People Like Us - a new musical by Todd Almond & Gus Kaikkonen

People like US

a new musical
by Todd Almond & Gus Kaikkonen
featuring Pamela Bob & Matt Bogart

Biographies

Todd Almond
(Composer/co-lyricist/co-playwright)

Composing: Theater Mitu: ARAHSAK; THE ODYSSEY; HAPPY ACCIDENT. Peterborough Players: PEOPLE LIKE US; ABOUT TIME; SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION. Albums: TRY TO HEAR, TRY TO SAY; DEEP NORTH WOODS. Acting: I AM MY OWN WIFE; HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH; JAMES AND ANNIE; THE MAIDS; A NUMBER.

Gus Kaikkonen
(Director/co-lyricist/co-playwright)

Off Broadway: HEARTBREAK HOUSE and I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE at the Pearl Theatre; the New York premieres of Harley Granville-Barker's THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE with George Morfogen, and THE CHARITY THAT BEGAN AT HOME with Kristin Griffith, both at the Mint Theatre; MACBETH with Stephen McHattie and CANDIDA with Laurie Kennedy at Playhouse 91; RICHARD III with Austin Pendleton at Riverside Shakespeare; Revised version of the musical ANNA KARENINA starring Melissa Errico at the York Theatre. This spring he directed Susan Sandler's new play UNDER THE BED at HB Playwrights, and Odets' GOLDEN BOY at Juilliard. Regional: Coconut Grove Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Asolo, GeVa, Florida Rep, Northlight Rep, BoarsHead Theatre, Cohoes Music Hall, the Folger, the Springer Opera House, and Glassboro Summer Theatre. As Artistic Director of the Peterborough Players: Fifty plays including Mary Beth Hurt in SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, James Rebhorn in LATER LIFE, and James Whitmore in OUR TOWN, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, ABOUT TIME and INHERIT THE WIND. This season he is scheduled to direct THE GENTLEMAN DANCING MASTER at the Pearl, TRYING starring James Whitmore at Ford's Theatre in DC, and ABOUT TIME starring Theodore Bikel at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami. Mr. Kaikkonen's plays have been produced at Playwrights Horizons, the Production Company, the Theatre Off Park, the West Bank Cafe, and the Juilliard School in New York; at the New End Theatre and the Theatre Museum, Covent Garden, in London; and at regional theatres across the US. The American Theatre Critics Association selected his play, TIME STEPS, produced at the BoarsHead Theatre, as one of the ten best plays to open outside New York. His musical CINDY REILLY won Michigan's Thespie Award for Best New Play. He was chosen the 1995 James Thurber Playwriting Fellow by the Ohio State University. He is a MacDowell Fellow and the recipient of the Lecomte du Nouys Playwrights Award. PEOPLE LIKE US won the 2002 New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best New Play.

Pamela Bob
(Pamela)

Pamela is proud and honored to be a part of People Like US where she received recognition for BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS in the 2005 NY Musical Theatre Festival. Regional experience includes Sisters of Swing (Capital Rep.), Annie, Get Your Gun! (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Syncopation (Asolo Theatre, Peterborough Players), Keep On the Sunny Side (Barter Theater), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Peterborough Players), Babes In Arms (State Theater), Swinginâ€™ On a Star (Riverside Theater), Company (Barrington Stage), Suburbia (Schoolhouse Theater), Gypsy (the Aronoff Center). Member of the New Jersey Reperatory Co. Pamela is featured with Matt Bogart on the new recording, NEO-New, Emerging, Outstanding! featuring a selection from People Like Us. New York Theater includes Cam Jansen (TheaterWorks), The Gay Divorce (Musicals Tonight), the workshop of People Like Us and NEO Benefit Concert and Recording (York Theatre). University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.

Matt Bogart
(Matt)

Broadway: Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida; Chris in Miss Saigon; Frank Wildhorn's The Civil War; The White Guy in Smokey Joe's Cafe, also filmed for television, video and DVD. Regional: Pasha in Zhivago at La Jolla Playhouse, Val in Orpheus Descending and Lancelot in Camelot (Helen Hayes nomination) at Arena Stage, where he also an Affiliated Artist; Paul Claudel, opposite Linda Eder, in Frank Wildhorn's Camille Claudel at the Goodspeed Opera House and he originated the role of James Joyce in the world premiere of a new musical, Himself and Nora at the Old Globe. Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration: Paul in Company and reprised his role for the 2002 Kennedy Center Honors in praise of Elizabeth Taylor. Other regional: Billy in Carousel at Paper Mill Playhouse; The title role in Phantom at Music Theatre Wichita; Sydney Carton in Two Cities (Connecticut Critic's nomination) at the Stamford Center; Starbuck in 110 in the Shade; Terry in Side Show at Signature Theatre. Concert: Sondheim Celebration at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall; With Steven Sloane and the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; With Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops; With Joel Levine and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. He earned his BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Matt's first solo theatre album, "Simple Song," is available on his site at www.MattBogart.com , released on the Jay Records label.