Marissa Jaret Winokur is perhaps best known for creating the iconic role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway musical Hairspray, for which she won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. She was crowned winner of the inaugural season of Celebrity Big Brother, and danced her way into the hearts of America on the hit series Dancing with the Stars, making it all the way to the Final 4.
Marissa is currently touring the country with her hit Off-Broadway musical Mama I’m a Big Girl Now, which she co-created, directed, wrote, and produced with Laura Bell Bundy and Kerry Butler. Following a sold-out and extended run, the show received rave reviews and was recently nominated for a Drama Desk Award.
Recently, Marissa has shifted into directing. She just finished putting up HAIRSPRAY ( full company) at the Scherr Forum Theatre At Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. Staring Garrett Clayton. The comedy she directed ICE CATS, was a breakout hit at the LA Fringe Festival and is now in television development. Her next directing endeavor is the stage production The Radium Girls—a female-driven, horror-infused dark comedy inspired by the true story of the factory workers at the U.S. Radium Corporation in the 1920s. She just completed directing her first feature film, BALI HIGH, a romantic traumedy starring Ashley Argota and Mick Torres. She loves La theater and Directed the hit musical parody Bridesmaids. Ryan O’connor’s Eat, Pray, Vote and John Hill’s Wellness Check. After starring in many Christmas movies, she is excited to be writing her own Christmas movie musical for 2026!
As an actress she can currently be seen in recurring roles on several hit shows, including Emmy-nominated What We Do in the Shadows, Bupkis, So Help Me Todd, and Clone High. On Netflix, she stars in the family musical Feel the Beat and the comedy Trouble.
She recently returned to the Hollywood Bowl to star in Kinky Boots alongside Wayne Brady, and Beauty and the Beast with Rebel Wilson and Taye Diggs.
Marissa began her career on Broadway in Tommy Tune’s production ofGrease!. She has hosted numerous talk shows, including The Talk, The View, Dance Your Ass Off, All About Sex, and Off the Block with Ross and Marissa.
Her television credits span a wide range of fan-favorite series including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, Crashing, Playing House, A Million Little Things, Perfect Harmony, Stacked, and Retired at 35. She has voiced characters on hundreds of animated shows includingAmerican Dad, King of the Hill, The Cleveland Show, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Shrek the Halls.
Marissa and her husband, comedy writer Judah Miller, split their time between New York and Los Angeles with their son Zev (when he’s not playing tennis), and their two labradoodles. A cancer survivor, Marissa is passionate about educating women on cancer awareness and works closely with Stand Up To Cancer.
A born and raised New Yorker, Sami Horneff is a proud graduate of Brown University and an advanced lyricist and bookwriter in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Recent credits include: SINGLE RIDER (Lyrics & Book, Off-Broadway); ArtsPower National Touring Theatre’s JUDY MOODY & STINK (Lyrics); BANDIT QUEEN (Lyrics & Book, 2025 Rhinebeck Retreat Finalist); COMING ATTRACTION (Lyrics); A NEVER-ENDING LINE (Lyrics, Off-Broadway); ROCK AND A HARD PLACE (Music & Lyrics); THE UNDER 5ERS web series (Writer/Producer, 2016 Indie Series Award Nominee for Best Original Song); and two original songs for the feature film A RING FOR CHRISTMAS (UPtv). Her work has been performed at venues and educational institutions from Nebraska to Paris. With Amanda D’Archangelis, she was a 2019 York Theatre Company’s New/Emerging/Outstanding (NEO) writer; a 2023-2024 Artist in Residence at The Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT; 2024 Playbill’s Songwriter Series Featured Writer; and a 2025 Artist in Residence at Drama Club Camp. For more info, visit: @sami.horneff on instagram | www.samihorneff.com
Amanda is a composer and performer from New York. She is in the world-renowned BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Advanced Workshop. Recent work includes: SINGLE RIDER (Off-Broadway 2018); COMING ATTRACTION (Wilbury Theatre Group 2019); and THE BREAK (Omaha Creative Institute 2018). In addition to performing her own music, she has composed and arranged for various projects, including several songs for cabarets, web series, podcasts, and film. Her music has been performed at Newfest, Lincoln Center, Prospect Theater Company, The York Theatre Company, NYMF, The Duplex, Green Room 42, The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, Feinstein's 54 Below, Good Morning America, and more. For more, visit: @amandadeez on instagram | www.amandadarchangelis.com
Lisa Mongillo is a writer born and raised in Illinois, who now resides in Brooklyn. She is an advanced lyricist and bookwriter in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, an alumna of The College of William & Mary, and a contributing humor writer for Reductress. Her credits include: PARTY PEOPLE (Playwright, Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival); A NEVER-ENDING LINE (Lyrics, Off-Broadway, album released by Broadway Records); FOREVER NOON (Lyrics & Book, Pendragon Theater Artist Retreat); WE ARE THE BENJAMIN HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL HORSE GIRLS (Lyrics & Book, Out of the Box Theatrics’ New Works); SICK (Lyrics & Book, Best Book at SoundBites Festival); and THE COLOR OF THINGS (Lyrics & Book, adapted from the children’s book by Vivienne Shalom). She was selected for the Johnny Mercer Foundation's Songwriters Project and JMF Writers Colony. Her work has been performed from Los Angeles to Paris, including at Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Room, and Green Room 42, as well as in Playbill’s Songwriter Series. She trained and performed comedy at The Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade, and the Annoyance. She worked on Comedy Central’s The President Show and writes silly promo scripts for new Netflix content. For more info, visit: @lisammongillo on instagram | www.lisamongillo.com
Chadd McMillan is an award-winning producer, director, and designer for theater, film, and television. New York City theater credits include the Tony Award winning DANA H. / IS THIS A ROOM (Co-Producer), the Drama Desk nominated MAMA I’M A BIG GIRL NOW! (Co-producer, Production Designer), EXORCISTIC: THE ROCK MUSICAL (Director, Costume Designer, Producer), the Lortel and Olivier Award winning TITANIQUE NY/London/Australia (Co-Producer), The Box NYC (Costume Designer), IT! A MUSICAL PARODY (Production Designer, Co-Producer). Regional credits: YES! LIVE (Costumes), SCISSORHANDS: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE (Co-Producer/Production Designer), HORROR CAMP: A MUSICAL MASSACRE (Co-Writer/ Director, Producer), CHERRY POPPINS (Producer). His film/TV credits include: HENRY DANGER (Costumes) CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE MUSICAL (Lighting Designer), SUMMONING SILVIA (Producer), ROCK OF AGES REUNION (Producer), BALI HIGH (Production Designer). He is a Co-Founder of Diamond Dog Entertainment.
Jonathan Bauerfeld is an award-winning composer, arranger, orchestrator, and music director. Specializing in new work, he been a member of the music team in various capacities for numerous Broadway shows, tours, and workshops, including HAMILTON, THE WHO'S TOMMY, KING KONG, and THE RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR. Recent music directing credits include GALILEO (Associate MD, Berkeley Rep), THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (Associate MD, Kennedy Center BCS), MOTHER ROAD (MD, Berkeley Rep), SPLIT (MD, Transport Group) and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HEATHER (MD, Add'l Vocal Arrangements, Off-Broadway). Bauerfeld's original musical with collaborator Casey Kendall, THE LAST TIME I DIED (previously titled THE JURY), was produced Off-Broadway at A.R.T. New York's Gural Theater, won a 2025 Pipeline Award, a Frank Young Grant, and was a top finalist for the Richard Rogers Award, NAMT, and the Eugene O'Neill conference. His short musical, BOOK LOVERS, written with collaborator Talaura Harms, is available through MTI in two languages and has been produced around the world. Additionally, Bauerfeld has worked as a copyist or associate for shows on London’s West End, the Alliance Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, the Public Theater, live on FOX, and beyond. Graduate of Northwestern University and member of the advanced BMI MT workshop.
Additional credits/info at www.jonathanbauerfeld.com
Wendy Morgan-Hunter is a Tony nominated Producer and the Founder and Managing Partner of High Octave Productions. Recent projects include the Broadway production of CABARET directed by Rebecca Frecknell and starring Eddie Redmayne, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES directed by Michael Greif and starring Kelli O’Hara and Brian D’Arcy James, THE SOUND INSIDE starring Mary-Louise Parker directed by David Cromer, the Broadway National Touring Production of JITNEY directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, THE VISITOR starring David Hyde Pierce by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey directed by Daniel Sullivan and based on the film by Tom McCarthy at The Public Theatre, and ENDLINGS in partnership with Andre Braugher, playing at the New York Theatre Workshop and written by Celine Song. Wendy Executive Produced SATISFIED the documentary feature based on the life of Tony-Award winner and HAMILTON star Renee Elise Goldsberry directed by Chris Bolan in collaboration with Amblin Entertainment and Stick Figure Productions, of HE/SHE/THEY, a docu-series produced by Blumhouse, and RAINBOW RAILROAD, a docu-series for Beech Hill Films. Wendy has directed numerous musicals, operas, and concerts including Guys and Dolls with the New Haven Symphony, the new opera JACK AND JILL AND THE HAPPENING HILL by the Sarah and Nancy Meneely and UPHILL WALKERS written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Madeleine Blais and starring Academy Award Winner Mercedes Ruehl. She is a dramatic coloratura soprano who has had a career in opera, oratorio and musical theater and has performed as a soloist from Lincoln Center to the Hollywood Bowl, in Asia, and Europe. Wendy is the past president of CT, NATS and holds a degree in Vocal Music from USC’s Thornton School of Music where she was awarded the Marilyn Horne Endowment.
Tami Benanav is a producer at High Octave Productions. She is an executive producer on a documentary feature based on the life of Tony-Award winner and HAMILTON star Renee Elise Goldsberry, in collaboration with Steven Cantor and Stick Figure Productions, with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Productions as an Executive Producer. She has also produced local musicals for 5 years. Tami has traveled extensively including all 50 states and to many international locations and has lived and worked in multiple Spanish speaking countries. Tami is the Founder of Campus View Consulting, a college consulting firm that works with students and families to help navigate the college search and application process. She is a skilled financial services professional with over 25 years of experience. From 2005 – 2022 Tami worked as an independent consultant for small businesses. Previously, Tami worked in both private equity investing and investment banking, with a focus on Mergers & Acquisitions and privatizations. Tami has an MBA from Wharton and an MA in International Studies from The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a BA in Economics and Spanish from Bucknell University. Tami is fluent in Spanish.
Marisa F. Schafer is a Producer at High Octave Productions. Marisa sits on the Boards of Directors of A.C.T. of CT (A Contemporary Theater of Connecticut) in Ridgefield, Connecticut and Troupers Light Opera based in Norwalk, Connecticut. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the historic Lounsbury House in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She is a mezzo-soprano and performer, having appeared in productions with Troupers Light Opera, the Fairfield County Chorale, and other ensembles throughout the tri-state area. Marisa graduated cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2005 and is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York, and Federal District Court. She is a founding partner of Schafer Law, a boutique law firm in lower Fairfield County specializing in administrative law litigation. She has undertaken hours of pro bono legal work for Lawyers for Children America and Child Advocates of Connecticut, and has served as counsel for the Office of the Chief Public Defender in child protection matters.
Kristin Randall Burrello is Producer with High Octave. She is an artist, farmer, arts administrator and performer with extensive experience in non-profit leadership, artistic collaboration, project development, and organizational management. She served as Producing Artistic Director at Chicago’s Redmoon Theater where she produced mainstage theatrical works, site-specific spectacle productions and citywide cultural celebrations. Select credits include: the annual All Hallows Eve Ritual Celebration in Logan Square and for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events; Nina developed on site at UCLA’s Sculpture Garden and performed in Chicago’s Humbolt Park; Galway’s Shadow performed in the windowed façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art; Sink, Sank, Sunk performed on the banks of the Chicago River in Ping Tom Park; Long Live the King (the King is Dead) in Lincoln Park and the Chicago Historical Society; and Hunchback at Steppenwolf Studio and the Public Theater in NYC as part of the Jim Henson International Puppet Festival.
As a consultant, she has worked with Blair Thomas & Company, the Chicago Children’s Theater and Lookingglass Theater. She has also worked as a Teaching Artist with the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education, as Co-Administrative Director and Teaching Artist at the Piven Theatre Workshop, and most recently as Drama Director at E.O. Smith High School. Kristin served on the Board of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut and Oak Grove Montessori School in Mansfield, Ct. An award-winning floral designer, she is the owner of Muddy Feet Flower Farm in Ashford, Ct and a founding member of the Connecticut Flower Collective.