CHARISSA BERTELS is a Broadway actor and champion of new musicals. She performed on Broadway and at Madison Square Garden in the Original Broadway Cast of Pasek & Paul's A Christmas Story and toured the country in the first national tour of If/Then, starring Idina Menzel, La Chanze and Anthony Rapp. As part of the singing ensemble for New York City Center Encores' productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Lady Be Good, her work can be heard on the subsequent cast recordings, featuring Megan Hilty and the legendary Tommy Tune. 

 

Charissa starred to rave reviews in her Kleban Award-winning, original one-woman musical, My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend, at Merrimack Repertory Theatre (IRNE Award for Best Solo Performance), Arizona Theatre Company, Human Race Theatre Company (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), and Idaho Repertory Theatre. A cast album is due this summer! In addition to her own writing and producing projects, she teaches at NYFA and NYCDA, holds an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from the University of Idaho and a Bachelor's of Music from Kansas State University, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA.​​​​​​​​