Watertown Student Will Play the Title Role in 'Mary Poppins'

Blessed Sacrament Children's Theatre Producer Bob Tansley has released the bios of many of the young performers who will be appearing in the upcoming production of MARY POPPINS. I appreciate this exclusive to Patch.com.

Clara Pizzolorusso of Watertown (holding microphone above) will play the title role of Mary Poppins with one of the Blessed Sacrament Children's Theatre casts for MARY POPPIN in July. Show Dates for Mary Poppins are Thursday, July 25 thru Sunday, July 28.

CLARA PIZZOLORUSSO is a 13 year old 8th grader attending Swift Middle School. She is involved in various clubs such as Select Choir, Chorus, Spanish, and Art. Clara also enjoys horseback riding, baking & especially singing. This is Clara’s 2nd show with the BSCT. She was Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn in The Music Man.S he is thrilled to be playing Mary Poppins and can’t wait to fly. She’d like to thank her Dad for his never ending support.

Iggy Bono, who is homeschooled, will take on the role of Bert with one of the MARY POPPINS cast.

IGGY BONO is ten and is second oldest in his family with four brothers and one sister. He is part of a Catholic homeschool co-op called Adoro Te. He was in the ensemble for Beauty and the Beast, Annie, Oklahoma, and Singing in the Rain. It’s his first musical & principal role with BSCT. He enjoys music, playing Viva la Vida on piano, & Star Wars. He enjoys playing soccer, swimming, Irish football, & basketball. He thanks Bob Tansley for giving him this opportunity as Bert, Ben Orlando for help with choreography, the music director Marc, my dad & mom for driving us to rehearsals, & for God to help us throughout the play.

Eddie Bono will play the role of Michael Banks with one of the BSCT casts.

EDDIE BONO is my name. I have four brothers and 1 sister. Their names are Maggie, Iggy, Auggie, Huey, and Marty. I am the third oldest. I love sports. I play soccer, basketball, Irish football and swimming. I’m in third grade and I am homeschooled. I am part of a Catholic homeschool group with over 200 homeschoolers. This is my first play and I am Michael Banks. I thank Bob Tansley and Ben Orlando for being great directors.

Maddie Roberts is a young actress who will take on the role of Michael Banks.

MADDIE ROBERTS is thrilled to be part of this “Supercalifragilistic” production! She is in the 5th grade at Judson School and plans to pursue a career that includes singing, dancing and acting. She has been in the ensemble of BSS Children’s Theater productions of “Annie,” “Peter Pan,” "Seussical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and the “The King and I”. She played the role of Gracie Shinn in last year’s “The Music Man”. At Landmark, she played the role of Zuzu Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. She is grateful for the love and support of her family, friends and Mr. Tansley!

Logan Altenburger shares the role of Jane Banks with Lilyanna Bodnar.

LOGAN ALTENBURGER Her past BSCT credits include: Amaryllis (The Music Man), Louis (The King and I); Chip (Beauty and The Beast); Ensemble (Seussical, Peter Pan, Annie). Logan would like to thank Mr. T for giving her the opportunity to be a part of this amazing cast, Marissa Famigletti-Apland for preparing her vocally for this role, her sister, Grace, for inspiring her love of theatre, & all of her family & friends for supporting the BSCT production of Mary Poppins

Claire Roberts returns to BSCT once again to play the role of Mrs. Banks with one of the casts.

CLAIRE ROBERTS played Chulalongkorn in King and I, Wendy in Peter Pan and the Wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast. Recently she was Reuben in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Naugatuck Teen Theater and Annie with Curtain Call Kids. She’s student council president and founded the Sign Language Club. She’s going to The Taft School in Sept. She likes to read and make maple syrup. Thank you to the BSCT family for their support especially to Mr. Hearn and Mr. Tansley. Claire says “Break a Leg” to all her cast mates.

Kalman Zold will play the role of Mr. Banks with one of the casts.

KALMAN ZOLD, who plays the part of Mr. Banks, is thrilled to be performing in Mary Poppins. This is his fourth play with BSCT. When not on stage, Kalman enjoys playing upright and electric bass, reading, and science. Kalman would like to thank the Dressel family for getting him hooked on theater. He would also like to thank Mr. Tansley for his dedication to the theater program. That's what made me the man I am today.” Finally, Kalman would like to thank his parents for all their support.

Maggie Bono will make her BSCT debut to sing the role of the Bird Woman with one of the BSCT casts.

MAGGIE BONO, the oldest of five brothers, lives in Middlebury CT. She is 12 years old and is in 6th grade. This will be Maggie’s first play for Blessed Sacrament and she is featured as the Bird Woman! Maggie is involved in her homeschooling co-op where they put on a musical each year. She has been cast in the ensemble of Beauty and the Beast, Annie, Oklahoma, and Singing in the Rain. In her spare time, Maggie enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and Irish football. She also enjoys being a part of her choir. Maggie would like to thank Mr. Tansley for giving her this opportunity to be a part of Mary Poppins!

James Rinaldo of Torrington CT will take on the role of Robertson Ay with one of the casts.

JAMES RINALDI lives in Torrington Connecticut and I’m 12 years old. I go to Catholic Academy of Waterbury. At age 11, I achieved my first degree black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. I am a Second Class Boy Scout in Troop 3 in Torrington. I enjoy running on the CAW Cross Country Team & being a member of the CAW school choir. I enjoy traveling with my family. I also enjoy volunteering, during the summer, at Lake Waramaug State Campground. I like to hike, bike ride & spending time at the beach. This is my first show with the BSCT and I am very excited to part of this cast.

Nicholas Bates will appear in his fourth BSCT production; he shares the role of Robertson Ay with Mr. Rinaldi (bio above.)

NICHOLAS BATES is 12 year old. He was last seen in his role as Huckleberry Finn in Seven Angels Children’s Theatre’s production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This is his 4th show with BSCT. Other roles include Tommy Djilas in The Music Man; Prince Chulalonghorn in The King and I; Fa Zhou in Mulan Jr.; Banzi in The Lion King Jr. and the Mysterious Man in Into the Woods Jr.; Christmas Eve at Earlene’s Diner at Seven Angels.

Sydney Jason of Wolcott, in her seventh BSCT production, will play Mrs. Brill.

SYDNEY JASON, age 13, lives in Wolcott, CT and is currently in 7th grade at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School. Mary Poppins will be her 7th production with the Blessed Sacrament Children's Theatre. Her first play was Annie in 2013 & she has since been in Peter Pan, Seussical, Beauty and the Beast, The King and I, and The Music Man. Sydney loves to sing, dance and act and takes voice lessons at Family Music Center. At school she is a Student Leader, started a recycling program and is a cross country runner.

Sharing the role of Valentine are Maria Bueno of Middlebury and Sofia Alonzo of Watertown.

MARIA BUENO will be starting fifth grade in the fall at Middlebury Elementary School. She enjoys singing and participates in Pop Warner Cheer and Tang Soo Do Karate. Maria has also danced and played softball for several years and is currently learning to play the piano. She was previously a Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz production at her school. This will be the first year for Maria to join the Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre.

SOFIA ALONZO is so happy to be in this “practically perfect” production. She is a rising 5th grader at St. John School in Watertown. She loves singing, acting, and dancing. This is her 9th show and 7th with BSCT including last year’s production of “Music Man”(Winthrop). She hopes to do many more in the future. In addition to theater, Sofia loves being on her school’s cross country team and playing basketball. She would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support.

Also in the ensemble is young Mia Graziano of Prospect, who will play Raggedy Ann. Her bio was not available, but I am quite sure that this production marks her stage debut.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

Click here to read about Naugatuck Patch Mayor Nancy Sasso Janis.