Todd Almond and Friends on October 25
October 15, 2008

Contact:
Keith Stevens, Managing Director
(603)924-9344

The Peterborough Players welcomes home actor/singer/pianist/songwriter Todd Almond in a special concert presentation entitled “Todd Almond and Friends” at 8:00 PM Saturday, October 25 at the Players Theatre, 55 Hadley Road in Peterborough. This concert is presented as part of the theatre’s year-long 75th Anniversary celebration.

Players Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen has developed and will narrate an evening of highlights from productions and post-show cabarets from the last thirteen seasons. Almond will be joined by acting company members Ann Harvey, Kathy Manfre and Kraig Swartz, 2008 Second Company members Katie Clark and Claire D. Philippe, and special guest Dorothy Yanish. “Look for songs from musicals like Pump Boys and Dinettes, People Like Us, Always…Patsy Cline, Cindy Reilly and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, and musical highlights from cabarets and non-musical plays, all designed to celebrate the Players’ 75th birthday,” said Kaikkonen. In addition, Almond will perform many of his original songs, including selections from his latest CD, Mexico City.

Almond began his career with the Peterborough Players in 1998 as an intern in the Second Company. That summer, he appeared in a supporting role in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and as Mr. G in Dick Winslow’s musical adaptation of James Thurber’s Many Moons. “We didn’t know what we had when we hired Todd,” said Kaikkonen. “Pretty soon, though, Todd’s talents as a musician began to shine through, and he and Ann Harvey began the post-show cabarets that summer.” The cabarets, which at the beginning featured Almond accompanying Harvey and other members of the company as well as performing his own songs, soon became very popular and have continued each summer with that season’s resident actors and interns.

As an actor, Almond has performed I Am My Own Wife to great acclaim at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Florida Studio Theatre as well as the Peterborough Players. Other performances have included 2 Pianos 4 Hands at Kansas City Rep, Hedwig in Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Claire in The Maids, and Edward in the world premiere of James And Annie. At the Peterborough Players he has also been seen in A Number, Our Town, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Six Degrees Of Separation, Laughing Stock, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown and most recently in 2007 as Beverly in The Man Who Came To Dinner, Versati in Steve Martin’s The Underpants and Torvald in A Doll House.

Kaikkonen and Almond collaborated on the book and lyrics and Almond wrote the music for People Like Us, a musical that has been presented in New York in the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival and received a full production in the Players’ 2002 season. With his theater company, Mitu, Almond reconceived, reorchestrated and conducted the musical Hair at the Skirball Center. The acclaimed Yale Repertory Theatre has commissioned him to write two musicals, and his work as a musical director includes Michael John LaChiusa's Tres Ninas and Mitu's Ahraihsak. He has been in residence at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Vassar (NYTW), and was a composer in the inaugural 24 HOUR MUSICALS.

Todd is one of the most sought-after songwriters in New York. In the past year some of the theatre world's greatest singers including Laura Benanti, Victoria Clark, Michael Arden, Jayne Houdyshell, and Cheyenne Jackson have performed his music. Almond is currently collaborating with Adam Bock, Marcus Gardley, and Lear deBessonet, and this summer he composed music for a short film by Will Eno. As a performer, Almond has been wowing audiences with his inventive and always-surprising live shows, including sold out performances at Joe’s Pub (part of the New York Shakespeare Festival) and the famed Zipper Factory. His first two CDs - Try to Hear, Try to Say and Deep North Woods (which was recorded at the Players) - are available at CDBaby.com, and he will be celebrating the release of his newest CD Mexico City with a concert at the Zipper Factory on October 20. People can follow Todd’s career at his website, www.toddalmond.com.

Tickets to “Todd Almond and Friends” are now on sale at the Players Box Office. For reservations and further information, call (603) 924-7585, or visit the Peterborough Players web site at www.peterboroughplayers.org.