Shear Madness To Premiere At Pittsburgh CLO

Pittsburgh CLO announces the cast and creative team for the Pittsburgh premiere of Shear Madness which runs May 15 - September 28 at the CLO Cabaret.  Shear Madness has long been a success in regional productions.

 The Cast

      Neil Casey (Tony Whitcomb) is a company member of the record-setting Boston production of Shear Madness and has also appeared in the show's long run at The Kennedy Center. Neil's other credits include the European tour of 42nd Street and a National Tour of The Diary of Anne Frank. Neil is a graduate of Niagara University in Lewiston New York.

      Greg Johnstone (Eddie Lawrence) was recently seen in the Virginia International Arts Festival as Eland in Lost in the Stars for the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh.  Prior to that, he was William in The 13th of Paris for City Theatre.  He has performed with numerous companies around Pittsburgh most notably for Barebones Productions, Bricolage and Caravan Productions.  His image is currently gracing billboards for Sheetz as the bearded, bongo-playing bohemian.  Greg has also found success in commercials and voice-overs.

      Kristiann Menotiades (Barbara DeMarco) most recently worked with Pittsburgh CLO as the stage manager and the female understudy for the CLO Gallery of Hero's production The Incredibly Innovative Innovators of Pittsburgh.  Kristiann is a graduate of Point Park University and is currently an instructor at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy.

      Tom Schaller (Nick Rossetti) returns to the CLO Cabaret where he most recently appeared in Forbidden Broadway: SVU.  An alumnus of Point Park University, he has been acting with such companies as The Pittsburgh Playhouse, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, Saint Vincent's Theatre, Quantum Theatre, Mountain Playhouse, West Virginia Public Theater, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre and The Theatre Factory for which he is also the President of the Board of Directors.  

      Ingrid Sonnichsen (Mrs. Schubert) has been an actress for over thirty-five years, working on Broadway (Best Friend), Off-Broadway (Dylan, Measure for Measure) and in numerous regional theaters nationwide.  Ingrid was a member of the Shear Madness companies in Boston and at the Kennedy Center for ten years.  Locally she has appeared in Comedy of Errors at the Pittsburgh Public, The Credeaux Canvas at the City Theatre, Major Barbara, The Dead and Hedda Gabler for the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre and The Crucible and Le Grand Meaulnes for Quantum Theater.   
      

The Creative Team
 

Bob Lohrman (Director) has directed over a dozen productions of Shear Madness in cities including Vancouver, Calgary, Philadelphia, Portland, Prince Edward Island and Toronto.  He is the Associate Artistic Director of the show in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center where he also trains international directors of the show.  In addition to having played all the male roles in Shear Madness in D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland,

Mr. Lohrmann is also a charter company member of The People's Light Theatre Company, where he has appeared in principal roles in more than 35 productions.  He has appeared in dozens of commercials and industrials and several feature films. He was the announcer for the Nickelodeon kids show "Finders Keepers" (…tell em' what they've won, Bob!).  

Andrew Ostrowski (Lighting Designer) returns to the Cabaret after designing the lighting for Forever Plaid, the Forbidden Broadway Series, Always…Patsy Cline and Plaid Tidings.  Andy has also been the Associate Lighting Designer on 50 plus CLO shows including Carousel, Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, My Fair Lady and A Musical Christmas Carol.  He has designed for Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theater, Quantum Theater, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical, Pittsburgh Musical Theater and many others.  

Barbara Anderson (Costume Designer) returns to the CLO after designing the costumes for the Cabaret's most recent production, The Big Bang.  She has designed and supervised costumes for productions at the Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, the National Repertory Theatre, Yale School of Drama, McCarter Theatre, the Dartmouth Professional Theatre, Theatre-By-The-Sea and the Carnegie Mellon Theatre Company. She designed the costumes for the premiere of the CLO production of Casper, The Musical, as well as five CLO Gallery of Heroes productions.  Locally she has created costumes for the John Heinz Regional History Center.  Barbara is the Anathan Professor of Drama at Carnegie Mellon and Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts.

Tim Brady (Stage Manager) returns to the CLO Cabaret after working as stage manager for Always…Patsy Cline, Plaid Tidings and The Big Bang and performing in Forbidden Broadway: SVU.  As an actor, Tim has appeared in 11 productions of CLO's A Musical Christmas Carol and the 2004 summer productions of The Music Man (Charlie Cowell) and 1776 (Judge Wilson).  He has also appeared in CLO's Porgy and Bess, Evita, Casper the Musical and spent 10 years with the CLO's Gallery of Heroes program.  Other local theaters that Tim has performed with are The Pittsburgh Pops, Starlight Productions, The New Pittsburgh Jewish Theatre, Stage Right and The Theater Factory.  Tim was also the managing director of the Conley Inn Dinner Theater in Irwin for 17 years.

 Shear Madness: May 15 - September 28, 2008

Author: Paul Portner

Created by Marilyn Abrams & Bruce Jordan

Performances

Wednesday - Saturday  7:30pm

Saturday & Sunday  2:00pm

Select Thursdays  1:00pm *

           

* Matinees with optional buffet - May 29, June 26, July 31, Aug 28 & Sept 25   

Tickets

Evenings: $39.50.  Matinees: $34.50.

Tickets are available online at CLOcabaret.com, by calling (412) 456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square.  Groups of 10 or more can call the Group Sales Hotline at 412-325-1582 to learn more about special discounts and priority seating.

Shear Madness is part of the 2008-2009 CLO Cabaret Subscription Series.  This fun-filled series also includes

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.  Subscribers enjoy great benefits.  Visit www.CLOcabaret.com for more information.

 

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 over 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.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh's Cultural District through public and private partnerships. The Trust encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District and is an impetus for additional development in the District's 14-square-block area. The Trust owns and operates the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts; Byham, O'Reilly, and Harris Theaters; Wood Street Galleries; SPACE, a visual arts gallery at 812 Liberty Avenue; and 937 Liberty, a multipurpose performance and exhibit space, among other downtown arts facilities.  

Theater Square, a project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is a state-of-the-art multipurpose facility, designed by Michael Graves and situated between the O'Reilly Theater and Agnes R. Katz Plaza in the heart of the Cultural District.  In addition to the Cabaret, the building consists of a 790-space parking garage (opened April 2003); The Box Office at Theater Square, a centralized Cultural District ticketing center (opened September 2003); the Carolyn M. Byham WQED 89.3fm studio broadcasting live performances and interviews (opened September 2003); and the restaurant, Cafe Zao, which opened in March 2004.

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