Our Team
Benton Whitley, CSA
Founder/Creative Producer/Head of Casting
Benton Whitley (he/him) founded the New York City based casting and producing office of Whitley Theatrical in 2023.
He is currently responsible for the casting of the Broadway 2019 Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical Hadestown, for which he won the 2020 Artios Award for Excellence in Casting as well as the star casting for Moulin Rouge on Broadway. Last season’s new Broadway musical How to Dance in Ohio, the Off-Broadway premiere of Dave Malloy’s Three Houses, as well as the current national tours of Hadestown, Clue, and Dear Everything, and this past season’s production of Goddess at The Public Theater.
Before Whitley Theatrical, Benton co-founded and helmed the Gotham-based casting office Stewart/Whitley for over 12 years, where they were responsible for casting the main stem productions of Chicago The Musical; La Cage Aux Folles; Radio City Christmas Spectacular; Pippin; On The Town; Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812; The Lightning Thief; Paradise Square; and Life of Pi.
Whitley Theatrical is also responsible for the casting of numerous other projects in development for the stage including: The Turning, Particle Fever, Farewell My Concubine, Life of Death, Pump Up the Volume, Cowboy Bob, Octet, Deathless, and reimagined revivals of Inherit The Wind and Same Time Next Year.
In addition to the work Whitley Theatrical does in creative and inclusive casting, the office also is producing and developing new works for the stage including the recent world premiere of Tectonic Theater Project’s Velour at LaJolla Playhouse, starring drag superstar Sasha Velour, the new one-woman comedy Infanticide, by Wes Taylor and Alex Wyse, directed by Christian Borle, as well as the new folk thriller, The Turning, book/music/lyrics by Zack Zadek, directed by and developed with Sammi Cannold, that is having a 4 week developmental workshop in NYC this fall, produced by Center Theatre Group.
Whitley is often a guest lecturer and teacher at schools and universities around the country, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Department. He is a two time Artios Award winner and a proud member of the Casting Society of America (CSA).
In addition to his life in the theatre, Benton resides in Brooklyn and is the co-host and co-producer of the queer mental health podcast Why Here, now streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging are centered in what his casting & producing office does in its daily practice internally, in its engagement with the professional community at-large, and in the stories they help creative team’s tell.
Follow: @whitleytheatrical & whitleytheatrical.com
Peter Dunn
Casting Director/Associate Producer
Peter William Dunn is a former child actor, turned producer, writer, director, educator, and casting professional in NYC. He has been in show business since he was six months old, and yes - he's still tired, and finally values nap time.
With a career spanning many entertainment mediums, it is never lost on him how lucky he is to get to be a part of this industry. From performing across stages and screens around the world, to producing live events since he was a teenager, at the end of the day, he values the collaboration of the art and the heart more than anything.
A casting director whose credits includes Broadway, Off-Broadway, National tours, workshops and exciting new works, and a human who thinks everyone just needs to breathe more, he has been described as "a casting director actors love auditioning for". Selected credits: the casting brain behind the sold-out RENT In Concert series with Symphony Orchestras across the country, the 2025 National Queer Theater Festival, Co-Founders, Girls:Chance:Music, The King's Wife, Unlock'd, Drag: The Musical, Mystic Pizza, Freestyle Love Supreme, the 1st National tour of TINA, Titanique, various shows at The Muny, and the 3 National tours and Broadway production of world phenomenon, HAMILTON. A multi-hyphenated artist with a passion for advocacy, Peter strives to create and hold the safest and most joyful spaces for artists, and stresses the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in not only the entertainment industry, but in our everyday world.
Peter also serves as the Co-Director of Engagement and Opportunity for the non-profit arts educational organization, Broadway Dreams. Through Broadway Dreams as well as his teaching work with schools throughout the country, Peter is lucky enough to work with hundreds of students every year. As the son of an educator who is one of the most compassionate and greatest humans on earth, he feels truly honored to work with the artists of tomorrow.
When not working, you'll probably find him still working, swimming in the horror genre, planning his next Irish exit, or trying to pet every dog he passes on the street.
He's also a very private person and blames Benton for this bio, but hugely thanks Benton for welcoming him to Whitley Theatrical.
Endless gratitude to my mother. Lead life with kindness. The world is already hard enough, let's not make it harder for one another and for ourselves.
Jordan Manekin
Acquisitions/Legal Counsel
Jordan Manekin is a seasoned entertainment and media lawyer. Formerly a partner at the boutique entertainment law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, in New York, Jordan was listed in Up Next in Variety’s Legal Impact Report and served as a secondee at Meta, working exclusively on its Facebook Watch platform, and at iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc. His practice spans film, television, fashion, new technologies and theatre.
Karen Morales/Armanino LLP
Business Management
Armanino is an independent accounting and business consulting firm serving privately-held companies, as well as non-profit organizations and public entities with assurance/audit, tax, consulting and business management services. As a top 25 accounting and consulting firm in the nation, Armanino delivers a depth of knowledge, a range of services, and a consistent and responsive team. We also help support global operations with sophisticated financial capabilities and solutions wherever you’re located.