Pittsburgh CLO has just announced The 2019-2020 Kara Cabaret Series. We're ringing in the 15th season of the the CLO Cabaret with the first show we ever performed at this venue - FOREVER PLAID - the Heavenly Musical Hit! This show is just as perfect a fit for our unique Cabaret space now as it was in our inaugural season. Next up is THE BOOK OF MERMAN , a musical parody mash-up that has us along for the ride when two door-knocking Mormons show up at the door of legendary Broadway diva, Ethel Merman.
The new series will also feature a world premiere straight from Pittsburgh CLO's SPARK Festival. Through the ongoing support of of donors such as Dolores Kara and her late husband Michael, we have been able to launch innovative new musicals, including this year's offering from writer/composer Matt Schatz. His edgy and original musical comedy about fame vs. substance, UNTITLED: A New Musical Comedy About Serious Drama, was first seen during our SPARK festival in 2018 and was developed specifically for the CLO Cabaret. Our audiences will also be the very first to enjoy the fantastical production of the wand-wielding off-Broadway hit parody, PUFFS - which The New York Times proclaims "A FAST-PACED ROMP through the 'Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.'" You won't want to miss these shows - subscribe now and save big over single ticket prices.
FOREVER PLAID
October 31, 2019 - December 29, 2019
THE HEAVENLY MUSICAL HIT!
We're ringing in the 15th season of the CLO Cabaret with the first show we ever performed at this venue - FOREVER PLAID ! This show is just as perfect a fit for our unique Cabaret space now as it was in our inaugural season. This New York musical comedy hit is the deliciously funny and charming story of "The Plaids," a classic 1950s all-male singing group, who were killed in a car crash on their way to their first big gig! Audiences will be rolling in the aisles and tapping their toes as "The Plaids" are miraculously revived to perform the concert-that-never-was in this hilariously nostalgic musical! Performing precision harmonies and executing their delightfully outlandish choreography with over-zealous precision, "The Plaids" perform some of the 1950s greatest hits: "Catch a Falling Star," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Magic Moments."
THE BOOK OF MERMAN
January 30, 2020 - March 8, 2020
MERMAN. MORMONS. MUSIC. MAYHEM.
Two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell of Ethel Merman and hilarity ensues in this new musical comedy. This diva-driven whirlwind features original songs and show-stopping ballads, combining one of Broadway's smash hits with the larger-than-life persona of the legendary belter Ethel Merman. Mistaking the two young men for door-to-door salesmen, Ethel welcomes the missionaries in after their frustrating day of canvassing the neighborhood for prospective converts. The result - a hilariously heartfelt journey about being true to oneself, as both the Mormons and Merman come to embrace who they really are. Director Gerry McIntyre returns to spearhead this riotous romp after directing last season's SPAMILTON: An American Parody. This show is sure to keep audiences rolling with laughter from start to finish.
UNTITLED: A New Musical Comedy About Serious Drama
April 3, 2020 - May 3, 2020
A STARSTRUCK SHOWBIZ SATIRE
Working at a job you love is great. Doing that job for a narcissistic boss who makes you feel invisible? Sucks. Meet Beth - an ambitious literary manager at a non-profit theater company in NYC. She longs for the theater to produce meaningful plays by the talented, unknown writers whose script submissions she reads day and night. Her artistic director boss, Todd-Michael, longs only for box office success. When a crisis forces the theater to cancel an upcoming production, Beth leaps at the chance to both prove herself and promote the voice of a new playwright. That is, until her boss announces that he knows just the show to fill the empty slot: the first play by an internationally beloved pop superstar. At its core, UNTITLED is a hysterical musical comedy about identity politics, love, sex, truth, money, privilege and everything else we contend with when trying to decide what stories are worth telling. This edgy, new musical by writer/composer Matt Schatz makes its world premiere after delighting audiences at Pittsburgh CLO's SPARK festival in 2018. Adult Situations & Very Strong Language
PUFFS
May 14, 2020 - August 2, 2020
SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS
AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC
There once was a boy wizard who went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs... who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world. The New York Times proclaims PUFFS, "A FAST-PACED ROMP through the 'Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic." This clever and inventive play "never goes more than a minute without a laugh" (Nerdist) giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers "who are so lovable and relatable, you'll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along" (Hollywood Life). Their epic journey takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.
Pittsburgh CLO Kara Cabaret Series Subscription
Pittsburgh CLO Kara Cabaret Series packages are now on sale and available by calling our Season Ticket hotline at 412-281-2822. Groups of 8* or more may purchase tickets by calling 412-325-1582 or emailing Groups@pittsburghCLO.org. Individual tickets for all shows will go on sale at a later date.
*New this year - you now only need a group of 8 or more to qualify for our group rates!
Videos