Mandy Gonzalez is an accomplished film, TV, and stage actor and author. She possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. Mandy has starred on Broadway in the megahit Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler. She also originated Nina Rosario in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, In The Heights, for which Mandy received a Drama Desk Award. Mandy also starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, blowing the roof off of New York’s Gershwin Theatre each night as she belted out the signature song, “Defying Gravity.”

Mandy also received an OBIE Award and overwhelming critical praise for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli’s Comin’. Television viewers have had the pleasure of seeing Mandy in her recurring roles in the hit series Madam Secretary and Bull, and alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building. Equally at home on the big and small screen, she has appeared in Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor, After, starring opposite Pablo Schreiber, and Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington. Mandy can also be heard as the voice of Mei in Disney’s Mulan II.

A frequent concert soloist, Mandy has performed with symphony orchestras around the world, including at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops. Mandy is a Warner Music East/West artist and released her debut album, FEARLESS, which debuted at #13 on the iTunes pop charts.

Mandy is also an author – she recently published her Young Adult novel series, FEARLESS, published by Simon and Schuster.

In her quest to create positive change, Mandy is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad – a social media movement for inclusiveness and positivity. #FearlessSquad connects people around the world, encourages them to be their best selves, and helps them empower each other.

An engaging orchestral conductor and award-winning pianist, Gonzalo Farias is the Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony. In an ever-changing world, Gonzalo’s ambition is to establish music-making as a way of rethinking our place in society by cultivating respect, trust, and cooperation among all people in our community.

Gonzalo served previously as the Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, the Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony, the Assistant Conductor of the Virginia Symphony, and Conducting Fellow at the Baltimore Symphony. Praised by his “clear, engaging” style “with a lyrical, almost Zen-like quality,” Gonzalo has been established “as a focused, musical artist who knows what he wants and how to get it – with grace and substance.” As former Music Director of the Joliet Symphony Orchestra, he embraced the city of Joliet and its Hispanic residents of the greater Chicago area with pre-concert lectures, Latin-based repertoire, and a unique side-by-side bilingual narration of Bizet’s Carmen. This month, Gonzalo conducts the world premiere of Arturo Marquez’s all-new guitar concerto with soloist Pablo Sáinz Villegas at the helm of the Houston Symphony.

Gonzalo holds degrees from Universidad Católica de Chile, University of Illinois, Peabody Conservatory, and New England Conservatory, where he earned a Doctorate in Music with the thesis “Logical Predictions and Cybernetics.” In addition, he has a warm affection for Zen Buddhism, which he has practiced for many years.

Dan Lipton conducted The Band’s Visit and Sting’s musical, The Last Ship, on Broadway. He has arranged music and led bands for Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Mandy Gonzalez, Brian d’Arcy James, Judy Kuhn, John Lithgow, Martha Plimpton, and Audra McDonald, and has performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, on Live with Kelly Ripa, The Today Show, PBS’ Great Performances, Late Show with David Letterman, and with major symphony orchestras across the country.

Lipton’s music supervision and orchestration projects include An Officer and a Gentleman (U.S. tour), The Other Josh Cohen (off-Broadway), and The Drama Desk Awards. His music direction and onstage musician work has included Twyla Tharp’s How Long Blues (Little Island) under T Bone Burnett, The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard (Broadway), The Bridge Project (BAM, Old Vic) with Ethan Hawke directed by Sam Mendes, and Herringbone with BD Wong, directed by Roger Rees (La Jolla Playhouse).

He scored the feature film All These Small Moments (Orion Classics), starring Molly Ringwald, and provided music for the podcasts Arts Educators Save the World (Story Pirates) and The Key of Love (Emerald Audio Network), from bestselling author Jenna Blum.

Pianist on three GRAMMY-nominated albums, Lipton can be heard on piano in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel(Amazon Prime Video) and Rebecca Hall’s award-winning film, Passing (Netflix 2021). His latest collection of jazz-pop covers with singer Colby Beserra, Jukebox Saloon Vol. 2, is streaming everywhere.

Academy of Theatre Arts (ATA) is a national award-winning children’s theatre program, known for its dedication to nurturing and empowering young talent in Western New York for over 20 years. Through innovative and inclusive programs and productions, ATA provides a platform for children to explore creativity, develop acting skills, and gain confidence onstage. Its focus on excellence has earned recognition in the Broadway community, and it remains a beloved institution for fostering the next generation of theatre enthusiasts and performers on Broadway, in WNY, and throughout the country.

Singers: Emma Amodeo, Hudson Baker, Nadia Baldinelli, Grey Carlsen, Juliette Cleary, Kate College, Ava Faust, Kathryn Filk, Marissa Fiorentino, Grace Gabel, Ashlyn Gabel, Macy Gabel, Piper Gabel, Aisha Ganga, Mia Gorton, Laila Green, Carmody Hager, Brynn Alice Jalal, Emma Jordan, Avery Koch, Nadia Labuda, Isabelle Maritato, Josephine Moore, Molly O’Brian, Audriana Phoenix, Daniel Pitirri, Frankie Rivero, Brady Sadkin, Ella Staehr, Lillian Stewart, Josie Sturmer, Lily Tevens, Madelyn Tevens, Trevor Tevens, Amber Vanderbush, Eva Wagner