MRS.JOHNSTONE

Elyse is currently the Artistic Director of OTC, owner of JEM Performing Arts and Elyse O’Shaughnessey Coaching. Elyse has been a casting director for the past 15 years. In the states she was in countless musicals in the states such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Into the woods, Beauty and the beast, and many more regional productions. Elyse’s passion for the stage extends to directing, producing as well as life/acting coaching. She most recently directed OTC’s production: The B Word in 2018, The Last Five Years 2021, and A Christmas Carol in 2023. In addition, she has directed OTC Youth theatre productions Newsies in 2022, and The Wizard of Oz in 2024. She recently made her Netherlands stage debut with HEA in Avenue Q playing Lucy T Slut, as well as OTC’s 2022 production of A Christmas Carol where she played a choir member.

MICKEY JOHNSTONE

Charlie Bird is an professional English actor originally hailing from Liverpool, and has been living in Leiden for ten years, being the artistic director of Leiden English Theatre. He is a lifelong Everton sufferer, who enjoys spending his free time writing poetry about Kebabs. Charlie is very excited to perform in a show so close to his roots, and to his heart.

EDWARD LYONS

Originally from Portugal, M is a singer songwriter who moved to The Netherlands in 2021. Ever since being here, they've rediscovered the joys of theatre and have more recently been part of The Cauldron's Addams Family (Pugsley) and HEA's Be More Chill (Michael) and Cinderella (Jean Michel). During their day to day, they work in media and advertising for a sports company, making the most out of their love for sports and hoping to make a difference.

How to start a conversation? Anything Harry Potter or dogs, 3, 2, 1, go!

NARRATOR

By day, Philippe works in Marketing. His passion for musical theatre started in 2016 when he played the role of Jamie in The Last 5 Years. After this, he was fortunate to join several productions: Allegro (as part of the Ensemble), Cabaret (as the Emcee), Into the Woods (as the Baker), Working (several characters), Little Shop of Horrors (as Seymour), Ordinary Days (as Warren), Avenue Q (as Rod), Monstersongs (as Igor), Be More Chill (as the Squip), Chicago (as Amos) and Spamalot (as Prince Herbert). He is thrilled to join Happily Ever After again for this production of Blood Brothers.

LINDA

Sam is a British performer and has always had a passion for musical theatre since an early age. Previous theatre credits include Annie in Annie, Liesl in Sound of Music, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Original production at Edinburgh Fringe; TV credits include:- X Factor UK (ITV), We Want More NL and Zing NL. Since the age of 16, Sam has been to see Blood Brothers countless amounts of times and has always been a firm favourite of her and her mums! She is hugely excited to be playing the role of Linda. Sam gives special thanks to her mum, Sally for the first introduction to the show and also her outstanding efforts in acting out the other characters in line prep! Outside of theatre, Sam can be found kitesurfing, on the tennis court or singing at a gig around the city! @sam.clarke.37

MICKEY U/S

Christopher Grabski considers himself a theatre-maker. You'll often catch him writing, directing, designing, producing and acting in various productions. Originally from Australia he studied lighting design at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts before completing a Bachelor's in Literature and Theatre at the University of Western Australia and then a master's in Art Studies at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. He's worked in theatres in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands. He most recently performed in Downstage Left's production of Constellations by Nick Payne.

LINDA (understudy)

A professional Kenyan born actor who after 10+ years in the industry is finally discovering the joys of musical theatre. Blood Brothers offers a unique and interesting challenge while telling a beautiful, moving story.

MRS.LYONS

Britt is a British-Dutch performer and she is thrilled to play Ms Lyons in this production and be part of this poignant story. She is a currently a Professional Acting Diploma student at Mulholland Academy, and works in the classical music industry as a producer and journalist. Recent productions have included The Surprise Guest (Grace), Cinderella (Gabrielle), Night Shift (Choir member), Addams Family (Ancestor). Instagram: @itsbrittsophie

MR.LYONS

Brian has been acting since 2013 and has been in multiple groups like InPlayers, Downstage Left, Playhouse and the Badhuistheater, in plays like “Don´t Dress for Dinner” by Marc Camoletti, “Mother Courage and her Children” by Bertolt Brecht, “The Portuguese Kid” by John Patrick Shanley, “It´s a Wonderful Life” by Joe Landry, and “Black Adder” and “Allo Allo”. Many more to name, this are just some of the highlights. He is also producing and directing plays with his own founded group Playhouse. Now he is very excited to be performing in Blood Brothers.

SAMMY

Félix is a singer and actor originally from the beautiful Jura mountains in France. He began his musical journey as a choir boy at the age of 5, belted out Céline Dion songs in the family car on their way to the Côte Aquitaine, and basically never stopped singing ever since.

After graduating with a Chemistry degree in Paris and dabbling in engineering, he realised that life without art and drama is like a croissant made without butter - just plain wrong!

So he decided to dive headfirst into the world of performing arts. You could catch him reading poetry in Paris, acting in various productions with the Compagnie Odysseus in Amsterdam, and tickling the ivories while covering French songs.

Also an Italian opera fan and trainee (talk about drama), he recently decided to broaden his horizons and explore the English musical theatre repertoire. He made his debut with Happily Ever After in the Cinderella production, where he was the Prince's understudy - because who doesn't love a little royal charm?

Now, he’s thrilled to take on the role of Sammy in this production of Blood Brothers!

MRS. JOHNSTONE (UNDERSTUDY) / MRS.LYONS (UNDERSTUDY)

Visiting the Netherlands from California, Katie is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and has had a career as an actress, singer, choreographer, and director for over three decades. She was last seen on the A&E series, “Bates Motel” and her recent stage roles include Donna in Mamma Mia, Glinda in The Wizard of OZ, and Joanne in Company. But her favorite role of all time is Mom to her two sons Soul and Lennon. Katie is thrilled to be making her European stage debut in Blood Brothers and grateful to be able to work with her sister Sara on one of her most favorite musicals.

MISS JONES / ENSEMBLE

Niamh has been performing from a young age, acting in several local plays and competing in regional performance competitions. An avid theatre goer and enthusiast with a passion for directing, she has recently been assistant director She Kills Monsters. As a neighbour of Liverpool, she is delighted to be in one of her favourite plays!

ENSEMBLE

Michiel is a 21-year-old actor and author of historical fiction from the Netherlands. He has acted professionally since age 14, toured with the Dutch National Theatre, and worked on television. However, his first musical experience was in HEA's "Cinderella". He also works as an artistic nude model for several photographers and artists from the Netherlands and Germany.

ENSEMBLE

Jordan Campbell is a singer-songwriter and English teacher who loves languages and stories. She performed as a solo artist while living in China for five years before moving to Amsterdam, and now she is excited to step onto a different kind of stage in her first production with Happily Ever After!

ENSEMBLE

Rozemarijn Balemans is a 27 year old Dutchie originally from Utrecht. In her daily life, she is working as a corporate event planner for a consultancy in Amsterdam. Next to her job as an event planner, you can also find her organising other projects, like the USC Leiden Dance Show. This is her first production with HEA, but she has been singing and dancing for years. Her last production, Urinetown, was cut short because of Covid, and she has been excited to get back on stage ever since.

ENSEMBLE

Yara is a Neuroscientist who spends pretty much all her out of office time working on her big bold, and, small simple dreams (which are both equally important and fun). So instead of listing shows she has done she’d like to take this space and encourage you to take a moment and think of your own big or small dreams and go take action on them. Enjoy the ride and be kind, that’s all.

ENSEMBLE

Lynn is a data scientist by day and avid theatre enthousiast by night. Her love for theatre started very young, when she was taken to her first musical on the West End at 5: Les Miserables. After a long hiatus, instigated by covid, she returned in 2024: making costumes for the Cauldron's Addams Family. In January she was also seen on stage in 'She Kills Monsters'.

DIRECTOR

Sara founded Happily Ever After Productions Amsterdam in 2019. Growing up in a musical theater family, she performed in over 200 musicals by the time she was 18. Although she still will occasionally get on stage, she has discovered that her passion is directing and producing musicals in this beautiful country. She hopes to build HEA Productions across the Netherlands providing opportunities to perform in and attend English speaking musical theater to everyone.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Michael has been in multiple HEA shows as an actor including Spamalot (Knight of Ni, Father), Cinderella (Sebastian), Be More Chill (Father), and Chicago (Judge), but also in many shows in his native Canada before moving to the Netherlands. This time however he has decided to join the creative team, and help guide this emotional and dramatic journey to what you will see today. While no stranger to working with production teams, this is his first (but likely not last) foray into artistic direction.

BAND DIRECTOR

Lori has been playing piano and music directing musicals everywhere she has lived, she just loves them so much. That includes Utah, WV, and the DC area in the US and now the Amsterdam area. Recent projects include HEA’s Cinderella, QETC’s Cabaret, Cauldron’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Next Thing You Know, HEAP’s Ordinary Days, and a concert performance of West Side Story with the Amsterdamse Tramharmonie. Lori now resides in Haarlem, where she teaches piano and drama classes. Her newest musical adventure - playing keytar with her husband, Andy, in the synthpop group Birmingham Electric.

STAGE MANAGER

Born and raised French, Sandrine moved to the Netherlands with her parents at a young age, and has been part of the vibrant international community since.

While in school, she discovered her love for musical theatre and keenly joined all opportunities to perform thereafter. Be it joining a glee club, or singing in her company band and at work parties, Sandrine could not get enough of the stage.

She rekindled her love for musical theatre when she discovered the HEA bootcamps, and joined the cast of Cinderella shortly after. She is excited to get her first Stage Management experience with Blood Brothers.

LIGHTING TECH

Kai van Doorne graduated from the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht in Light & Sound Design. He has been involved with theater since he was managing the tech team during his time at International school in both Shanghai and Hilversum. He is passionate about music and film and already has his own company, (Stage Rat Engineering) freelancing for festivals, concerts, events and theater in the Netherlands and around the world.

COSTUMES

Viivi Valpuri is a costume designer, puppet maker, and creator extraordinaire based in Amsterdam. Viivi has a master’s degree in theatre science at the University of Helsinki with a focus on immersive theatre and costume design. In the past decade, Viivi has had her hands full from running a film company to hosting tours in theatre history and from teaching embroidery to designing and making costumes and puppets. Viivi has been working with English language theatre in Amsterdam since her arrival in 2019 and has been with Happily Ever After since their production of Little Shop of Horrors. Viivi’s most recent activities have been with Happily Ever After as the costume designer for Spamalot, Cinderella, Chicago, Be More Chill, and as the mother of the Avenue Q puppets. She has worked with Orange Theatre Company as costume designer for A Christmas Carol.

SET DESIGNER

Marc is an animator and illustrator who started doing set design for HEAP a few years ago with their production of Into The Woods. He kept going ever since, designing sets and projections for productions such as Spamalot Cinderella, Chicago, Be More Chill, and Avenue Q, in which he also played Trekkie Monster. He also combines his love for theatre and animation in his very own YouTube series, @wolfgangluvsyou.