AMANDA LIPITZ
Amanda Lipitz is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. Her directorial debut and first feature-length documentary, STEP, premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film was purchased by Fox Searchlight and won the Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary. Lipitz’s second documentary, FOUND, which she directed and produced, was released on Netflix in 2021. She co-created (with her writing partner, Sandi Farkas) and directed MOTHERHACKER, a scripted podcast with Gimlet Media and Spotify starring Carrie Coon.
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Her Broadway producing credits include MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical), THE HUMANS (Tony Award, Best Play), A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play), THE PERFORMERS, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL, and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Off-Broadway, Amanda developed and produced BROOKLYNITE at The Vineyard Theatre (NY Times Critic’s Pick). On television, Amanda served as executive producer and creator of MTV's groundbreaking series LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL: THE SEARCH FOR ELLE WOODS.
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Lipitz cofounded KEY TO THE CITY PRODUCTIONS, a multimedia production company, with producing partner Henry Tisch in 2021. Upcoming stage projects include the new musical GALILEO (directed by Michael Mayer with book by Danny Strong and music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak and Michael Weiner), which had its world premiere developmental production in spring 2024 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, as well as the upcoming Broadway premiere of the acclaimed THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY starring Sarah Snook (Olivier Award, Best Actress). Film projects include a narrative film adaptation of STEP and a musical film adaptation of BROOKLYNITE directed by Lipitz, as well as original films in development. KEY TO THE CITY created and produced the historic SHABBAT ON BROADWAY, which held its inaugural service in January 2024 at the St. James Theatre.
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Lipitz is the recipient of the Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Directing Award and graduated with a BFA in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (where she serves on the Dean’s Council). She lives in New York City with her husband Greg Smith and their three children.
RAÚL ESPARZA
Raúl Esparza is an American stage and screen actor, recently starring as Galileo Galilei in GALILEO, the world-premiere musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, helmed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer and written by Zoe Sarnak, Michael Weiner, and two-time Emmy winner Danny Strong. In addition to performing in a staged reading of GALILEO at New York Stage and Film (2019), Esparza was featured in New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater production of THE WAVES (2018), a musical based on Virginia Woolf’s novel, with book and direction by Lisa Peterson, music and lyrics by David Bucknam, and additional music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.
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Since making his Broadway debut as Riff Raff in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in 2000, Esparza has become one of Broadway’s most acclaimed leading men and one of the most revered interpreters of Stephen Sondheim’s work. For his accomplishments, Esparza was the second performer in theater history, and one of only five overall, to receive Tony nominations in all four acting categories in which a performer is eligible: TABOO (Featured Actor in a Musical); COMPANY (Actor in a Musical); THE HOMECOMING (Featured Actor in a Play); and SPEED-THE-PLOW (Actor in a Play). His additional Broadway credits include lead roles in LEAP OF FAITH, ARCADIA, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, and CABARET.
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Off-Broadway, Esparza originated the role of Jonathan Larson in 2001 in TICK, TICK...BOOM!. His other Off-Broadway credits include OLIVER! (as Fagin in the first New York City revival in almost 40 years), SEARED, ROAD SHOW, THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI, CYMBELINE, THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, TWELFTH NIGHT, THE NORMAL HEART (as Ned Weeks in the first major revival since the original production), and COMEDIANS. His other notable theater credits include heralded turns as both Charley in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and Georges Seurat in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at the Kennedy Center’s 2002 Sondheim Celebration, Che in the 20th anniversary national tour of EVITA, and CHESS at the Kennedy Center. For his theater work, he is the recipient of an Obie, a Theater World Award, and three Drama Desk Awards, among others.
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On screen, Esparza is best known for his portrayals of Frederick Chilton on NBC’s Hannibal (2013-15) and Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2012-18). His other notable TV credits include MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD, CANDY, DOPESICK, THE PATH, BOJACK HORSEMAN, and PUSHING DAISIES. On film, his credits include FERDINAND, CUSTODY, TROUBLE IN THE HEIGHTS, MY SOUL TO TAKE, and Sidney Lumet’s FIND ME GUILTY.
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In 2020, in the immediate wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Esparza conceived of, executive produced, and performed in the online concert event TAKE ME TO THE WORLD: A SONDHEIM 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION on Broadway.com, to raise funds for Arts Ignite (formerly ASTEP, Artists Striving to End Poverty). Honoring the legendary composer for his milestone birthday—and entirely produced at home during the nation’s lockdown—the event has accumulated over 4 million views and features over 30 recorded performances, including Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Donna Murphy, and many more. The concert received a special Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Concert Production; citations as a “Best of 2020” program from The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, NPR's Fresh Air, and The New Yorker; and is now preserved in the Library of Congress.