Stephen Schwartz and The ASCAP Foundation to Hold Workshop of New Bubble Boy Musical

Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, in partnership with The ASCAP Foundation and Academy® and Grammy Award® -winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, are pleased to announce that the new musical, Bubble Boy, has been selected for presentation as part of the Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama New Works Program. The program encourages the development and refinement of new works of the American musical theater.

Stephen Schwartz, a Carnegie Mellon University alumnus whose credits include the Broadway smash Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, the Walt Disney films "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and the DreamWorks film "The Prince of Egypt," will attend the reading of the workshop and run a Master Class for Carnegie Mellon University Drama Students on Friday, October 17.

Scott Schwartz, who directed Broadway's Golda's Balcony and Bat Boy: The Musical, which won a 2001 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, will direct the Workshop. On October 3, 2004, Golda's Balcony became the longest-running one-woman show in Broadway history.

The Pittsburgh CLO, under the direction of Executive Producer Van Kaplan, will host the workshop at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy. The workshop will take place October 13-18, 2008, culminating in a staged reading for invited guests at 12 p.m. on Saturday, October 18, in the Helen Wayne Rauh Studio Theater at Carnegie Mellon University.

The project managers for the workshop are Gary Kline, associate professor of musical theater at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and Jason Coll, associate artistic director at Pittsburgh CLO.

Bubble Boy, written by Cinco Paul (book, music, lyrics) and Ken Daurio (book), is the fictional story of Jimmy Livingston, a boy who was born without an immune system. Because of this, he is forced to live in a bubble dome in his bedroom, which leads students at a local high school to nickname him "Bubble Boy." One day, a beautiful girl, Chloe, moves in next door to Jimmy. He is immediately taken with her, and they soon become friends.

Chloe later announces that she is leaving for Niagara Falls to marry Mark, a man who always ridiculed Jimmy. In response, Jimmy decides to build a mobile bubble suit and sneaks off into the night, determined to stop the wedding before it is too late.

A collaborative effort established in 2001, the Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University New Works Program encourages the development and refinement of new works of the American musical theater. By utilizing the resources of both Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, this program offers a unique opportunity for writers, lyricists, composers, directors and actors from both the academic and professional worlds to collaborate on new musicals. In 2007, Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama formed a new partnership with The ASCAP Foundation and Stephen Schwartz to augment this important initiative by selecting new works from the participants in the prestigious ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop.

The ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop occurs twice a year in New York and Los Angeles and is sponsored by The ASCAP Foundation as part of an ongoing commitment to nurture new American musicals. Stephen Schwartz directs the Workshop. The selected musical theater writers have the opportunity to make short presentations from their original works-in-progress for professional critique by a panel of the most prominent theater producers, directors, lyricists and composers. Bubble Boy was presented at the Los Angeles workshop held in April 2008.

The development of New Works is an integral part of the Pittsburgh CLO mission. CLO's production and development of New Works includes main stage productions and Gallery of Heroes musicals. Pittsburgh CLO continues to find innovative ways to nurture artists, attract talent to the organization and invest in this important American art form. Through memberships in the Independent Presenter's Network (IPN) and Elephant Eye Theatricals/5 Cent Productions, Pittsburgh CLO is playing an important role in developing material that can play in Pittsburgh, on Broadway, and beyond.

About Pittsburgh CLO

Since 1946, the Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the entire Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Pittsburgh CLO is a not-for-profit arts organization that appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year. Its dedication to the musical theater art form extends beyond the summer season, with such programs as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Construction Center for the Arts and the CLO Cabaret.

About The ASCAP Foundation

Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States. www.ascapfoundation.org