21^st Century Broadway

Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music. In addition to his role as Principal POPS Conductor of the Houston Symphony, this season, he celebrates his 10^th anniversary as music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he is principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Steven is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Atlanta, Cincinnati, Edmonton, San Francisco, and Sarasota.

On stage, he has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, Broadway, television, and rock, including Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton, and Ben Folds, among others. In 2017, he was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered leading the National Symphony Orchestra, in a first for the show’s 45-year history, performing live music excerpts between news segments. In 2018, Steven led the same orchestra and hip hop legend Nas performing his seminal album, Illmatic, on PBS’s Great Performances.

As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Steven’s work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare commemorated the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.

A native of Ohio, Steven is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He lives in New York City with his husband, Eric Gabbard.

Rodney Ingram is thrilled to be returning to sing with the incredible Houston Symphony! He recently starred as Disney’s Aladdin in Mexico City; a role he also played on Broadway. He appeared as Raoul in the 30th anniversary Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera. Other favorite credits include Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid (WPPAC), Laurie in Little Women (Theatre Aspen), and Adam in Children of Eden. TV: Recurring in Jane the Virgin on the CW. Rodney is a graduate of CAP21 Conservatory in New York City. @rodney.ingram

Hailey Kilgore is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Best known for her Tony and Grammy nominated turn as Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island, Hailey has since gone on to star in multiple films, including the critically acclaimed Respect opposite Jennifer Hudson and the feature Cinnamon in which Hailey stars in the lead role. Cinnamon made its debut to rave reviews at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

On television, Hailey currently stars as Jukebox in Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan and has had multiple memorable arcs on Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories on Apple and NBC’s The Village. Hailey’s first EP, Desire and Devotion, was released last year. Her debut album, Heartbreak and Healing, will drop later this year. Hailey is represented by Circle of Confusion.

Derek Klena starred on Broadway in Alanis Morissette’s critically acclaimed musical JAGGED LITTLE PILL, for which he received a Tony Award Nomination for “Best Featured Actor in a Musical”. He recently concluded his run as “Christian” in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical MOULIN ROUGE, directed by Alex Timbers. His performance earned him a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for “Favorite Replacement.” Earlier this year, Derek also starred as “Joe Gillis” opposite Stephanie J. Block in the Kennedy Center’s limited run of SUNSET BOULEVARD, which was part of their Broadway Center Stage program.

Derek first broke onto the NYC theatre scene in the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of CARRIE, where he quickly garnered attention from Oscar, Grammy, and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to originate the lead role of “Eddie Birdlace” in DOGFIGHT. He received a Clive Barnes Award Nomination for his performance. Derek made his Broadway debut as “Fiyero” in the 10th-anniversary company of WICKED. On Broadway, he also originated the roles of “Michael Johnson” in Jason Robert Brown’s THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY and “Dmitry” in Ahrens/Flaherty/McNally’s ANASTASIA. Other notable theatre credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival’s UNKNOWN SOLDIER, directed by Trip Cullman; Signature Theatre’s DINER, written by Sheryl Crow & Barry Levinson; and the Hollywood Bowl’s star-studded production of HAIRSPRAY, directed by Jerry Mitchell.

On television, Derek can be seen in the pivotal role of “Wes” in the MAX series, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN, and he will soon reprise his role in season 2. Derek is known for his memorable arc as “DJ Fingablast” on Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Netflix hit UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. Other TV credits CITY ON A HILL, THE CODE, and A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR.

Derek Klena starred on Broadway in Alanis Morissette’s critically acclaimed musical JAGGED LITTLE PILL, for which he received a Tony Award Nomination for “Best Featured Actor in a Musical”. He recently concluded his run as “Christian” in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical MOULIN ROUGE, directed by Alex Timbers. His performance earned him a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for “Favorite Replacement.” Earlier this year, Derek also starred as “Joe Gillis” opposite Stephanie J. Block in the Kennedy Center’s limited run of SUNSET BOULEVARD, which was part of their Broadway Center Stage program.

Derek first broke onto the NYC theatre scene in the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of CARRIE, where he quickly garnered attention from Oscar, Grammy, and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to originate the lead role of “Eddie Birdlace” in DOGFIGHT. He received a Clive Barnes Award Nomination for his performance. Derek made his Broadway debut as “Fiyero” in the 10th-anniversary company of WICKED. On Broadway, he also originated the roles of “Michael Johnson” in Jason Robert Brown’s THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY and “Dmitry” in Ahrens/Flaherty/McNally’s ANASTASIA. Other notable theatre credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival’s UNKNOWN SOLDIER, directed by Trip Cullman; Signature Theatre’s DINER, written by Sheryl Crow & Barry Levinson; and the Hollywood Bowl’s star-studded production of HAIRSPRAY, directed by Jerry Mitchell.

On television, Derek can be seen in the pivotal role of “Wes” in the MAX series, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN, and he will soon reprise his role in season 2. Derek is known for his memorable arc as “DJ Fingablast” on Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Netflix hit UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. Other TV credits CITY ON A HILL, THE CODE, and A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR.

Ali Stroker is a Tony Award winner for her role as ‘Ado Annie’ in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She’s a series regular in the Netflix series, Echoes, and starred in the Lifetime holiday film, Christmas Ever After. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix’s Ozark and is recurring in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. She co-wrote the novel, The Chance to Fly and its sequel, Cut Loose!; and she wrote the children’s book, Ali and the Sea Stars. She played ‘Lady Anne’ in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She’s performed her one woman show all over the country, some of her favorites being the Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”