An actress, director, and producer best known for playing the role of Jo Polniaczek on the beloved long-running 1980s sitcom, “The Facts of Life.” She starred in and produced the sitcom “Can’t Hurry Love” and starred with Jean Smart in the sitcom “Style & Substance.” She portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama “The Division” from 2001 to 2004. She also directed two episodes. McKeon starred in numerous made-for-TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s, some including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and Firefighter portraying the first female firefighter in Los Angeles County. Strange Voices, she portrayed a woman with schizophrenia. “Love, Honor and Obey”; “The Last Mafia Marriage” , mini series with Eric Roberts. She produced many of these movies through her film company, Forest Hills Entertainment. In 1999, she wrote and directed her own short film, A Wakening. The film won two film festival awards.

Gail performed the role of Mags opposite Nancy McKeon and Nia Vardalos at the Theatre at St. Clement’s this past winter, and is thrilled to be teaming up with Nancy once again at the DR2! Other acting credits include originating roles in Pen Pals (NJ Rep); Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women (59E59, Edinburgh Festival Fringe); Missa Solemnis (Shotgun Productions); Beyond Gravity (NJ Rep); and What I Heard About Iraq (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), as well as numerous tours throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe, As a director, producer, and/or creative consultant, Gail has collaborated on 50+ theater projects globally including Not Another Deaf Story at the Group Repertory Theatre in LA, TimeSlips at HERE Arts Center in NYC, and multiple award-winning productions at the internationally acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As an educator, Gail has taught for the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway, Kean University, Marymount Manhattan College, NYU/Lee Strasberg Studio, American Globe Theatre, National Shakespeare Company, and Theatre for a New Audience, as well as serving as guest lecturer at Stockholm University in Sweden, Starfish Academy in West Africa, and the Jakarta International School in Indonesia – among others.

Michelle Clunie is an award-winning veteran actress, born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Michelle stepped foot on stage at seven years old, first appearing in plays, operas and ballets.

She made her stage debut in Los Angeles at 23, in A Comedy of Eros, earning her a Drama-Logue award. She went on to star in numerous television, film and theatre productions earning awards in all three mediums, including a Backstage Readers’ Choice Award for her performance in The WestCoast premiere of Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat. In 2012 she wrote, produced, and starred in the off-Broadway play Us earning rave reviews, as an actress as well as writer, with critics comparing her style to Aaron Sorkin and Thornton Wilder.

Michelle is most often recognized as ‘Melanie Marcus’ in the groundbreaking series QUEER AS FOLK. The Boston Globe hailed her amazing performance as, “what Queer As Folk can be at its best, honest and unashamed”. The popular series was based on the original British series, but the American remake for Showtime/Showcase, remains incredibly popular to this day, with a passionate, continually building fan-base.

Most recently Clunie wrapped shooting the powerful short film, EVERYTHING’S FINE, about PTSD after a mass shooting. Michelle also recurred on the hit MTV show TEEN WOLF; as well as MAKE IT OR BREAK IT on ABC Family. Up next, she stars in the mystery thriller, BURIED TRUTHS.

Recognized and beloved by audiences worldwide for her starring role in the Emmy Award winning ANNE OF GREEN GABLES TV movies, Megan Follows has had a stunning and varied career in television, film and theatre. Her most recent iconic role brought her back into the international spotlight, portraying “Queen Catherine de’Medici” in the CW Network/CBS Studios series REIGN, which chronicled the rise to power of Mary Queen of Scots. Follows was nominated each year for a CSA, for her layered portrayal of this fan-favorite villain.

Follows began acting at the age of nine, landing her first leading role in the series MATT AND JENNY when she was eleven, and starring in the Oscar-winning short film BOYS AND GIRLS.

Follows went on to star in such iconic films as HOCKEY NIGHT, opposite Rick Moranis; INHERIT THE WIND, opposite Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards; Stephen King’s SILVER BULLET; Gregory Nava’s A TIME OF DESTINY with William Hurt and Timothy Hutton; and UNDER THE PIANO, in which she starred with the legendary soprano, Teresa Stratas.

Follows has shown incredible range in her illustrious career, appearing in celebrated television series including: HOUSE M.D.; HEARTLAND; CSI, ER; LAW AND ORDER; LONGMIRE; OCTOBER FACTION; THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH; RABBIT HOLE; and Syfy’s genre-breaking hit series, WYNONNA EARP. The daughter of legendary Canadian theatre actors, Ted Follows and Dawn Greenhalgh, Follows first embraced her theatrical lineage in the highly acclaimed Stratford Festival production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Richard Monet, and the televised version of the live stage play, directed by Norman Campbell. She has appeared on stage in Uncle Vanya at the Geffen Playhouse, The Seagull at the Old Globe Theatre, and A Doll’s House at the Guthrie, along with Soulpepper Theatre performances of ‘Night Mother, Top Girls, The Real Thing, Fool For Love and Three Sisters, which earned her Dora Award Nominations. Other theatre credits include “Jane” in This at the Vancouver Playhouse, “Desdemona” in Othello at the NAC, her critically lauded performance in the Mirvish production of Cloud 9, and the title role in Nightwood Theatre’s The Penelopiad directed by Kelly Thorton, which won the 2012 Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role/Ensemble. She directed the Grand Theatre’s production of The Penelopiad, starring Seanna McKenna, and Nightwood Theatre’s The Carousel, starring Allegra Fulton.

Now, Follows divides her time between directing and acting. Last spring, she returned to the stage, to rave reviews, starring in Four Minutes, Twelve Seconds at Tarragon Theatre; and was seen last fall in the Crave original comedy series MY DEAD MOM, for which she received a CSA nomination for her indelible performance.

Follows has received both Directors Guild of Canada and Canadian Screen Awards for her work as a director for television. She has directed across genres for Netflix, Lifetime, CBC, The CW, Hulu, Hallmark Channel, and Audible Originals. She is currently touring the festival circuit

Sharna has been part of the DWTS family both in the USA and Australia, first as a dancer for 14 seasons, then as a judge. From life partners to dance partners, Sharna took to the stage with Brian Austin Green for Season 30 of DWTS, soon after their elimination, they discovered they were expecting their first child together. In 2018, Sharna took home the coveted Mirror ball trophy alongside radio host Bobby Bones. Sharna also previously placed 2nd with NFL player Josh Norman, Indy Car driver James Hinchcliff and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. In 2019 she became the sole female judge for Dancing with the Stars in Australia on Network Ten for 2 seasons. In 2023 Sharna headed home again to judge DWTS Australia for the Seven Network, also returning in 2024 and 2025.

Before her Dancing With The Stars fame Sharna was an Australian Champion and represented her country in the World Championships at the young age of 15. At 18 she moved to London and was cast in a UK theatre tour of Simply Ballroom, directly followed by a six-year stint in the hit dance sensation Burn The Floor. The production’s success catapulted it to the West End and to Broadway, where Sharna was an original member of its American cast.

In 2012, Sharna moved into the movie industry, choreographing British dance drama film Street Dance 2: 3D.

Sharna’s other credits include choregraphing for Shonda Rhimes’ award winning series How To Get Away With Murder, Strictly Come Dancing, Backstreet Boys Vegas show, hosting for Extra TV and So You Think You Can Dance in the US and Australia, Flirty Dancing.

Broadway: Boeing-Boeing (Gloria), Chicago (Roxie). National tours: Sweet Charity(Charity), The Vagina Monologues, Beauty and the Beast (Babette). Favorite Regional: An Act Of God (God) at Arizona Theater Company (Directed by Marsha Mason), Always, Patsy Cline (Louise), title role in Hello, Dolly at Pioneer Theatre Company, title role in The Drowsy Chaperone at Pittsburgh CLO, and the title role in Mame at North Shore Music Theater. Senga in the world premiere of Dancing Lessons at Barrington Stage Co., April in Company at Missouri Repertory Theater, Val in A Chorus Line at Austin Music Theater, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Chicago Cultural Center. Television/Film: Emmy Award-nominated host of Home Made Simple (OWN). Host: Home and Family (Hallmark). Host: Trading Spaces (TLC). FBI: Most Wanted, The Unicorn, Being Michael Madsen. Her book, Paige by Paige spent several weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.

BROADWAY: Angels in America (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), Racing Demon, Dance With Me. OFF-BROADWAY: Wit (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, Connecticut Critics Circle, and Obie Awards), For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, A Walk in the Woods (Drama Desk nomination), Talking Heads (Obie Award), Nine Armenians (Drama Desk nomination), Henry V (Callaway Award). LONDON & LOS ANGELES: Ovation Awards for Wit and Red Dog Howls. FILM: Isn’t it Delicious?, R.I.P.D., Lackawanna Blues, Perfect Stranger, Kinsey, Laramie Project, Random Hearts. SELECT TELEVISION “The Affair,” “The Strain,” “The Americans,” “House of Cards,” “The Book of Daniel,” “One Life to Live”; “Madam Secretary,” “Elementary. AWARDS: 1996 OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence, 2004 Lortel Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance, 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the League of Professional Women, and the 2018 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. She received the Drama League and Sidney Kingsley Awards and an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Cooper Union.

Ellen McLaughlin has worked extensively in regional, international and New York theater, both as an actor and as a playwright. Acting work includes originating the part of the Angel in Angels in America, playing the role in workshops and regional productions through its original Broadway run. Other favorite work includes Violet in August Osage County at Missouri Rep, King Lear in King Lear at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Nancy in Seascape at ACT, San Francisco, the Homebody in Homebody/Kabul (Intiman, Seattle, WA), Pirate Jenny in A Threepenny Opera (Trinity Rep. Elliot Norton Award), Claire in Albee’s A Delicate Balance (Arena Stage, Yale Repertory Theater), Margie in Good People (George St. Theater, Seattle Rep.) Penelope, and The Year of Magical Thinking, (Playmakers’ Rep. NC.) Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (The McCarter, Paper Mill, N.J.)Her plays have been produced Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. She has taught playwriting at Barnard College since 1995.

Broadway: Pippin (also toured the US and played Tokyo), original Camila Rosario in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Anna in the Tropics, Harpo Marx in A Day in Hollywood A Night in the Ukraine (Tony Award for Best Featured Actress), original Diana Morales in A Chorus Line (OBIE Award, Tony Award nomination), where she introduced the songs “Nothing” and “What I Did For Love.” Lincoln Center Theater: The Gardens of Anuncia, The Skin of Our Teeth. Select Television: Recurring on B Positive and Law & Order: SVU; New Amsterdam, Blindspot, Madam Secretary. Film: Jennifer Lopez’s mother in Maid in Manhattan, Center Stage, Musical Chairs, Swimming with the Fishes, Christmas Again, Humor Me, Looks to Kill.

Pauletta Pearson Washington is currently reprising her role as ‘Mama Lu’ and is in production on Season 3 of the Kerry Washington-produced legal drama “Reasonable Doubt” on Hulu. She previously appeared in the anthology film “Tell It Like a Woman,” starring opposite Jennifer Hudson in a segment directed by Taraji P. Henson. She also appeared in National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha” as well as in Season 2 of Spike Lee’s Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It.” 

Pauletta’s other film credits include “Steps,” executive produced by Shaquille O’Neal, “The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story,” directed by Nelson George, “The Watsons Go to Birmingham,” directed by Kenny Leon, “Beloved,” directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover, “Purlie,” directed by Rudi Goldman, and “Wilma,” starring Cicely Tyson and Denzel Washington. Pauletta was also a featured vocalist on the soundtrack for the film “Philadelphia,” starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, and a featured pianist in the soundtrack for the film “Antwone Fisher,” starring and directed by Denzel Washington. 

Pauletta is also a veteran on the stage, having worked with some of theater’s biggest names, including Jule Styne, Jerry Herman, Phyllis Newman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Carol Hall, Tommy Tune, and Lesley Gore. She has shared the stage with Amy Grant, Michael McDonald, and Sheila E., among many others, performing on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Theater, Carnegie Hall, The Billie Holiday Theater, and more. Pauletta has also appeared off-Broadway in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” and “Desperate Writers”. She most recently appeared in Michael Griffo‘s “Pen Pals” as ‘Mags,’ opposite Kate Burton.

 Marcia Cross is best known for her iconic role as Bree Van de Kamp on the hit ABC series Desperate Housewives, which earned her three Golden Globe nominations and a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Most recently, she starred Off-Broadway in Pay the Writer by Tawni O’Dell, opposite Bryan Batt and Ron Canada. She also appeared alongside Rob Morrow in the Ruskin Group Theatre production of The Substance of Fire by Jon Robin Baitz.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Cross began her career on stage at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Hartford Stage Company, and The Old Globe Theatre, where she played Viola in Twelfth Night and Silvia in Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Her other notable television credits include the cult favorite Melrose Place on Fox and the critically acclaimed drama Everwood.

Cross recently recurred on the Fox musical drama Monarch, opposite Anna Friel, and appeared in the hit Netflix psychological thriller You.

Catherine Curtin is a well-known Independent Film Festival actor. Theatre credits include: RECURRING (Labyrinth 59E59), CONSCENT (Steinberg Center), SO HELP ME GOD (Lucille Lortel), TOBACCO ROAD (LaJolla Playhouse), AUNT DAN & LEMON (New Group). Recent film project she has starred in have been presented The Tribecca Film Festival with BAD SHABBOS, The Cannes Film Festival with PROOF, The Palm Springs Film Festival with GALAPAGOS, The Provincetown Film Festival with HANGDOG, and the Tribeca Film Festival with BAD SHABBOS and BRENDA AND BILLY.  Films currently streaming: 18 ½, WEREWOLVES WITHIN, RED PILL, WORTH, BAD EDUCATION, BLUSH, WHAT BREAKS THE ICE, BEAUTYMARK, THE HALF OF IT, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. TELEVISION: STRANGER THINGS, PARTNER TRACK, HOMELAND, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, INSECURE, AWKWAFINA, TOMMY, THE LOUDEST VOICE, BLACKLIST, MINDHUNTER, BLUE BLOODS; BULL; L&O; and SURVEILLANCE. Winner: SAG Award for Best Ensemble 2015 and 2016, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and nominated SAG Award Best Ensemble 2018 STRANGER THINGS. Instagram #@catecurtin

Montego Glover is a Tony Award nominee, two-time Drama Desk Award winner, Outer Critics’ Circle Award winner and honoree, and Drama League Award nominee. Broadway: Mama Rose in the Tony Nominated revival of Gypsy and The Witch in the Tony Nominated revival of Into The Woods, Memphis(Tony Award nominee, Drama Desk & OCC winner), Les Miserables, It Shoulda Been You, The Color Purple, Hamilton (Chicago Company). Off Broadway: The Royale (Lincoln Center Theater, Drama Desk Award), All The Natalie Portmans (MCC, OCC Honor). Selected TV/Film: “The Blacklist”, “Inventing Anna”, “Evil”, “Bull”, “Black Box”, “The Following”, “Hostages”, “Smash”, “The Good Wife”, “White Collar”, “Every Little Secret”, “Golden Boy”, “Made in Jersey”, “Law & Order”. As a voiceover artist, Ms. Glover enjoys numerous commercial campaigns as well as projects in animation, gaming, television and narration. Most recently, voicing characters on the animated feature Entergalactic for Netflix.

Upcoming: the critically acclaimed animated series Alma’s Way for PBS Kids. @MontegoGlover MontegoGlover.com

Sharon can be seen now as the mischievous Missy in the Paramount+ series JOE PICKETT based on the bestseller novel series starring Michael Dorman. Other recent series regular roles are on Showtime as Louise ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA opposite Kirsten Dunst and on AppleTV as an elusive librarian in HOME BEFORE DARK from writer Dana Fox and Dara Resnick. Many recurring roles include a schemer in REBEL with Katey Sagal, a serial killer in CRIMINAL MINDS, Fiona’s acerbic boss on Showtime’s SHAMELESS, Sam Elliott’s easy going love interest in THE RANCH for Netflix and a complicated mother in the critically acclaimed series QUEEN SUGAR produced by Ava Duvernay and an even MORE complicated mother- a retired barrel racer turned crime boss- on the hit Western reboot, WALKER.

From the soapy sexy Laura Van Kirk in CW’s DYNASTY to arguing before the Supreme Court in the unforgettable crossover episode of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and SCANDAL, whether a warm lover for Sir Patrick Stewart in BLUNT TALK or a worn out mother opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in SOLACE, versatility is Sharon’s specialty.

She has headlined her own comedy series FIRED UP produced by Kelsey Grammar for NBC and starred in LADIES MAN starring Alfred Molina and Betty White for CBS.

Sharon originated the role of “Katharine Graham” in the one woman play THE SHOT that has played to sold out houses over the past two years. It tells the story of the first female publisher of a major American newspaper and the lesser known details of her personal life and difficult marriage. New Jersey Stage called it a “stunning theatrical experience” and a “superb performance”. Her ‘master class” performance (The Berkshire Edge) won her Best Performance at the United Solo Festival in New York in 2022. Additionally, the show won Best Production and Audience Favorite.

She continues to be recognized from her multiple Emmy nominated and SAG Award winning role of ADA Sylvia Costas in the groundbreaking NYPD BLUE and as Izzy’s tender but ditsy mother on GREY’S ANATOMY (for which she earned her fourth Emmy nod.) Her fifth Emmy nomination came in 2021 as Lead Actress in a Digital Series for THE GAZE.

Other film work includes THE LOST HUSBAND with Leslie Bibb and Josh Duhamel, OF MIND AND MUSIC with Aunjanue Ellis and the indie MIDDLE OF NOWHERE directed by Ava Duvernay.

An accomplished stage actress and 2012 Lunt-Fontane Ten Chimney’s Fellow, Sharon appeared in the West Coast premiere of A KID LIKE JAKE directed by Jennifer Chambers. Other LA theater credits include her acclaimed performance in THE MYSTERY OF LOVE AND SEX at the Mark Taper Forum, portraying twenty different women in the LOVE, NOEL cabaret at The Wallis, Noel Coward’s final play A SONG AT TWILIGHT at the Pasadena Playhouse, she created the role of ‘Maureen’ in Theresa Rebeck’s POOR BEHAVIOR at the Mark Taper Forum and portrayed Vivian Leigh inORSON’S SHADOW for which she was nominated for an Ovation Award and received the LA Drama Critics Circle Award. Sharon was part of a rotating cast in Nora and Delia Ephron’s Off-Broadway play LOVE, LOSS & WHAT I WORE, and starred opposite Cherry Jones in TONGUE OF A BIRD at the Public Theatre. Her most recent Broadway appearance was as ‘Velma Kelly’ in CHICAGO.

Sharon is a North Carolina native, claiming both Charlotte and Raleigh as her home towns. She graduated from UNC-CHapel hill in 1983 with a BA in Journalism and a 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts from North Carolina Wesleyan University in 2021. She was a founding member of the North Carolina Theatre family and has appeared on many stages in the state over the decades.

She is a current member of and past Chair of the Board for the Heal the Bay https://healthebay.org/ and serves as Second Vice President at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. https://sagaftra.foundation/
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/sharonelawrence/?hl=en

Maureen is an actress, author and singer. She is best known for portraying Marcia Brady on the iconic ABC series, “The Brady Bunch,” as well as numerous other television appearances. Maureen competed on season 23 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and through her overall deal with Discovery was featured on the HGTV series “A Very Brady Renovation.” She is the New York Times best-selling author of her memoir “Here’s The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.” Her theatre credits include playing ‘Betty Rizzo’ in GREASE on Broadway and ‘Wendy Darling’ in the national touring production of PETER PAN.

Donna Lynne Champlin is an OBIE, Drama Desk, Princess Grace, and Gracie Award winning actress best known as “Paula Proctor” on The CW’s Emmy award winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, “Barb” in Feel the Beat and “Detective Nikki Henry” in The Perfect Couple, both on NETFLIX. Broadway: James Joyce’s The Dead, By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, Sweeney Todd, and Billy Elliot. Off Broadway: First Lady Suite, Almost Maine, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Working, The Qualms and As You Like It and Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare in the Park. Other Film/TV: Law and Order SVU, Elsbeth, The First Lady, The Good Doctor, Blacklist, Another Period, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Birdman, Downsizing and Yes, God, Yes. DL can be heard on numerous recordings and voice overs for Disney, Nickelodeon, WB, Netflix. Training: Carnegie Mellon (where she and Emily Skinner became fast friends) and Oxford Universities.

BROADWAY: Suffs (Drama Desk nomination), New York New York,The Cher Show, Prince of Broadway(Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Side Show (Tony nomination, Drama League Award), Jekyll & Hyde, The Full Monty, James Joyce’s The Dead, Dinner at Eight (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Billy Elliot (BroadwayWorld Award). NATIONAL TOURS: Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Billy Elliot, Disney’s On The Record. OFF-BROADWAY: Picnic (Transport Group, Drama Desk nomination) My Life With Albertine (Playwrights Horizons), Jerry Springer The Opera (Carnegie Hall); Fiorello!, No Strings, Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (all at City Center Encores!); also originated roles at Roundabout Theatre Company, York Theatre, WPA Theatre, Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Gardens. REGIONAL: multiple roles at The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Theatre Under The Stars, Ford’s Theatre, Virginia Rep, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, American Conservatory Theatre, Long Wharf, Old Globe, Goodspeed, Bucks County Playhouse, St. Louis MUNY, and many others. She has sung with symphonies internationally and her numerous CD recordings may be found at iTunes and Amazon.com.

www.emily-skinner.com

Broadway: An American in Paris, A Free Man of Color, La Cage aux Folles, Caroline, or Change, The Dinner Party, Company, Smile. Off-Broadway shows at Vineyard, TFANA, Signature, NYTW, The Public, MTC, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, Women’s Project, Rattlestick. Shakespeare Theatre Company: Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, Merry Wives of Windsor, Way of the World, The Beaux Stratagem. TV/Film includes “Summoning Sylvia,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Mandalorian,” “New Amsterdam,” “NCIS New Orleans,” “Seinfeld,” “Cinderella,” Erin Brockovich, You’ve Got Mail. Web Series: “Indoor Boys” and “Cady Did.” She has been nominated for Tony, Emmy, Outer Critics, and Helen Hayes Awards and has received special Drama Desk and Obie Awards for Excellence in the Theatre.

Melissa Gilbert is an Emmy winning, Golden Globe nominated actor, director, producer, and NY Times Best Selling author. As a producer her recent film Guest Artist, written by and starring Jeff Daniels premiered in 2019 at The Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

As an actress Melissa’s career began at the age of 2 appearing in commercials and guest spots.  Melissa achieved iconic status by the age of 19 after a 10 year run on the television classic Little House On The Prairie ( Golden Globe Nomination).  She has starred in over fifty television movies and feature films including The Miracle Worker (Emmy Nomination), The Diary of Anne Frank and Splendor in the Grass. Her television series credits include Little House on the Prairie (Golden Globe Nomination, 2 Young Artist Awards), Sweet Justice, Stand By Your Man and Secrets and Lies for ABC.  Her company, Halfpint Productions, produced several films including The Miracle Worker (Emmy Award). 

Melissa made her stage debut in 1979 as Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker”. A member of the legendary Actor’s Studio, Melissa’s other professional theater credits include Laura in Glass Menagerie, Elma Duckworth in Bus Stop, Melissa Gardner in Love Letters, and Rose White, a role she created,  in “A Shayna Maidel,” (Outer Critic’s Circle Award and Theater World Award). In 2008 Melissa also created the role of Ma in the Guthrie Theater’s presentation of Little House on the Prairie:The Musical, and toured North America the following year. In 2014 Melissa played M’Lynn in a production of Steel Magnolias at the Totem Pole Playhouse. Melissa’s  off Broadway credits include If Only:A Love Story at the Cherry Lane, The Dead 1904 with the Irish Repertory Company, My Brilliant Divorce at the New Ohio Theater and Still at The Sheen Center. In 2020 Melissa starred in the premiere of the critically acclaimed play When Harry Met Rehab at the Greenhouse theater center in Chicago.  In 2025 she will join the cast of the hit Hallmark Channel series, When Class the Heart as the character, Georgie McGill.

As an author Melissa has penned four best-selling books;  Prairie Tale: A Memoir (New York Times Best Seller)  Daisy and Josephine, a children’s book,My Prairie Cookbook and  Back To the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered.

In 1996, Melissa made her television directing debut with the ABC after school special “Me and My Hormones,”

Melissa was president of Screen Actors Guild for two terms 2001-2004. She served on the executive council of the AFL-CIO, The California Film Commission and in 2016 was the democratic nominee for Michigan’s 8th congressional district.

In 2015 Melissa and her husband Timothy Busfield co-starred, co-wrote and co-produced the multi-award winning short film” One Smart Fellow”.

Gilbert was honored with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Achievement Award and when she was twenty-one, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Melissa is very proud to tell people that her star is just a short walk from her father’s.

In 2022 Melissa and her partner Nicole Haase launched a lifestyle line called Modern Prairie. Modern Prairie is a brand centered around modern, mature women and their needs, focusing on empowering them to regain their confidence through aging. “As we age it can feel like a struggle to be seen and heard which can result in us feeling isolated or that we don’t belong. At Modern Prairie, we want to change that by creating a space where women can share their stories, ask questions and learn from each other.”

Melissa divides her time between her home in the Catskills and an apartment in NYC which she shares with her husband Tim Busfield, their dog, Chicago and their 4 chickens.

She is the proud mother/stepmother of six sons and one stepdaughter. She is also grandmother/step-grandmother to her absolutely perfect, brilliant grandchildren, Lulabelle, Ruby, Eli, Vito, Aury, Bowen, Ripley, Rosemary and Casper

Randy Graff’s multifaceted career as actress and singer has made her at home on Broadway and  Off Broadway stages, regional theater and concert halls from coast to coast as well as in film and  television. 

Along the way she has received the coveted Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her role in CITY  OF ANGELS, as well as an Outer Critics, Drama Desk and Tony Award Nomination for her  work in A CLASS ACT. 

Ms. Graff had the distinction of creating the role of Fantine in the original Broadway production  of LES MISERABLES for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Her work for  playwright Neil Simon includes LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR opposite Nathan Lane and  HOTEL SUITE for the prestigious Roundabout Theater Company. Other Broadway starring  roles include MR. SATURDAY NIGHT opposite Billy Crystal, FALSETTOS, HIGH  SOCIETY, and sharing the stage with Carol Burnett in MOON OVER BUFFALO. She co  starred with Alfred Molina in the 2004 revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and received a  Best Actress Drama League Nomination and Outer Critic’s Circle Nomination. Her Off  Broadway credits include Richard Greenberg’s THE BABYLON LINE (Lucille Lortel Award,  Drama Desk Nomination) for Lincoln Center, Paula Vogel’s THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE  HOME at the Vineyard Theater for which she received a Drama League Nomination,  MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD for Primary Stages, DO RE MI also starring Nathan Lane for  City Center Encores!, DAMN YANKEES with Sean Hayes for ENCORES! SUMMER STARS  and the original production of A…MY NAME IS ALICE at the Village Gate. 

Ms. Graff has performed literally from coast to coast in regional theaters including Hartford  Stage, New Jersey’s McCarter Theater, San Diego’s Old Globe where she portrayed legendary  columnist Ann Lander’s as THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS (a one woman show) and  at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., where she proudly portrayed the Countess in A  LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in the renowned Sondheim festival in 2002. 

Randy’s television and film work includes LEARNING TO DRIVE, NOTES FROM THE  UNDERBELLY, CASHMERE MAFIA, LAW AND ORDER, MAD ABOUT YOU, MOON  OVER BROADWAY, KEYS TO TULSA and guest appearances on THE TONIGHT SHOW  with Johnny Carson and ROSIE O’DONNELL. She can be heard on the original cast albums of  MR. SATURDAY NIGHT, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (2004 revival), A CLASS ACT, CITY  OF ANGELS, LES MISERABLES, DO RE MI, HIGH SOCIETY, BROADWAY SCENE  STEALERS: THE WOMEN, ULTIMATE BROADWAY 2 and DOING SOMETHING  RIGHT- RANDY GRAFF SINGS CY COLEMAN, her solo CD. In concert, Randy has graced  the stages of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and The Kennedy Center. 

Ms. Graff has served on the musical theatre faculties at Manhattan School of Music and  NYU/TISCH New Studio on Broadway. She holds an honorary doctorate in the Performing Arts  from Wagner College.

Born in New York City, Brooke began acting at age 6 at her father’s summer theatre. At 16 she landed a TV series with Burl Ives, O.K.CRACKERBY!. In 2022, The Harvard Film Archive curated a retrospective of her films. She has starred in movies such as: Terrence Malick’s DAYS OF HEAVEN, Phillip Kauffman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, Richard Lester’s CUBA, David Cronenberg’s THE DEAD ZONE, Allison Ander’s GAS FOOD AND LODGING, Barnet Kelman’s KEY EXCHANGE, Lee Grants’ TELL ME A RIDDLE, Michael Roemer’s VENGEANCE IS MINE and Tony Shalhoub’s MADE-UP. Her theatre credits include KEY EXCHANGE, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE PHILANDERER with Christopher Walken and Samuel Becket’s HAPPY DAYS.

She met her husband, Tony Shalhoub, while performing in Wendy Wasserstein’s THE HEIDI CHRONICLES on Broadway. Brooke returned to Broadway with her husband in Stanley Tucci’s production of LEND ME A TENOR. Most recently, she appeared in the Off-Broadway production of MAD WOMEN OF THE WEST.

On television, she has been featured on numerous episodes of MONK. Before riding on Tony’s coattails, Brooke appeared in THRITY SOMETHING, MOONLIGHTING, FAMILY, THE LION OF AFRICA, SPECIAL PEOPLE with Liberace. She also starred in the miniseries LACE and LACE II. She has performed in BRAIN DEAD with her husband and most recently can be seen in MR. MONKS LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE. Outside of her acting work, Brooke is a painter, and she has two daughters with her husband.

With the energy of a teenager, the wisdom of a sage, and the memory of a superhero, five-time Golden Globe nominee Marilu Henner has done it all.  Broadway: Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Chicago, Social Security, Pal Joey, Over Here, Grease; National Tours: Annie Get Your Gun (Jefferson Award), Chicago, Grease; Off Broadway: My First Ex-Husband, The Journals of Adam & Eve, Madwomen of the West (NYC, LA, London); 79 films: LA Story, Noises Off, Hammett, Imperfections, etc. and 31 Hallmark movies; Emmy Award winning sitcoms: TAXI and Evening Shade; numerous television appearances including: The Neighborhood, Greys Anatomy, CSI Los Angeles, Two and a Half Men, Bob Hearts Abishola, The Crazy Ones, and Brooklyn 99. 

 

A New York Times Best Selling author of ten books: Total Health Makeover, 30-Day Total Health Makeover, I Refuse to Raise a Brat, Healthy Life Kitchen, Healthy Kids, Healthy Holidays, Wear Your Life Well, By All Means, Keep on Moving, Total Memory Makeover, and Changing Normal: How I Helped My Husband Beat Cancer, Marilu has spoken before Congress eleven times on subjects including Alzheimer’s disease, dietary supplements, women’s cardiovascular disease, The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2010, the Veggie Caucus, deadbeat parents, and she was one of only a few private citizens selected to contribute to the shaping of our government’s food pyramid in 2004 and 2014. Marilu lectures throughout the country as a keynote speaker on topics including memory, diet and fitness, women’s health issues, cardiovascular disease, cancer survival, child rearing, and Hospice advocacy, as well as lifestyle, entertainment, and business organization strategies.

 

Henner is one of twelve people documented with HSAM (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory) and was the subject of a five-part special on 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia and served as the consultant on the CBS series Unforgettable during its five-year run.  She is currently the subject of a new documentary on Memory produced by the award-winning Calliope Pictures. 

 

Marilu was in the original production of Grease in Chicago and created the role of Marty. She also sits on the board of Bucks County Playhouse where she recreated her Broadway role in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife opposite fellow board member Marsha Mason, starred in Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike with Christopher Durang, and recently reprised her role as Belinda in Noises Off and was nominated for a Theater World Award Regional.  

 

Marilu hosted and executive produced two talk shows (Marilu and Shape Up Your Life) and the nationally syndicated radio show, The Marilu Henner Show and has had thousands of guest appearances on talk shows, earning her the title “Talk Show Guest of the Year” several years in a row. Henner competed on Celebrity Apprentice (2008), Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars (2013), and Dancing with the Stars (2016).

 

Currently hosting the podcast Between the Sheets with Marilu Henner, she can be seen this year in Indy films (Miss Valentine, Rock & Doris Try to Write a Movie, Higher Love), and in Hallmark’s Aurora Teagarden prequel.  She can also be heard as the English dub in 32 Netflix and Disney International projects and tours the country in her critically acclaimed one woman show, Memory Girl!  Marilu is married to Michael Brown, CEO of BrownTrout Publishers and is the proud mother of Nick (award winning director of Theater Camp) and Joey Lieberman (Emmy winning producer for NBC sports.)

CARMEN CUSACK starred on Broadway in Flying Over Sunset, earning a second Tony Award nomination in as many Broadway shows. She was previously nominated for her acclaimed lead performance in Bright Star. Off-Broadway/Tour: Call Me Madam (Encores!), Carrie (MCC), South Pacific (Tour), Wicked (Tour). West End/UK: Les Misérables, The Secret Garden, Personals, Phantom of the Opera, Over The Rainbow. Regional: Bull Durham (Paper Mill Playhouse, Theatre Raleigh), 3 Summers of Lincoln (La Jolla Playhouse), Sweeney Todd (Muny), Designing Women (TheatreSquared), First Wives Club (Chicago), Sunday in the Park with George (Chicago Shakespeare). Film: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, American Fiction. TV: Sorry For Your Loss (Facebook).

Gina Torres has spent the past thirty years establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the screen.

With her fan-favorite character of Jessica Pearson on USA Network’s hit original series “Suits,” Torres broke boundaries when, in 2019, she became the first Afro-Latina to create, star in and produce a TV series, “Pearson,” which saw Jessica take on the world of Chicago politics. The role was a life-changing one, earning Torres an ALMA Award, an Imagen Award (as well as multiple additional Imagen nominations), and the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Award for Outstanding Performance in a Television Series and the Visionary Award from the LA Femme Film Festival.

Included amongst Torres’s most notable television credits are her performances as the Russo- Cuban assassin Anna Espinosa on “Alias,” the shotgun-toting mercenary Zoe Washburn on Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” (whom she also played in his feature film SERENITY) and the soul-eating Jasmine on Whedon’s “Angel.”

Most recently, Torres was seen in FOX’s “9-1-1: Lone Star,” which wrapped its 5th and final season earlier this year. On the show, she portrayed paramedic captain Tommy Vega, who answered a call to action and returned to work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2022, Torres received the Actress Award for Television at the 2nd Annual Critics Choice Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television for her role on the series. Torres also recently portrayed Kepper Yennen in Prime Video’s animated series “The Legend of Vox Machina” and Ms. Moreno in the Disney+ animated series “Kindergarten: The Musical.” On the film side, Torres starred as Darcy, a cutthroat fashion mogul, in Netflix’s THE PERFECT FIND. The film follows Jenna (Gabrielle Union) as she returns to New York to resurrect her fashion career after a messy public breakup and is hired by Darcy (Gina).

Torres is accustomed to playing influential women on screen, and translates that responsibility into her personal life. A trailblazer in her own right, Torres speaks often on the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the media, and uses her free time to mentor up and coming Latinx and Afro-Latinx talent. Torres is also heavily involved with charities and regularly donates proceeds to Feeding America and No Kid Hungry.

Additional television credits include “The Catch,” “Hannibal,” “Revenge,” “Huge,” “The Shield,” “24,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Flash Forward,” “Gossip Girl,” “Boondocks,” and “The Vampire Diaries.” She has also voiced the roles of Vixen in “The Justice League” series and Superwoman in “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” opposite James Woods.

She began her onscreen career with roles on “Law & Order,” “One Life to Live,” “Any Day Now” and “La Femme Nikita” but it was her collaboration with producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert on four different shows – “MANTIS,” “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Cleopatra 2525” (the latter of which earned her an ALMA Award) – that brought her to the masses and promptly shifted her career. Torres’s additional film credits include THE MATRIX RELOADED and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, JAM, SOUTH OF PICO, I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE with Chris Rock, HAIR SHOW with Mo’Nique, FIVE FINGERS opposite Laurence Fishburne and DON’T LET ME DROWN (critic’s choice at the Sundance Film Festival 2009).

The youngest of three children, Torres was born in Manhattan and raised in The Bronx with her close-knit Cuban family. She graduated from Fiorello LaGuardia School of Arts where, before entering the world of acting, she studied opera and jazz as a vocal major. Within a year of graduating, she was cast as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, her first professional acting job. It wasn’t long before she started appearing on Broadway, being directed by such legends as Tommy Tune and Pete Masterson in Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and Jerry Zaks in Face Value. Her additional theater credits include Off and Off-Off Broadway plays and musicals that spanned genres such as classic Greek tragedy in Antigone and Amphytrion, Shakespeare’s Pericles of Tyre and Julius Cesar, contemporary classics such as Lorca’s Blood Wedding and the world premiere of Sheila’s Day and Heliotrope Bouquet.

On January 1st, 2020 Torres served as a Grand Marshal of the 131st Annual Tournament of Roses Parade alongside Rita Moreno and Laurie Hernandez.

Jodi is blessed and honored to be the recipient of the prestigious Disney Legend Award and proud to serve The Walt Disney Company for the past 38 amazing years. Jodi has received worldwide recognition as the beloved singing and speaking voice of Ariel in the Academy Award winning Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid as well as the bubbly voice of Barbie in Disney Pixar’s Toy Story II (Golden Globe Best Animated Film) and the Academy Award winning film, Toy Story 3 as the effervescent voice of Barbie for Disney/Pixar. She also gave life to the spirited Weebo in Disney’s live action Flubber co- starring the brilliant Robin Williams.

Ms. Benson returned as Ariel with all of the Disney Princesses for the first time ever in Disney’s hit Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet. For Warner Brothers, she created the title voice of Thumbelina and Jodi made a special cameo appearance in the new live action feature for Disney The Little Mermaid. Jodi’s other film projects include The Little Mermaid III, The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea as Ariel, Lady and The Tramp II as Lady, 101 Dalmatians II as Anita, DreamWorks’s animated video Joseph: King of Dreams as his wife Asenath and in Balto II and III as Jenna. She appears as Sam, (Patrick Dempsey’s Assistant) in Disney’s feature film Enchanted. Jodi was honored to introduce the Emmy nominated 30th Anniversary celebration The Little Mermaid Live ABC television special event. She appears as Iris Maddoz in netflix’s hit series “Sweet Magnolia’s.” She currently stars as Ariel in the Lego Princess Series of movies for Disney+. 

Ms. Benson received a Tony Award and a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for creating the starring role of Polly Baker in the Tony Award winning Broadway Gershwin musical Crazy For You. Jodi was thrilled to recently star as Rose in Gypsy in upstate NY playing opposite her daughter, Delaney, starring as Louise. This was their second time performing Gypsy together in these iconic mother-daughter roles. Jodi also starred as Dolly Levi in Hello,Dolly! to sold out crowds at Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando.

Other Broadway credits include: creating the starring role of Doria Hudson in the Howard Ashman/Marvin Hamlisch musical Smile, Betty Bursteter in Cy Coleman’s Welcome To The Club, Rose in “Gypsy” and Dolly in “Hello, Dolly!”. Internationally, Ms. Benson has had the honor of sharing the stage with her husband Ray Benson in the European Premiere of Gershwin’s My One and Only, starring as Miss Edythe Herbert.

Currently, Jodi just wrapped Season 5 of the Netflix hit series, Sweet Magnolias as the character of Iris Maddox, Cal’s Mom after guest starring in Season 4. Her animated television series include starring as Nia in Wingfeather Saga (Angel Studios), Disney’s Sofia The First-The Floating Palace (Queen Emmaline & Ariel), Cartoon Network’s Emmy Award winning hit Camp Lazlo as the voices of Patsy Smiles, Jane Doe and Almondine, the Emmy Award winning The Little Mermaid, Pepper Ann, Pirates of Dark Water (Hanna- Barbera), P.J. Sparkles, Disney’s Hercules as Helen of Troy, Batman Beyond, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, The Wild Thornberry’s and many others.

On the concert stage, Ms. Benson recently performed for her fifth time at the incredible Hollywood Bowl with Disney’s 80s-90s Celebration, starred in The Little Mermaid Live in Concert to Film also at the Hollywood Bowl to sold out crowds of 18,000 fans and in Tokyo & Osaka with the brilliant Alan Menken. She fulfilled her childhood dream by singing at Carnegie Hall with the illustrious New York Pops. Jodi had the honor of appearing as the guest soloist at the Kennedy Center Honors for Miss Ginger Rogers. Jodi has performed with symphonies all over the world including The Philly Pops (Conductor Peter Nero), The National Symphony (Conductor Marvin Hamlisch), Toronto, Cleveland, Dallas, Tokyo Philharmonic, San Francisco and Chicago.

Ms. Benson is honored to be the resident guest soloist for the Walt Disney Company, Disney Cruise Line, ambassador for feature animation, narrator for Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World and a member of the Disney family. She is thrilled to accept her new position with the Company as the D23 Fan Ambassador.

Jodi gives thanks and praise to God for her family, friends, for her loving husband of 41 years, Ray, and her amazing children; daughter Delaney and son McKinley & his wife Mackenzie.

IG: jodi.benson FB: Jodi Benson

MARCIA MITZMAN GAVEN was nominated for a TONY Award for her performance as Mrs. Walker in the Broadway smash “The Who’s TOMMY” directed by Des McAnuff and was praised by music critics for her “show stopping performance” on the Grammy winning original cast recording. During her Broadway career, she starred as Svetlana in “CHESS” directed by Trevor Nunn, (Broadway Cast album), The Widow in “ZORBA” with Anthony Quinn, Rizzo in “GREASE”, and as Carol in Cy Coleman’s “WELCOME TO THE CLUB”. Off -Broadway credits include Audrey in “LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS” by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

At Lincoln Center, Marcia was discovered by NY City Opera diva Beverly Sills who recruited her to star in several productions in their Broadway Show Series. Marcia won critical raves as Nellie in “SOUTH PACIFIC”, Meg in “BRIGADOON” opposite Tony Roberts, and Mrs. Lovett in “SWEENEY TODD” for director Harold Prince.

Marcia is known by Los Angeles audiences for her starring role as Mother in the American premiere of “RAGTIME”, for which she won the Ovation Award for Best Lead Actress. She starred opposite Roger Rees, as Abigail Adams in “1776” at Reprise! Also in Los Angeles, Marcia won the Ovation award and L.A. Drama Critics Circle award for Best Lead Actress as Florence in “CHESS”. She was Charlotte in “A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC” with Glynis Johns, directed by Gordon Davidson and created the role of Mrs. Walker in La Jolla Playhouse’s hit “THE WHO’S TOMMY” before recreating the role on Broadway.

Her extensive voice over work can be heard in “THE SIMPSONS” (Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Hooten and Miss Hoover) and in countless commercials and promos. Film and television credits include: “MOONLIGHT MILE” with Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon, “THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES” with Tom Hanks, and guest starring roles on numerous television series, including, FRAISER, ELLEN, and BEVERLY HILLS, 90210.

Most recently, she starred as Judy Garland in “THE BOY FROM OZ” at OFC Theatre NY.

Marcia has been happily married to Seth Gaven for 30 years and is proud mom to her amazing children Michael and Katie! Thank you to my terrific team at DGRW for all their support and guidance!