Gina Gallego, Book

Gina Gallego, a second-generation Angeleno, has appeared in over one hundred feature films and television shows, recently completing four seasons as Mrs. Hernandez on the CW Channel’s groundbreaking musical comedy, Crazy Ex Girlfriend. América Tropical is her second writing project with her husband of thirty-nine years, Joel S. Bailey. Their first project was the never-produced television pilot, South of Your Border, (but they did get the title of a comedy song for América Tropical out of it). América Tropical was a semi-finalist at the O’Neil Theatre Center’s prestigious NAMT Conference, and was selected by McCoy Rigby Entertainment as winner of the Raise Your Voice new works competition sponsored by Inclusion Media Group. Gina has been honored with the prestigious Golden Eagle Award from Nosotros’ the oldest Latino arts advocacy organization in the United States founded by Hollywood legend Ricardo Montalbán. IMDb > Gina Gallego (I)

Jan Roper, Music

Jan Roper is a composer and music director. After many years as a singer/performer, she launched her theater career with the full-scale production of her own original rock opera, Jerusalem A.D. Another original work, City of Light, was chosen for the ASCAP Stephen Schwartz workshop (2016) and the sheNYC Festival (2017), where it won Best Score. City of Light was featured as a “new work to watch” at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC after a sold-out concert reading there in 2018 and a featured new work in the March 2019 release of The Micro-Musical Podcast. Last year Jan had a featured song in the new world premiere, Girlhood, produced by CPA Theatricals. Another new work, The Path to Catherine, about the teenage Catherine the Great, has several promised productions planned for 2022. She stays busy as a faculty accompanist and teacher at AMDA College of the Performing Arts, and a vocal and music director in the local theater and cabaret community of Los Angeles. www.janroper.com

Joel S. Bailey, Book & Lyrics

Joel S. Bailey works as a writer, producer, director, and actor in the entertainment industry. América Tropical is his second collaboration with composer Jan Roper. Their first musical, Photo Finish (lyrics, Eve Weston), was produced on Theatre Row in Hollywood by Studio C Artists. América Tropical was a semi-finalist at the O’Neil Theatre Center’s prestigious NAMT Conference, and was selected by McCoy Rigby Entertainment as winner of the Raise Your Voice new works competition sponsored by Inclusion Media Group. Bailey’s other musicals include New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (music Jake Anthony, lyrics Patricia Zehentmayr), and Big Noise (book & lyrics with music by Ron Barnett). Joel is married to actor Gina Gallego co-book writer of América Tropical. Film & TV credits: IMDb > Joel Bailey (I)