Allen René Louis
Musical Director
Allen René Louis is a Haitian-American music director, arranger, vocalist, and composer. He served as Music Director for the 2020 Musical Theatre Songwriting Challenge presented by The American Theatre Wing in partnership with The National Endowment for the Arts. Louis provided arrangements and musical direction in April of 2022 for a production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Choir Boy” at Yale Repertory Theatre. In 2021, Louis’ vocal arrangements were featured on The Tony Awards’ “Broadway’s Back” Live telecast on CBS. Louis is a vocalist on the feature film soundtracks of “Dear Evan Hansen”, Jonathan Larson’s “tick, tick…BOOM!” on Netflix, and Sony Pictures Entertainment’s “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”. Louis has performed with award-winning artist Ben Platt on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, in Platt’s “Sing to Me Instead” concert at Radio City Music Hall, also captured by and streamed on Netflix, and Platt’s subsequent international concert tour. In the Fall of 2020, a virtual concert of Louis’ original compositions “The Music of Allen René Louis”, presented by kcmWORKS Productions, streamed worldwide. A concert of Louis’ original compositions was also held at The Greenroom 42 in 2019. His 2018 sold-out performance of “Allen Louis in Concert” was presented at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, CT. Louis graduated from Manhattanville College, with a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance. Louis is currently the Artistic Director of The Broadway Inspirational Voices, a community of Broadway artists united to change lives through the power of music and service. His artistry is deeply rooted in soul music and his church upbringing. He has numerous projects in development, and hopes that his work will continue to inspire, uplift, and bring about positive change.
ZINDZI OKENYO
Director
Soon after graduating from NIDA in 2006 Zindzi was cast in THE VERTICAL HOUR and THE CRUCIBLE for Sydney Theatre Company and SCORCHED for Company B Belvoir. From 2009 to 2011 she was a member of the Residents Company at STC. In 2012 Zindzi toured Europe and USA with A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING and began as a presenter on ABC’s PLAYSCHOOL. In 2013 Zindzi won a Best Female Performer Award for her role in STCSA’s RANDOM. She has performed for Griffin in ORANGE THROWER, MASQUERADE and THE GIRL IN TAN BOOTS. For STC: GRAND HORIZONS, THE GOLDEN AGE, BOYS WILL BE BOYS, A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING, MONEY SHOTS, BEFORE/AFTER, BLOOD WEDDING, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, THE ORESTEIA, VS MACBETH, THE CRUCIBLE, THE MYSTERIES: GENESIS, THE VERTICAL HOUR. For Melbourne Theatre Company: AN IDEAL HUSBAND, DISGRACED, Belvoir: PRIZE FIGHTER, LA TRAVIATA, SCORCHED, Bell Shakespeare: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, Ensemble: THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR, GOOD PEOPLE, State Theatre Company of South Australia: RANDOM, Darlinghurst: GAYBIES, Theatre Ink: ANGELS IN AMERICA. Most recently Zindzi was Director of ORANGER THROWER at Griffin and Riverside’s National Theatre of Paramatta , Co-Director on Darlinghurst Theatre/Sydney Festival’s highly acclaimed SEVEN METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER and Assistant Director on DEATH OF A SALESMAN for Sydney Theatre Company. Zindzi is presently an Artistic Associate with Melbourne Theatre Company.
As well as PLAYSCHOOL, Zindzi’s television roles include FISK Series 2, WAKEFIELD, THE CODE, HIDING, JANET KING, HARROW and GET KRACK!N (ABC), WONDERLAND and SISTERS (Network 10), DEADLOCH (Amazon) and THE JUMP (Fremantle /Stan). In feature films she has appeared in Abe Forsythe’s LITTLE MONSTERS and Dean Murphy’s THE VERY EXCELLENT MR DUNDEE.
Zindzi also performs her own music under the name ‘OKENYO’.
