SAMI HORNEFF & AMANDA D’ARCHANGELIS

About us

Amanda D'Archangelis (Music) and Sami Horneff (Lyrics) met in the world-renowned BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. After being paired for the final project of their first year course, D'Archangelis and Horneff quickly realized they had found a life-long partnership.

That class assignment later developed into their first full-length musical together (and their Off-Broadway debut as a team). Single Rider ran at the Players Theatre in Greenwich Village for five weeks in the summer of 2018 and was subsequently presented in a workshop at the University of Alabama. Single Rider had its high school premiere in 2024 at The Altamont School in Birmingham, AL. This production won the top prize at both the regional and national-level Trumbauer Theatre competitions and was presented as the first-ever Studio entry at the 2025 Southeastern Theatre Conference.

Amanda and Sami's other recent work includes The Radium Girls (in collaboration with Lisa Mongillo and directed by Tony Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur), which was a 2022 NAMT semi-finalist, a five-time winner at The 2021 National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival after a virtual production at Western Connecticut State University, and most recently had its first NYC industry presentation starring Tony Nominees Andy Karl and Orfeh; The Break, which had its premiere reading in 2018 through the Omaha Creative Institute and has since been showcased at Lied Center for Performing Arts; and Coming Attraction, a new musical about the life of Hollywood icon Greta Garbo, which premiered at the Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence, RI. They are currently developing Pandora in Blue Jeans with book by Adam Morrison, which explores the life of controversial “Peyton Place” author Grace Metalious; Psych, a 90s spin on the Cupid and Psyche myth commissioned by Wichita State University; and Bandit Queen, a pop-Americana musical centering on Pearl Hart, the Wild West’s most notorious female bandit, which has been developed through artist residences at The Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT and Drama Club Camp in Mount Vernon, ME and was a 2025 finalist for the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. The song “I Will Go” from Bandit Queen was a Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Write Out Loud Songwriting Contest.

Their work has also been performed at famed concert venues across New York City, including The Green Room 42, The Duplex, Prohibition NYC, Lincoln Center, Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, The Metropolitan Room, and Feinstein's/54 Below. D'Archangelis and Horneff also wrote two songs for the feature film A Ring for Christmas, which played on the UPtv network throughout the 2020 holiday season and is now available on Prime Video. In 2019, they were named York Theatre Company’s New/Emerging/Outstanding (NEO) Writers, and in 2023, they were Artists in Residence at The Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT. In 2024, their work was also highlighted as part of Playbill’s Songwriter Series.

To learn more, follow Amanda and Sami on instagram at @darchangelisandhorneff or visit their websites: www.amandadarchangelis.com and www.samihorneff.com

VIDEO

“I WILL GO” Music video

“I Will Go” from Bandit Queen for The Write Out Loud Contest. Featuring Tony Nominee Jenn Colella (Come From Away, Suffs) and Elizabeth Teeter (Heathers, Beetlejuice). Videography by Ellie Gravitte. Music directed by Benjamin Rauhala with additional orchestrations by Nicholas Connors. Musicians: Alan Stevens Hewitt (bass), Jesse-Ray Leich (drums), Matt Brown (guitar) and Justin Smith (fiddle).

“I Will GO” At 54 Below

Performed by Tony Nominee Julia Knitel (Dead Outlaw) and Kate Louissaint (A Wonderful World) at the Write Out Loud Concert on September 15th, 2025 at 54 Below. Videography by Kayleen Bertrand.
Musicians: Adam Laird (piano), Matt Brown (guitar), Magda Kress (bass), and Ryan McCausland (percussion). Produced by Sarah Glugatch, Josh Collopy, and Hannah Kloepfer with music supervision by Benjamin Rauhala and additional orchestrations by Nicholas Connors.

Playbill’s Songwriter Series

“Dynamic duo Amanda D'Archangelis and Sami Horneff write contemporary musicals that are making waves for their fiercely free female leading characters, giving a voice to women that had previously been silenced throughout history.” Featuring songs from The Radium Girls and Single Rider with performances by Cara Rose DiPietro, Katie Emerson, Francesca Ferrari, Daniel J. Maldonado, & Keirsten Hodgens.

Live at the green room 42

D’ARCHANGELIS & HORNEFF (AND FRIENDS!) at The Green Room 42. September 25th, 2021. Videography by Famous in NY. Click through for songs from Single Rider, The Break, The Radium Girls: A Jaw-Dropping New Musical, Coming Attraction and more!