I & You: The Musical

ALEX DE BARD (Caroline) (she/her) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: Hello, Dolly!, Disney’s Frozen, Kinky Boots, A.D. 16; DC AREA: Arena Stage: Inherit The Wind, A Wrinkle In Time; Signature Theatre: Hair, Private Jones, Passing Strange, Into the Woods, Rent, Gun & Powder. Monumental Theatre Company: tick, tick…BOOM! [Helen Hayes Nominated - Outstanding Supporting Performer], 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche; Mosaic Theatre Company: Postmortem (workshop/documentary); NextStop Theatre: Little Women, First Date; Museum of the Bible: Amazing Grace; Adventure Theatre: The Velveteen Rabbit, Elephant & Piggie, Fancy Nancy, Blueberries for Sal. REGIONAL: McCarter Theatre: I &You: The Musical; Goodspeed Musicals: Private Jones; Great Lakes Center for the Arts: Godspell. EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music from CUA. IG:@alex_debard / @debardvoiceandacting

J. ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ (Anthony) (he/him) is thrilled to be making his OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut. OFF-BROADWAY: Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas, Facings. NATIONAL TOUR: Hadestown (Orpheus). REGIONAL: Maine State Music Theatre: Footloose (Ren); The MUNY: Footloose; Lyric Theatre OKC: Joseph and the… (Joseph), Rocky Horror (Brad); New London Barn Playhouse: Split (Ray); The REV: Buddy Holly (Ritchie Valens); City Springs Atlanta: Mamma Mia (Sky). FILM: Dotty & Soul. Instagram: @j.antoniorod TikTok: @jantoniorod

ALEXANDRA LÓPEZ (U/S Caroline) (she/her) is excited to make her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut! DC AREA: Imagination Stage: Snowman and the Snowdog (Stella/Ensemble); Adventure Theatre: The Lightning Thief (Swing); NextStop Theatre: Footloose (Jeter/Travis/Eleanor), Reefer Madness (Ensemble, Mary U/S), In the Heights (Swing). REGIONAL: Iron Crow Theatre: Next to Normal (Natalie); Clear Space Theatre: 9 to 5 (Doralee), Grease (Cha Cha), Joseph…DreamCoat (Ensemble). EDUCATION: B.M. in Musical Theatre and Master’s of Science in Business from Catholic University. Instagram: @alexandravlopez

KISHAN RAO (U/S Anthony) (he/him) is excited to join OLNEY THEATRE CENTER for the first time and continue the run of I & You: The Musical. His previous credit is: McCarter Theatre Center: I & You: The Musical (Anthony Understudy). EDUCATION: BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Miami. He is proud to be a part of this outstanding team of artists and hopes you enjoy this truly beautiful story. Instagram: @kishan_rao

LAUREN M. GUNDERSON (Book) has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice, including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award, and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her plays have been translated into a dozen languages and produced across the world, and her new anthology, Revolutionary Women, is published by Bloomsbury. IG: @LalaTellsAStory LaurenGunderson.com

ARI AFSAR (Music, Lyrics, and Co-Orchestrator) Musicals: I & You (Lauren M. Gunderson; McCarter Theatre premiere 2025, co-pro with OLNEY THEATRE CENTER 2026), That Girl (Rehana Lew Mirza; O’Neill NMTC 2025, Berkeley Rep Groundfloor 2024), Lyle Lyle Crocodile (Pasek & Paul; Pasadena Playhouse 2025, Sony Original Movie), Silhouettes (Jordan Ealey; BabelFest at Redhouse Arts Center 2025, University of Rochester), Jeannette (Lauren M. Gunderson & Jordan Ealey; LMU, TX State, Signature Theatre, O’Neill NMTC, WMPAC). Afsar originated Eliza in Chicago’s Hamilton, starred in LJP’s world-premiere of Bhangra Nation (aka Bhangin’ It), and starred in Netflix’s Wedding Season. Awards: Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award, AAUW Development Grant, Miss California, Top 10 Miss America, American Idol Top 36, 2024 Artivism Fellow at BAC, 2024/2025 DGF Fellow, NYU MPA graduate. IG: @ariannaafsar. www.ariafsar.com

SARAH RASMUSSEN (Director) is the Artistic Director at McCarter Theatre Center, where she is thrilled to carry on its long tradition of championing innovative art. Prior to McCarter, Rasmussen was Artistic Director of the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, where, in recognition of her directing work, she was named Star Tribune’s Artist of the Year. Rasmussen also served as Resident Director for Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Black Swan Lab new work development program and Head of MFA Directing at the University of Texas at Austin. She has directed at Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, Dallas Theater Center, Actors Theater of Louisville, and La Jolla Playhouse, and is an alum of the SoHo Rep. and Lincoln Center Directing Labs. She was an inaugural recipient of the BOLD Leadership Circle grant and is also the recipient of a Princess Grace Award, an Ivey Award for Overall Excellence, and Drama League and Fulbright fellowships. Rasmussen holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego.