Galileo A Rock Musical
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Cast

GALILEO | Cast

Raúl Esparza

Galileo Galilei
GALILEO | Cast

Raúl Esparza

(Galileo Galilei)

Television/Film: “A Murder at the End of the World,” “Candy,” “Dopesick,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Hannibal,” “The Path,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Pushing Daisies,” Find Me Guilty, Custody, Ferdinand, Elian, My Soul to Take, Trouble in the Heights. Broadway: Leap of Faith, Arcadia, Speed-the-Plow, The Homecoming, Company, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Taboo, Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Show. Off-Broadway: Seared, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Normal Heart, Comedians, tick, tick... BOOM! ENCORES!: Anyone Can Whistle, The Cradle Will Rock, Road Show, Oliver!, Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night, Cymbeline. Regional: Jesus Christ Superstar (Hollywood Bowl), My Fair Lady, Galileo, The Waves, Cry, The Beloved Country, Slaughterhouse-Five, Fur. Kennedy Center: Chess, 2002 Sondheim Celebration: Sunday in the Park with George and Merrily We Roll Along. National Tour: Evita (20th Anniversary Tour). Online: Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Celebration (Host/Producer, in National Registry of The Library of Congress). Four-time Tony Award® nominee in every acting category and recipient of the OBIE, two New York Outer Critics Awards, the Barrymore, the LA Ovation Award, the Jose Ferrer Award, three Drama Desk Awards, and the Theater World Award.

GALILEO | Cast

Jeremy Kushnier

Cardinal Maffeo Barberini
GALILEO | Cast

Jeremy Kushnier

(Cardinal Maffeo Barberini)

most recently could be seen in Little Shop of Horrors as Dr. Orin Scrivello. Broadway: Rent (Roger), Jersey Boys (Tommy DeVito), Footloose (Ren), Head over Heels (Basilius). TV: “Chicago Med,” “The Good Wife,” “Person of Interest,” and “Nurse Jackie.” Film: The Idea of Manhood. Jeremy has two independent albums and a Christmas album available wherever you stream music. @jeremykushnier

GALILEO | Cast

Joy Woods

Virginia Galilei
GALILEO | Cast

Joy Woods

(Virginia Galilei)

has quickly established herself as one of Broadway’s hottest rising stars. She earned Tony® and Grammy® Award nominations for her performance as Louise in the 2024 Broadway revival of Gypsy opposite Audra McDonald, and is currently starring as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Klub on London’s West End. Originally from Chicago, Joy made her professional debut as Chiffon in the 2019 Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors, and later returned in the leading role of Audrey. She made her Broadway debut in SIX as Catherine Parr, and gained widespread recognition for her breakout performance as Middle Allie in the 2024 Broadway adaptation of The Notebook. In London, she starred in the 30th Anniversary Concert of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World, and will debut her solo concert Joy Woods - Live at Cadogan Hall in June 2026. Other stage credits include performances at The Met Opera, Carnegie Hall, Classic Stage Company, New York City Center, and regional theatres across the US. Renowned for her powerhouse voice and captivating presence, she is committed to telling stories that center women of color and expand the emotional vocabulary of contemporary musical theater. @joynwoods

Additional cast to be announced.

Creative

GALILEO | Creative
Book

Danny Strong

GALILEO | Creative

Danny Strong

(Book)

is an Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning writer, director, actor, and producer. He is the creator, showrunner, writer, and director of the award-winning Hulu series “Dopesick.” He was also the co-creator, executive producer, writer, and director for the hit FOX series “Empire.” He wrote the screenplays for the films Recount, Game Change, The Butler, Rebel in the Rye (which he also directed), and co-wrote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2. For theatre, he wrote a new book to the iconic musical Chess which opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theater in the fall of 2025. As an actor, he’s appeared in major roles in several iconic TV shows and films including “Billions,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Mad Men,” “Justified,” “Girls,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He's won many awards including two Primetime Emmy® Awards, a Golden Globe®, two WGA awards, two Peabody awards, a PGA award, the Pen USA Literary Award, the Scripter Award, a DGA nomination, and the NAACP Image Award.

GALILEO | Creative
Music, Lyrics, Arrangements

Zoe Sarnak

GALILEO | Creative

Zoe Sarnak

(Music, Lyrics, Arrangements)

is a Drama Desk nominated and Larson Award winning composer, lyricist, and writer. Works include NY Times Critic’s Pick The Lonely Few (with Rachel Bonds), Empire Records (with Carol Heikkinen), Particle Fever (with David Henry Hwang and Bear McCreary), A Beautiful Mind (with Sarah Treem); and others soon to be announced. Sarnak was named to the 2024 Broadway Women’s Fund "Women to Watch" list and her music has been featured by the NY Times, The Guggenheim, the BBC, and more. @zoesarnak

GALILEO | Creative
Music, Lyrics, Arrangements

Michael Weiner

GALILEO | Creative

Michael Weiner

(Music, Lyrics, Arrangements)

co-wrote the score for the Broadway musical First Date, which premiered at the Longacre Theatre and has subsequently enjoyed hundreds of productions worldwide. Upcoming projects include 13 Going on 30, based on the hit film (Manchester Opera House, September 2025/Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, November 2026); and Trading Places, directed by Kenny Leon. For film and television, Michael has written songs for “Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” (Apple TV+), Paws of Fury (Paramount Pictures), “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (Disney+), and “Once Upon a Time” (ABC). Michael is the recipient of the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award.

GALILEO | Creative
Direction

Michael Mayer

GALILEO | Creative

Michael Mayer

(Direction)

is a Tony® Award-winning director. Currently: Broadway: Chess. Off-Broadway: revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Broadway Highlights: Swept Away, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spring Awakening, American Idiot (also co-author), Funny Girl (2022 revival), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Side Man, A View from the Bridge, Everyday Rapture, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Triumph of Love. National Tours: Angels in America, Millie, Spring Awakening, Idiot, Hedwig, Charlie Brown. London: a record-breaking West End run of Funny Girl and UK tour, Spring Awakening, Millie, Idiot, Side Man. Film: Single All the Way, The Seagull, Flicka, A Home at the End of the World. Opera: Rigoletto and La Traviata at Metropolitan Opera, Marnie at the ENO.

GALILEO | Creative
Choreography

David Neumann

GALILEO | Creative

David Neumann

(Choreography)

Hadestown and Swept Away on Broadway, Grounded at New York’s Metropolitan Opera; The Recipe at La Jolla Playhouse. Film and TV: I Am Legend, “Kindred,” and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, White Noise, and Jay Kelly. As artistic director of Advanced Beginner Group, recipient of three Bessie Awards and an Obie Award. Recipient of the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography, a Tony Award® nomination and an LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Hadestown. Recipient of the Chita Rivera Critic’s Choice Award for Swept Away. Upcoming: Begin Again (Old Globe Theatre).

GALILEO | Creative
Music Supervision & Orchestrations

Brian Usifer

GALILEO | Creative

Brian Usifer

(Music Supervision & Orchestrations)

Broadway credits include Chess (Tony® nomination), Swept Away, The Heart of Rock and Roll, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Disney’s Frozen, Kinky Boots (Broadway, Tour, London and Toronto), and The Book of Mormon (Associate Music Supervisor). Regional credits include: Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage (Helen Hayes Award winner for Swept Away), The Kennedy Center, and Barrington Stage Co. Concerts include Bobby and Kristen Lopez American Songbook at Lincoln Center, New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Additional orchestrations: NBC's “Annie Live,” “The Wiz Live.” Co-founder of Joy Machine Records.

GALILEO | Creative
Set Design

Rachel Hauck

GALILEO | Creative

Rachel Hauck

(Set Design)

Broadway credits include Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Hadestown, Swept Away, Good Night Oscar, How I Learned To Drive, What The Constitution Means To Me, and Latin History For Morons. Recent work includes The Recipe (LJP), Ceilidh, The Staircase (SCR), Galileo (BRT). Rachel is honored to have received Princess Grace and Lilly Awards, an OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence and UCLA’s Distinguished Alumni Award as well as Tony® nominations for Good Night Oscar, Swept Away, and The Jellicle Ball, and a Tony Award® for her design of Hadestown. She is a member of the American Theater Wing Advisory Committee and the 1/52 Project Administration Committee.

GALILEO | Creative
Costume Design

Susan Hilferty

GALILEO | Creative

Susan Hilferty

(Costume Design)

has designed 400+ productions worldwide. Broadway credits include Wicked (Tony Award®), Parade, Swept Away, Funny Girl, Present Laughter, Spring Awakening, Lestat, Into the Woods, and August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Hilferty has also designed for opera: Aida, Rigoletto, and La Traviata (Metropolitan Opera); dance: Love Stories (Alvin Ailey); and live events: Speak Now (Taylor Swift World Tour) and Fully Charged (Ringling Bros. Circus). Her many honors include the Tony®, OBIE, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lilly, Ruth Morley awards, and three lifetime achievement awards. Hilferty is on faculty at NYU/Tisch Graduate Design, having served 25 years as chair. www.susanhilferty.com

GALILEO | Creative
Lighting Design

Kevin Adams

GALILEO | Creative

Kevin Adams

(Lighting Design)

Broadway: Chess (Tony® nomination), Spring Awakening (Tony Award®), Next to Normal, Hair, Passing Strange, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony Award®), American Idiot (Tony Award®), Funny Girl, The Cher Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, A Beautiful Noise, Everyday Rapture, A Class Act, Swept Away, The 39 Steps (Tony Award®), Take Me Out (premiere), solo shows for John Leguizamo and Eve Ensler. Off-Broadway: Hedwig (Jane Street), The Scottsboro Boys, Carrie, and many others. He has also worked at the Metropolitan Opera, in Las Vegas, the Hollywood Bowl, and on numerous music videos.

GALILEO | Creative
Sound Design

John Shivers

GALILEO | Creative

John Shivers

(Sound Design)

Chess, Real Women Have Curves, Swept Away (2025 Outer Critics Circle Award nominee), The Heart of Rock and Roll, Shucked (2023 Tony® and Drama Desk Award nominee), Beauty & the Beast (Worldwide), Pretty Woman (Worldwide), Gettin’ The Band Back Together, Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, Kinky Boots (2013 Tony Award® recipient), Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, Leap of Faith, Bonnie & Clyde, Sister Act, 9 to 5, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays. International: Wicked, Tarzan, Das Wunder von Bern, The Lion King. In development: Trading Places, The Wanderer. Other credits: Savion Glover, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Gregory Hines, and engineering at Electric Lady Studios.

GALILEO | Creative
Video & Projection Design

Ethan Tobman

GALILEO | Creative

Ethan Tobman

(Video & Projection Design)

is a Director, Creative Director, and Production Designer known for his emotionally driven and visually immersive work across film, live performance, hospitality, and commercials. In the live space, his notable works include creative directing Taylor Swift’s record-breaking The Eras Tour, Creative Directing for Sphere‘s Live Residencies including The Eagles and No Doubt, Brandy and Monica: The Boy Is Mine Tour, and the Starscape experience at Genesis House in New York. His feature film and television experience include production designing the Academy Award®-winning film Room, The Menu, Beyonce’s Black Is King, and the Emmy® Award-winning series “Pam and Tommy.” In the music videos space, his credits include Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All The Stars,” Ok Go’s “The Writings On The Wall,” and Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight,” “Anti-Hero,” and “The Fate Of Ophelia.”

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 3, 2026

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy, we provide this Privacy Policy explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

This Privacy Policy applies to all information collected or submitted on the GALILEO website. On some pages, you can register to receive materials via the Internet. The types of personal information collected on these pages may include the following: Name and Email Address.

THE WAY WE USE INFORMATION

When you register for the GALILEO mailing list to receive updates, we use the information you provide about yourself only to complete that request. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that request. We use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Unless the same email addresses have been used to register for the GALILEO mailing list, such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties. We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and to share with advertisers. For example, we may tell an advertiser that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.

COOKIES

A cookie is a small piece of information sent by a website or its service provider that is saved on your hard drive by your computer's browser. Almost all websites utilize cookies to one extent or another. The GALILEO website uses its cookies along with various ad retargeting and tracking. Users receive cookies from these partners when they visit the GALILEO website and/or when they visit one of partner advertisers' websites. Partners only collect information for the use of serving retargeted ads, advertising purposes and custom audiences. Any partner found in violation of this policy will immediately be removed. Finally, we never use or share personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the those described in this Privacy Policy.

ANALYTICS

The Google Analytics tracking code used on this site allows GALILEO to track Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting. This data allows a better understanding of who our users are and how converting and non-converting users differ. These demographic and interest categories are also used to target ads on the Google Display Network. Using Ads Settings (https://www.google.com/settings/ads), users can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize their Google Display Network ad settings.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DATA SECURITY

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy and ensure the correct use of information, we put in place reasonably appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Should you elect to register for the GALILEO mailing list, your email address will be stored within a third-party communication system – MailChimp. Though MailChimp's servers are located in the United States of America. MailChimp has stated that it is committed to achieving compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires that all data subjects be notified within 72 hours of discovery of a data breach.

YOUR CONSENT

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date set forth above. We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time, so please review it frequently. If our information practices change, we will post an updated Privacy Policy here. You can tell if the Privacy Policy has changed by checking the revision date that appears on this Privacy Policy. Any such change will be effective immediately upon posting, and your continued use of the GALILEO website or provision of information to us signifies your acceptance of any such change. Use of information that we gather is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time of use.

HOW TO CONTACT US

Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please send us an email us at [email protected].

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