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the same role he made his ATI debut with in 2018. Other favorite credits include: The Wizard of Oz, 42nd Street, The Little Mermaid (Beef & Boards), The Music Man (Circa 21) and Ripcord (Sierra Rep). Up next for Mutter is A Christmas Story with Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Mutter attended Bowling Green State University to earn a B.A. in Musical Theatre.

Ben Friesen is thrilled to be making his debut with ATI. Originally from Chicago, Friesen studied at the National Theater Institute after graduating from Trinity Christian College. Since then, he’s been based mostly in Nashville, but he’s enjoyed performing while traveling, as well. Some of his recent favorites across the country include: Curious Incident (Nashville Rep, Tennessee), Come From Away (Rocky Mountain Rep, Colorado) and Pinocchio (Crane River Theatre Co, Nebraska). Friesen is in a constant state of gratitude and joy that he gets spend his life this way.

She Loves Me is sure to get you into the holiday spirit. The musical will run at The Studio Theater Nov. 1 through 17. Featuring music by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and book by Joe Masteroff, She Loves Me is an intimate and touching show.

Single tickets or season subscriptions including She Loves Me are available. Get yours by calling The Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (317) 843-3800 or by visiting ATIstage.org. The folks at ATI can’t wait to see you soon to be a part of the 20^th Anniversary Season.