Introducing the Cast for The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!
This holiday season, we will be celebrating our 18TH YEAR (!) of professional theatre for children with the new musical, The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!, playing in the Upstairs Theatre from December 4th through December 29th, 2026! Directed and choreographed by Penelope Caywood, the production is based on books and characters by Mo Willems, with script and lyrics by Mo Willems and Adam Tobin, music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, and dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz.
The cast features familiar faces and a newcomer to our stage! Returning in the title role from our 2024 production of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! will be Joseph Paul Branca (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, Close Encounters in the Beehive, SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole), as The Pigeon, and returning from both our ‘21and ‘23 productions of Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” will be Wendy Joseph (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Hairy & Sherri), as Piggie. Additional SLAC veterans include: Harrison Timm (The Gaslight Zone, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive) as Elephant Gerald, Katie Lobrot (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience) as Flappy and others, Alexa Shaheen (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, Close Encounters in the Beehive) as Zoomy and others, and Matthew Tripp (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”) as Zappy and others. Joining the cast in her SLAC debut will be Jordan Soper as Zoopy and others.
When Mo Willems’ characters get together for the holidays, it’s bound to be the biggest extravaganza ever! The Unlimited Squirrels deck the halls and Elephant and Piggie come ready to celebrate! But will The Pigeon join in the festivities, or will he run all the way to the North Pole in search of the greatest gift ever? Terrific tunes, silly stories, goofy gifts, audience antics: it’s all in this brand-new musical party that sleighs!
Tickets are available online or by contacting the Box Office at (801) 363-7522.
From top left: Joseph Paul Branca, Wendy Joseph, Katie Lobrot, Alexa Shaheen, Jordan Soper, Harrison Timm, & Matthew Tripp
Meet the Cast
JOSEPH PAUL BRANCA (He/Him)
Joey is so excited to return to SLAC as The Pigeon for his 10th production on our stage! Previous SLAC favorites include: SLAC's Summer Show: Close Encounters in the Beehive, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, and Saturday's Voyeur. He has worked with several revered companies across the Wasatch Front and internationally, including principal roles with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, Good Company Theatre, The Ruth & Nathan Hale Theater/HCTO, Plan-B Theatre Company, Hale Centre Theatre, West Valley Arts, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Osaka, and Universal Studios Japan. In film, he has starred in Dog Valley, Blood of the Undying, One Big Happy Family, and the Emmy Award-winning Resistance Movement. He has received several awards for his work on stage and screen, including most recently the 2025 Best Utah Stage Actor from the Best of Utah Awards, two Utah Film Awards, and the West Valley Arts Ovation Award, among others. "For Nick." JosephBranca.com | @JosephBranca
WENDY JOSEPH (She/They)
Wendy is an actor based out of Salt Lake City. She is reprising her role as Piggie from Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” and has also been seen at SLAC in Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, Hairy & Sherri, a couple of SLAC’s Summer Shows, and more. When she’s not acting, Wendy loves to travel, make arts and crafts, watch anime, and laugh with friends and family.
KATIE LOBROT (She/Her)
Katie is ecstatic to be returning to SLAC for another fun-filled holiday season! Katie is a recent graduate of the University of Utah's Musical Theatre Program. Favorite roles include Tall in Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (SLAC), Thea in Spring Awakening (U of U), Marcy in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Cinderella in Into the Woods (Sandy Arts Guild). Katie enjoys every aspect of theatre, from directing and co-directing several productions in her time at the U, to writing award-winning sketch comedy at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. She'd like to thank the incredible team here at SLAC as well as her friends and family for their love and support!
ALEXA SHAHEEN (She/They)
Alexa is thrilled to be back on the SLAC stage this holiday season! Alexa is a recent graduate of the MTP at The University of Utah, where she earned her BFA in Musical Theatre. Alexa’s favorite Utah credits include: Xanadu (Kira) at The University of Utah, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (Grande) at SLAC, The Full Monty (Vicki Nichols) at The Grand Theatre Company, Urinetown The Musical (Pennywise), and Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! The Musical! (Little Old Lady) at SLAC! Many thanks to Alexa’s friends and family for their continued support of her artistic endeavors. Dream big, be silly, and go enjoy some art! @AlexaShaheenOfficial
JORDAN SOPER (She/Her)
Jordan is so excited and honored to be making her SLAC debut! She is a recent Musical Theatre BFA graduate from the University of Utah. Recent credits include the title role in Carrie (Madking Productions), Micky & Others in Come From Away (Pioneer Theatre Company), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Jerusha Abbott in Daddy Long Legs, and Nana Wendy in Charting Neverland (U of U); and Little Red in Into the Woods (Centerpoint Theatre). Big thanks to everyone at SLAC, the directing team, and to her husband, Jeff, for being her biggest cheerleader, always. Mark 12:29-31 @TheJordanSoper | www.JordanSoper.com
HARRISON TIMM (He/Him)
Harrison is thrilled to be back on the SLAC stage! You may remember him from SLAC’s past two Summer Shows: The Gaslight Zone and The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. Additionally, Harrison has recently been seen in Ten Brave Seconds at Pioneer Theatre Company and Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour Krelborn) at The Ziegfeld Theater. As a graduate of the University of Utah’s Actor Training Program, some of Harrison’s favorite titles include Spring Awakening (Otto Lammermeier), Legally Blonde (Warner Huntington III), Xanadu, The Tempest, along with performances in Seussical and The SpongeBob Musical with Youth Theatre at the U. Harrison would like to thank his friends and family for their support and hopes you enjoy the show! | All socials: @HarrisonCTimm
MATTHEW TRIPP (He/They/She)
Matthew is THRILLED to be back for their 5th(!) consecutive year working on the SLAC children’s show! They previously appeared in Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (Grand-Pah), Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” (Squirrelle/Others), and A Year with Frog and Toad (Toad), as well as assistant directing Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. Other favorite credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Dan), Hallmark’ed (Swing), and Finding Neverland (Albert) at Hale Centre Theatre, and The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Professor Hidgens), The Play That Goes Wrong (“Stage Crew”/u.s. Max), The Lightning Thief (Mrs. Dodds/u.s. Percy), and A Tale of Two Cities (Gabelle) at West Valley Arts.
Tickets and Information for The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!
