MEET THE CAST
The artists bringing "The Sound of Shadows" to life this December in Lynn aren't just talented performers looking to build their resumes. They are compassionate, kind and selfless people who have come together with a shared passion to help those facing hunger and homelessness in our community, dedicating their craft to support the essential work of My Brother's Table.
Tony Bellerose
GABRIEL RYDER, Director, Author of The Sound of Shadows
TONY is the Author as well as the Director of The Sound of Shadows. Tony wrote an adaptation of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (A Christmas Carol: A Tale of Redemption) which was Performed through NeverlandNEXT Chapter Theater at Peabody's Black Box Theater for the past two years. He also wrote and directed a Stage Reading of his play, Trinity, which was performed at Lynn Arts.
Tony has been involved with theater for over 30 years. He is thrilled to finally bring his creation of The Sound of Shadows to life and feels blessed to be surrounded by so many passionate actors who have volunteered their time and talent toward this vital cause.
Tony spent most of his life working with children and families in various Human Service Organizations and has written a number of theatrical productions for children along the way.
He is the composer of the musical collection, Fragile Heart, he taught children at Northshore Music Theater's Broadway Kidz Program and was a Performer with Big Smile Entertainment Company. He also won a Boston Area Comedy Competition which resulted in him performing at Caroline's Comedy Club on Broadway.
Some of Tony's favorite and most memorable roles include Scrooge in his adaptation A Christmas Carol: A Tale of Redemption with NeverlandNEXT Chapter Theater, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls with the Seacoast Repertory Theater, Anthony in Sweeney Todd with the Boston Publik Theater, Neville Chamberlain in the World Premier Staged Reading of Jack Beatty’s The Battle Not Begun: Munich 1938 with Punctuate4 Productions & Directed by Myriam Cyr, Fagin in Oliver! with the Marblehead Little Theater, the King in The King & I with The Fire House Theater, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird with Somerville Theater, and Donkey in Shrek the Musical with NeverlandNEXT Chapter Theater in which he won Emact's DASH Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Bentley Smith
ETHAN SHEPHERD
Bentley Kai Smith is 11 years old and in the 6th grade. The Sound of Shadows is his very first play and he is very happy to have a lead role and to be a part of the cast.
Some of his favorite hobbies include playing VR, Roblox and sports as well as creating videos. Bentley is very creative and loves Drawing and Arts & Crafts. His long-term goal in life is to be an actor. God is good!
Steve Gemma
RICKY, Producer
Steve is thrilled to return to the stage in The Sound of Shadows, and even more thrilled that nobody has asked him to reboot anything!
Local audiences may remember Steve as Victor LePew in North Shore Players' Drop Dead, a role that proved he can be dramatic under pressure. He also produced Sister Act, which mostly meant herding a large cast and a larger number of wimples, while taking on a few minor roles because he apparently can't be trusted to just sit in the audience. He has also sung in cabarets with Neverland NextChapter, where the drinks were closer than the exits.
By day, Steve is the Chief Technology Officer of a Danvers-based company, which means he spends his working hours answering the question "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" with a level of professionalism that borders on theatre. To recover from all that technology, he heads for the hills. He hikes, far from any Wi-Fi signal, then comes home to indulge his secret passion: model trains. Yes, the man who runs the servers also runs the Steve & Nadia Express, and it has never once crashed. (The trains, that is. We can't speak for the servers.)
Steve sends heartfelt thanks to his wife, Nadia, for her love, patience, and willingness to be told "just one more rehearsal." He thanks their dog, Duncan, who has heard every line and still hasn't given notes. He also thanks his theatre family for their endless support, and this remarkable cast and crew, who make The Sound of Shadows a joy to be part of.
Patricia Kelty
MARYANN PRITCHARD / ADDY
Trish first appeared on stage at the age of five in a dance choreographed by her mom and has enjoyed being on stage ever since.
Some of her favorite roles include The Narrator in A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Redemption, Cha-Cha in Grease with the Winthrop Playmakers and Mrs. Gibb in Our Town at Nasson College.
Since her retirement from the Lynn Public Schools as an educator for more than thirty years, Trish has been an active community member. A few of her favorite groups are The Seacoast Quilt Guild, Shoe City Lions Club and The St. Pius V Church.
Time spent with her family are always her favorite times! A heartfelt thank you to them for their constant support and encouragement in all her endeavors.
Les Tarmy
PRINCETON
Les has acted on stage for many years. He has played the roles of Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone, The Narrator and The Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, Fr. Tim Farley in Mass Appeal, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, Isador Straus in Titanic, The German Officer and Max in Cabaret, as well as FDR in Annie.
Nadia Gemma
CELESTE
Nadia couldn’t be more thrilled and delighted to be back on stage performing in the Massachusetts premiere of The Sound of Shadows, written, directed and staring her dear friend, Tony Bellerose.
Nadia is a Psychiatric/Therapeutic Medical Assistant by day and a performer of the Musical/Theatrical arts by night. She recently performed in A Musical Cabaret in Lowell, MA with vocalist Jerry Bisantz and vocalist/pianist Matthew Descoteaux. She also enjoys the hobby of Aerial Performance Arts (including trapeze, hoop, silks, etc.) Who knows? Perhaps one day she’ll even join the circus!
Some of her favorite roles in the past have been Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act, Ode Mae Brown in Ghost, Johanne Jefferson in Rent, The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol - A Tale of Redemption and Diana Goodman in Next To Normal. Nadia had the absolute honor of performing in the World Premiere of Beasties: A Sci-Fi Rock Opera in October of 2024 live on stage! We will be premiering the video of the live show on the BeastiesRockOpera YouTube Channel with Act One on October 1, 2026 and Act Two on October 15, 2026.
Nadia hopes that everyone who comes to see this show finds their hearts filled by the end with joy and love. She’d like to thank her mom and dad, her theater family, her husband Steve and their fur baby Duncan.
Rich Griffiths
BONES
Richard Griffiths is excited to bring this original work to life with this talented cast and for such a worthy cause. His acting roles include the Ghost of Christmas Future & Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol - A Tale of Redemption, Dennis Shepard and others in The Laramie Project, Wadsworth in Clue, The Play, and Leonard Ganz in Rumors.
When not on stage, Rich is an Environmental Consultant where he is helping companies STAY GREEN! Thank you for supporting local theater.
Sophia Miele
EDGAR DOUBLEDAY
Sophia Miele is a 16-year-old homeschooler. This show is Sophia’s 9th show! Some of her favorite pervious roles include, Lily/Belle in A Christmas Carol: A Tale of Redemption (2025), Twin 1 in Peter Pan (2021), Kate/Ensemble in Annie (2021), and Ethel in Newsies Jr (2023).
When Sophia is not acting, she enjoys, crocheting, sewing, skateboarding, and rowing. Sophia would like to thank her parents and castmates for all their love and support!
Gabby Miele
ALLEN WARNER
Gabby has been in 8 shows with varying companies and has loved every second of them. She’d like to thank her family and friends for their love, as well as the rest of the cast for their support and kindness in this production!
When off the stage, you can find her drawing and painting, running about the woods, or scrounging for more Greek Mythology knowledge to consume. I thank the Lord Dionysus, for his blessing up the stage. Blessed be 🍇✨.
Paul Ford
LOU
Paul Ford hails from Nahant, MA and grew up with a musical family. He spent most of his school years playing trumpet in various bands including his being one of the lead players as well.
Among other theatrical performances, he has played the roles of Young Man Scrooge and the Businessman in A Christmas Carol - A Tale of Redemption and was featured in the Ensemble in Guys and Dolls.
Paul enjoys all genres of music and frequently attends live musical events and productions. While he is becoming "Famous" with his acting and performing, he also enjoys outdoor activities including biking, hiking, and water sports.
He endeavors to become more experienced with acting and performing and hopes that he can pursue professional acting or modeling gigs as a future career well into his retirement age.
"The actors involved in this show aren't people looking to grow their resumes; these are some of the kindest people I've ever known who believe in helping those who are in need."
Tony Bellerose, playwright and director