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Mandy
Bestselling Middle Grade Novelist
Broadway & Hollywood Actress
Travels from: Newark, NJ

“Will hit all the high notes for theater and mystery fans alike.” —Kirkus Reviews

Mandy Gonzalez possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. She starred in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” and is best known for her emotional portrayal of Nina Rosario in the Tony Award winning, Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway musical “In the Heights,” a role she originally created Off Broadway at 37 Arts and which received a Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble. She starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked,” blowing the roof off of New York’s Gershwin Theatre each night as she belted out signature song “Defying Gravity” and for which she was rewarded with a Broadway.com Award for Best Replacement. Other Broadway roles include Princess Amneris in the Elton John and Tim Rice musical “Aida” and the Broadway show “Lennon” where she portrayed multiple roles including that of Beatles’ icon John Lennon. Mandy made her Broadway debut in Jim Steinman’s “Dance of the Vampires” starring opposite Michael Crawford.

Mandy received an OBIE Award and overwhelming critical praise for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of “Eli’s Comin’”, directed by Diane Paulus and based on the music and lyrics of renowned singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.

Equally at home on the big and small screen, she has appeared in “Across the Universe” directed by Julie Taymor, “After” starring opposite Pablo Schreiber and “Man on a Ledge” with Sam Worthington. Most recently, Mandy had a recurring role on the ABC drama thriller “Quantico”. She was also on the CBS breakout hit “Madam Secretary.”

Mandy can be heard as the voice of Mei in Disney’s “Mulan 2” and on recordings of the original Broadway cast album of “In the Heights”, “Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live” and “The Man Who Would Be King”.

Mandy’s debut album, Fearless, reached #13 on the iTunes pop charts. Mandy is also an author—having published a widely cited article in the Harvard Business Review on how to overcome one’s fear of public speaking. Most dear to her heart, Mandy is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad—a social media movement for inclusiveness and belonging. The movement connects millions of people around the world, encourages them to be their best selves, and helps them empower each other. She is the author of the middle grade Fearless series, with the fourth book releasing April of 2024.

Mandy’s Authors Out Loud Profile: 

Mandy's Featured Titles

The Takeover (4) (Fearless Series)

Aladdin |
Middle Grade

Better Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this fourth and final novel in the Fearless middle grade series from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a young thespian and emerging influencer whose social media gets hacked.

Twelve-year-old April DaSilva loves performing—and connecting with fans on her social media accounts. Thanks to her role in the hit Broadway show Our Time, she is close to reaching a huge follower milestone. In celebration, she’s hosting a contest: three lucky followers will win a special backstage tour and tickets to the show.

April feels on top of the world, but her brother isn’t so thrilled about her attention always being glued to a screen. His warnings don’t bother April. What’s wrong with wanting more followers and likes? When meet and greet day arrives, the Squad helps make the event special. All goes without a hitch until April attempts to log into her social media…it’s gone. Her previous posts have been erased, and a new one that April didn’t make pops up. It’s even worse than she thought…she’s been hacked.

The Squad tries to uncover the culprit while April becomes a puppet of her stolen account—desperately trying to keep up with the public appearances promised in her name until she can reclaim ownership of the online presence she’s worked so hard for. But she suddenly has much more to worry about when it’s announced that the entire Squad has outgrown their roles in Our Time and may soon be replaced…

In the Mix (3) (Fearless Series)

Aladdin |
Middle Grade

Better Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this “delectable” (Kirkus Reviews) third novel in the Fearless middle grade series from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a young thespian who feels caught between his love of baking and theatre.

Twelve-year-old Hudson Patel has two great loves: Broadway and baking! In addition to giving his all to his role in the hit show Our Time, Hudson takes pride in keeping his castmates and fellow Fearless Squad members well-fed with all the delicious treats he creates.

When the call comes in for a big baking show—with the winner receiving a spot at a kiosk in Times Square—the Squad encourages him to enter. They just know that kiosk should be his. But Hudson struggles to create a showstopper, and his friends realize if Hudson goes all-in with the baking, he may not have time to spare for his stage role.

Hudson goes to his grandmother for help, and she suggests going back to his roots, to be proud of who he is, and to show that in his culinary creation. With time running out, can Hudson find the magical ingredient that will put him in the spotlight without having to choose between his passions?

Boulevard of Dreams (Fearless Series #2)

Aladdin |
Middle Grade

Better Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this spooky second novel in the Fearless middle grade series from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a group of young thespians who time travel back to 1950s Broadway.

Twelve-year-old Relly can’t wait for his beloved grandfather to finally see him on stage! Along with the rest of the Fearless Squad, Relly has just opened Our Time, a brand-new musical at the infamous Ethel Merman Theater. Though his grandfather would prefer his grandson pursue something more “practical,” Relly just knows when he sees the show, he will change his mind and come around on Relly’s love of theater and dance.

But right before their night show, a member of the Squad loses their phone down an open manhole. When the entire Squad goes down to help retrieve it, they find themselves in 1950s Manhattan. A big problem, considering the curtain goes up in about two hours—and over sixty years in the future!

With a series of clues, Relly discovers that his grandfather was a popular tap dancer, working the nightclub circuit and pursuing his dream of performing—something he’s been discouraging Relly from doing lately. Perhaps this accidental fall into a different time wasn’t so accidental after all. Can Relly help his grandfather and make it back in time for places in the show?

Fearless (Fearless Series #1)

Aladdin |
Middle Grade

“Will hit all the high notes for theater and mystery fans alike.” —Kirkus Reviews

Better Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this spooky middle grade novel from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a group of young thespians who must face the ghost haunting their theater.

Twelve-year-old Monica Garcia has arrived in NYC with her grandmother and a few suitcases to live her dream on Broadway. She’s been chosen as understudy to the star of Our Time, the famed Ethel Merman Theater’s last chance to produce a hit before it shutters its doors for good. Along with her fellow castmates—a.k.a. “the squad”—Monica has a big and very personal reason to want this show to succeed.

But rumors of a long-running curse plague the theater. And when strange and terrible things start to threaten their hopes for a successful opening night, Monica and the rest of the squad must figure out how to reverse the curse before their big Broadway debuts.

With the help of her new friends, her family, and a little magic, can Monica help save the show—and save their dreams? From Broadway and television star Mandy Gonzalez comes a story about what it means to dream, be yourself, and be fearless.

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#fearlesssquad-online social movement about inclusion and community

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Broadway - My Journey from CA to NYC

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Following Your Dreams

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Learning to work through your fears, stagefright, anxiety

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An Artist's Journey - All it takes to be a working artist

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Broadway Warm-Up

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Learning to Use Your Voice

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Broadway

Mandy focuses on performing and auditions. Students will learn about her Broadway warm-up and a short song, then about characterization and performance.

Mandy’s recent work

Mandy in the Media

Mandy’s Fearless Squad

Honors, Awards & Recognition

2001, Obie Award for Performance, Eli’s Comin’
2007, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble, In the Heights
2010, Broadway.com Audience Award Best Female Replacement, Wicked

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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