Staff

Kobi Kassal

Editor-in-Chief & President
@kkassal
kobi@theatrely.com

Hailing from sunny South Florida, Kobi Kassal founded Theatrely (formerly Theatre Talk Boston) while attending Boston University. He is an avid theatre attender and can be found seeing a performance most nights of the week (in normal times!) He is interested in the cross section of theatre, popular culture, hospitality, and politics. He also loves a good bagel!

Jordanna Brody

Commercial Operations Manager
jordanna@theatrely.com

Originally from South Florida, Jordanna Brody graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Theatre Education and Performance in 2019. Her experience teaching, performing, directing, and working behind the scenes informs her perspective on theatre in every way. She is passionate about uplifting marginalized voices and innovative theatrical experiences.

Alex Mecklosky

Editorial Coordinator
@____wack____
alex@theatrely.com

As a native New Yorker, Alex has always loved everything involving theatre. With a degree in Theatre and New Media from Marymount Manhattan College, Alex realized that, since he was not talented enough to be on Broadway, the next best thing would be to write about it!

Juan A. Ramirez

Chief Critic and Columnist
@itsNumberJuan

Juan A. Ramirez writes arts and culture reviews, features, and interviews for publications in New York and Boston, and will continue to do so until every last person is annoyed. Thanks to his MA in Film and Media Studies from Columbia University, he has suddenly found himself the expert on Queer Melodrama in Venezuelan Cinema, and is figuring out ways to apply that.

Joey Sims

Contributing Writer
@joeycsims

Joey Sims has written at The Brooklyn Rail, TheaterMania, American Theatre Magazine, Culturebot, Exeunt NYC, New York Theatre Guide, No Proscenium, Broadway’s Best Shows, and Extended Play. He was previously Social Media Editor at Exeunt, and a freelance web producer at TodayTix Group. Joey is an alumnus of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute, and a script reader for The O’Neill and New Dramatists. He runs a theater substack called Transitions.

Alan Koolik

Senior Editor

Alan is currently a student at UCLA School of Law. Prior to this, he was an analyst for Jujamcyn Theaters and an off-Broadway producer. While an undergraduate at Columbia University, he was on staff for the student newspaper, the Spectator.

Nolan Boggess

Contributing Writer
@NolanBoggess

Nolan Boggess is a director and writer living in Brooklyn. Originally from Iowa, Nolan’s theatre obsession began with the VHS of Cats and one too many productions of The Music Man. A graduate of Grinnell College, Nolan currently works as a COVID Safety Manager on Broadway. He is so thrilled to be apart of the Theatrely team - say hi to him on social media!

Katie Dye

Contributing Writer

Katie Dye is based in London and has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida, a JD from Tulane Law School, and is currently working on an MA in Arts and Cultural Management from King’s College London. Perhaps more importantly, she started her entertainment career as a theatre tech at Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show and has since amassed nearly a decade of experience in the industry in tech, talent, legal, front of house, and ice rink maintenance capacities.

Meg Masseron

Contributing Writer
@megmasseron

Meg Masseron is a theatre journalist based in New York City, and a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, where she studied Digital Journalism and Theatre History. She’s passionate about theatre criticism, body positivity, accessibility and disability advocacy, musicals that debuted between 1980 and 1995, intersectional feminism, and $1 drink nights at Applebee’s. She tends to write about all of these things, save for the Applebee’s cocktails.

Kaitlyn Riggio

Contributing Writer
@KaitlynRiggio
http://www.kaitlynriggio.com

Kaitlyn Riggio is a Staff Writer for Theatrely currently located in Boston. Kaitlyn is a student at Boston University studying Journalism and Cinema and Media Studies. She can be located at www.kaitlynriggio.com.

Caroline Giovannucci

Contributing Writer
@CAROLof_thebell

Originally from Boston, Caroline currently resides in London, taking full advantage of having the West End right at her doorstep. Her love of theatre was ignited at age thirteen when she landed the lead role of “Rosie” in her school’s production of Bye Bye Birdie. Caroline is an avid Queen fan, fencer, mac and cheese enthusiast, and Veronica Mars aficionado.

Dan Meyer

Contributing Writer
@DMeyerNews
dan@theatrely.com

After 4 years in the biz, Dan swapped out theatre for sports and is now a researcher at NBC Olympics. Spectacle remains a key passion and is dedicated to building bridges between different forms of entertainment. He has worked as a writer and editor at Theatrely and Playbill, covering Broadway and beyond. In addition, he has been published in Rolling Stone, Spy, and others.

Jamey Miller

Contributing Writer

Jamey Miller is a Massachusetts-native with a love for all things theatre, television, and film. With professional experience in directing, casting, and producing for both the stage and screen, he is your go-to guy for any Broadway/Hollywood overlap - whether it be another Patti LuPone cameo in a Ryan Murphy series or the annual Wicked movie announcement that inevitably falls through. He's written reviews, press releases, and op-eds for Theatrely (formerly known as Theatre Talk Boston) since 2019.

Maya Tribbitt

Contributing Writer
@MayaTribbitt

Maya Tribbitt is a freelance writer from Southern California with bylines in The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg News and Teen Vogue. Full-time, she is a research associate producer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. She loves all things musicals and spends her free time in both Broadway and movie theaters. Her favorite season is awards season!

Jacob Rivera-Sanchez

Contributing Writer
@jacobrivsan

Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Jacob has had experience across multiple facets of theatre production onstage, backstage, and as a board member-at-large for local regional/community theatres. He currently works full-time as the admin/designer/marketer for a private university theatre department, is an Actors' Equity membership candidate, and a freelance graphic designer. His passions include all things Broadway, TV/film, and Disney (its own separate category).

Maia Penzer

Editorial Intern
@MaiaPenzer

Maia Penzer is an undergraduate journalism student at Boston University from Long Island, New York. Maia enjoys writing about theatre for BU's student newspaper, The Daily Free Press, and performing in BU On Broadway. She is an avid theatre lover who is overjoyed to be a part of the Theatrely team! Her favorite dog breed is the dachshund (she even has one tattooed on her ankle).

Noah Pattillo

Contributing Writer
@noahpattillo

Originally from Southern California, Noah packed it up and relocated to the East Coast in 2014 to pursue a degree in theatre at Emerson College. He moved to New York in 2018 and has zero intention of leaving. Noah has a strong interest in Shakespeare and in opera and aspires to direct queer interpretations. His goal is to get booed off the stage at the Metropolitan Opera. In his spare time he can be found baking out of the Claire Saffitz cook book, reading, or sleeping.

Nathan Pugh

Contributing Writer
@nathanpugh_3

Nathan Pugh is a writer, culture critic, and essayist based in the Washington, D.C. area. Nathan graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Theater and English (concentration in race/ethnicity), where he also served as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Wesleyan Argus. Pugh’s work strives to explore how intersectional identities are staged, with his current long-form writing focusing on Black gay playwrights from Virginia.

Juan Michael Porter II

Contributing Writer
@juanmichaelii

Juan Michael Porter II is a Black gay man living with HIV in the middle of Brooklyn. He is the staff writer of TheBody.com. His bylines include SF Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, Did They Like It?, NY Observer, Time Out NY, American Theatre Magazine, TDF Stages, and SYFY Wire. He is a National Critics Institute and Poynter Power of Diverse Voices fellow, and the first Black man to sit on the Drama Desk Awards' nominating committee.

Paul Art Smith

Contributing Writer
@PaulArtSmith

Growing up 15 minutes away from Disneyland, Paul Art Smith now resides 15 minutes away from Broadway, where he can often be found with a playbill in hand at one of its many theaters. When not at a show, like this past year and a half, he can be found watching movies (most likely The Social Network), watching TV shows (most likely Schitt’s Creek) and drinking a Diet Coke. He recently graduated from Marymount Manhattan earning his bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts with a minor in Digital Journalism. If you’re ever looking to have an endless conversation with Paul, feel free to bring up any major entertainment awards ceremony and you’re set.

Andrew Martini

Contributing Writer

Andrew Martini is a writer currently living in Brooklyn. He is a fan of all things theatre, especially musicals. Originally from New Jersey, Andrew is an avid reader and, above all, an ice cream snob.

Alexi Chacon

Contributing Writer
@Alexic213

Alexi is a theatre and culture critic based in Philadelphia. He’s the Managing Editor at Token Theatre Friends where you’ll see him talk on and on about the importance of theatre as a means of leveraging social change.

Jake Sokoloff

Contributing Fashion Writer

Jake Sokoloff is a freelance fashion stylist based in New York City. In 2015 he founded STYLE BY SOKOLOFF, and has been dressing Broadway talent for editorials, concerts and red carpet appearances ever since. He lives on the Upper East Side with his fiancé and their cat, Freddie Purrcury.

Kyle Turner

Contributing Writer
@TyleKurner

Kyle Turner is a queer freelance writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a contributor to Paste Magazine, and his writing on film and culture has been featured in The Village Voice, GQ, Slate, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times. He is relieved to know that he is not a golem.

Chloe Conaway

Contributing Writer
@chloe.conaway

Chloe is a student at UCLA School of Law and lifelong musical nerd. When she’s not reading the tax code or hunting down the perfect smoothie, she’s searching for the best theater on the West Coast.

Emily McClanathan

Contributing Writer
@Emily_221B

Emily McClanathan is a theater critic based in Chicago and a 2020 National Critics Institute fellow at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. She also works as a communications manager for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and holds a Master of Arts in modern history (King’s College London) and a Bachelor of Arts in music and history (Wheaton College). When she's not at the theater, her hobbies include reading, binge-watching British TV shows, and tracking down the perfect cup of tea.

Christian Lewis

Contributing Writer
@clewisreviews

Christian Lewis (they/them/theirs) is a queer nonbinary freelance theater critic with bylines in Did They Like It?, American Theatre, BroadwayWorld, Theatermania, the Brooklyn Rail, Out, and others. They are also a cohost of The Critics’ Table podcast. Separate from all the theater stuff, they have a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center. Follow them on Twitter @clewisreviews.

Caroline Cao

Contributing Writer
@maximinalist

A Houstonian at heart, Caroline Cao graduated at The New School with an MFA in Nonfiction. Her wit has appeared on SlashFilm, Polygon, TDF Stages and more. She also has also penned performed arias and duets for the Really Spicy Opera - Aria Institute. She does not shut up about animation. When she's not writing about theatre, movies, and TV, she's writing librettos and fanfiction and cooking ramen.

Michael Kushner

Contributing Writer

Michael Kushner is NYC’s leading multi-hyphenate and the Executive Producer of the EMMY Nominated series Indoor Boys. In true multi-hyphenate form, Michael's book How to be a Multi-Hyphenate in the Theatre Business, published by Routledge Publishing is arriving fall of 2022. He served as the Director of Programming for The Green Room 42, providing the space with sold out programming post pandemic. He is the owner of Michael Kushner Photography and has been published in NYTimes, Vogue, Playbill, etc.

Go Up