MEET THE CAST OF
BARE: A POP OPERA
Alaina Ciorra (Kyra)
Alaina Ciorra (Kyra) is excited to be back on stage under the direction of some amazing friends. You may have seen her on the CAP stage in Something Rotten (Tap Ensemble), Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), Chicago (Matron “Mama” Morton), or American Idiot, or in the CAP Merrick box office! Alaina is a school psychologist by day and loves having theater to come back to when time allows as her happy place. Special thanks to the team and cast for all their hard work!
Chrissy Ganci (Nadia)
Chrissy Ganci is so honored and excited to be returning as Nadia alongside her talented friends, old and new! She would like to thank Dom, Sam, Mario and Ruben for the opportunity and their hard work. She would also like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her! She would like to dedicate her performance to her Uncle John. He always supported everyone he loved 100% no matter what. Chrissy feels we need more people like him in this world.
Jay Braiman (Priest)
Jay Braiman (Priest) is excited to be back on the CAP Merrick stage with this talented cast and production team. Prior credits include "Titanic" (Capt. Smith), "Shrek The Musical" (Shrek), "Parade" (Tom Watson), "Urinetown" (Officer Lockstock), "Pippin" (Charlemagne), "Something Rotten" (Brother Jeremiah), "The Addams Family" (Fester), "Matilda" (Trunchbull, Mr. Wormwood), "The SpongeBob Musical" (Mr. Krabs), "Legally Blonde" (Prof. Callahan) and "The Boys Next Door" (Barry). Jay is an attorney, singer/songwriter, former English teacher and Camp Pontiac Theatre director.
Warren Tierney (Matt)
Warren Tierney (Matt) is honored to be taking on a dream role of his with this incredible group of performers. Past credits include Footloose (Willard), School of Rock (Ned Schneebly), Newsies (Darcy/Mugsy), Hair (Woof), Dog Sees God (CB), Reefer Madness (Ralph) and Bare (Lucas). He would like to thank the production team for putting all of this together, as well as this stellar cast for all of their hard work! As always, this performance is dedicated to Carol Tierney and Linda Yearsley.
Meg Kirk (Rory)
Meg is so excited to be in this production! Previous CAP credits include: Bat Boy the Musical (Ned). Previous collegiate credits include: Evil Dead the Musical (Assistant Lighting Designer), NordOst (Lighting Designer), Boom (Lighting Designer), Mamma Mia (Ensemble), and Hair (Ensemble).
Kendra Perry (Ivy)
Kendra (she/her) is so excited to be a part of this show! Kendra is a graduate of Long Island University where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre. Some of her past credits include Into the Woods (Cinderella), The Wild Party (Queenie), Little Women (Meg) and Pippin (Fastrada). When not on stage, Kendra is helping the next generation find their voice through music lessons. This will be her fourth CAP Merrick show and she would like to thank the dedicated cast and crew for everything they’ve done to bring this show to life!
Mario Mannarino (Jason)
Mario (Jason/Music Director) is thrilled to be a part of CAP Merrick's production of Bare. His previous acting credits include Roger in Rent, Johnny in American Idiot, and Cinderella's Prince/Wolf/Florinda in Into the Woods. He has music directed several shows at CAP including Evil Dead: The Musical, the YPT cast of American Idiot, and was the Assistant MD of A Christmas Carol. Enjoy the show!
Nicole Gonzalez (Tanya)
Nicole is so excited to be a part of this amazing production of Bare at Cultural Arts Playhouse Merrick! This is Nicole’s fifth show with CAP and she couldn’t be more grateful! Some roles she has played are Lynn Gardner (Carrie the Musical), Ella/Passionella (The Apple Tree), Dolores (The Wild Party), Whatsername (American Idiot), and Meredith (Bat Boy). Nicole would love to thank Domenick for giving her the chance to bring this touching story to life! She is thankful to show this beautiful queer story during this time in American history. If you choose to live for anything, live for love and understanding.
Megan Reis (Nadia)
Megan is honored and ecstatic to be making her CAP Merrick debut in one of her dream roles! Recent credits include: Descendants (Maleficent), Sister Act (Sister Mary Celeste), Godspell (“Day by Day”), Rock of Ages, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Guys and Dolls. Megan holds a BA degree in Psych with a minor in Musical Theatre from Montclair State U. Since beginning theatre in 2011, she has had the privilege of performing in nearly 50 shows and also sang in the HPS International Women’s Choir at Carnegie Hall. Huge thanks to Dom, Sam, Mario, Ruben, and everyone involved in this production for helping the show come to life. Megan would also like to thank her loved ones for their constant support throughout the years. Enjoy the show!!! IG @megan.reis
Liz Spencer (Claire)
Liz Spencer (she/they/he) (Claire) is excited to be a part of this show. Favorite past credits include Bat Boy (Maggie/Pan), Evil Dead (Cheryl), Pippin (Berthe), and Sister Act (Mary Lazarus). They would like to thank their friends and family for always supporting them, Dom and the production team for putting all of this together, and you, the person reading this. Thank you for making what we do worthwhile.
Kayla Stallone (Diane)
Kayla is so excited to be returning to the CAP Merrick stage to help deliver the story of BARE: A Pop Opera. Some of her previous CAP Merrick credits include: American Idiot (Whatsername), Lippa’s The Wild Party (Kate), and Pippin (Catherine). She is extremely grateful to Dom and the production team for including her in the process of yet another wonderful show with wonderful people - which leads to creating endless wonderful memories. She hopes you enjoy the show! ❤️
Evan Torres (Peter)
Evan is pleased about returning to the stage for one of his favorite shows/roles. Ironically, Evan has portrayed this role in a prior production in the same theater. He's grateful for this homage to self-discovery. Past Role(s) Saturday Night Fever(Pete/Cesar), Footloose(Bickle) at CM Performing Arts Center. Avenue Q (Princeton) and Bring It On (La Cienega) at Cultural Arts Playhouse Syosset. He'd like to thank the Production team of Dom Napoli, Sam Eagle, Mario Mannarino, and Ruben Fernandez for this amazing opportunity to showcase him. He'd like to thank his friends and family for the endless amount of support in his journey of musical theatre. He'd like to thank his double, Ruben Fernandez, for telling this story of Peter from their perspective and uniqueness. Please support them as well! @EvanTorres217
Faith Bentivegna (Kyra)
Faith (she/her) is so excited to be in this production of Bare! Some of her past credits include Rock of Ages (Sherrie), The Last Five Years (Cathy), Heathers the Musical (Veronica), RENT (Maureen) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Olive). She would like to thank Dom and the entire cast, crew, and band for their work and effort towards this production. Enjoy!!
Kara Burke (Tanya)
Kara Burke (she/her) (Tanya) is so excited to be a part of this show! She’s had such a blast working with this cast and crew. She’s always had a strong passion for musical theatre, and the deep and moving themes that accompany them. Her favorite past credits include American Idiot (Whatsername), Spring Awakening (Ilse), Peter Pan (Peter Pan), and Into The Woods (The Baker’s Wife). Kara is also a yoga instructor, and has a deep love for that. She wants to thank the entire cast and production team for this fun and awesome experience!