Thomas and Me
Part reality, part pure storytelling; a young man with disabilities gets ready to ask his girlfriend to marry him. But first he wants to fully understand himself: his childhood, his friendships, his choices, his challenges: the things that made him the person he is, the things he has never said out loud. A play with songs, starring the man who wrote it. Thomas and Me is a show that will break your heart, then put it back together.
Running Time: approx.. 90 minutes
Thomas Ellenson: Writer, Director, Actor.
Thomas is an award-winning actor who has trained with The Barrow Group since 2023. Aside from having talent and ambition, he has Cerebal Palsy. Thomas uses a power wheelchair and speaks using an iPad. As the Tony-Award winner actor Jefferson Mays has said of him, “Thomas is an extraordinary force, his wheelchair never confining him, but rather acting as a foundation for his strength and bold flights of imagination.” Winner Best Production: United Solo – 2025, Winner Best Production: The One Festival – 2017, SAG Member. TV: Grotesquerie, Speechless. FILM: Disney’s Out of My Mind. Thanks to my family! A special thank you to Helen White and Creative Art Team Youth theater for changing my life! @thomasellenson
Douglas J. Cohen: Composer/Lyricist
Doug is the recipient of the Fred Ebb Award and two Richard Rodgers Awards for No Way to Treat a Lady (produced twice Off-Broadway: The York and Hudson Guild Theaters and 200 productions globally) and The Gig (Manhattan Theatre Club Stage @ City Center; Goodspeed). He has received Jonathan Larson and Lortel 121 Project Grants for Barnstormer, and a Drama League nomination for Prospect Theatre Company’s Don’t Stay Safe (both co-written with collaborator Cheryl L. Davis); 2005 Drama Desk nomination for Children’s Letters to God. Doug’s book, How to Survive a Killer Musical: Agony and Ecstasy on the Road to Broadway, was published by Applause Books and is a starred review in The Library Journal. DouglasJCohen.com
Stephen Santa: Co-Director
Stephen is an award-winning theater director whose work has been seen across the United States and internationally. He is the co-founder of Jumping Jack Theater, which creates immersive theatrical experiences for children with autism and developmental disabilities. His favorite recent credits include Annie (Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre), Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, and RENT, which saw a 7-week sold-out run at the Omaha Community Playhouse, for which he is the former Artistic Director. He was the assistant director of the Flashdance National Tour, the North American premiere of The Monster in the Hall, and POP! A New Musical choreographed by Billy Porter at CITY Theatre, He would like to thank Thomas and Doug for this wonderful collaboration. Visit: www.stephensanta.com
Mairéad O’Neill: Michelle
Mairéad is an actor/singer/songwriter born and raised in NYC, is a huge champion of new work and thrilled to be bringing this story to life. Regional Theatre: I And You (Penguin Repertory Theatre), Soft Star (world premiere at Boston Playwright’s Theatre), Macbeth (Tour w/ Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare). Past workshops and productions with Keen Company, SpeakEasy Stage Co, and Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab. Mairéad’s voice can be heard on Gen-Z Media’s Webby & Peabody-winning podcast The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel. Training: Boston University School of Theatre (BFA Acting), London Academy of Musical & Dramatic Art, LaGuardia High School, and the Accademia Dell’Arte. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Thanks to the whole team at CLA & Boals Winnett. IG @mairead0neill TikTok (17k) @mayreedie maireadoneillactor.com
Tyler Austin White: Norm
Tyler is thrilled to join Thomas and the Thomas and Me team to tell this story! Recent local credits include: Hair at The Rockaway Theater Company (Berger), Legally Blonde at Gallery Players (Grandmaster Chad/Dewey), Rent at The Rockaway Theater Company (Roger), and 9 to 5 at the Heights Players (Dwayne/ US Frank Hart). He sends a huge thanks to Mason and his family/friends for their support. IG: @tyleraustinwhite
Sujin Kim-Ramsey: Music Director
Sujin most recently served as Assistant Music Director and Keyboard 1 for Broadway’s CATS: The Jellicle Ball (2026). She previously music directed KPOP The Musical on Broadway (2022) and Off-Broadway (2017), making history as one of the first women of Asian descent to debut as a music director on Broadway. Additional credits include CATS: The Jellicle Ball (PAC NYC), The Last Match, The Apple Boys, and I and You. She holds degrees from Yonsei University, Berklee College of Music, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Megan Loomis: Choreographer
Megan Loomis is thrilled to be a part of Thomas And Me! As a performer, she’s been on Broadway in Wicked, and Off-Broadway in Music City (Theatre at St. Luke’s), The Other Josh Cohen (Westside Theatre), Woody Sez and The Dead, 1904 (Irish Rep), Allegro (Classic Stage). Tours: Wicked, A Gentleman’s Guide…, War Horse, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret. She wrote and produced her one-woman show called The Girl in the Band as part of Rochester Fringe, EAT’s One-Woman Standing Festival, and Sounds of the City. Education: Eastman
