Powers, Etc. Set for Ahrens & Flaherty's Glorious Ones

The cast of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' new musical The Glorious Ones, which will have its world premiere at Pittsburgh Public Theatre, will feature Broadway performers Paul Schoeffler, Jenny Powers, and Natalie Belcon, among others.

Directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele (Bernarda Alba, Ragtime), the musical will run from April 19th through May 20th.  The show is based on the novel by Francine Prose and follows a troupe of commedia dell'arte players in Renaissance Italy.

The show will star Schoeffler (Sweet Charity, Peter Pan) as Flaminio Scala, Powers (Little Women, Encores! Of Thee I Sing) as Isabella Andreini,Belcon (Avenue Q) as Columbina, with John Kassir as Dottore, David Patrick Kelly as Pantalone, Julyana Soelistyo as Armanda Ragusa, and Jeremy Webb as Francesco Andreini.

The show will feature sets by Daniel S. Ostling, costumes by Mara Blumenfeld, lighting by Stephen Strawbridge and sound by Zach Moore.  Thomas Murray is the musical director and Michael Starobin the orchestrator.

"It's funny, sexy and exciting. It's a paean to artists and, essentially, a backstage musical. It's about actors—their art, egos, romances and adventures. It takes place in 17th-century Italy. But honestly, have actors changed all that much in 400 years?," stated Pittsburgh Public Theater artistic director Ted Pappas.

Ahrens and Flaherty's other musicals include Ragtime, Dessa Rose, Once On This Island, A Man of No Importance, Lucky Stiff and My Favorite Year.

Visit www.ppt.org for tickets and more information.

Photo of Jenny Powers by Ben Strothmann