Courtney Bassett, Marlana Dunn Lead CLO Cabaret's RUTHLESS

Pittsburgh CLO has announced the cast for the CLO Cabaret premiere of the hysterical off-Broadway comedy Ruthless! The Musical, which will run January 26 through May 6 at the CLO Cabaret. Tickets start at $34.75 and are available at CLOCabaret.com, by calling 412-456-6666 or visiting the Box Office at Theater Square.

Cast (In Alphabetical Order)

Courtney Bassett (Eve/Louise Lerman) returns to the Cabaret after roles in The Marvelous Wonderettes and ‘S Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical. Ms. Bassett is a graduate in Musical Theatre from Point Park University's Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Her Pittsburgh Playhouse credits include: Evita (Evita), The Light in the Piazza (Clara), The Rocky Horror Show (Ensemble/ US Columbia) and Another Moon Called Earth (Penelope). Additional local credits: Jane Eyre (Pittsburgh Irish & Classical) and The Future Ten Play Festival.

Marlana Dunn (Judy Denmark/Ginger DelMarco) was last seen as Cindy Lou in The Marvelous Wonderettes; and prior to that as Patsy Cline in Always... Patsy Cline at the CLO Cabaret. Other credits include, Reefer Madness (Mary Lane), Hair, Anything Goes, The Rover and performing as lead female singer/dancer on-board Holland America Cruise Line. BFA: Musical Theatre/dance minor Point Park University.

Victoria Huston (Understudy/Tina) is a 6th grader at Buffalo Elementary School, a 6th year CLO Academy student and returns to Pittsburgh CLO after appearing in The Sound of Music this past summer at the Benedum Center. Past credits with the Pittsburgh CLO include Oliver, Les Miserables, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Oklahoma! Ms. Huston was also seen in the Pittsburgh Playhouse production of Evita.

Allison Joyce (Tina Denmark) is a 5th grader at Avonworth Elementary and is in her third year of studies at the CLO Academy. Professional roles for Pittsburgh CLO include Melinda Cratchet in A Musical Christmas Carol, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Children's choirs).

Kristiann Menotiades (Miss Block/Myrna Thorn) returns to the CLO Cabaret after performing in Shear Madness, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, My Way, 8-Track, Nunsense and 'S Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical. Ms. Menotiades is currently an instructor at the CLO Academy and is the director for Fox Chapel High School's fall play.

Kara Mikula (Lita Encore) makes her Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret debut. Ms. Mikula’s previous credits: The Sound of Music (Sister Margaretta) and Oliver! (Mrs. Bedwin/Ensemble) at Pittsburgh CLO; The Music Man (Ethel Toffelmier) at Kansas City Starlight; The Boys from Syracuse (Luce), Grease (Cha-Cha), and Man of LaMancha (Housekeeper) at Surflight Theatre; On the Town (Diana Dream) and City of Angels (Quartet) at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. BA from Point Park University.

Caitlin Elizabeth Reilly (Understudy) returns to the Cabaret after I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and My Way. Her credits include: Suzy in The Marvelous Wonderettes , Martha Cratchit in A Musical Christmas Carol, Ceci in Lydia, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Lesly in The House of Yes, Millie in Picnic, and Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Barrymore Nomination - Best Ensemble). BFA Musical Theater from The University of the Arts.

Jonathan Visser (Sylvia St. Croix) moved to Pittsburgh one year ago after completing his Master's degree at the University of Tennessee. In that year he has worked with several companies in Pittsburgh including Bricolage, City Theatre and The Rep, and is now making his Pittsburgh CLO debut. Regional credits include: Dallas Theatre Center, Casa Manana, Paper Mill Playhouse, Clarence Brown Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, PCPA, and HSRT.

The Creative Team

Van Kaplan (Director/Pittsburgh CLO Executive Producer) makes his CLO Cabaret directorial debut. He made his Pittsburgh CLO directing debut in 2002 with Guys and Dolls at the Benedum Center, and has since directed She Loves Me and West Side Story for Pittsburgh CLO at the Benedum Center. He is the producer and director each year for The Jimmy™ Awards at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre and serves as the program’s president. His other directorial credits include the critically acclaimed production of Kopit and Yeston’s Phantom at North Shore Musical Theater, On the Town, Shear Madness, Ruthless, Sweeney Todd with Candy Buckley, Nunsense starring Jo Anne Worley, Guys and Dolls starring Georgia Engel and South Pacific starring Cathy Rigby. Mr. Kaplan has worked with such celebrities as Betty Buckley, Tony Bennett, Bill Cosby, Natalie Cole, Carol Channing, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Mathis and Debbie Reynolds. As a producer, he has produced the Broadway productions of The Addams Family, Catch Me If You Can, Come Fly Away and the upcoming production of Evita, as well as over 100 regional Theater Productions and tours.

Mr. Kaplan is a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts, a former Theatre Panel chair for the Texas Commission on the Arts, and has served as adjunct professor for Carnegie Mellon’s Masters of Arts Management Program. He has been a Tony® Awards voter for 20 years, is on the Board of The Broadway League, he serves on the Executive Committee of the Independent Presenters Network (IPN) and is past president of The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), of which Pittsburgh CLO is a founding member.

Kiesha Lalama (Choreographer) also makes her CLO Cabaret debut in the role of choreographer. Ms. Lalama has created more than 40 works today. Her conceived and choreographed full-length dance theatre production, “The Bench” received rave reviews. Most recently, she choreographed for the upcoming film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “TEDx Pittsburgh,” a second work for Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and a new creation for the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble. Ms. Lalama has created works for companies such as Ballet Arkansas, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, Jazz Dance World Congress, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Youth American Grand Prix and the film “Sorority Row.” 

As an educator, Ms. Lalama serves as Pittsburgh CLO’s Education Director and as an Assistant Professor in the Point Park University Dance Department. She has taught master classes and workshops for Cirque du Soleil, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Oakland University, Carnegie Mellon University, Wright State University, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, Booker T. Washington H.S. for the Performing and Visual Arts, and Dance Educators of America. She is an MFA graduate in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College and has her BA in Dance from Point Park University.

Brent Alexander (Music Director) has worked with Pittsburgh Musical Theater, CLO Academy and many other Pittsburgh area Regional and Community Theaters over the past 13 years. Mr. Alexander is currently on the music and musical theater faculties of Carlow University, Robert Morris University, and CCAC South; and at PMT's Richard Rauh Conservatory.

The Story
Ruthless! The Musical

Murder. Intrigue. Surprise Ending!
Louise Lerman was the star of the show. She was talented, cute and had all of the right connections. Unfortunately, she was also…in the way. Don’t miss this hilarious off-Broadway hit that Variety calls "A wonderfully smart and funny send up of every Broadway brat from ‘Gypsy’ to ‘The Bad Seed’ ... loaded with campy wit and charm." This outrageous musical mystery features such instant classics as “I Hate Musicals,” “Angel Mom” and “Born to Entertain.” You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be on The Edge of your seat from suspenseful start to truly unforgettable finish. Positively no one will be seated during the last eleven minutes!
Performance Schedule for Ruthless! The Musical

Wednesdays
7:30pm
Thursdays
1:00pm* & 7:30pm * Thursday matinees – 2/23, 3/29, 4/5, 4/26
Fridays
7:30pm
Saturdays
2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sundays
2:00pm

Tickets

Tickets start at $34.75 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.

Pittsburgh CLO graciously acknowledges the generosity of The Charity Randall Foundation for its sponsorship of Ruthless! The Musical.

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