Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the world premiere of ‘S Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical, which runs June 17 through September 5 at the CLO Cabaret. Tickets are available at CLOCabaret.com or by calling 412-456-6666.
The Story
‘S Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical
This all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the brilliant and breathtaking music and lyrics of brothers George and
Ira Gershwin uses five mini-musicals to take audiences on a ride to the different places, times and styles that made the Gershwin brothers the most successful songwriting team in musical history. First it's New York City in 1916 and New Orleans in the '50s, then Paris in the 1930s, followed by Hollywood in the '40s and today. 'S Wonderful pays a nostalgic tribute to the incomparable songbook of George and
Ira Gershwin, featuring over 40 Gershwin hits such as "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "Shall We Dance?," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Rhapsody in Blue."
Cast (In Alphabetical Order)
Courtney Basset (Jane) makes her
Pittsburgh CLO debut. Among her numerous local credits, she has appeared in productions of Jane Eyre for Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theater, People Like Us at the Future Ten Play Festival and The Rocky Horror Show at Pittsburgh Playhouse. She will be a senior at Point Park University in the fall, where she was most recently seen as Clara in the Conservatory Company's The Light in the Piazza.
Michael Campayno (Gene) returns to
Pittsburgh CLO after his role as Peter Cratchit/Young Scrooge's Schoolmate in A Musical Christmas Carol this past winter. Currently a student at
Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Campayno is a Pittsburgh native and has studied and performed with the
Pittsburgh CLO Academy. He was also the recipient of the 2008
Gene Kelly Award for Best Supporting Actor as Gaston in Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Beauty and the Beast. Local credits include Carousel (Billy Bigelow) and Time After Time (Jack the Ripper).
Trevor McQueen Eaton (Harold) makes his debut with
Pittsburgh CLO. He appeared on Broadway in the 1999 revival of Annie, Get Your Gun. Regional credits include The Rocky Horror Show, Beauty and the Beast, and West Side Story. He recently assistant directed and choreographed The Music Man at the TriArts Sharon Playhouse in Connecticut, where he is also co-director of the TriArts Youtheatre Program. Additionally, he served as the co-founder and artistic director for The Castaway
Players Theatre Company for five consecutive seasons (2005-2009). He is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Music Theatre at
Carnegie Mellon University.
Jessica George (Leslie) makes her
Pittsburgh CLO debut. Recent work includes starring roles for Disney Cruise Lines and Hong Kong Disneyland. Regional credits include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Rusty in Footloose. Ms. George is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace College and received her MM from
Carnegie Mellon University.
Kristiann Menotiades (Understudy) most recently worked with
Pittsburgh CLO in the CLO Cabaret productions of Nunsense, 8-TRACK; The Sounds of the 70's; My Way: A Musical Tribute to
Frank Sinatra; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and Shear Madness. Ms. Menotiades is a graduate of Point Park University and is currently an instructor at the
Pittsburgh CLO Academy.
Montaja Simmons (Nina) makes her debut with
Pittsburgh CLO. In the fall of 2010 she will complete her senior year at Youngstown State University, with a B.F.A in Musical Theater. Recent theater credits include The Shape of Things (Evelyn), How I Learned to Drive (Greek Chorus), The Baker's Wife (Simone) and Little Women (Clarissa).
John Wascavage (Understudy) debuts with
Pittsburgh CLO as a recent graduate from Point Park University. Recent credits include Candide in Candide (Quantum Theatre); Posner in The History Boys (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre);
H.G. Wells in Time After Time (World Premiere), Etienne in Can-Can, and Ensemble/Leo Frank understudy in Parade (Pittsburgh Playhouse); Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad (Pittsburgh Playhouse Jr.); and the Male Swing in The Spirit of Christmas (RWS and Associates).
About the Creative Team
Ray Roderick (Writer/Director) returns to the
Pittsburgh CLO for the first time since 1986, when he played the role of Barnaby Tucker in Hello, Dolly. He has performed on Broadway in shows including Grind, Cats, The Wind in the Willows, Crazy for You, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In 2000 he served as associate director for the Broadway revival of The Music Man, and has since directed numerous regional, off-Broadway, and tour productions, including the first national tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He has combined his knowledge of directing, writing, and choreography to collaborate on several original productions including The Prince and the Pauper, The Ark, Heaven Help Us!, and I Love New York, as well as Are We There Yet? and Coming to America with partner
James Hindman. He is the founding artistic director of Tri-State Center for the Arts, and co-created Miracle or 2 Productions, dedicated to the creation and development of the new American musical.
Vincent Pesce (Choreographer) makes his debut with the
Pittsburgh CLO. Most recently he choreographed Dancing With Abandon for the New York Fringe Festival. He has also served as associate choreographer to
Kathleen Marshall on the Broadway productions of Little Shop of Horrors, as well as The Pajama Game and Wonderful Town, both of which received the Tonyâ Award for Best Choreography. He has extensive experience in regional theater (Little Shop of Horrors, The King and I, West Side Story), national and international tours (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and television (Clash of the Choirs and Grease: You're The One That I Want on NBC, The Music Man, Once Upon a Mattress). He also performed in the original Broadway companies of Beauty and the Beast, Victor/Victoria, High Society, Kiss Me, Kate, Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game, and Guys and Dolls.
Rick Hip-Flores (Music Director/Arranger) has recently played in the orchestras of Billy Elliot, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and Spelling Bee. As musical director and conductor, credits include High School Musical (MUNY), Singin' in the Rain (North Shore Music Theatre),
Jacques Brel (
Zipper Theatre), Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Actors' Playhouse), Shakespeare on Broadway (
Symphony Space), 8 by Tenn (Hartford Stage), Dames at Sea (Bay Street), Henry and Mudge, A Christmas Carol (TheatreworksUSA), and numerous productions for Musicals Tonight. As composer and lyricist, Richard has written songs for Neon Mirage (Humana Festival, 2006), A Tooth Fairy Tale, My New York (Vital Theater), Dido and Aeneas (Prospect Theater), Tartuffe, As You Like It (Worth Street Players), and the Columbia University Varsity Show.
Deana Muro (Music Director/Pianist) has been the resident music director since the Cabaret's inception in 2004 and now has more than 1,300 performances to her credit at the theater. Ms. Muro recently conducted The Full Monty at the
Paper Mill Playhouse in the summer of 2009 with
Elaine Stritch. She has played the keyboard for the National Tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Beauty and The Beast, as well as for
Pittsburgh CLO productions of The Full Monty and Smokey Joe's Café. She has music directed/accompanied CLO Cabaret productions of Nunsense, Forever Plaid, 8-TRACK: The Sounds of the 70's, My Way, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, The Big Bang, Plaid Tidings, Always . . . Patsy Cline and
Forbidden Broadway/SVU.
Andrew David Ostrowski (Lighting Designer) has designed the lighting for many CLO Cabaret productions, including Nunsense, Forever Plaid, 8-TRACK, The Sounds of the 70's, My Way: A Musical Tribute to
Frank Sinatra and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Other recent credits include Porgy and Bess for the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and both Without You and Long Story Short for City Theatre. Mr. Ostrowski has been the Associate Lighting Designer on 50- plus
Pittsburgh CLO shows and has designed for Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh
Public Theater, Quantum Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre and Pittsburgh Musical Theater.
Tim Brady (Stage Manager) returns to the CLO Cabaret after working as stage manager for other Cabaret productions and performing in
Forbidden Broadway: SVU. He most recently served as stage manager for Forever Plaid and Nunsense. As an actor, he has appeared in nearly two dozen productions of
Pittsburgh CLO's A Musical Christmas Carol and numerous
Pittsburgh CLO Summer Season shows, in addition to appearing in the CLO's Gallery of Heroes program for 10 years. Mr. Brady was also the managing director of the Conley Inn Dinner Theater in Irwin for 17 years.
Lewis Folden (Scenic Designer) has designed for the Pittsburgh, Boston, Miami, Milwaukee and Washington Ballets and has a long history of contemporary work with the
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. He has also designed for many regional theatres/operas including Washington's Woolly Mammoth, Theatre J and the Kennedy Center; Philadelphia's Arden, Freedom, and People's Light; Buffalo's Studio Arena; Minneapolis Children's Theatre; and more. His past productions have been seen on the West Coast, off-Broadway and in London. Mr. Folden has designed world premieres of plays by
Ariel Dorfman,
Jules Feiffer,
John Guare,
Tony Kushner,
Richard Greenberg, and
Robert Brustein. He holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Barbara Anderson (Costume Designer) returns to CLO Cabaret after last designing costumes for 2008's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. She also did the costumes for the premiere of the CLO musical, Casper, The Musical, as well as five original musicals for the CLO Gallery of Heroes series. She has designed costumes for productions at the
Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh
Public Theater, Great Lakes Shakespeare
Festival Theatre, Yale School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon Theatre Company and many others. She also boasts six feature film credits with George Romero and various PBS television projects. Barbara is the Anathan Professor of Drama at Carnegie Mellon and Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts.
Jessi Sedon (Projection Designer) is a local video/projection designer. Her most recent works include the REP's A Confluence of Dreaming, Vanessa German's Root, and Squonk Opera's Mayhem & Majesty. Her Pittsburgh Playhouse credits include The Light in the Piazza, Time After Time, Antigone, and The Rocky Horror Show among others. Her PICT credits include Rock N' Roll and The History Boys. Ms. Sedon has also worked with local dance companies, including The Pillow Project, which she designed a majority of interactive projections for the 2008 performance of Twenty Eighty-Four. She also created a projection installation for Second Saturdays at The Space Upstairs.
Performance Schedule for
‘S Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical
Wednesdays 7:30pm
Thursdays 1:00pm* & 7:30pm * Thursday matinees - July 29 & August 26
Fridays 7:30pm
Saturdays 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sundays 2:00pm
No performances on the following dates: July 4, July 7, August 4, and September 1
Tickets
Tickets start at $34.50 and 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, priority seating and corporate discounts.
Visit pittsburghCLO.org for more information.
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