Jessica Hendy is thrilled and grateful to return to her hometown and reprise her role in Next to Normal at Ensemble Theatre. She has spent the past twelve years in New York City with her son, Beckett. Recently, her autobiographical one-woman musical, Walking with Bubbles, premiered off-Broadway, earning her a Drama Desk nomination and an Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Show. The cast album is available on all streaming platforms. Her credits span four Broadway shows, off-Broadway shows, national tours, regional theatre, and symphony concerts across the country. Her work on Sondheim Unplugged Vol 3 earned a 2023 Grammy nomination. Love and thanks to Mom and Dad. This is for you, “Bubbles.”

Charlie Clark was last seen at Ensemble Theatre as Bruce Bechdel in Fun Home, as well as Father in Violet, Don in Rapture, Blister, Burn, Benny in Hands on a Hardbody (2014), Pastor Jay in Luna Gale, Brandon in Next Fall, and Dr. Fine/Madden in Next to Normal (2011). Other local credits include Church Girls, Take Me Out, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, On Golden Pond, Carousel, Love’s Labour’s Lost, See What I Wanna See, The Full Monty, and Sunday in the Park with George. His Chicago credits include Company (Jeff Award), The Hawkshaws, Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and Sweeney Todd.  His Twin Cities credits include Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Mary Poppins, The Bridges of Madison County, and Merrily We Roll Along. Charlie is eternally grateful for his family’s support.

Tom Kitt is a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy Award winner. As a musical theater composer, he has written the music for six Broadway shows including Next to Normal (Tony Award, Olivier Nomination), If/Then (Tony Nomination), Almost Famous (Tony Nomination), Flying Over Sunset (Tony Nomination), High Fidelity, and Bring it On: The Musical. His work for the stage has also been seen off-Broadway at Second Stage (Next to Normal, Superhero), The Public Theater (The Visitor, Shakespeare in the Park), and he has worked at some of the most prestigious regional theaters including The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, The Signature Theater, and ART. In addition, Tom’s Broadway credits as an orchestrator include Next to Normal (Tony Award), Hell’s Kitchen (Tony Nomination), The SpongeBob Musical (Tony Nomination), Jagged Little Pill (Tony Nomination), Almost Famous, Head Over Heels, Everyday Rapture, and American Idiot. Tom has also been active in the world of film and TV. As one of the vocal arrangers working on the Pitch Perfect films, Tom most notably helped create the classic “Riff-off.” Tom also served as music supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Grease Live! and contributed songs for Royal Pains, Penny Dreadful, and Sesame Street. He also provided music supervision for the NBC series, Rise, and served as a supervising music producer on the Bobby Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez/Steven Levenson/Thomas Kail musical television series Up Here. Tom is also proud that his musical adaptation of Freaky Friday, co-written with Bridget Carpenter and Brian Yorkey, was turned into an original movie musical for The Disney Channel. Tom is a Sony Masterworks artist, with whom he recorded his debut album, Reflect, in 2021.