Harvey Fierstein is the author of the Tony-winning hit, Kinky Boots, as well as Torch Song Trilogy (Tony, Drama Desk and Obie Awards), La Cage aux Folles (Tony and Drama Desk Awards), Newsies (Tony nominated), Casa Valentina (Tony nominated), A Catered Affair (12 Drama Desk nominations), Safe Sex (Ace Award), Legs Diamond, Spookhouse, Flatbush Tosca, Common Ground and more. He has recently rewritten The Wiz for live TV broadcast, and penned a revised book for Funny Girl, currently running in London. His political editorials have been published in the New York Times, TV Guide and the Huffington Post and broadcast on PBS’s In the Life. His children’s book, The Sissy Duckling (Humanitas Award), is now in its fifth printing. As an actor, Mr. Fierstein is known worldwide for his performances in films including Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and Bullets Over Broadway, on stage in Hairspray (Tony Award), Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy (Tony Award), and on TV shows such as Smash, How I Met Your Mother, The Good Wife, Cheers (Emmy nomination), The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Nurse Jackie.

Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles are home to some of the most popular, most-often performed and  most successful musical hero(in)es of all time, and have given Jerry Herman the distinction of being the only composer-lyricist in history  to have had three musicals that ran more than 1,500 consecutive performances on Broadway. His first Broadway show was Milk and Honey (1961), followed by Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1979), La Cage aux Folles (1983), Jerry’s Girls (1985) and Mrs. Santa Claus (1996), a CBS TV special starring Angela Lansbury. Showtune, a  revue of his life’s work, is performing in regional theatres around the country and two of Jerry’s classic songs are the emotional  highlights of the hit Disney-Pixar film WALL-E. His string of awards and honors includes multiple Tony Awards, Grammys, Olivier Awards, Drama Desk Awards, the Johnny Mercer Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, the Oscar Hammerstein Award, the Frederick Loewe Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Theatre Hall of Fame and most recently The Kennedy Center Honors.

Sam Pinkleton most recently directed Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary!, currently running on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater. Previously at Pasadena Playhouse he co-created and directed Pasadena Playhouse Holiday Spectacular and co-directed Head Over Heels (with Jenny Koons).  Other highlights: You Will Get Sick (Roundabout), The Wizard of Oz (ACT – San Francisco), Untitled DanceShowPartyThing (Virgin Voyages – with Ani Taj), and Liz Swados’ Runaways (City Center Encores/Shakespeare in the Park). Highlights of his work as a choreographer include Stephen Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are (The Shed), Soft Power (Center Theater Group/The Public Theater), and numerous shows on Broadway including Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.

Some Like It Hot (Broadway – Shubert Theatre); Motown: The Musical (Broadway – Nederlander Theatre); Yemandja the new Angelique Kidjo musical (music supervisor – world tour); Jelly’s Last Jma (guest conductor – New York City Center); Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ (Pre Broadway engagement – The Old Globe); Encore! On Disney+ (Ragtime episode); The Color Purple (Broadway tour and Paper Mill Playhouse); Wicked (substitute conductor – Pantages Theater); Memphis (Broadway tour); A Little Night Music, Ragtime, Little Shop of Horrors with M.J. Rodriguez, (Pasadena Playhouse); Dear World with Tyne Daly (VPAC); Two By Two with Jason Alexander (Reprise); Passion (Boston Court); Jonathan Dove’s Innocence (Banff Centre). Full bio at DARRYLARCHIBALD.COM

Choreographer and founder of The Dance Cartel, between NYC and the misty west of Ireland. Taj is after dance that’s a GOOD TIME for everyone; The NY Times has described her work as “haute-performance theory with a house party vibe.” Recent thrills include Dead Outlaw (Minetta Lane), Neon’s musical film The End starring Tilda Swinton, creating a wild Untitled DanceShowPartyThing with Sam Pinkleton that sails with Virgin Voyages, Dance Cartel’s 10th Anniversary. Taj has choreographed music videos for Yoko Ono, Reggie Watts, Shura & Vic Mensa, Wajatta’s VR experience Runnin (Sundance, SXSW). Theater highlights include Hedwig (Olney), RUNAWAYS (Delacorte, NYCC), Good Men Wanted (NYSAF). Taj received two LMCC Creative Engagement Awards, and is an Adjunct at NYU/ETW. @anitaj @thedancecartel

Recent: Stereophonic, The Notebook, Enemy of the People (costumes), Here We Are (sets and costumes), Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Other Broadway: Kimberly Akimbo; Funny Girl; The Minutes; Diana; Torch Song; The Humans (set design); Spongebob Squarepants; Fun Home; Choir Boy; Amélie; and The Last Ship (set/costume design); Almost Famous; A Doll’s House, Part 2; The Vibrator Play (costume design). NYTW, MCC, 2d Stage, Public, ERS, Target Margin. He’s received Tony, Drama Desk, Hewes and Obie Awards for his work.

David Reynoso (he/him): Internationally renowned scenic, costume, and exhibit designer; Tony nominated costume designer of Water for Elephants; Obie Award-winning costume designer of Sleep No More (Boston, New York, and Shanghai). Other celebrated theatrical designs appeared at The Finnish National Ballet, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, American Repertory Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Portland Center Stage, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Roundabout, Signature, Two River, among many others. He is the Founder and Creative Director of OPTIKA MODERNA (La Lucha, Teatro Piñata, Portaleza, Las Quinceañeras, and Waking La Llorona); Other work includes designs for Meow Wolf, Museum of Us, and New Children’s Museum and internationally recognized theme parks. www.davidreynoso.com.

Stacey Derosier is a New York based lighting designer. Recent credits include All the Devils are Here (Daryl Roth Theatre); The Welkin (Atlantic Theater Company); Teeth (Playwrights Horizons); The Refuge Plays (Roundabout); Animal Kingdom (The Connelly); The Half-God of Rainfall (NYTW); Uncle Vanya (Oliver Roth Productions); Wizard of Oz (A.C.T.); Cornelia Street (Atlantic Theater); How to Defend Yourself (NYTW); Regretfully, So The Birds Are (Playwrights Horizons); Fat Ham (Public Theater & National Black Theater); Wedding Band (Theatre for a New Audience); sandblasted (Vineyard Theatre/WP Theater). 2018 Lilly Award Daryl Roth Prize recipient.

Daniel is excited to return to Pasadena Playhouse where he designed Jelly’s Last Jam, The Holiday Spectacular, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and Head over Heels. New York: The Public Theater, New York City Opera, 92Y, Roundabout, City Center, Atlantic Theater Company, and 59E59. Regional: Arena Stage, Arizona Theater Company, Geva, Milwaukee Rep, Geffen Playhouse, ACT, Merrimack, Saratoga Opera Festival, Virginia Stage, Long Wharf, and productions in Korea, Japan, China, Canada, and Cuba. Broadway Associate: The Iceman Cometh (Tony Nom), Significant Other, Violet, The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Heiress, and The Nance (Tony Win). Daniel is a member of IATSE, USA829, SDC and Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Ursula Kwong-Brown is thrilled to return to Pasadena Playhouse, where recent credits include Jelly’s Last Jam, The Holiday Spectacular, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and Head Over Heels. As a composer, her work has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre, le Poisson Rouge, the Victoria & Albert museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London, as well as by festivals and ensembles across the country and around the world. Ursula received her B.A. in Music and Biology from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in Music Composition and New Media from UC Berkeley. More info at www.ursulakwongbrown.com

Pasadena Playhouse debut. Broadway: The Outsiders. Off-Broadway: SUMO (The Public; 2025). Regional: Derecho, The Ballad of Johnny & June, SUMO, The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, Bhangin’ It, to the yellow house, The Last Tiger in Haiti (Makeup) (La Jolla Playhouse), Clyde’s (Moxie Theatre), A Transparent Musical (CTGLA; Makeup), La Boheme, Barber of Seville (SDO), Sweeney Todd, Little Women, Kiss Me Kate (Seagle Music Colony).  Education: B.A. Theatre Arts, SDSU. Mi familia: Gracias for your unwavering support. I’m here to amplify underrepresented voices. YOUR story matters.

Ryan’s versatility in the world of casting speaks for itself. For the last decade, Ryan has cast many theater productions in Los Angeles and New York, including many shows at Pasadena Playhouse and The Wallis. Their portfolio also includes notable TV and film projects such as the Wicked movies, This Is Us, Atypical, and many more. Ryan puts inclusion and diversity at the heart of everything they do. Their mission is to celebrate and actively advocate for performers who reflect the full spectrum of human diversity to help expand a multiplicity of narratives; narratives that reflect the real world we live in and challenge conventional boundaries that currently exist in the entertainment industry. rbtcasting.com. @rbtcasting

Playhouse debut. Chris has worked internationally with the Shanghai Children’s Art Theatre, Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, and regionally at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Curran Theatre, Magic Theatre, and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, among others. Favorite productions include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, The Great Leap, Hand to God, The Wizard of Oz, King Lear, Orlando, and A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry. Waters holds an MA in theater management from UC Santa Cruz and is based in Oakland, CA.

Pasadena Playhouse debut. Regional Credits: The Brothers Size (Geffen Playhouse), Fat Ham, King James, Pleasant, The Merry Wives of Windsor, All Day (The Old Globe), Animals Out of Paper, Flowers of Hawaii (Chautauqua Theater Company), #SLACabaret (Salt Lake Acting Company), Cherry Wine in Paper Cups (Sackerson), The Audacity, Flora Meets a Bee, P.G. Anon (Plan-B Theatre). A recipient of the 2024 Charlie Blackwell Symposium Scholarship and the 2023 Cody Renard Richard Scholarship. Education: BFA in Stage Management and Directing from Westminster University (2020), MFA in Stage Management from University of California-Irvine (2024). Upcoming projects include Noises Off at the Geffen Playhouse to kick start 2025.

Lydia Runge is excited to return to Pasadena Playhouse after previously working on Sanctuary City, Head Over Heels, and The Great Leap. Select credits include Our Dead Drug Lord (Center Theatre Group); Assassins, Mamma Mia!, Man of God, As We Babble On, Allegiance (East West Players); The Little Foxes, Our Town, Once (South Coast Repertory); An American in Paris, Cinderella, Grease, Ragtime (Musical Theatre West); Jersey Boys (Pioneer Theatre Company); Jersey Boys, On Your Feet, Kinky Boots, Million Dollar Quartet, Honky Tonk Angels (Riverside Theatre). She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse with a B.S. in Stage Management.