ABOUT ME

A born and raised New Yorker, Sami is a proud graduate of Brown University (B.A. Theatre Arts) and an advanced lyricist and bookwriter in the world-renowned BMI LEHMAN ENGEL MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP.

In 2019, she was named one of The York Theatre Company's NEW, EMERGING, OUTSTANDING (NEO) WRITERS along with collaborator Amanda D'Archangelis. In 2024, the music of D’Archangelis & Horneff was featured on PLAYBILL’S SONGWRITER SERIES. They have also been Artists in Residence at THE LEGACY THEATRE in Branford, CT and at Drama Club Productions’ DRAMA CLUB CAMP in Mount Vernon, ME. In 2025, Sami and Amanda’s song “I Will Go” was the Grand Prize winner at the WRITE OUT LOUD SONGWRITING CONTEST and was recorded by Tony Nominee Jenn Colella and Broadway alum Elizabeth Teeter.

RECENT CREDITS INCLUDE: The Broadway-aimed THE RADIUM GIRLS (Lyrics & Book) directed by Tony Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, which was the winner at The Players Theatre BOO! Short Play Festival in 2017, a 2018 Eugene O'Neill NMTC Semifinalist, five-time winner at the 2021 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival after its world premiere virtual production through Western Connecticut State University’s New Works - New Voices festival, a 2022 NAMT Festival finalist, and most recently made its NYC premiere in a closed industry presentation starring Tony Nominees Orfeh and Andy Karl; SINGLE RIDER (Lyrics & Book), which ran at The Players Theatre Off-Broadway in 2018, won Best in Show at the state of Alabama’s Walter Trumbauer High School Theatre Competition in 2024, and became the first ever Studio entry at the Southeastern Theatre Conference; BANDIT QUEEN (Lyrics & Book) with Amanda D’Archangelis, which has been developed through The Legacy Theatre and Drama Club Camp, and was a 2025 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat finalist; COMING ATTRACTION (Lyrics), a new musical about the life of Hollywood icon Greta Garbo, which premiered as a staged reading at the Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence, RI; ArtsPower National Touring Theatre’s JUDY MOODY & STINK (Lyrics) based on the bestselling book series by Megan McDonald; THE BREAK (Lyrics, Omaha Creative Institute); ROCK AND A HARD PLACE (Music & Lyrics), which was presented in a star-studded reading starring Constantine Maroulis, Hannah Shankman, and Asa Somers in 2015; A NEVER-ENDING LINE (Lyrics, Off-Broadway) in collaboration with composer Jaime Lozano; and ACROSS THE SKY (Lyrics & Book), a new family musical based on the children’s book Elinda Who Danced in the Sky.

Sami has also written songs for film and the web including THE UNDER 5ERS WEB SERIES (Writer/Producer), for which she was nominated for a 2016 Indie Series Award for Best Original Song; and lyrics for an original song in the 2020 feature film A RING FOR CHRISTMAS (UPtv).

Her work has also been performed at venues and educational institutions from Nebraska to Paris such as The Green Room 42, The Metropolitan Room, The Duplex, Prohibition NYC, Northwestern University, The University of Alabama, Christopher Newport University, Lied Center for Performing Arts, and Feinstein’s/54 Below.

UPCOMING PROJECTS: LETTERS FROM ALMEDA (Lyrics), a new song cycle in collaboration with Jesse J. Sanchez; THE PIRATE PRINCESS (Lyrics) with music by Ben Diskant and book by Alix Sobler; and PANDORA IN BLUE JEANS (Lyrics), a show about the life of Peyton Place author Grace Metalious with music by Amanda D’Archangelis and Book by Adam Morrison; and an original musical developed with the students at WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY.