LPI alumni will be performing at Music in the Park
As it was previously announced to the public, because of the Random Lake School District’s major reconstruction project, Lakeshore Productions, Inc., has postponed its summer 2024 musical, Fiddler on the Roof. As a way to stay active and in front of the community, some LPI alumni will be performing at Music in the Park during the bands’ set breaks.
On June 20th, during the WhiskeyBelles’ break, Lakeshore Productions alumnus Jake Horstmeier will be performing. Alexia Birenbaum, also an LPI alum, will join him for a song.
Jake Horstmeier has worked as an actor/musician in New York City, regional theater, independent film, commercials, and new media. After earning his BFA in acting, with a minor in dance, from UW-Stevens Point, he studied at the Einhorn School of Performing Arts at Primary Stages in New York City. As a singer/songwriter who performs under the moniker, Dacada Summer, he has written, recorded, produced, and performed at venues throughout the midwest and northeast. He received his MFA in Acting from Purdue University.
As a performer and teaching artist, Jake has worked with The Milwaukee Rep, Skylight Music Theater, First Stage Children’s Theater, and Kohl’s Wild Theater. Recent theater credits include Private Riggs in Sir Tim Rice’s From Here to Eternity, Ned Schneebly in School of Rock, Freddie Fellowes in Noises Off, and Bill Austin in Mamma Mia!, all with Skylight Music Theatre. You can see Jake on stage in Next Act Theater’s holiday production of Almost, Maine, opening in November 2024. He currently teaches movement at the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts.
Jake developed his love for theater while working with Lakeshore Productions, Inc., both on and offstage. Since the summer of 1998, he has performed in eight LPI productions (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, From the Tower Window, Annie, Crazy for You, Footloose, Seussical the Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Grease). Nearly half of his appearances on the LPI stage have been spent portraying animals, from little orphan Annie’s dog, Sandy, to Dr. Seuss’s conniving Cat in the Hat.
Alexia (Horstmeier) Birenbaum has been around LPI since 1996 when her family got involved with LPI’s first production, The Wizard of Oz. Her on-stage involvement began in 2000 when she was an orphan in LPI’s production of Annie. Every year since then, Alexia has either been on-stage, backstage, on production staff or serving on the board of directors for LPI. Her most recent on-stage appearance was as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls back in 2018. She most recently stepped down from the board in fall of 2023 to allow more time for her growing family, but she will always stay involved with LPI whether it is through volunteering or performing. She hopes someday her children will share the same love of theater and perform on the LPI stage. “LPI is such an amazing organization to have in our community. I will always support LPI and their mission, encouraging a love for the arts from young to old,” said Alexia.