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About the Show
Step into the ring for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a Pulitzer-Prize finalist comedy that body-slams the world of pro-wrestling, pop culture, and the performance of identity. Told through the eyes of Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra, a gifted wrestler stuck being paid to lose to a bigger-named star in the ring, this knockout satire takes on cultural stereotypes, media spectacle, and the courage it takes to say no. A bold, tour-de-force comedy that leaves it all on the mat!
Audience Advisories:
strong language, simulated violence/fighting, racial stereotypes, flashing lights and haze effects.
The 2nd Sunday matinee of the run will be a mask required performance. Please bring a mask or one will be provided to you.
If You’re Into:
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WWW and the over-the-top spectacle of professional wrestling
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The Colbert Report meets Saturday Night Live
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The Boys and its takedown of celebrity, power, and manufactured heroes
Expect:
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High-flying wrestling moves, outrageous characters, and larger-than-life egos
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A hilarious, fast-paced satire of American pop culture
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A behind-the-scenes look at who gets to be the hero and who gets cast as the villain
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Race, identity, capitalism, and the American Dream colliding in the wrestling ring
Special Events:
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Sunday, November 15th matinee: This will be a mask required performance. Please bring a mask or one will be provided to you.
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Sunday, November 15th matinee: Artistic Mat Chat: A conversation with Director Stefan, Sittig, facilitated by Dramaturg/Assistant Director Brianna Goode.
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Friday, November 20th: $30 Under 40 Happy Hour starting at 7pm. Grab a drink on us, bring your friends, and kick off your weekend with the best live performance in town! To sign up for this discount code, simply fill out this short form.
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Sunday, November 29 @ 4pm: Closing Cast Part at Hawkley Brewing! Join the cast and crew at Hawkley Brewing after the final performance for a fun, informal celebration. Grab a brew and help us celebrate a knockout run! Wrestling attire optional
Meet the Artists
Kristoffer Diaz, Playwright
Kristoffer Diaz is a playwright, screenwriter, musical librettist, and educator. His teaching interests include dramatic writing and contemporary US theater, with a special focus on new American plays and musicals. His musical Hell's Kitchen (created with Alicia Keys) was nominated for 13 Tony Awards (including Best Book), won a Grammy, and is currently running on Broadway, with a national tour beginning in fall 2025. His play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, and has gone on to more than forty productions nationwide.
Stefan Sittig, Director
Stefan Sittig has a multi-disciplined theatre background as a Helen Hayes Award nominated director, choreographer, fight director, intimacy & movement coordinator and author. He has been involved in 140+ productions including work in New York City (Off-Broadway), internationally in Brazil, Uruguay and Canada, at various regional theatres, and in most of the major theatres in the D.C. area. Favorite directing credits include: Xanadu (Helen Hayes Award nomination) at Workhouse Arts Center, Volver/Return, Church & State, Mothers & Sons (Broadway World Award nomination Best Director) and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Broadway World Award Best Director) at MetroStage and Trabajadores (World Premiere of the Spanish version of Stephen Schwartz’s Working) at Teatro Aventura in Montevideo, Uruguay. Half-Uruguayan and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Stefan is proud to work on theatre that centers the Latine experience, and his book Latinidad in Musical Theatre was published this year by Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama. At NextStop Stefan has worked on various productions including Footloose, The Shawshank Redemption, Nunsense A-men! and In The Heights (Helen Hayes Award nomination Outstanding Choreography) and many other productions in various capacities (actor, choreographer, fight director) in this space over the last three decades. www.stefansittig.com Instagram: @stefansittig
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Christion Ty Edwards, The Bad Guy/Billy Heartland/Old Glory
Christion Ty Edwards is an alum of James Madison University’s School of Theatre and Dance, where he majored in Theatre Studies and Performance, with minors in Music and Dance. Ty is an actor, director, singer, physical theatre artist, mask and clown performer, teaching artist, writer, solo artist, and a registered advanced teacher with the Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME).
Forever a student, Ty is a candidate for certification in Voice Body Connection, the VanBoxtel Method of teaching singers, Vocal Kinesthetics, SSN Transform, and Yoga and Meditation teacher training. He constantly strives to better his artistry through training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as Consent, Mental Health First Aid, and Trauma-Informed creative practices.
Ty debuted his original solo show, The Sad Life of a Happy Man, at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles, earning him the Producer’s Encore Award and a nomination for Best Dance Production of 2023 from BroadwayWorld Los Angeles.
Previous credits include Keegan Theatre: Shakespeare in Love (Peter); Flying V Theatre: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Dr. Scott); Glass Canon Theatre Co.: Songs of the Acropolis (Emcee and Featured Act); Atlas Intersections Festival: Recess (Phineas); Forbes Center for the Performing Arts: Equus (Harry Dalton), The Tempest (Master, Ensemble); Southern Appalachian Historical Association: Horn in the West (Rev. Sims). Film credits include Foreign Mindset Productions: Coffee & Yellow Roses (Supporting); J. Cubed Productions: Sharp Dressed Men (Lead).
John (Jack) Elmendorf, Everett K. Olson "EKO"
Jack Elmendorf is thrilled to return to NextStop Theatre. Some of his local credits include 1st Stage: Betrayal; Workhouse Arts Center: The SpongeBob Musical, Murder on the Orient Express, Jesus Christ Superstar; Songs of the Goat: Antigone, Medea; Rorschach Theatre: So Late into the Night; District Fringe: The H Twins; and Flying V: Doctor Moloch. Jack is a graduate of the Studio Acting Conservatory. @jackinabox00
Tyler “T” Lang, Chad Deity
Tyler “T” Lang is thrilled to make his debut with NextStop Theatre in this incredible show. T has been involved with various theatre companies such as La MaMa ETC, Glass Canon Theatre Co., Visionaries of Creative Arts (VOCA), Cara Mia Theatre Co., Kitchen Dog Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, Echo Theatre, and Soul Rep Theatre. Aside from his acting, T is an up-and-coming writer who works hard writing plays, music, and poetry. Most recently, T studied abroad in Oxford, England, at the British American Drama Academy (BADA) this past July, and his play, Rockin’ Chair, premiered there. If you’d like to see more of his work, T can be seen on HBO Max’s Evil Lives Here. Lastly, T would like to thank God for all of the blessings and lessons brought into his life, and Chadwick Boseman for inspiring him to pursue this beautiful craft of art that is acting! BFA: Howard University. Instagram: @Eazyt2002
Oscar Salvador, Jr., Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra
Oscar Salvador, Jr. is happy to make his return to the NextStop stage after portraying Usnavi in In the Heights and Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption. He’s excited to work with such a talented group of people. Recent credits include Mosaic Theater Company: Somewhere Over the Border; Toby’s Dinner Theatre: Rock of Ages; Constellation Theatre Company: Head Over Heels (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical); and Workhouse Arts Center: Clyde’s. He would like to thank his parents for their never-ending support, his sister for all the advice, his best friends for always being there, and his goddaughter for making everything better with a smile. Shout-out to his OG Familias! Love you, Tío.
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Vaibhav Taparia, Vigneshwar Paduar "VP"
Vaibhav Taparia is excited to return to NextStop Theatre after previously appearing as Humayun in Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph. Other theatre credits include Chain Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare; ASDS Rep Theatre: Witch by Jen Silverman; Theater for the New City: Cyrano Redux; East Village Basement: Flaco. Vaibhav is a South African actor of South Asian descent based in New York City and holds an MFA in Acting from the Sands College of Performing Arts at Pace University.
vaibhavtaparia.com | @vaibtaparia
Hansin Arvind, Vigneshwar Paduar "VP" Understudy
Hansin Arvind is delighted to be back with NextStop after having worked on In the Heights back in 2023! Other recent credits, both on and off stage, include Rorschach Theatre: KLECKSOGRAPHY 2026 and KLECKSOGRAPHY: Vox Populi; The Keegan Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong; Theater Alliance: Woody Guthrie’s American Song; Constellation Theatre Company: Or, Head Over Heels, Is God Is, Orlando; Workhouse Theatre: Murder on the Orient Express; Kennedy Center TYA: The Sea Beyond the Ocean; Flying V: Doctor Moloch; Theater J: Prayer for the French Republic and This Much I Know; Synetic Theater: The Immigrant (2026), Antony & Cleopatra, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Capital Fringe: The Road to the End. Hansin works as both an actor and an ASM in the DMV area. He has a BA in Theatre from George Mason University.
Marcus Martinez, Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra Understudy
Marcus Martinez is excited to step beyond the university setting and begin his debut with NextStop Theatre. Previous credits include St. Mark’s Episcopal Church: PUFFS; Mexican Cultural Institute: House of Desires (Staged Reading); George Mason University: The Tempest. Marcus is currently pursuing a BA in Theatre at George Mason University.
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Joshua Oluwatofunmi Olujide, Chad Deity Understudy
Joshua Oluwatofunmi Olujide is beyond excited to make his NextStop Theatre debut! His previous performances include Shakespeare Theatre Company: Merry Wives (u/s Slender, u/s Dr. Caius, u/s Ensemble); Prologue Theatre: MUFFED (Company Member #4); Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander); Theatre 202: 21 Chump Street (Justin); Solas Nua: The Perfect Immigrant (Levi). Joshua has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU (Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and New Studio on Broadway). To God be the glory. Protect Black women. Free Palestine.
Thomas Stratton, Everett K. Olson "EKO" Understudy
Thomas Stratton is excited to work with NextStop for the first time. Favorite recent credits include Little Theatre of Alexandria: Catch Me If You Can (Carl Hanratty); Rockville Musical Theatre: Urinetown (Officer Lockstock); Riverside Dinner Theatre: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Issachar); Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre: The Pirates of Penzance (Samuel), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Barfee), and Les Misérables (Courfeyrac). Thomas is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (B.A. 2013).