Join us for a panel of New York theater professionals to talk about the state of the theater industry moderated by Richard Ridge (BroadwayWorld). Discussing the actor's experience, current state of financing a production, current trends on Broadway and off-Broadway, audience engagement and more.
This panel will include Frank DiLella (Journalist, NY1), Irene Gandy (Producer), Jenny Gersten (Artistic Director, City Center), Amber Gray (Actor), Rachel Hoffman (Casting, Telsey & Co.), Samuel D. Hunter (Playwright), Michael Park (Actor)
This panel will be a 60 minute moderated panel followed by 20 minutes audience questions.
Frank DiLella is a seasoned journalist with over two decades of experience covering New York City’s vibrant entertainment community. Known for his insightful interviews and comprehensive coverage as the host of ON STAGE on Spectrum News NY1, DiLella has established himself as a prominent voice in New York City’s arts and entertainment scene. Throughout his career, DiLella has conducted interviews with many legendary artists, including Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Vanessa Redgrave, Bono, Nathan Lane, Elton John, Ryan Murphy, Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Hugh Jackman, Tom Stoppard, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alicia Keys, Jane Fonda, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Chastain, Judith Light, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Lady Gaga, Tony Kushner, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Beyond his work at NY1 NEWS, DiLella has contributed to various outlets, including the Tony Awards, the Olivier Awards, Playbill, MANHATTAN Magazine, and Broadway Direct. He regularly appears on MSNBC's "Morning Joe", where he’s been affectionately referred to as “the Broadway guy”. He has also made appearances on The Tamron Hall Show, Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live," the AOL BUILD Series, BBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, CTV, and has been heard on The Broadway Podcast Network, iHeart Radio, and Sirius XM. In January 2022, DiLella executive produced and hosted the documentary “Reopening: The Broadway Revival”, featuring Sara Bareilles, Kristin Chenoweth, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and other notable theater artists. This PBS “Great Performances” special offered a unique glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of the Broadway industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. His latest documentary, “Playing The Palace”, about Broadway’s legendary Palace Theatre, debuted on PBS in May 2025 and featured Broadway icons including Bernadette Peters, Joel Grey, and Heather Headley.
Irene Gandy winner of the 2020 Tony Honors Excellence in Theatre Award, has recently been appointed to Drama League Board of Directors. She is the only Black female press agent member of ATPAM (Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers) for over 50 years. Working with Producer Jeffrey Richards for over 3 decades, she is a Tony-Award winning producer on Broadway for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and producer for recent revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, Our Town, Ohio State Murders, Lady Day At Emerson Bar and Grill starring Audra MacDonald. She was also co-producer with Voza Rivers of the National tour of South African musical Sarafina and 2025 created and produced Voza Rivers Legacy Series. In 2008, she became the first female press agent to be immortalized with a Sardi’s caricature. A fashionista known for her furs, in 2015 she launched a signature collection featured in Vogue Magazine and will debut a Lady Irene Fur line in 2022. Gandy’s recent productions include The Great Society, American Son, China Doll, Fiddler on the Roof, and You Can't Take It With You. Gandy began her career in 1968 as a publicist with Douglas Turner Ward and Robert Hooks’ Negro Ensemble Company. Since then, she has worked on over 100 Broadway shows, including August Osage County, Glengarry Glen Ross, Radio Golf, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Lena Horne: The Lady and her Music, and The Wiz. In addition to her work in theatre, she was Associate Director of Special Markets for CBS Records, working with such artists as Earth, Wind and Fire, The Jacksons, and Labelle, and her personal music clients include Freddie Jackson and Nona Hendryx. Gandy is the Press Consultant for Harlem Week, recipient of the 1997 National Action Network’s “Woman of Excellence Award,” the 2007 Vanguard Award from Black to Broadway Productions, the 2004 Black Public Relations Society Award, the 2013 “Inspire in"NewYork” Award, 2015 Pioneer Award for BLACK PRIDE NYC, and the 2015 Café Mocha “Salute Her” Media Legend Award. Other awards include "Project 1 Voice Lifetime Achievement" for outstanding achievements and vision to artistic excellence in the American Theater; 2017 HARLEM WEEK Vivian Robinson Arts & Culture Award; and "Life Changers" presented by WNBA players Teresa Weatherspoon and Rita Haywood for inspiring, transforming, and empowering others. In 2018, she was honored with Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO "Pioneer Award" for Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre. In 2019, she was honored with the NAACP-LGBQT David Weaver Prize for Excellence in the Arts. In 2020, Gandy was inducted into New York Public Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library as part of The League of Professional Theatre Women’s Oral History Project. Gandy currently serves on the boards Drama League( renamed in her honor Irene Gandy Assistant Directorship program) and New Heritage Theater. Ms. Gandy received the March on Washington Film Festival 2022 MARCH ON AWARD in recognition of leadership advancing Civil Rights and Social Justice.
Jenny Gersten is the VP & Artistic Director of Musical Theater for New York City Center where she programs and produces the renowned Encores! series. She sometimes produces commercially including on Broadway: Liberation, Beetlejuice, Just For Us (also Executive Producer of HBO capture), Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares (Edinburgh Fringe), the award-winning “pie shop” production of Sweeney Todd, and Gavin Creel's Walk on Through. Upcoming, Jonathan Spector's new play, Birthright at MCC. Previously, she was Artistic Director of Williamstown Theatre Festival, Executive Director of Friends of the High Line, Associate Producer of The Public Theater, Creative Producer for Virgin Voyages, and spent her early years at the grassroots theater mentoring organization, The 52nd Street Project.
Amber Gray has originated roles in numerous productions including: Elmire in Lucas Hnath’s Tartuffe at NYTW, Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle in Time at Arena Stage; Carina in Jonathan Spector’s rewritten Eureka Day on Broadway (Drama League Nom, Tony for Best Revival); Claudia in Here We Are, Sondheim's final musical, at The Shed; Persephone in Hadestown at NYTW (Lortel Nom), The Citadel (Sterling Award), The National, and on Broadway (Drama League, Chita Rivera, and Tony Noms. Outer Critics Circle, Grammy, and Tony for Best Musical Awards); Hélène in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at Ars Nova, Kazino, and on Broadway (Theatre World Award); Laurey in Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma! at Bard SummerScape; and Zoe in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon at PS 122, Soho Rep, and TFANA (Obie). Other theatre gems include The Oyster Radio Hour on Little Island, Rob Ashford’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in Tangier, Sam Gold’s Macbeth on Broadway (AEA’s St. Clair Bayfield Award), and Taylor Mac’s A 24 Decade History of Popular Music at NYLA/Under the Radar and BRIC's Celebrate Brooklyn! (Pulitzer Prize Finalist). Gray is a company member of The TEAM and has co-developed and performed in their Mission Drift, Primer for a Failed Superpower, Reconstruction, and the upcoming Mom Dance Practice. Gray is a longtime member of radical performance community Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir (Neil Young’s Love Earth Tour opener and new album The Sun is a Star that Keeps Me Warm). Other New Albums include Warriors and Kill the Whale. TV: “Long Bright River," Barry Jenkins' “Underground Railroad,” Broadway cult favorites “Submissions Only” and "The Gilded Age," and Ben Stiller's “Escape at Dannemora.” Film: Walden: Life in the Woods, Where There’s Smoke, Master, the upcoming Heartworm, Bunny Boi and the Submission, and Hadestown Live. MFA: NYU.
Rachel Hoffman has worked in casting since 1999. Current and past Broadway/Tours she has cast include MJ the Musical, Beetlejuice, Elf, Frozen, Come From Away, Suffs (tour), Diana, Escape to Margaritaville, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, An American In Paris, The Sound of Music, Memphis, Bring It On, Hands On A Hardbody, First Date, Rock of Ages, Spider-Man, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Regional/Off-Broadway productions include: Titanique (Off-Broadway), The Bedwetter (Atlantic), Titanic (New York City Center Encores!), Becoming Nancy (Alliance Theatre), Love In Hate Nation (Two River Theatre), Found (Atlantic), Brigadoon, The Music Man, and The Jungle Book (Goodman Theatre), Guys & Dolls and Candide (Carnegie Hall), Bat Boy (Off-Broadway), Altar Boyz, and Godspell (2000 Revival), The Muny. TV/Film: A Christmas Story: Live, Olga Dies Dreaming, and numerous commercials. She’s an adjunct faculty member at Ball State University, Co-Director of the MPulse Musical Theatre Program at the University of Michigan, and serves as the Director of Opportunity and Engagement for the Broadway Dreams Foundation. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan.
Samuel D. Hunter is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and producer whose deeply human stories explore faith, family and the American experience. This season, Hunter made his Broadway debut with the critically-acclaimed play, Little Bear Ridge Road, starring Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock and directed by Joe Mantello. He simultaneously made his West End debut with his play, Clarkston, starring breakout Joe Locke, which received a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best New Play. His extensive body of work has been produced Off Broadway and regionally, celebrated for its emotional precision, unflinching humanity, and deep connection to the interior West, particularly his native Idaho. His acclaimed plays include A Case for the Existence of God (New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award winner, Drama Desk nominee for Best Play), Greater Clements (Outer Critics Circle winner, Drama Desk nominee for Best Play) and Lewiston/Clarkston (Drama Desk nominee for Best Play). His play The Whale won Lucille Lortel, GLAAD Media, and Drama Desk Awards upon its Off Broadway debut, and Hunter went on to receive a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for the A24 film adaptation, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser in his Oscar-winning performance. A MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and Whiting Award recipient, Hunter continues to be one of the most vital and distinctive voices in contemporary theatre.
Michael Park Born and raised in Canandaigua, NY, Michael’s journey in show business began early, eventually leading him to graduate from Nazareth College and hone his craft at The Blackfriars Theatre in Rochester. His career gained significant momentum with a national tour of "Phantom of the Opera" and roles in notable New York productions like "Hello Again" and "Shenandoah". Park’s Broadway dreams were realized through performances in the revival of "Carousel" and a lead role in "Smokey Joe’s Café," which won a Grammy. He also spent 13 years portraying the iconic Jack Snyder on the CBS daytime serial "As the World Turns," a role that earned him two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2010 and 2011. In recent years, Park has continued to excel across theater and television, notably originating the role of Larry Murphy in the smash hit "Dear Evan Hansen," which garnered him both a Grammy and an Emmy. His diverse stage credits include "Tuck Everlasting," "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying," and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". On screen, he has appeared in several high-profile series such as "Stranger Things," "You," "Mindhunter," and "House of Cards," as well as the independent feature "Freak Show". Currently, he just finished his run in the La Jolla Playhouse production of "The Recipe".
