Christiane Noll: Coming Alive Again

CHRISTIANE NOLL This New York born, New Jersey raised actress received TONY and Drama Desk Award nominations and won a Helen Hayes Award for her portrayal of Mother in the Kennedy Center Revival of Ragtime on Broadway. She starred in the record-breaking First National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen (BWWLA award) and took over the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Broadway Company. She made her Broadway debut creating the role of Emma in Jekyll & Hyde, receiving a FANY award for Best actress in a musical. Ms. Noll received her second Drama Desk nomination for her work in Chaplin on Broadway. She has been seen perennially as Sister Margaretta in NBC’s The Sound of Music Live with Carrie Underwood and she supplied the singing-voice of Anna in the Warner Brothers animated feature The King and I. She has also enjoyed starring in Broadway productions of Elf (at Madison Square Garden), It Ain’t Nothin But The Blues and on tour in Urinetown (Ovation Award), The Mambo Kings, Grease, Miss Saigon and City of Angels as well as a tour of Australia and Thailand of South Pacific. Christiane has performed her solo shows in cabaret at 54 Below, The Metropolitan Room, Birdland, The Regency, The Nikko, The Plush Room, The Duplex, The Nevermore, Arci’s Place, The China Club, Peaches, B.Smith’s and The West Bank Café as well as appearing in Town Hall's Broadway by the Year and the Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series.

ROB RUGGIERO (Director / TWH Producing Artistic Director) has been part of TheaterWorks Hartford's artistic leadership for 27 years. He has directed over 60 shows, including TWH productions of American Son, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Constellations, Next to Normal, Relativity (starring Richard Dreyfuss) and Christmas on the Rocks, which he also conceived. His Broadway credits include Looped (starring Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) and High (starring Kathleen Turner) which had its world premiere at TWH. He also conceived and directed the musical revue Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn which moved off-Broadway and was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Rob conceived and directed Ella, a musical about Ella Fitzgerald, which saw sold-out runs in 24 regional theaters and was produced as a National Tour. His work on plays and musicals has received multiple awards in Connecticut and around the United States. In his eleventh collaboration with Goodspeed Musicals, Rob directed Oliver where he has also directed many award-winning musical productions. His adaptation of Show Boat is now being licensed by the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. Internationally he directed Fiddler on the Roof in Athens, Greece. 

WILLIAM WALDROP (Music Director / Piano / Conductor) is currently the Assistant Conductor for Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera. His other Broadway credits include Music Director/Conductor of the recent revival of Cats and Associate Conductor for the revival of Evita with Ricky Martin.  Waldrop has also been Music Director/Conductor for the US National Tours of The Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Cats. His recent symphonic engagements as guest conductor include concerts with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony and the Sarasota Orchestra. As a Conductor/Pianist he has led productions of Grey Gardens (Bay Street Theatre, starring Betty Buckley), South Pacific (Asolo Repertory Theatre), and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Off-Broadway). William holds a Master’s of Music from The Peabody Conservatory and a Bachelor’s of Music from The University of Mississippi.