John Cardoza Broadway: The Notebook (originated the role of Younger Noah), Moulin Rouge (Christian), Jagged Little Pill.

Regional: American Repertory Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Old Globe. Education: BFA The Boston Conservatory

Gabi Carrubba is an actor and director based in NYC. Most recently, she starred as Shelley Parker in Bat Boy: The Musical at New York City Center. Broadway: Just In Time, Dear Evan Hansen (Zoe Murphy). TV: Dead Ringers (Amazon), Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order (NBC). Directing: They’re Packing (NewFest) Pretty Perfect Lives (The Flea), SMUTA (Gymnopedie), MTC, Soho Playhouse, NoBudge, and BHFF. @gabrielle.carrubba  

Eden Espinosa was nominated for both the Tony and Drama League awards for her stunning performance as Tamara De Lempicka in the Broadway production of Lempicka. Variety raved “Espinosa, starring in the title role, brings both luminosity and strength to her powerful performance…”. Eden’s career as an actress, singer, and voice over artist has spanned two decades on stage and screen. Espinosa is warmly recognized for her critically acclaimed and iconic portrayals of Elphaba in “Wicked” (Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco), and Maureen Johnson in the closing Broadway company of “Rent“. Eden’s passions also have extended to the development of new works, stemming from her early years originating the title role of the now cult favorite Brooklyn the Musical on Broadway to more recently starring in Michael John LaChuisa’s The Gardens of Anuncia at Lincoln Center. On Television, Eden can currently be seen Guest Starring on Brilliant Minds (NBC), The Equalizer (CBS), and FBI: Most Wanted (CBS). Eden, an in-demand Voice Over artist, was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as The Queen of Hearts in Disney’s Alice’s Wonderland Bakery. She is also known for her voice work as Cassandra in Tangled The Series, Robot Chicken, MAD TV, Elena of Avalor, and Titan Maximum. Eden’s albums Look Around and Revelation, her album of original music, can be found on all streaming platforms and available at www.edenespinosa.com. Instagram @edenespinosa

Marty Lauter: Marty is thrilled to be apart of this very special evening with Working Theater. Their past credits include RuPaul’s Drag Race S15, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Kinky Boots, and the national tour of Hello, Dolly! They wouldn’t be where they are today as an actor without the access they had to theater as a young audience member, so this cause is a personal one. Many thanks to their team, and their fiancé Kyle.

Katerina McCrimmon is a Miami-born performer who first gained national attention for her breakout turn as Fanny Brice on the Broadway tour of Funny Girl, where Entertainment Weekly praised her as “the next greatest star” with a “once-in-a-generation voice.” This past year, Katerina starred as Eva in Evita at The Muny opposite Tony Award winner Paulo Szot and appeared as Nina in the 20th Anniversary Concert of In the Heights, directed by Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (KO). Her additional credits include The Rose Tattoo (Broadway),The Counterfeit Opera(Little Island), and The Light in the Piazza (New York City Center Encores!), as well as developmental work at The O’Neill and Williamstown Theatre Festival. She recently debuted her solo show,Katerina McCrimmon: NAKED, at Joe’s Pub and Lincoln Center and will originate the role of Joanne in Bigfoot! The Musical at Manhattan Theatre Club

Julia Murney Some green witch: appeared on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role on the national tour for which she received an Acclaim Award. Some other New York stuff: The Wild Party (Drama Desk nomination), Lennon, The Vagina Monologues, Falling (Drama Desk nomination), A Class Act, The Landing, Queen of the Mist, Time and Again (Lucille Lortel nomination), Baby, Between The Lines. Some regional: A Little Night Music (Ogunquit Playhouse), Ragtime (North Carolina Theatre), Evita (Sacramento Music Circus). Some TV: Succession, Madam Secretary, 30 Rock, Sex and the City, all the Law and Orders, First You Dream. Some film: Big Time Adolescence, Not Okay. She’s appeared in or directed productions and solo concerts from Carnegie Hall to Raleigh, Maui to Malaysia, & a lot of spots in between. Some recordings: several original cast albums, the Grammy nominated Actor’s Fund Benefit of Hair and her solo album I’m Not Waiting. Insta: @pepamama

Dani Nigro is an NYC based musician & actress, most notable for co-fronting the bubble grunge band Daisy Grenade, alongside her best friend and business partner, Keaton Whittaker. Daisy Grenade has most recently been seen touring the US with bands such as Fall Out Boy, Pierce The Veil, and Sleeping With Sirens, recently opening for the latter two at Madison Square Garden. Along with touring and releasing music, Daisy Grenade most often uses their platform for fundraising and supporting their community, most recently heading fundraisers for The Audre Lorde Project, Jail Support LA, The Damn Grocery Fund, and NYIC. Once an employee of Working Theater, Dani is so grateful to be returning to help support this outstanding organization & its mission! @danis_modernlife @daisygrenade

Lauren Patten (she/her) was the breakout star of the musical Jagged Little Pill, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as the Grammy and Drama Desk Awards. Other stage credits include Fun Home on Broadway, and the off-Broadway productions of The Counterfeit Opera (Little Island), The Lonely Few (MCC), The Wolves (Playwrights’ Realm; Drama Desk and Obie Awards), and Days of Rage (Second Stage). On television, Lauren starred in the Hulu original series Death and Other Details, and is known for her work on Blue Bloods (CBS), The Good Fight (Paramount+), and Succession (HBO). She is featured in the upcoming Amazon series Off Campus. @pattenlauren

Matt Rodin is a queer actor, singer-songwriter, and creator working at the intersection of theater and digital media. He toured nationally in the Tony-winning revival of Company and starred in the Milwaukee premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In 2025, Matt led two new Off-Broadway musicals: All the World’s a Stage (Keen Company) and BEAU (Out of the Box Theatrics).

He is the creator of The Red Carpet Challenge, the popular Broadway opening-night series, and he runs The Fourth Wall, a newsletter exploring creativity, culture, and the evolving theater industry.

Matt is committed to collaborating with theaters, producers, and creative partners who value curiosity, innovation, and stories that honor the complexities of being human. He’s drawn to work that meets audiences where they are and invites them into deeper connection with themselves and one another.

Keaton Whittaker is one of the two front women of Pop Duo Daisy Grenade! She’s spent the last 3 years touring the world with the band playing arenas like Madison Square Garden, touring with the likes of bands like Fall Out Boy, Pierce the Veil, Jimmy Eat World, and many others. She also appeared on Broadway in A Little Night Music, as well as the critically acclaimed Seattle Theatre Group production of Carrie as Carrie. Other theatre credits include Gypsy and Oklahoma (The Muny) The Wolves (St. Louis Rep) Sunday in the Park With George, Oliver! (The 5th Avenue), Camp Wanatachi, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Off Broadway). She is thrilled to be included in this lovely benefit! @neverkwhitt daisygrenade.com

Maddie Allen (she/ her)( Cover/Background Vocals) is grateful to be part of this very special evening with Working Theater.
Originally from Fresno, CA, Maddie is a multi-hypenate artist based in Brooklyn. Some past
credits include: The Golden Cage (Theatre Row), Broadway Holiday (The Phoenicia
International Festival of the Voice). Additionally, she has performed all around the world as a
lead vocalist with AIDA Cruise Lines. Maddie has also worked as a choreographer: In Harmony
(NYC Fringe Festival), as well as associate choreographer to Rick Faugno and Joyce Chittick at
Interlochen Arts Academy. She is a proud alumni of Interlochen, and is looking forward to
returning as Associate Choreographer/ Associate Director to Joyce Chittick on West Side Story
this summer. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University. Maddie would
like to thank her family, related and non, for their endless love and support.
Maddieallen.com / @maddsallen

Jesse-Ray Leich (Drums) Broadway: Mr. Saturday Night, KPOP, &Juliet, MJ, Hell’s Kitchen. Off-Broadway: Titaníque. Artist: D’Lourdes. Tours: Motown the Musical, Something Rotten!, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Jesse-Ray received his BM from the University of Rhode Island. @jesseray_on_drums

Mohan Ritsema (Bass) has been in love with music for as long as he can remember. He took music lessons from age 8 through high school, and continued his education at the University of Michigan,
where he got a BFA in Jazz Studies. You can find him playing bass at venues around New York,
on Broadway, and all over the country, or simply making music in his bedroom.

Matias Sanes (Guitarist) is a Queens, NY–based Multi-instrumentalist  known for a powerful, adaptable style rooted in rock and alternative music. He has toured nationally and performed at major stages including Madison Square Garden and the When We Were Young Festival, and opened for Pierce the Veil on the I Can’t Hear You tour. He is currently touring as the lead guitarist with Daisy Grenade, a high-energy alt-rock duo known for hook-driven songs and explosive live shows.

Kevin R. Free (Host) has been making theater in New York City for 30 years and narrating audiobooks for 25 years. He was the first black man to play Bellomy in The Fantasticks in the production’s 57-year run Off-Broadway. He won an Obie Award as the Producing Artistic Director of The Fire This Time Festival in 2015, for producing world premiere plays of playwrights of the African Diaspora. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile Magazine in 2023. In 2024, his play, Swimming Uphill, written for André De Shields and directed by Zhailon Levingston, received a New Works Lab fellowship at the Apollo. He is the former Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre, where,  in his 3-year tenure, he produced four world premiere plays, including Gabriel Diego Hernandez’s Quarter Rican. This is his 8th joyful collaboration with The Working Theater.  Instagram: @kevinrfree www.kevinrfree.com

Maestro Dan Ryan (Music Director) has conducted hundreds of concerts, operas, and musicals, and is a two-time finalist for the American Prize; working with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, White Snake Projects, the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as co-founder of The Gena Branscombe Project. He made his Off Broadway debut composing original music for Breaking the Story (Second Stage), now published and licensed as ’Til Death through Concord Theatricals, with playwright and frequent collaborator (and real-life partner) Alexis Scheer. Their current project, Christina, will be developed at The Boston Conservatory this spring. Dan has an extensive teaching background and currently serves as Conductor and Music Director at Interlochen Arts Camp. As a musician with previous stints as a mechanic, line cook, and construction worker, Dan is thrilled to be collaborating with Working Theatre. @Danconducts (and sometimes #danconstructs)

Majo Ferrucho (Stage manager) is a Colombian Stage Manager. Selected stage management credits
include Arrabal, directed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo; Wine in the Wilderness, directed
by Tony Award winner LaChanze; Viva Broadway!; On Your Feet! U.S. Second National Tour;
On Your Feet! en Español, directed by Luis Salgado; Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin with
Disney Theatrical Group; The Red Rose, directed by Rosalba Rolón at the Puerto Rican
Traveling Theatre; La Carmencita with Opera Next Door at Lincoln Center; In the Heights for
the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; The Sound of Music; Peter Pan; Fame; The Last Five
Years; and Daddy Long Legs. Additional credits include The Baker’s Wife, Concert for America
2025, The People’s Filibuster, and the 50th HOLA Awards. Selected production management
credits include VIDA, starring Carolina Gaitán; Every Brilliant Thing; Barba; I Like It Like That;
and Pororoca. She is a board member of Anonymous Ensemble. @majoferrucho