Staff Bios
Christine Gradl Seitz, Executive and Artistic Director
Jeff Brown, Production Manager
Rhonda Grussendorf, Box Office/Promotions Manager
Kate Horvath, Education Director
Crystal Pelkey, Play Ground Manager
Mary Van Wye, Office Assistant
Katie Wood, Administrative Director
Christine Gradl Seitz, Executive and Artistic Director
Christine Gradl Seitz joined the Duluth Playhouse in 2000. As the Executive and Artistic Director, she provides leadership and vision for the Playhouse and is responsible for the artistic integrity of productions and programming along with budgeting, fundraising, grant writing, marketing, and public relations.
Christine has an extensive background in nearly every aspect of theater as a professional actress, dancer, singer, director, choreographer, teacher, and arts leader. Christine first attended Kent State-Stark campus, as a recipient of a theater scholarship. She moved to New York City at the early age of 19 and was immediately cast in her first principal role on Broadway in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, followed by Marilyn: An American Fable, and Gay Divorce, opening the Kaufman off-Broadway theater on 42nd Street. As a professional performer, she was a member of Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Association). Christine has had leading roles at many prominent regional theaters across the country, including Denver Center for the Arts, Cleveland Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Studio Arena, Walnut Street Theatre, Alliance Theatre: some of her favorite roles have included Peter in Peter Pan, Josie in George M! (starring opposite Ken Berry), Maisie in The Boy Friend, Jill in Butterflies are Free, and Barb in Romance/Romance. Christine also has a long history with A Chorus Line, having performed with the Broadway-International, European, and World Tours and having worked with many of the great original company members. She has performed guest spots for All My Children and Days of Our Lives and has made several commercials and radio jingles.
After 15 years as a professional actress, Christine pursued a career in directing and choreographing. She has directed/choreographed more than 30 productions for professional regional, dinner, stock, and community theaters across the nation. She has served as an Artist in Residence for four state arts boards, creating and teaching theater programs and teacher in-services for K-12 schools. Christine started the children’s theater program for the Black Hills Community Theatre in Rapid City, South Dakota, shortly before taking her current position at the Duluth Playhouse.
Christine resides in Duluth with her husband and native Duluthian, Bob, and her cat, Millie. Her life outside theater is quite full with five stepdaughters and four grandchildren.
Jeff Brown, Production Manager
Jeff Brown joined the Duluth Playhouse as its Production Manager in April 2007. Jeff attended Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he received a degree in technical theater and later worked for four years as the school’s technical director and scenic/lighting designer. Jeff has also spent time working in the Twin Cities at Eastview High School, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Mystery Café, and the Minnesota Fringe Theatre Festival, in a variety of capacities including technical direction, design, and management.
For the four years prior to joining the Playhouse staff, Jeff and his wife, Lindsay, lived in Phoenix, Arizona, where Jeff enjoyed year-round motorcycling weather and worked for Arizona State University and the regional community college district as a performing arts center coordinator, technical director, and designer. Jeff also designed lights and scenery for several productions at the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, one of Phoenix’s four Equity theaters. For his lighting design for The Odd Couple at AJTC, he was nominated for an AriZoni Award. Jeff also served as first vice chair on the board for the Desert State Region of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and was the National Promotions Coordinator for the annual USITT conference and stage expo which was held in Phoenix in 2007.
Jeff is excited to be back in Minnesota to be near family and friends, and he and Lindsay are looking forward to raising their daughter, Jocelyn, here.
Rhonda Grussendorf, Box Office/Promotions Manager
After nearly two decades working as a weather anchor and feature reporter in small to top markets across the country (including WFTV Channel 9 in Orlando, where she was named the "Person to Watch" by the Orlando Sentinel), Rhonda has decided to join the Playhouse as Promotions Manager. She recently conducted numerous interviews with directors, actors, and patrons of the Playhouse on her top-rated local radio show on AM 610 KDAL -- which prompted her to bring her media savvy to the region's most praised theatrical stage.
Rhonda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She is also a regional spokesperson and conducts numerous seminars each year on topics ranging from broadcast journalism to landscape design. Community involvement is her greatest joy, leading to her positions as Director of the Miss Hermantown pageant, Director of the Hawkette Majorettes, and a charter member of the Hermantown Alumni Association.
Her late father, J.D., taught her to believe in the positive power of entertainment; her husband, Kevin, is her infinity; her children, Skylar & Paige, are her best gifts!
Kate Horvath, Education Director
A native of Superior, Kate Horvath has performed on many Northland stages. She is excited to join The Duluth Playhouse as Education Director and looks forward to working with creative kids and creative artists. Kate earned her BFA in Theatre from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2001 and spent five years working as an actor and singer in New York City. She is very happy to be back in the Northland but occasionally misses Magnolia cupcakes and riding the subway. Some of her favorite roles include Little Red in Into the Woods (UMD), Nina in The Seagull (Another Theatre Company, NYC), Julia in The Rivals (The Pearl Theatre Company, NYC), and Horatio in Hamlet (The Zipper, NYC). While in New York, Kate studied voice with Liz Caplan Vocal Studios, among other professionals who fueled her desire to learn more about her craft. She is inspired by those who share a passion for learning, creative collaboration, and service! Kate also enjoys spending time with her wonderfully fun husband, Joe, playing Scrabble, and studying Pilates.
Crystal Pelkey, Play Ground Manager
Crystal Pelkey is the manager of The Play Ground theater, the satellite theater of the Duluth Playhouse located in the Technology Village. She has been with The Play Ground since its first production, The Laramie Project, in February 2005. When you attend a show at The Play Ground, you'll often see her running the boards during productions as stage manager. During the day, Crystal is the Marketing and Sales Associate for New Moon Publishing. She's also on the board of directors for the YWCA, a freelance writer for Woman Today magazine, a community catalyst for the Duluth Superior Community Foundation, and a writer/performer, last seen in Renegade Comedy Theatre's 2006 Holiday Comedy Revue. She's created her own anti-Hallmark line of greeting cards/collages, called "real cheesy productions," for her friends and family. Crystal loves cheese, and her productions are cheesy. She adores and respects all of the wonderful and creative artists in the community who have made The Play Ground such a vibrant and exciting place.
Mary Van Wye, Office Assistant
Mary Van Wye is a Duluth native, a graduate of the College of St. Scholastica with a degree in Art Education and a minor in Biology. Since graduation, Mary served as a VISTA Volunteer, taught school, and raised two great children. She has been a member of the Duluth Playhouse staff since 2003 as an administrative assistant, volunteer coordinator, and box office personnel. Mary is honored to play a small part in Duluth Playhouse's long history.
Katie Wood, Administrative Director
Katie Wood has been with the Duluth Playhouse for six years. She began as a Box Office Associate and gradually took on administrative duties, including compiling the playbill for both the Playhouse and The Play Ground and securing the production rights for all the shows seen on the Playhouse and Play Ground stages. Katie and her husband Travis have been married for seven years, and they have a great new rottweiler puppy named Frank.