Narrator / Mysterious Man

Guanghao Yu is a Boston-based baritone and choral conductor. He made his operatic debut as Dr. Falke in Williams Opera Workshop’s production of Die Fledermaus. He was also featured as a soloist in Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, performed by the Williams College Concert Choir. Guanghao is currently singing with the Longwood Chorus in Boston.

Cinderella

Veronica Shea is an actor, digital marketer, and theatrical producer who is attracted to roles in multiple genres with companies of all sizes. This summer, she sang La Direttrice in Jake Landau’s PIETÀ at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival (European premiere). This month, she appeared as Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard with Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company. Additional favorite roles include Johanna (Sweeney Todd), April (Company), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Lucy (The Telephone), and Musetta (La Bohème). veronicashea.com

Jack

E.B. Hinnant is an actor and songwriter from South Carolina now living in New York City. Some favorite credits include Jake in Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter at Boise Contemporary Theater and playing Mr. Sir in PITS: The Unauthorized ‘Holes’ Musical all over NYC. Talk to him about fried okra, televangelists, and Dolly Parton.

Stepmother / Milky White

Stacey Canterbury has sung from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains, appearing in roles such as Micaëla (Carmen) with the Wichita Grand Opera, Elisabeth (Don Carlos) for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Center Stage Opera, Elsa (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) with Opera Pomme Rouge, the Witch (Hansel and Gretel) with Opera Theatre of Montclair and Tri-Cities Opera, and most recently originating La Direttrice in Jake Landau’s new opera, Pietà. She is critically acclaimed for “a voice that combined superb purity of tone and breath control.” Ms. Canterbury lives in New Jersey with her husband and a handful of animals.

Jack’s Mother / Granny

Camber attended college in South Dakota, the only state where people eat the state bird. She lived in Hong Kong and Italy for three years, bringing educational musicals to local students. Currently, she performs with her musical improv team, Wonderland, at the Magnet Theater; she previously studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Camber plays Jack’s Mother in this production and since August of this year, plays the role of Lucy’s Mother in real life. She is desperate for you to subscribe to her YouTube channel, or if you’re really hip, her TikTok @cambercarpenter.

Baker

Brendan Hartnett is an accomplished educator, director, and singer. Before moving East, Brendan directed up and down the coast of California with companies including Opera Parallele and Pacific Opera Project. Most recently, he directed Yeomen of The Guard with Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. Some favorite projects Brendan has led include The Tragedy of Carmen with Opera UCLA, The Araboolies of Liberty Street and Xochitl and the Flowers with Opera Parallele’s ‘Family Opera’ program, and The Center Cannot Hold with Pacific Opera Project. Brendan holds an MFA from UCLA’s TFT, and a Bachelor’s of Music from UC Santa Cruz. brendanhartnett.com

Baker’s Wife / Music Director

Erin Kennedy is an NYC-based soprano, actor, and pianist dedicated to creating joyful, accessible performances of both contemporary and classic music. Recently, Erin sang the role of Genovieffa at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival in two operas: Suor Angelica and PIETÀ (European premiere), a new companion opera by Jake Landau. She is also a collaborator and performer (Lou Salomé) in the development of Nietzsche!, a new musical by Kimerer LaMothe and Geoffrey Gee that premiered in Salem, NY this August and is expected to make its NYC debut in 2022. erinkennedysoprano.com

Florinda

Keyana Hemphill is a NYC-based theater maker and recent graduate of Tisch School of the Arts. She is excited to be making her Sondheim debut with Off-Brand Opera! Notable works include: Untitled 1-5 (The Shed), i was unbecoming then (Ars Nova), Antarabhava (Columbia University), If You Give a Kid a Sucker (The Hive).

Lucinda

Gwen Miller makes her debut with Off-Brand Opera as Lucinda in Into The Woods. She grew up in Madison, WI and studied biology of global health and chemistry at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. After graduation, she moved across the country to serve with AmeriCorps as a math and science tutor in Newark, NJ. She continued to work with her students as their physics teacher during the pandemic, but more recently moved to New York City in pursuit of a career in the health care field. Her ultimate goal is to attend medical school and work abroad with Doctors Without Borders.

Rapunzel’s Prince / Wolf / Steward

Roderick Ferguson is excited to tackle what he can only assume are the lead roles in this production of Into the Woods! Roderick juggles a handful of failing careers, as a comedian, a cabaret singer, and the already retired drag queen, Rhonda Bout. A recent graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Acting, Roderick is currently performing his one-man-show MAN OVERBOARD!!! based on his life story growing up as a closeted gay kid in Bermuda, coming out in dramatic fashion in college, and ultimately suing the Government of Bermuda to legalize gay marriage, without even having a partner! roderickferguson.com

Little Red Ridinghood

Anna Larranaga is an actor, comedian, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an actor she has performed with Lyric Arts, Actors Theatre of Minnesota, The Black Hills Playhouse, and many more faraway theaters you’ve never heard of. Anna is also an improviser with training from HUGE Improv Theater and The Upright Citizens Brigade, and is a member of the all-women and non-binary improv team Manners and Misconduct: Improvised Jane Austen. Anna is a founding editor for Minnesota satire site The Nordly and is an associate writer for the podcast Fraudsters.

Witch / Director

Mezzo-soprano Christine Duncan has always been fascinated by the voice and all the different ways it can sound, convey emotion, and tell a story. Christine has trained with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and Vermont-based World Folk Ensemble Village Harmony; she has worked with companies such as Grammy-winning Odyssey Opera/Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Beth Morrison/White Snake Projects, New Amsterdam Opera, The Center for Contemporary Opera, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Astoria Music Festival, and Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival. Christine resides, sings, and maintains a private voice studio in NYC. christinejennoraduncan.com

Cinderella’s Prince

Devandas James, Baritone, is a graduate of George Mason University where he performed such roles as Marcello in La Bohème, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore in Ischia, Italy, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, with Mason Opera, as well as in Seoul, South Korea, and Bill Bobstay in H.M.S. Pinafore. Devandas won both the Regional and District levels of the 2015 Vocal Arts Competition for Emerging Artists and moved on to place third in the national level. He has performed at Maryland Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, and the Washington National Opera.

Rapunzel / Cinderella’s Mother

Kristina Shafranski is an operatic Soprano from Long Island, NY. Kristina received her Master of Music in Voice Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Most recently, Kristina performed in the European premiere of Jake Landau's Pietà as Alma with the Narnia Music Festival in Italy, and will be in the U.S. premiere this Spring. She has previously studied the role of Iolanta in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with Eurasia Festival and has traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine where she performed opera scenes with the National Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine on the Bouquet Kyiv Stage. For more details, visit Kristina's website: www.kristinashafranski.com

Conductor / Piano

Jake Landau, b. 1995, is a composer, conductor, and music director from New York City. His own music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, the New Albany Symphony, and more in venues such as David Geffen Hall, New York Live Arts Theater, and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. As a conductor, he has worked with The Narnia Festival, Little Opera Theatre of New York, and Premiere Division Ballet. Jake earned his Bachelor of Music degree under John Corigliano at The Juilliard School and his Master of Studies in Music (Composition) from Oxford University. jakelandau.com

Piano

Tiehan Pan is a current master student at Manhattan School of Music, studying under Prof. Alexandre Moutouzkine. Tiehan’s collaborative repertoire spans both instrumental and vocal literature. In summer 2021, he was enrolled in Classical Lyrical Arts, where he accompanied four vocal concerts. Tiehan has appeared in music festivals around New York, Halle, and cities in China as a solo pianist, most recently in an online concert for the EuroArt Academy. In 2016, he played in the China Liangzhu International Music Festival, Shanghai Chuansha International Music Festival, and Shanghai Music Festival—Celebrating the 260th Anniversary of Mozart's birth.