Merry, Merry Chicago! at Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Kole Mitchell McKinley

Kole is thrilled to be back in Fort Myers, FL as he could have last been seen on The Gulf Coast Symphony Stage as Dr. Madden/Fine in Next to Normal back in 2022. Recently Kole could have been seen on The Alhambra Theatre & Dining’s stage in their production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in Jacksonville, FL this past holiday season. Kole has also portrayed such characters as Buddy in Elf: The Musical, Josh Baskin in Big: The Musical, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Cornelius Hackl in Hello Dolly!, Hennesey/Captain in Dames at Sea, Harry Bright in Mamma Mia!, and various other ensemble, swing, and understudy roles along the way. Kole is also a director/choreographer, Eagle Scout, enjoys bowling, tabletop board games, and craft breweries in his free time!

Kimberly Suskind

Kimberly Suskind is a professional performer, director, choreographer and teaching artist who is thrilled to call Fort Myers her new home! She made her Off-Broadway debut last fall starring as Sarah in the new musical, Brilliant, and has been fortunate enough to perform at several wonderful regional theaters across the country, including New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Florida, Delaware, Seattle and Boston. A few past favorite credits include; Ragtime (Mother), Little Women (Jo March), John & Jen (Jen), & Anything Goes (Reno). Kimberly can also be heard on the demo recording of Brilliant, a new musical as Sarah. In addition to performing, Kimberly is currently a staff member at Robin Dawn Academy in Cape Coral, where she is the Artistic Director of their new theatre company, Gypsy Playhouse. Kimberly is also a private voice and acting coach, tap teacher and musical theatre instructor. Proud graduate of The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Special thank you to Gulf Coast Symphony for this wonderful opportunity and her husband,Ted, and beautiful daughter, Lilly, for their constant love and support!

Robert Justin Dresner

Robert Justin Dresner is thrilled to be making his debut with the Gulf Coast Symphony! He was most recently seen as King Arthur in Camelot, Max in The Royale and Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad in Orlando, and could also be seen in The Studio Theater Tierra Del Sol’s production of Elegies, A Song Cycle. Prior to that, Robert served a nine-month contract with Disney Cruise Lines, working as a Mainstage Performer and portraying such notable characters as The Beast and Gaston (understudy) in DCL’s award winning musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Robert received Bachelor’s degrees in Opera Performance and Theatre from Northwestern University in 2018, and would like to thank Mom, Dad, Jacen, and Hannah for their continued and unwavering love and emotional support throughout all of his performance endeavors.

Caleb Pless

Caleb is excited to be joining the team here at Gulf Coast Symphony and performing alongside such a talented cast and crew. Caleb is from Nashville, TN and received his BFA in Musical Theatre from Western Kentucky University. For the past two years, Caleb has been performing full time as a Dancer/Singer at Country Tonite in Pigeon Forge, TN. In the summer of 2019, he was performing in the Outer Banks as Old Tom in The Lost Colony. He has appeared as a featured dancer at the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown, KY for five years and has toured with companies such as National Theatre for Children in Chicago and Musical Mysteries and More in Pittsburgh where he served as both a performer and choreographer. Other Professional credits include: Mary Poppins (Bert,) Beauty and the Beast (Lumiere,) Kiss Me, Kate (Bill,) Camelot (Sir Lionel,) and The Cat in the Hat (Cat.)

Laura McKenna

Laura McKenna (she/her), a Sarasota native, is thrilled to be making her debut with the Gulf Coast Symphony! Laura is a graduate of Florida Southern College with degrees in BM Vocal Performance & BFA Musical Theatre with a minor in Dance. Her favorite credits include Songs For a New World (Woman 2), Patience (Patience), Cabaret (Helga), and As You Like It (Celia). Locally she has been seen in The Music Man at St. Pete Opera, The Crucible (Mercy Lewis), White Christmas (Judy), Les Miserables (Cosette), and Nunsense (Sister Mary Amnesia).