Cast & Crew
GREASE LIGHTNING MUSICAL
MAY 1 – JuLy 13, 2025Evening Shows
Greetings Winnipeg High class of 1959, you are all invited to the biggest Rock and Roll reunion this town has ever seen!
It’s been 20 years since Danny, Sandy and the gang graduated and much has changed. Did Danny and Sandy get married and live happily ever after? Did they ever give up drag racing?
Join us at Destination Dinner Stage as we look in on everyone’s favorite greasers and find out what they are up to in the fabulous 70’s as we pay respectful homage to this well-known story and of course add a twist or two of our own! Grease Lightning, a flash from the past and a celebration of rock and roll!
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Die Harder: A MANITOBA CHRISTMAS STORY
OCTOBER 30 – December 31, 2025Evening Shows
Yippee Ki-Yay, Winnipeg! Destination Dinner Stage, Winnipeg’s own musical dinner theatre, is cranking up the holiday chaos with the world premiere of this action-packed spoof-ical!
Die Harder, turns a Winnipeg high rise building into ground zero for festive mayhem; packed with 80’s hits, big hair and even bigger laughs! When the evil Hans Groover and his crew of misfit villains crash the Manitomi company Christmas party, it’s up to unlikely hero John Portage — armed with nothing but duct tape, questionable dance moves, and a never-ending supply of one-liners — to outwit the baddies, save his spouse’s coworkers, and maybe even rescue the spirit of Christmas. With high-octane laughs, holiday cheer, and a killer retro soundtrack, this outrageous spoof finally settles the age-old debate: Yes, “Die Hard” IS a Christmas movie – especially when it comes with dessert!
*Proudly created and performed by Manitoban artists
Tickets on Sale now!
John Portage / “Otto”Brandon Vink
Welcome to the party, pals! After playing Danny in Greased Lightning and Waylon Whiskey in Yellowstone: A Wild West Musical, Brandon is back on the Destination stage; ready to join this incredible cast and crew in this action-packed thrill ride! When Brandon isn’t brutalizing bad guys in this building, you can catch him on Tuesday nights with Soap Scum’s improvised soap opera, SpaceQuest! Brandon has been action movie obsessed from a young age – so hopefully you love cheesy action lines as much as he does. This show is jam packed with them.
Special thanks to Brandon’s family and friends, who have had to listen to him quote movies for 30 years. All the love in the world to his wife and his light, Amy Vink.
So come to the show, we’ll get together, have a few laughs! Get it?
Hans Groover / “Guy on plane”Tom Brooks
Tom Brooks is a British actor living and working in Winnipeg. This is his third show with Destination Dinner Stage – having starred in “Grease” and “Mamma Mia” this season, and his having the time of his life! He is very grateful to be in Die Harder as Hans Groover, and hopes audiences will enjoy all the Christmas shenanigans on stage with this amazingly talented cast!
Special thanks to Zoe Zbirun. Your love and unwavering support mean the world to me and I couldn’t do this without you.
Merry Christmas everyone – Ho, Ho…Ho!
Holly Jolly-Portage / Sandy Lake Amy Vink
Yippee Ki Yay, theatre patrons! Amy is delighted to be returning to Destination Dinner Stage this Christmas season! You may have seen her last as Beth Mutton in Yellowstone and Sandy in Grease Lightning (Destination Dinner Stage), as well as Alexis Rose/Jocelyn Schipp in Schipp’s Creek (Celebrations). Although a current Winnipeger, Amy was born in Drayton Valley, Alberta, and received her degree in Theatre at the University of Alberta (Augustana). She has been touring and performing for a number of years with Celebrations Dinner Theatre, as well as with the Souris Valley Theatre in Estevan SK. She would like to thank her family for their endless support and her wonderful cast and production team. A huge thank you to her husband Brandon, for being a dream partner on and off the stage. While Amy isn’t entirely sold that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, she can say without a doubt that it IS a Christmas musical.
Toni / Karla – Twin Sister Baddies Yanin Cranwill
Yanin is thrilled to be part of the Destination Dinner Stage production of Die Harder: A Manitoba Christmas Story! Most recently, Yanin performed with Souris Valley Theatre in Estevan, Saskatchewan, in the production of Golden Gals Vacation. They can also be seen in the newest season of Soap Scum Presents “Space Quest” — Winnipeg’s own live improvised soap opera — playing at The Side Stage on South Osborne, right beside The Park Theatre.
Yanin would like to thank Scotty, Kacey, and Eliotte for their love and support.
Thea The Nerd baddie / Arlen The CabdriverBrandi Chemerika
Brandi hails from the district of “Trainscona” and thus, is rarely on time for work. However, she is beyond delighted to join this stelar cast in her debut performance on the Destination Dinner Stage. No stranger to theatre, Brandi first set foot on stage at the age of five. You may remember her in various roles through Celebrations Dinner Theatre over the years. She has also accrued many credits in film and television and most recently had the pleasure of building the choreography in Destination Dinner Stage’s most recent production “Mama Mia”. Brandi is trained in all facets of dance, through Royal Winnipeg Ballet. On the side, she enjoys travelling, songwriting, soap making and of course, Winnipeg winters.
A special shout out to her fan-damily and best friends Charlene and Ashleigh for their continued love and support along the way.
Flint Churchill/ Masked Baddie/ Barry Bellis / Ellis Redriver Jeff Rivet
Jeff is originally from Alberta, but has been a proud Manitoban for 7 years now. His love for Winnipeg began 15 years ago when he did his first show at Celebrations Dinner Theatre. He was in quite a few and you may have seen him in a couple, such as the Big Boom Theory, That’s Dirty Dancing, Jailhouse Rock, Bewitching Elvis, Jump For Glee, or the first half of Schipp’s Creek. He has also been with Rainbow Stage the past few summers with Rock of Ages, Frozen, Mary Poppins, the Little Mermaid, Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella.
He also got to be a part of the Canadian premieres of Waitress with RMTC and the Prom with Dry Cold Productions. He is so happy to bring dinner theatre back to Winnipeg. It’s a new concept, but it has all the same heart, and he hopes you have killer time!
Fun fact: he just watched Die Hard for the first time a few weeks ago and jury is still out if he thinks it’s a Christmas movie.
Production Team
Randy Apostle – Writer/Director
Stage Manager – Lisa Cranwill / Brad Zacharias
Music Director – Lisa Cranwill
Choreographer – Laura Kolisnyk
Additional Choreography – Brandi Chemerika & Jeff Rivet
Light Design – Oak Girard
Set Design, Scene Painting and Construction – Genevieve Levasseur
Scenic Carpenter – Ryan Spracklin
Stage Carpenter – Teri-Lynn Kosinski
Costuming – Lucille LaPorte
Wigs – Ashley L’Heureux
House Technician and Sound Design – Caleb Schellenberg
Projections – Scott Cranwill
Box Office Administrator – Heather Hickling
Floor Manager – Avery Bate
DDS Executive Sous Chef – Kitt Perfumo
General Manager/VP of Operations – Joe Sacco
(Special Thanks to Ian James for music recording.)
204-694-SHOW (7469)
destinationdinnerstage.com
email: dinnerstage@canadinns.com
Located at Canad Inns Destination Centre Fort Garry
1824 Pembina Highway
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2G2
Box office hours – Hours are subject to change:
Wednesday: 9am–5pm
Thursday – Saturday: 11am-7pm
Sundays: 10am-6pm
Mondays and Tuesdays: Closed