Learn more about our cast and crew!
Program Bios
Cast Bios
Ahmed Aboujrad (Kevin J./Ali & others) is excited to be part of Riverwalk’s Come From Away. He is a senior at Okemos High School and has been doing theater throughout high school. Ahmed is also a part of his school’s Chamber choir, SOMEKO and was nominated for the Sutton Foster Awards for his performance as “Gomez Addams” last year. Ahmed would like to thank his parents and siblings for driving him to rehearsals every day and supporting him.
Katrina Alexis (Diane & others) returned to theatre as a hobby alongside her daughter, Mary, in School of Rock (2023). Since then, you may have heard her singing behind the curtain while stage managing The Trail to Oregon (2023), First Date (2024), The SpongeBob Musical (2025), and Legally Blonde (2025). She is also a proud co-founder of Bare Bones Improv, established in 2024. Katrina is thrilled to make her Riverwalk Theatre onstage debut as “Diane”. Special thanks to her Boneheads, and voice teacher, Kaitlin Bess-Riel, for giving her the courage to perform again! And to Mary Volakakis for making sure she always has a seat when she needs it, iykyk.
Erin Biel (Bonnie & others / Dance Captain) is excited to be back on the Rotary Main Stage for Riverwalk’s 38th season! Erin has called this theater home for the past 13 years and undoubtedly many more to come. You may have caught her last season in Jesus Christ Superstar (“Annas”) or Legally Blonde (“Serena”). When she’s not on-stage Erin can be found training for her next half marathon, perfecting a cookie recipe, or knocking books off her TBR. Like her character “Bonnie”, Erin is an animal lover and would love to encourage you to adopt, not shop and to have your pets spayed and neutered.
Shelia Burks (Hannah & others) Her love of singing began at six, when she proudly stepped forward in her church’s Angel Choir to lead “This Little Light of Mine”. She later performed with Grand Rapids’ Circle Theatre in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Crowns, and Hair. Lansing credits include Broke-ology, A Song for Coretta, and Fairview. Shelia now returns to her musical theater roots, making her Riverwalk Theatre debut as “Hannah”. A poet with Voices of the Revolution, Shelia explores love, resilience, and Black womanhood. Her first chapbook is in the works! She thanks her directors, castmates, family, and friends for their support.
Bill Durr (Nick/Doug & others) is returning to the Riverwalk stage after a 19-year absence. He has appeared in The Music Man (“Harold Hill”), Camelot (“Lancelot”), 1776 (“Richard Henry Lee”), Flipaswitch (“Rawley”), and The Fantastiks (“El Gayo”). Bill wants to thank his family for all their love and support.
Andy Frikken (Kevin T./Garth & others) is thrilled to make his Riverwalk Theater debut in Come From Away! As a small business owner, Andy is always thrilled to step away from his busy life to do something he has always enjoyed - entertaining others. Andy has appeared in many productions over the last five years in Bay City, Midland, and Owosso. Most recently, Andy appeared in Frozen as “King Agnarr” at the Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts in Owosso.
Abigail Grill (Beverley/Annette & others) has been singing and performing for as long as she can remember, thanks to growing up in a very talented and musical family. Some of Abigail’s favorite roles have been “Adult Allison” in Fun Home (PCTC), “Cinderella” in Into the Woods (RW), and “Logan” in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (OTL). Abigail is the lead singer in Time2Play, a local cover band, and she has sung with The Lange Choral Ensemble since the year 2000! When Abigail is not singing, she works as a therapist at Rooted Counseling in East Lansing. Abigail would like to thank her husband Erik and her son Korbin for holding down the fort so she could be a part of this wonderful cast!
Lindsey Parr Hemming (Beulah & others) This is Lindsey’s third show with Riverwalk! You may have seen her in Legally Blonde last year as “Paulette”, or in Urinetown in 2024. She is so thankful to be a part of this incredible show with such a talented and supportive team. Enjoy the show!
Jeff Kennedy (Oz & others) is thrilled to be back on the Riverwalk main stage again and working with such a great cast and crew. You might recognize him from such shows as Ravenscroft, First Date, Admissions, or Spamalot. He would like to thank his friends and family for working around rehearsals, and his cats for listening to hours of running lines. It has been so uplifting to work with people embracing the spirit of hospitality the Gander folks embodied - we hope everyone in the audience feels it too.
Bob Purosky (Claude & Others) is pleased to be performing again on the Rotary Main Stage with this wonderful and talented cast, crew, and production team. He was last seen here playing “van Swieten” in Amadeus. The last show he was IN, though, was Beautiful at PCTC. However, his most recent project before this was directing his third Riverwalk show, The Importance of Being Earnest. He is pleased to be working on another project with his wife, Michele, with Come From Away. Love you, Boo. He hopes everyone enjoys their stay in Gander!
Sidney D. Sauseda II (Bob & others) is very excited to be performing at Riverwalk again. He was last seen on stage in PCTCs production of Beautiful: The Carol King story. He has enjoyed being a part of Lansing theater for many many moons, and he’s so grateful to be a part of such an amazing cast. He’d like to thank Jane and Michele for giving him the opportunity to be a part of this amazing show. He’d also like to thank all of his friends and family for their extended love and support in his theatrical endeavors. Most importantly, he’d like to thank his lovely wife Kandace for encouraging him to do theater during the busy season lol!
Xia Skowronek (Janice & others) is a Lansing native with a big love for community theater. Xia is jumping for joy to get back out on Riverwalk’s Main Stage for this production of Come From Away. You may have seen her bopping around the area with some of her past roles, including “Little Sally” in Urinetown, “Cynthia Weil” in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and “Marjorie” in The Cottage at the Lebowsky Center. She’d like to thank her friends, family, boyfriend, vocal coach, and—most importantly—her dog, Finn, for always letting her belt full volume in his face. Also, I'd like to thank YOU for supporting the arts. You're a pillar in our community; we appreciate you for letting us thrive. xoxoxox, gossip girl. (IG: xia.ashlee)