Nikki Renée Daniels, Beth Malone & More to Star in Pittsburgh CLO's Summer Musicals

Pittsburgh CLO's 2024 Summer of Musicals at the Benedum Center will be highlighted by Broadway and TV stars, as well as beloved Pittsburgh favorites. THE MUSIC MAN will be led by Broadway and TV's Nikki Renée Daniels and Charles Esten as Marian Paroo and Harold Hill; THE COLOR PURPLE will star Broadway and TV's Tamyra Gray as Shug Avery alongside Kayla Davion as Celie; and Tony Award-nominated Beth Malone will don the famous red and white striped cap as our Cat in the Hat in SEUSSICAL.

"We are proud to offer audiences a summer of musicals created right here in Pittsburgh employing the talents of performers seen on Broadway, Television, and right here at home in Pittsburgh," said CLO Executive Producer Mark Fleischer. "Pittsburgh deserves the very best and that is what these actors will deliver on stage this summer."

Pittsburgh CLO, one of the longest running summer stock musical theaters in the US, has a rich history spanning 78 years, Pittsburgh CLO remains at the forefront of the industry by embracing adaptability and setting trends. The upcoming summer season will feature a lineup of shows across various theaters in the Cultural District, including the Benedum Center, Greer Cabaret Theater, and Byham Theater. The shows range from soulful and nostalgic performances like LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL to iconic masterpieces like WEST SIDE STORY and THE COLOR PURPLE. The schedule also includes comedic musicals such as THE MUSIC MAN and Mel Brook's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, as well as a family-friendly production of SEUSSICAL. Pittsburgh CLO is committed to enriching the local arts community and invites audiences to join them in experiencing a summer of high-quality musical theatre..

Meet the Stars of Pittsburgh CLO's 2024 Summer Musicals:

LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL

May 17-June 30, 2024
Greer Cabaret Theater

Gabrielle Lee (Billie Holiday) Pittsburgh CLO debut! At home in Musical Theater, TV/Film, and Concert performance. Broadway Nat'l, Europe tours, Off-Broadway, and Regional Theater Favs include: Chicken & Biscuits, Intimate Apparel, Bricktop: Legend of the Jazz Age (World Premiere/Co-creative), Little Shop of Horrors, All Night Strut (Broadway World Winner), Her Song (MAC Award Winner), Once on this Island, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Showboat, and Dreamgirls. Most recent TV/FILM credits: Chicago P.D., Blue Bloods, Bull, FBI, and 27 Candles (HBO Nominated short). Concerts: NY Pops, Cab Calloway & Ray Charles Orchestras. Backing Vocals for: Steely Dan, Aloe Blacc, Angelique Kidjo, and Harry Belafonte. For Mama. *AEA l SAG/AFTRA | IG: @gabrielleshines
 

WEST SIDE STORY

June 11-16, 2024
Benedum Center

SABINA COLLAZO (Maria) PCLO debut! A native of Puerto Rico, Sabina is thrilled to reprise this role that is so close to her heart. Other credits include Anne in Barrington Stage's acclaimed production of A Little Night Music, West Side Story at Milwaukee Rep (Maria), and On Your Feet! at Gateway Playhouse (Rebecca u/s). University of Michigan Musical Theater. Thanks to my manager Steve and CESD. Mucho amor a mi familia. Para mi isla.

Spencer LaRue (Tony) is thrilled to be making his PCLO debut in one of his favorite musicals. Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (James Potter Jr/Sr/Cedric Diggory). Select Regional: The Sound of Music (Rolf, Ogunquit Playhouse), Disney's Newsies (Romeo, Broadway at Music Circus), Disaster! w/ Seth Rudestsky (ensemble, CRT). Other: Sweeney Todd (Toby, UofM). Graduate of The University of Michigan Musical Theatre. Huge thank you to his Parents, Griffin, Matt, and the DGRW team for always believing in him. For Sam.

THE COLOR PURPLE

June 25-30, 2024
Benedum Center

Kayla Davion (Celie) is a Chita Rivera Award Recipient! Other credits include, Broadway: Waitress, King Kong, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Off Broadway: White Girl In Danger. Regional: The Hippest Trip: Soul Train the Musical. TV: The Good Fight, Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Film: Disney Plus Better Nate than Ever. Many thanks to Nicolosi & Co, Untitled Entertainment, Mike, Mom, Family, and her tribe! "Thank you God for never withholding your promises... Lead with Love!" @KaylaDavion

Tamyra Gray (Shug Avery) was most recently seen at PCLO starring as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act. With the critical acclaim that followed her appearance on the inaugural season of American Idol Tamyra went on to guest star in a variety of network series including Boston Public, Half and Half, All of Us, What I Like About You, Las Vegas, Tru Calling and, most recently, The Rookie and All Rise. She also landed commercial projects with Coca-Cola and H&M. The Swedish clothing line made her the face of their ‘&Denim' collection, where Gray was featured in a globally promoted short film directed by David LaChapelle. On stage, Tamyra has appeared on Broadway and in the First National Tour of the Tony Award winning revival of Once on This Island. She made her Broadway debut as the lead in the musical Bombay Dreams, was praised for her starring role on Broadway as ‘Mimi' in Rent and played Kate in the first national tour of If/Then. In 2011 she starred in Debbie Allen's Twist at The Pasadena Playhouse for which she won a Beverly Hills / Hollywood NAACP Theatre Award. She's appeared on the big screen in the critically acclaimed Sony feature The Gospel and was featured in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married. Tamyra has co-written ‘You Thought Wrong' for Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson and the #1 Billboard Hot 100 single ‘I Believe' for Fantasia.

THE MUSIC MAN

July 9-14, 2024
Benedum Center

NIKKI RENÉE DANIELS (Marian Paroo) has done 11 Broadway shows including Company (Jenny), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Clara), The Book of Mormon (Nabulungi), and Les Miserables (Fantine.) She played Angelica Schuyler in the Chicago company of Hamilton. Other New York credits: 1776 (Martha Jefferson, City Center Encores), The Secret Garden (Rose Lennox, David Geffen Hall) TV: Billions, The Equalizer, and Madam Secretary. Nikki holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Her debut solo CD, "Home" is available on iTunes.

Charles Esten (Harold Hill) A celebrated storyteller as an actor and artist-songwriter, global entertainer Charles Esten is best known for his hit roles: "Ward Cameron" on Netflix's Outer Banks and "Deacon Claybourne" in ABC/CMT's Nashville. With an illustrious 30-year career of television and film projects like The Postman, The Office, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and more, Esten first made his theatrical debut in London in the ‘90s, portraying "Buddy Holly" in the West End musical, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story. Notably, he was honored to perform for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Variety Performance and President George H. W. Bush at The White House. Likewise, with his own music, Esten has performed multiple headline tours on the most renowned stages across the U.S., Germany, Amsterdam, and U.K., including over 170 appearances at Nashville's iconic Grand Ole Opry. Making history as a 2018 Guinness World Records title holder for the "Most consecutive weeks to release an original digital single by a music act" after releasing 54 original songs once a week for 54 straight weeks, he's also surpassed 21 MILLION streams to date. Recently delivering his independent debut album, Love Ain't Pretty, to much acclaim, Grammy.com hailed, "the album is the purest representation of his artistry possible," as Forbes praised his 14-song co-write as "written with the wisdom and breadth that comes with time, Esten captures the dimensions of love, loss, growth, and hope." Among his many charitable efforts, Esten serves as the National Honorary Spokesperson for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Light The Night Walk, and is a board member and volunteer for Musicians On Call.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

July 19 - September 1, 2024
Benedum Center

Dan DeLuca (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein) is a theater and television actor, best known for originating the role of Jack Kelly on the National Tour of Disney's Newsies and the title role in Jerry Lewis & Marvin Hamlisch's The Nutty Professor. He just finished starring as the leading man/woman in the regional premiere of Tootsie with Sally Struthers & playing opposite Sierra Boggess in the Off-Broadway Revival of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl. Endless gratitude to everyone at PCLO, Nicolosi&Co and his amazing family. @DDeluca15

Tim Hartman (The Monster) has been professionally acting, singing, writing, cartooning and storytelling since 1972. Known primarily for his work on the stage in over 300 professional productions, Tim's resume also includes appearances on Broadway in A Tale of Two Cities and the Tony nominated Finian's Rainbow. Tim has also appeared in 30 movies, including Silence of the Lambs, A Fault in our Stars, and The Mothman Prophesies. Tim's greatest joy is performing his own brand of freewheeling, stand-up comedy, storytelling for children and family audiences. Tim is also an award-winning political cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. His work has appeared in magazines, books and newspapers all across America. timhartman.com

SEUSSICAL

July 30 - August 4, 2024
Byham Theater

Beth Malone (Cat in the Hat) Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Fun Home, (Tony Nominee), Angels in America (Revival), Ring of Fire, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominee, Out Critics Circle Honoree). TV credits include Series Regular on Apple TV's, City On Fire. Gaslit, (Hulu), All Rise, Brainded, Bull, (all for CBS), Chicago Med, Bluff City Law, (NBC), The Baker and The Beauty, (ABC). Film credits tick, tick...BOOM!, The Comedian, Brittany Runs a Marathon. Beth is the co- book writer of the musical Starstruck.

Full casting will be announced at a later date. Learn more at PITTSBURGHCLO.org.   Pittsburgh CLO IS REMOVING BARRIERS THIS SUMMER   In addition to the stellar lineup of productions, Pittsburgh CLO is proud to introduce three new initiatives aimed at making musical theater more accessible to all audiences:

PCLO SHOW SHUTTLE:

Say goodbye to the stress of traffic and parking! Guests can now board the Trolley at specific locations across the city, enjoying free parking and a seamless journey to the theater and back. With Molly's Trolleys providing the ride and Audacy Radio providing onboard entertainment, the journey to and from the theater becomes part of the experience offering convenience and fun for the whole family. PCLO show tickets must be purchased in advance, and guests can add-on a Trolley ticket for $10.00 in advance. Reservations and payments can be made directly through Molly's Trolleys at the time of ticket purchase. PCLO SHOW SHUTTLE will only be offered on select show dates and times throughout the summer.

PCLO FAMILY PASS:

Families can now enjoy the magic of theater together without breaking the bank. For every Adult ticket purchased, up to four Child tickets can be added for just $10 each. This initiative ensures that economic barriers never stand in the way of creating magical memories together. PCLO Family Pass tickets can be purchased in all price zones for any show date and time of show offered. PCLO FAMILY PASS will be available for four of the six Summer Season performances: WEST SIDE STORY, THE MUSIC MAN, and SEUSSICAL for children 3 – 18 years of age. For THE COLOR PURPLE, children should be aged 13-18 years old due to the content of the show.
 

PCLO SHOW CARE:

For parents torn between the desire to experience the magic of the stage and the responsibility of childcare, Pittsburgh CLO offers a solution. With PCLO Show Care, parents can entrust their young ones (ages 3 (fully potty trained) - 12) to the care of Pittsburgh CLO Academy Faculty while they immerse themselves in the wonder of live theater. It's not just childcare; it's peace of mind. Limited spaces are available, so be sure to purchase tickets and complete SHOW CARE registration in advance for this exclusive offer. PCLO SHOW CARE is being offered at the Saturday matinee performances of WEST SIDE STORY, THE COLOR PURPLE, and THE MUSIC MAN.