Jenn Colella and Charles Shaughnessy to Lead PETER PAN at Pittsburgh CLO

Pittsburgh CLO's 2019 Summer Season will be highlighted by stand-out performances from Broadway's best and distinguished stars of film and television, including Jenn Colella, star of Tony-winning Come From Away, Charles Shaughnessy, best known as Maxwell Sheffield on TV's The Nanny and Ace Young of American Idol fame.

Pittsburgh CLO welcomes both Jenn Colella and Charles Shaughnessy back to the Benedum, as they both starred in previous summer season hits: Jenn as Annie Oakley in 2008's Annie Get Your Gun, and Charles as Henry Higgins in 2003's My Fair Lady. Pittsburgh CLO will partner these dynamic performers with some of the most well-known and influential creative teams in the business for one of the most exciting seasons yet.

Jenn Colella (Peter Pan, PETER PAN) Broadway: Come From Away (Tony Nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical), If/Then, Chaplin, High Fidelity, Urban Cowboy(Outer Critics Circle Award nomination). Off-Broadway: Beebo Brinker, Lucky Guy, Slut, Closer Than Ever. Regional: Annie Get Your Gun (Pittsburgh CLO); Peter Pan (Sacramento Music Circus); Side Show(Kennedy Center). TV: The Code, Feed The Beast, Elementary, All My Children, The Good Wife, Rescue Me. Film: Uncertainty (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). MFA Acting, UC Irvine.

Charles Shaughnessy (Captain Hook, PETER PAN) was last seen recurring on the new SyFy series The Magicians and was recently seen in guest star roles on the TNT series, Good Behavior, opposite Michelle Dockery; the CBS series, NCIS and Rush Hour. Previously, he was seen guest starring on Revenge, Super Fun Night opposite Rebel Wilson, recurred on TBS's Sullivan & Son, ABC's Castle and TV Land's Happily Divorced. He can also be seen in the Lifetime Holiday movie, My Christmas Prince. He was also most recently seen in the Mar Vista film, A Midsummer's Hawaiian Dream. Recent performances on the stage include his role as King Francis in the based-on-the-movie play Ever After at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Act 3 at the Laguna Playhouse, leading opposite Rita Rudner, Joe Orton's comic masterpiece What The Butler Saw at the Mark Taper in Los Angeles and Harvey at multiple theatres. Charles Shaughnessy is a great comedic and dramatic actor with decades of experience, ranging from his days as a series regular playing the memorable Maxwell Sheffield on CBS's long running The Nanny to his multi-episode arc as St. John Powell on the AMC series Mad Men. Charles is also a keen advocate for Youth at Risk and is on the advisory board at The Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps that serves the greater Boston area of Massachusetts.

Ace Young (Stacee Jaxx, ROCK OF AGES) has been a fan of Rock of Ages since its Off-Broadway debut and can't wait to rock out as Stacee Jaxx on the Pittsburgh CLO stage! Ace is a man of many talents and has the credits to back them up. Even before his multiple #1 hits as a songwriter, Ace was wowing millions on TV shows like American Idol and Half & Half. His Grammy-Nominated song "It's Not Over" gave way to his own BMI Pop Award and many other songwriting acclaims. Ace has starred on Broadway in Hair and Grease and toured the country in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His next chapter of artistry has him sitting in the producer, writer, and artist's chairs for his upcoming solo album.

SUMMER SEASON CREATIVE TEAMS

James Cunningham (Music Director for GREASE, OKLAHOMA!, PETER PAN, ROCK OF AGES, ONCE)returns for his third season as music director for the Pittsburgh CLO summer season. New York credits include Avenue Q (conductor), music director for Bunnicula (TheaterworksUSA and original cast recording), Hot Mess In Manhattan (Araca Project), and Happy Birthday (TACT) for which he also provided original music. National Tours credits as pianist and/or conductor include: Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Spamalot, Evita and Cats. Other regional credits include productions for Arena Stage, Casa Mañana, North Carolina Theatre, Sharon Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Engeman Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse, The Muny and Cape Fear Regional Theatre. He holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music and New York University.

GREASE, June 7 - 16
Barry Ivan (Director/Choreographer) National and International directing credits range from the German State Opera (West Side Story) to Yale. Highlighted Pittsburgh CLO credits include: Miss Saigon, Company, Sunset Boulevard, Aida, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia, Footloose, and A Little Night Music. Mr. Ivan's regional premiere production of Hairspray won the IRNE Award for Best Musical, as did his production of The Full Monty; and he is IRNE nominated as Best Director for his productions of Nine and Les Misérables. As Producer, his production of Showboat received the Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical. New Development works include the US Premiere of Dracula: A Chamber Musical; Maury Yeston's In The Beginning; #LoveIsLove featuring the music of Bobby Cronin; and through his association with the Dramatists Guild Foundation, upcoming new plays, musicals and TV pilots.

OKLAHOMA!, June 21 - 30
Dontee Kiehn (Director) is thrilled to be returning to Pittsburgh CLO for her second season. Previous credits include: Brigadoon - Director (Pittsburgh CLO), An American in Paris - Associate Director/Choreographer (Broadway, National Tour, London, Japan), The Addams Family - Associate Director/Choreographer (Broadway, National Tour, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico City), Next to Normal - Associate Choreographer (Broadway, National Tour, Japan, Korea), The Winter's Tale - Choreographer (NY Public Theater), A Doll's House and Ten Cents a Dance - Choreographer (Williamstown Theater Festival), 42nd Street - Choreographer (Casa Mañana) and The FabulousLipitones - Choreographer (Wellfleet Theater). Broadway performance credits: original revival cast of Gypsy (starring Bernadette Peters), 42nd Street and The Addams Family.

Mark Esposito (Choreographer) returns to Pittsburgh CLO where his work has been seen in over 12 productions over the years. His other choreographic work has been seen at Lexington Theater Company, York Theater in NY, Signature Theater in NY, Two River Theater in NJ, Sacramento Music Theater, Music Theater of Wichita, North Shore Music Theater, Casa Mañana and Bass Hall, Blowing Rock Stage Company, Ogunquit Playhouse, Musical Theater West, La Mirada Theater in CA, Reprise series in LA, Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse in CA, CV Rep Theater, Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Yuletide Celebration with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Globus Theatre Company in Russia, Tokyo Disney Sea in Japan, Universal Studios in LA, Point Park College, University of Michigan, UCLA and New York University.

PETER PAN, July 12 - 21
PATTI COLOMBO (Director/Choreographer) received an Emmy nomination and American Choreographer's Award for Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby that aired on A&E; she also choreographed the Tony nominated Broadway production. Patti recently choreographed and directed the U.K. Tour of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She choreographed the National Tours of Doctor Dolittle w/Tommy Tune and Seussical, the Musical w/Cathy Rigby. She recently choreographed and received the New Jersey Critic's Award for On The Town, Seven Brides and Kiss Me Kate at Paper Mill Playhouse. Her choreography for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Goodspeed Opera House received a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Choreography and Boston's prestigious Elliot Norton Award for the National Tour of Seven Brides. Patti's production of Animal Crackers sold out at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She received an Ovation Award for Radio Gals at The Pasadena Playhouse and was Ovation nominated for the revival of Can-Can there. Other awards include Critic's Circle Award for White Christmas at Denver Center; L.A. Drama-Logue Awards for Drood (West Coast premiere), Most Happy Fella, and West Side Story. Broadway.com listed Patti as one of the 10 most prolific choreographers of 2011. Patti also choreographed over 100 episodes of the Emmy Award winning Adventures in Wonderland for The Disney Channel. For TV, Patti has been pleased to work with David Hyde Pierce, Kristin Chenowith, Martin Short, Drew Carey, Christine Baranski, Jane Kaczmarek and Malcolm Getz.

ROCK OF AGES, July 23 - 28
Scott Weinstein (Director) is an award-winning director based in New York and Chicago. He recently won the Joseph Jefferson Award for his new chamber version of Ragtime with Griffin Theatre. Favorite credits: Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Theatre); Murder For Two (Marriott Theatre); Rent (Theo Ubique - Jeff Award: Best Director, Best Musical); She Kills Monsters (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep); Seussical (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) and Million Dollar Quartet (Resident/Associate Director: Broadway National Tour, Las Vegas, Chicago). Proud graduate of Northwestern University and member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Stephanie Klemons (Choreographer)'s work can be seen on Broadway and globally as Associate and Supervising Choreographer of the smash hit Hamilton. Stephanie, a Drama Desk Award winner, also worked on the pre-Broadway/Broadway productions of Bring It On, In the Heights and If/Then. She directed and choreographed In the Heights (Kennedy Center) to critical acclaim. Other choreography credits: This is Sadie (NYCCT), Rock of Ages (Drury Lane), Frank Wildhorn's Zelda (Flatrock Playhouse). Commercially she created content for Victoria's Secret, Vogue, Sesame Street and was the choreographer behind the viral "Time of Our Lives" Super Bowl commercial ft. Eli Manning & Odell Beckham.

ONCE, July 30 - August 4
J. Michael Zygo (Director) recent credits include Music Director / Associate Choreographer of Once at The Fulton Theatre / Virginia Repertory Theatre, Director / Music Director national tour of Once 2019-2020. Original cast member/musician of Tony Award-winning Once on Broadway and featured on the Grammy Award winning Cast Album. Broadway: School Of Rock, Off-Broadway: Once (NYTW), Man of Rock (NYMF). Tours: Rock Of Ages - 1st Nat., The Wedding Singer, Bridges of Madison County - 1st Nat., Annie, Oklahoma! - 1st Nat. Film/TV: Rock Of Ages, Unforgettable, Tony Awards 2012, 2013.

Camille A. Brown (Choreographer) Broadway: Choir Boy, Once on This Island (Nominee: Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, & Chita Rivera Awards), A Streetcar Named Desire; Off-Broadway: Toni Stone, This Ain't Not Disco, Bella (Lucille Lortel Nominee) Fortress of Solitude (Lucille Lortel Nominee; Audelco Award). Regional: The Wiz (MUNY), ink at The Kennedy Center (World Premiere), Bella: An American Tall Tale and Stagger Lee (Dallas Theatre Center), Cabin in the Sky (Encores! City Center) and tick, tick...BOOM! (Encores! City Center) starring Lin-Manuel Miranda. Television: Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC). Upcoming: Magic Mike (Broadway), Porgy & Bess (Metropolitan Opera), For Colored Girls (Public Theater/NY).

Additional casting news will be released in the weeks ahead.

Individual tickets start at $27. Half-price tickets for children ages 3-14 are available for select performances of PETER PAN in section C, sponsored by Giant Eagle.

Flexible 3 and 6-show season ticket packages are available through June by calling our Season Ticket Hotline at 412-281-2822. Season ticket holders can take advantage of great benefits including exchange privileges, reserved parking, behind-the-scenes email updates and much more. Groups of 10 or more enjoy exclusive discounts and specialty packages. Call our Group Sales Hotline at 412-325-1582 for more information. Student tickets are also available. Visit pittsburghCLO.org for further information.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos