Alumni News

Sam Hyrkin

Sam Hyrkin completed his MA in Acting from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales in 2024. He graduated in 2021 from the UNC School of the Arts with a BFA in Acting. He loved his first PYT production of Charlotte’s Web in 2008. Other PYT favorites of his include Cats in 2012 and Les Miserables in 2015.

In March 2025, Sam stars in the west coast premiere of DOOMERS, a new boardroom drama by critically acclaimed writer/director Matthew Gasda. DOOMERS follows the unraveling of a tech company as its leaders clash over ambition, ethics, and the dangerous pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence. The play addresses the very timely theme of the ethics and impact of AI and is loosely based on the dramatic events that took place the weekend Sam Altman was fired and then re-hired as CEO of Open AI. Sam Hyrkin plays the Sam Altman-based leading character “Seth”. He joins the San Francisco premiere of the production after also starring in the New York premiere run earlier in 2025. He returns to New York for an extended run of the show directly after the San Francisco performances end. Read more on DOOMERS here.

Noel Carey

Noel Carey is a composer/lyricist for Musical Theatre in New York City. In July 2023, he celebrated his wedding to his wife, Brittany. Noel had fun being cast as Peter Pan with PYT in the year 2000. He was also a member of the PYT Youth Advisory Board. He graduated from Boston’s Emerson College and the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop in NYC, where he was given the Harrington Award. On a regional tour, he played the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet. Together, Noel and his creative partner, Julia Mattison, wrote the online Olay Musical Commercials, and also the series 2016 web series, Brooklyn Sound. Hired by L.A.’s Universal Theatre Group in 2020, Noel and Julia wrote the music & lyrics to the new musical, Death Becomes Her, which opened on Broadway on November 21, 2024. It is based on the 1992 movie of the same name. Please see https://deathbecomesher.com/

Emily Borromeo

Emily made her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock,” and toured the country with the show. She wrote for and hosted a live preschool morning program on Sprout/NBCUniversal (Emmy-nominated) which gave her several amazing opportunities ranging from performing on the Macy’s Day Parade to filming out of the iconic 30 Rock studios. Other favorite credits include the New York premier of Joe Iconis’ Broadway Bounty Hunter, Marcy Park in Spelling Bee, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, and lead vocalist on NBC’s “The Sing Off.” She graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Business Organizations & Entrepreneurship. Emily lives in New York City with her husband and her dog Kona, and enjoys cooking, hiking, and playing the ukulele.

A message from Emily in July 2022: “To all the PYT performers and families: I am sending you all so much love and admiration as you get back on stage and bring live theater back during this time. Some of my favorite memories were summer evenings directing “Theatre in the Park,” long and delirious hours of tech rehearsals as the final magical finishes of a show came together (especially during Les Mis and Once On This Island), and the rush of energy from performing onstage next to my dear friends. I am grateful for my time at PYT which allowed me to learn a dedicated work ethic and build resilience in the face of uncertainties, all while inspiring my theater dreams, and nurturing my pursuit of the career that I have today. I hope you’re all finding your experiences here as special as I did and I look forward to seeing your lights shine on and off the stage!”

Véronique Filloux

Véronique Filloux is an emerging operatic soprano. She has worked with major companies including Pittsburgh Opera, Arizona Opera, Central City Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Opera Lafayette, Chicago Opera Theater, and Des Moines Metro Opera. Her roles have included Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Semele (Semele), Despina (Così fan tutte), Pamina (The Magic Flute), and Soeur Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites). Active in competition, she has won first prize awards from organizations including the Zenith Opera Competition, the Mildred Miller Vocal Competition, and the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition- Pittsburgh District. Follow her past and future engagements at her website https://www.veroniquefilloux.com/

Nic Rouleau

Nic started at PYT in a production of “Peter Pan” at age 8. At age 24, he appeared on Broadway in “The Book of Mormon”. Hear him talk about his experience with touring show “Hello Dolly”  from his interview with ABC7 News or visit his website at www.nicrouleau.com

Nic Rouleau

Ernestine Balisi

Ernestine continues to perform in musical theatre roles within the greater Sacramento area. You can find her frequently performing our National Anthem at stadiums across California!

Jonathan Murphy

Jonathan is a professional voice actor. He has been featured in various commercials and spots for Verizon, SimCity, theme parks and can now be heard as a voice on the new video game, 2K Mafia III.  Check out some samples of his work at http://jonincharacter.com/featured-voiceover/

Jonathan’s mother, Jodi Murphy, who served on the PYT Board, is the founder of Geek Club Books, which opens hearts and ignites minds through autism stories.

Jennifer Kranz

Jennifer completed a new musical reading and workshop called Recorded in Hollywood and was cast as Jolene in Musical Theatre West production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. She also played Lorraine in the concert version Bubble Boy in Los Angeles.

Alison Koch

Alison (Starr) continues to perform in numerous plays and musicals. In March 2019, she played the role of Emily in the production of the Pulitzer Prize Winning Play Disgraced. at the Greenbelt Arts Center in Maryland. Other featured roles include: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Magenta), The Odd Couple (Cecily), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Cassandra), and The 39 Steps (Annabella, Margaret, Pamela). Ali has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts with a focus on early childhood education. She was married in August 2017.

Amy Thompson

Amy does sketch and improv comedy for The Second City in Chicago. From September 2016 – February 2018, she was in their touring company, performing at venues around the US. She wrote and performed her one-woman comedy show, “Boofgall,” at The iO Theater in June 2016. Amy received degrees in English and Acting from Brandeis University before studying improv at The Second City, Annoyance, and iO Theaters.

Janel Healy

Janel completed hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2018 and raised almost $11,000 for girl empowerment nonprofits over the course of her 2,350-mile journey. She also hiked the Appalachian Trail which is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, spanning Maine to Georgia. Janel walked 2,187 mountainous miles in 5 months finishing it in October 2016.