Tony Sportiello (book) is the Artistic Director of Algonquin Theater Productions, which has produced several Off Broadway productions, including Sessions, National Pastime, LOL, The Devil and Billy Markham, An Evening at the Carlyle and more.  As an author he has had productions all over the country and all over the world.  2017 has showed productions of National Pastime (Guadalajara, Mexico), All Aboard (New York), One Night in the Valley (Vermont) and others.  He would like to thank his fellow artists for their hard work on The Bet. Tony is married to actress/singer Kelli Maguire.

David Wolfson (music and lyrics) is having a busy year: April saw the world premiere of The Faith Operas by Hartford Opera Theatre, and July will bring not only the MITF production of The Bet but the world premiere production of Play Like a Winner (with Erik Johnke) on the New York Musical Festival. David was the composer of Story Salad, a series of stage revues for children, which was toured nationally for thirteen consecutive years by Maximillion Productions, and was seen by well over a million children, teachers and parents. His children’s musical with Erik Johnke, Cat: Adventures of a Caterpillar, was premiered by the Strollers of Maplewood, NJ in 2009. His theatrical song cycle Dreamhouse, based on the poetry of Barbara DeCesare, premiered in 2005, also as part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival.

Tom Herman’s directing has been featured Off and Off-Off Broadway, as well as regionally. His most recent Off Broadway credit was helming Al Tapper’s musical revue An Evening at the Carlyle.  Proclaimed “the surprise Off-Broadway hit of the summer theatre season” by United Press International, the show was also named an “Editor’s Choice” by The New York Daily News and played for seven months at the Algonquin Theater.

Other notable directing credits: Mark Twain’s Blues: A Play With Songs (Off Broadway, DR2 Theatre); a reading of Tony Sportiello’s backstage comedy Star Power for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (HBO); and, his revival of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child for The Michael Chekhov Theatre (a show acclaimed by The New York Times as “exciting… powerful… a tragic opera”), as well as his critically applauded and sold-out productions of Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero and Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine at Brooklyn’s Gallery Players.  Additionally, he has served as Literary Manager or script reader for several companies in New York, including 13 years for The Public Theater.  He is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a graduate of Yale University.

Chip Prince (Music Director) has conducted and/or played piano and keyboard parts in the orchestra pits of many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and tours. Some New York credits: Ragtime, A Chorus Line, Coram Boy, Mary Poppins, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Cats, Titanic, The Fantasticks, Xanadu, Altar Boyz, and Fermat’s Last Tango. Tours include Newsies, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Sunset Boulevard, Les Misérables, and Big River. He collaborates sporadically with cabaret artists Mary Setrakian and Evangelia Kingsley, plays piano for folk dances, has marched with the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps, and has even been known to sing on occasional Sundays in church. Chip first met David Wolfson in the orchestra pit of Miss Saigon in 1998 when both of them were substitute keyboardists, and has been a fan ever since.

PIM VAN AMERONGEN (Choreographer) is thrilled to be joining the ’team’ of The Bet at MITF this summer! Previous works include 10 Nights In A Barroom and Fiddler On The Roof.  As a performer, Pim has been seen in national tours, regional theaters, and cruise ships around the world.  He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. http://www.pimvanamerongen.com @pimvanam

CATHY SMALL (Costume Consultant) Recent Design credits include Cindercellar directed by Joyia Bradley with The Midtown West Theatre Festival; 912 Oz with Sanctuary Playwrights Theater at TheaterLab NYC, and Breaking The Silence with Theatre Resources Unlimited at the Edinburgh Festival, Scotland – both directed by Katrin Hilbe; and Lay Down My Sword directed by Bob Verlaque with Articulate Theatre’s Folk City Festival. Recent Assistant Design credits include Wicked –The Musical’s many touring companies, costumes by Susan Hilferty. Cathy is also a Teaching Artist with Roundabout Theatre Company’s Education Department.

Russ Marisak (StageManager) has been working hard in theatre since 1988.  He started out as an actor; but soon realized he would have to earn some money if he wanted to continue doing shows, so he eventually moved off stage and pursued a career in stage management.  His most recent  shows are: Mama’s Boys at the Spring Theatre Festival, Sex Ed and Spitting In The Face Of The Devil at the JMTC, Benny at Horse Trades’ Frigid Festival, The Beauty Queen Of Leenane and The Dreamer Examines His Pillow at The Michael Chekhov Theatre Co., The File On Ryan Carter at The Sanford Meisner Theatre, Skirts & Flirts at The Kraine Theatre. He considers it an honor and a pleasure to work with all the creative, talented and hard-working people involved in this production of  The Bet.