Mecca Akbar (Ensemble) has starred in off-Broadway productions of Pinocchio with New York Children’s Theatre, Tree Haus with the New York Drama Company, as well as the Original cast of Sesame Street: The Musical with Rockefeller Productions. Akbar also performed in Alva Roger’s The Harlem Doll Palace at 2025 Puppetopia Festival at the Here Arts Center. She trained at New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in Chelsea Manhattan, as well as the British Academy for Dramatic Arts’ Midsummer Shakespeare program at Oxford University. Mecca is a rotating marionettist at the Swedish Marionette Theatre in Central Park. She also teaches seasonal puppetry residencies for Lower Manhattan Arts Academy high school and is a traveling Product Specialist with Toyota. Fall of 2025 Akbar will rejoin Concrete Temples PACKRAT at the Festival Mondial Desthéâtres de marionettes in Charleville-Mézzières, France.

Olivia Bernábe (Ensemble) is thrilled to be the Special Guest in Sesame Street The Musical! A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Olivia focuses on musical theatre, puppetry, and theatre for young audiences. In 2023, Olivia made their Off-Broadway debut in The Eric Carle Story Show, followed by The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show in 2024. They have also performed at various professional theatre companies including Ars Nova, La MaMa ETC, and HERE Arts Center. Olivia hopes their role can help kids (and grownups!) to see themselves represented onstage and know that we all belong. Big thank you to Rockefeller Studios and Brierpatch Productions. Para mis padres, con mucho amor.

Julia Feinberg (Ensemble) is an actor, singer, and puppeteer located in NYC. Sesame Street has been a home in her heart since childhood and she is proud to work alongside her fuzzy friends. Recent credits include the national tour of The Pout-Pout Fish musical where she sang and puppeteered as Mr. Pout-Pout all over the country. Additionally, she is a proud company member of Only Make Believe, a theater company that provides interactive and sensory-friendly theater to children with special needs in care centers, hospitals and schools. Thanks to her parents for always sweepin’ the clouds away. “Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.”- Kermit the Frog. NYU Tisch 2018 www.juliafeinberg.com

Yanniv Frank (Ensemble) is an artistic creative focused on inspiring young minds through puppetry. Favorite performance credits include Off-B’way: Sesame Street The Musical, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, The Pocket Park Kids. Nat’l Tour: AJR The Maybe Man Tour, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Yanniv holds an MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Performing and Visual Arts from CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies. Yanniv has written for puppetry on stage and screen including Feel Your Best Self which took home the 2023 Kidscreen Award for Best Original Web/App Series. Yanniv is on the board of the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York, and he is an alumnus of The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Puppetry Conference and Sesame Workshop’s Puppeteer Training. Many thanks to the whole Sesame Street the Musical team and to all who have supported me along the way!

Joe Newman-Getzler (Ensemble) is so thrilled to be ba-a-ack for another run of Sesame Street: The Musical! Besides being cast in both this show’s original off-Broadway runs, he’s also recently performed in Avenue Q at the Cultural Arts Playhouse on Long Island (as Trekkie and Nicky) and is about to start a Master’s Degree in Puppet Arts at the University of Connecticut! Many thanks to all my insanely supportive friends and family; the brilliant cast and crew who I’m honored to work alongside; the legends of Sesame Street past and present whose legacy I’m doing my best to uphold in my teeny-tiny way; and Mady - the Trixie to my Barry. I love “ewe”!

Jackie Mates (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back with Sesame Street The Musical this summer. Most recently she served as the Production Stage Manager on the off-broadway production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show also with Rockefeller Studios. Jackie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production with a concentration in Stage Management from the University of Melbourne. Favorite credits include the Australian National Tour of The Sapphires (HIT Productions), Pomona (Red Stitch Actors Theatre) Ghost Quartet (Antipodes Theatre Company) and the Opera Australia season of The Ring Cycle.

Natalie Michaels (Ensemble) is a NYC based artist and is over the moon to be on Sesame Street! Puppetry credits include Peppa Pig Live! North American Tour, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (2023 & 2025 Off-Broadway; 2019 & 2024 National Tour). She can also be found on YouTube with “The World of Eric Carle” series! She has had residencies as a cabaret singer with the Rose Room in NYC and the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. WFU and NMTI alum. SAG-AFTRA member. Special thanks and love to Mom, Dad, Steffen, Rowan and all her loved ones. @natalienjmichaels

Vicki Oceguera (Ensemble) is so excited to return to The Kennedy Center after recently performing in The Other Children of the Sun there. Vicki loves working with Rockefeller Productions and past projects with them include: Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Show; The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show; The Eric Carle Story Show and Paddington Gets in a Jam. She’s also had the honor of Associate Directing several of their productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show and Sesame Street the Musical. Other select puppetry credits include: National Tour: Ajijaak on Turtle Island (produced by Heather Henson); Clifford the Big Red Dog; Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train Live! (Director: John Tartaglia). NYC: Re-Usable the Musical (Director: John Tartaglia) and Avenue Zoo (Director: Sharon Wheatley). www.vicki-oceguera.com

Molly Penny (Ensemble) is over the moon to return to this magical show! An Atlanta- based actor and French teacher, Molly was most recently seen onstage as Lydia Bennet and Lady Catherine in Woodstock Arts’ Pride & Prejudice. Atlanta: Sesame Street the Musical (Center for Puppetry Arts), Pride & Prejudice, Sweeney Todd, Matilda, She Kills Monsters, The Comedy of Errors, Little Shop of Horrors (Woodstock Arts), The Wolves (Horizon Theatre), Curious Holiday Encounters (7 Stages/Théâtre du Rêve), and Georgia Aquarium’s entertainment team. Regional: The 25th… Spelling Bee (The Warehouse Theatre), Mamma Mia!, Rootabaga Express! (Flat Rock Playhouse). BA University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), MA Georgia State (allez les Panthères!). Extremely grateful to this team and my Sesame friends back home! A special thank-you to my parents for sharing the Muppet Show with us and tolerating countless rewatches, and endless love and gratitude to Zach—every day is a sunny day with you.

Dustin Scully (Ensemble) is an NYC based actor, writer, comedian and award-winning filmmaker. Notable credits include playing Jerry Singfeld in ‘Singfeld: The Musical Parody About Nothing’ (Off-Broadway), puppeteering in Sesame Street: The Musical (Off- Broadway) and The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC). In his free time, he performs as Grumbalo in his original comedy play ‘Mr. Wood’s Safe Space’ as well as sketch comedy at the People’s Improv Theater in ‘Beverly Sketch Comedy.’ He is super excited to be working yet again with the lovable characters of Sesame Street.

Matteo Villanueva (Ensemble) is a puppeteer and actor from upstate New York whose performed in many productions in his high school and college years, leading to his first professional gig being this musical after years of being a fan of Sesame Street. Since then, he had the opportunity of participating in related photo ops, photo shoots, and news press and convention panel appearances. Matteo is very proud with the success of this show and is excited about the future that awaits it and would love to thank all the friends and family who helped get him this far in his career.

William Ward (Costumes & Puppet Wrangler) is a Costume Designer, Puppet Builder, and Board game enthusiast from southeastern Kentucky residing in New York

City. Currently working with the Rockshop (Draper), Pace University (Draper), and the Curtain Shakespeare company (Costume Designer). A graduate of Northern Kentucky University and Texas State University, William has designed for theaters such as the McKittrick Hotel, Wagon Wheel Theatre (WWT), Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT), and Texas State University (TXST). William’s puppet experience includes: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, and Disney’s Frozen. He is excited to be joining the cast and crew of Sesame Street the Musical!

Anthony White (Ensemble) is a NY based puppeteer who's delighted to be back on the Street! Besides performing in the last iteration of Sesame Street the Musical on 42nd Street, Anthony had additionally portrayed Paddington Bear in the touring production of Paddington Gets in a Jam, has been a primary performer in such projects as Nick Jr's Puppet Preschool and Tau Bennett's Cold Sober, and has embodied the Red Bull Soccer Mascot, Bulli, for several different events in New York. He can even be seen as an extra in Cookie Monster's Bake Sale: Block Party on Max! Anthony would like to thank his dearest friend, Sebastiano Ricci, for always sticking by him all across his journey, in puppetry and in life. Also for taking this headshot!

Jonathan Rockefeller (Book & Direction) is a writer, director and theatrical producer. Winner of Best Documentary at the AMA Awards, two New York Times Critics’ Picks, three Drama Desk and OBA nominations and multiple Broadway World Awards. Honors include Best New Musical or Play, Best Play, Best Direction, Best New Book, and Best Theatre for Young Audiences.

Rockefeller Studios has received global acclaim for their adaptations of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street the Musical, Paddington, The Eric Carle Story Show and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Its shows run simultaneously across 14 countries, captivating millions from New York to Tokyo, London to Sydney. www.RockefellerStudios.com