October 2 & 3, 2026 · Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin, North Carolina
Annie Oakley
Sydney Wolaver
Annie Oakley
Sydney Wolaver is an accomplished mezzo-soprano whose artistry spans opera, musical theatre, sacred music, and contemporary performance. A two-time Kennedy Center Best Actress nominee and a NATS competition winner, she has performed on stages from Carnegie Hall to the Grand Ole Opry, appeared as a soloist with the North Carolina Symphony and North Carolina Opera, and traveled to Italy to perform in Puccini's Suor Angelica. She holds degrees in vocal performance and theatre from Meredith College and a Master's in Vocal Pedagogy from Belmont University. Sydney's journey with the Annie Moses Institute began at age thirteen as a Festival performer, a connection that grew over the years into family when she married Jeremiah Wolaver. Today she serves on the faculty of the Conservatory of Annie Moses, teaching voice and drama and performing in Packard shows like Annie Get Your Gun, where nothing delights her more than watching young performers shine.
Frank Butler
Joshua Carswell
Frank Butler
Joshua Carswell is an accomplished tenor and versatile performing artist whose work spans opera, oratorio, musical theatre, and commercial music. A graduate of Elon University and Grand Prize winner of the 2012 American Traditions Competition, he has performed with the Greensboro Opera and Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, and as a guest soloist at Carnegie Hall's Isaac Stern Auditorium alongside the Annie Moses Band. Today Joshua teaches voice at the Conservatory of Annie Moses and co-directs Packard Playhouse productions, recently starring in Annie Get Your Gun and The Music Man.
Alex Wolaver
Buffalo Bill
Alex Wolaver is a Juilliard-trained violist, producer, entrepreneur, and member of the Annie Moses Band, with whom he has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry. Trained under Itzhak Perlman, he is a winner of the Curb Concerto Competition and has performed as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony and as principal violist of both the Juilliard Symphony and the Disney Young Musician's Symphony Orchestra. As a producer, his credits include the Emmy-nominated PBS special The Art of the Love Song and the Billboard Top Ten album This Glorious Christmas. Alex also serves as a key strategic and business leader of the Annie Moses Foundation, driving partnerships, fundraising, and platform development — while remaining deeply committed to teaching viola and chamber music to the next generation of artists.
Benjamin Wolaver
Charlie Davenport
Benjamin Wolaver is a cellist, actor, writer, and philosopher with the Annie Moses Band, with whom he has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry and appeared in the Emmy-nominated PBS special The Art of the Love Song. Juilliard-trained under Ann Alton, he stars in the hit children's series The Wonderful World of Benjamin Cello and has appeared in a wide range of musical theatre productions, including Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, Oliver! — in which he played Fagin — and Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge!. A graduate of the University of London, Benjamin holds a B.A. in English Literature. He teaches aesthetics and theology at the Conservatory of Annie Moses and is currently writing a book on aesthetics.
David Dupre
Tommy
David Dupre, 14, is an actor, singer, and instrumentalist. A fourth-generation artist and performer, he has studied at the Conservatory of Annie Moses since the age of four and has acted professionally since the age of six, when he appeared as Tiny Tim opposite Shakespearean legend John Rhys-Davies. Recent starring roles include Monsieur in the film Robbery at the Rockvale Theater, and he appears as David in the recurring series The Wonderful World of Benjamin Cello. His musical theater credits are vast, among them Tommy in Annie Get Your Gun, the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, and roles in The Music Man, Annie, and Fiddler on the Roof. David is also an accomplished pianist and composer, and he performs as the drummer of the Annie Moses Band.
Lucy Mashburn
Winnie
Lucy Mashburn, 15, is one of eight children born and raised in Middle Tennessee, and she has studied at the Conservatory of Annie Moses for 10 years. Her favorite roles include the orphan Annie in Annie, Mary in Tom Sawyer, Louisa in The Sound of Music, Chava in Fiddler on the Roof, and Little Fan in Merry Christmas Uncle Scrooge. She can also be seen in Seasons Two and Three of The Wonderful World of Benjamin Cello and Season One of Chalk and Block Children. When she isn't acting, singing, or playing her electric bass, she enjoys time with her family, swimming, and snowboarding.
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Lori Miller
Dolly
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Billy Miller
Foster Wilson & Pawnee Bill
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Mario Escamilla
Sitting Bull
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Emilia Escamilla
Solo Violinist
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Malia Goe
Solo Violinist
Robin Wolaver
Director
Robin Wolaver is an author, speaker, and award-winning lyricist based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the creator and writer of The Wonderful World of Benjamin Cello, a hit children's television series that delivers Scriptural lessons through live puppetry, humor, and original song and dance — in the warm, inventive tradition of Fred Rogers. She is also the author of The Song of Annie Moses (Guideposts Books). A two-time Dove Award nominee and recipient of the Gospel Song of the Year honor from both ASCAP and the Nashville Songwriters Association, she has co-written numerous musicals and choral works with her husband, composer Bill Wolaver. As founder of the Annie Moses Foundation, Robin is a leading voice in arts education, dedicated to equipping the next generation of young musicians to pursue excellence for the glory of God.
Bill Wolaver
Music Director
Bill Wolaver is one of Nashville's most accomplished composers, arrangers, and pianists, with decades of work woven throughout the fabric of contemporary Christian music. He serves as pianist, composer, and arranger for the Annie Moses Band, and is the creative force behind the beloved Piano Potpourri arrangement series. With his wife and collaborator Robin Donica Wolaver, he co-wrote "Make His Praise Glorious," recorded by Sandi Patty and nominated for a Dove Award for Song of the Year, and together they have received an ASCAP Award for Inspirational Song of the Year. Bill also writes the music for The Wonderful World of Benjamin Cello and co-wrote with Robin an original Broadway-style adaptation of A Christmas Carol in the tradition of Fiddler on the Roof and the golden age of Broadway. He and Robin live in Columbia TN.
Sara McKelvey
Choreographer
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sara McKelvey attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts, where she studied dance, voice, and drama. She later moved to Tennessee and graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Vocal Performance. A skilled vocalist, actress, dancer, choreographer, and worship leader, Sara brings more than 20 years of experience as a performer. She is the wife of Rob McKelvey and homeschools their four beautiful daughters.
Denise Bian
Choreographer
Denise Bian is an accomplished arts director, choreographer, and educator with a distinguished career in dance and theater. She has led the creation and growth of numerous arts programs, including directing the dance departments for Seacoast Christian Academy and Impact Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. Her extensive background spans choreography, performance, and instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater, with stage, film, and television credits alongside artists such as Kenny Rogers, Ken Berry, and Dottie Rambo.
