ArtsFest 2025

Keith Buterbaugh

Broadway star Keith Buterbaugh, whose career spans some of the most iconic stages in theater, music, and film, is set to visit UWL as a featured artist for the 2025 “ArtsFest Advance!” series. Buterbaugh, a renowned performer with a rich background in both musical theater and opera, will offer a unique opportunity for students and the community through masterclasses and a special performance singing standards from the Sinatra songbook as part of UWL’s 37th Annual Big Band Cabaret & Dance Party.

Buterbaugh’s career has spanned across a wide variety of performances, from Broadway shows to opera stages and symphony halls. He has appeared in some of theater’s most beloved productions, including Phantom of the Opera, where he performed as both Raoul and the Phantom at the Majestic Theatre. He has also performed in Sweeney Todd as Judge Turpin on the national tour and in Company as Harry at the Barrymore Theatre. His musical expertise extends beyond theater, having performed with prestigious ensembles such as the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Trieste Symphony in Italy, and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center.

Buterbaugh’s versatility is not limited to the stage. He has also made notable appearances in film and television, including his role as Dr. Rowehill in the film Diving Normal, which was an official selection of the Dallas Film Festival. He also appeared in the FX Network’s Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll as Jimmy, further showcasing his range as an actor.

In addition to his stage and screen accomplishments, Buterbaugh is a talented musician, having played trumpet, French horn, baritone, and trombone throughout his career. He is also a licensed pilot, adding another fascinating dimension to his impressive résumé. His membership in several professional organizations, including SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association, and the American Federation of Musicians, underscores his deep commitment to the craft and the industry.

Nikki Lynette

Nikki Lynette is a social impact artist & suicide survivor who fuses mental health activism into her musical theater performances, film projects and visual art, creating a lane that is uniquely her own. This Chicago native’s self-produced songs can be heard in popular shows on Netflix, Hulu, Showtime and more.

Her journey with mental health outreach began in 2016 when she returned to the public eye after a long hiatus with a confession: she’d secretly been battling mental health issues. In a time when being open about mental health struggles was taboo, Nikki began writing articles about depression and suicide for prominent media like Afropunk and AllHipHop.

As the opening act for Pussy Riot’s first American tour, Nikki workshopped the material that would soon become her buzzed-about new musical about depression, GET OUT ALIVE. In 2019, Nikki made history as the first black female playwright to have a musical produced by American Music Theatre Project, in 2022 she became the first Steppenwolf LookOut Series work and first female AMTP alum to be featured at NAMT’s Festival of New Musicals, and in 2024 Nikki Lynette became the first American Playwright to be invited to Cove Park’s Musical Theatre Writing Residency in Scotland. 

A proud ambassador and board member for the Chicago chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Nikki Lynette’s first TEDx Talk, hosted by Princeton University, was an opportunity for her to share how her punk culture roots aided her suicide recovery. Over the years as she showcased her fine art in galleries and her music used to tell stories in hit TV shows, she began to explore how these different mediums of art function in conversation with one another. She has evolved her practice to blend new media with more classic art forms such as song, performance art, set design & documentary film.

After adapting her musical about depression to film during the pandemic, Nikki put her zeal for crafting edgy multimedia theatrical experiences that center mental health on full display in her second film, the new documusical entitled “Happy Songs About Unhappy Things,” which boasts Jamie Foxx & Datari Turner as producers. Nikki Lynette is represented by Independent Artist Group.

Scott Gellatly

Scott Gellatly holds a degree in painting and drawing from the University of Oregon and has exhibited his work in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. Scott spent over twenty years working in the art material industry, including fifteen years as the Product Manager for Gamblin Artists Colors. He has lectured on materials and techniques throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. Since 2020, Scott has been painting and teaching full time – leading workshops and classes online, in-person workshops throughout the United States, and has led plein air painting workshops in Umbria, Italy. He is also the creator of the course COLOR THEORY for PAINTERS.

A landscape painter at heart, Scott’s work has become more abstracted, with greater emphasis on pure color and gestural mark-making to evoke nature. Scott’s paintings are represented by LAURA VINCENT DESIGN & GALLERY in Portland, OR. www.scottgellatly.com

As part of his visit to UWL, Gellatly delivers a public artist presentation with a reception to follow.