Pittsburgh CLO Honors Courtney Lopez with 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Tonight

Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce Courtney Lopez as the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award. Established in 2012, the Distinguished Alumni Award was created to recognize past Gene Kelly Awards participants who have gone on to successful careers in both the performing arts and other industries.

Ms. Lopez won the Gene Kelly Award for Best Actress in 1996 for her starring role in CAPA's Weird Romance and again in 1999 for Violet. She will be honored at a pre-show reception tonight, May 30 at the CLO Cabaret. The reception will include light hors d'oeuvres and drinks and will feature a special performance by the Gene Kelly Award Nominees for Best Actor & Actress and Best Supporting Actor & Actress.

Ms. Lopez began her performance career in Pittsburgh CLO's The King and I at the age of six before she went on to perform with the CLO Mini Stars for ten years. She earned her Actor's Equity card during Pittsburgh CLO's 2000 Summer Season and continued to perform with the organization until 2006. As a classically trained musical theatre actress, Ms. Lopez has performed in multiple Broadway hits such as John Waters' Cry Baby, Disney's The Little Mermaid and A Chorus Line. She was also in the Broadway national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Ms. Lopez has been a guest soloist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (headed by legendary conductor Marvin Hamlisch) and served as a correspondent for HBO's Top Rank Boxing. She starred alongside her husband Mario Lopez in "Saved By The Baby" on VH1, as well as "Mario and Courtney's Wedding Fiesta" on TLC. Most recently, she was the host of NUVOtv's cutting edge dance meets dating show "Love and Salsa." Presently, Ms. Lopez is the co-host of the radio show On with Mario Lopez. Coming up this summer, she will be co-hosting a new game show on the WE network called "My Man Can!" She currently resides in Los Angeles with Mario, their two children Gia Francesca and Dominic and their two dogs Julio Cesar Chavez Lopez and Juanita Manuela Marquez Lopez.

Tickets for the Distinguished Alumni Reception are $150 and includes preferred seating for the 25th Annual Gene Kelly Awards at the Benedum Center. Tickets may be purchased online or by phone at 412-281-3973x234. The deadline to purchase is May 8. All proceeds benefit the Gene Kelly Awards.

Since 1946, the Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the entire Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Under the direction of Van Kaplan since 1997, this not-for-profit arts organization appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year and produces a subscription series, educational programs, national tours and develops and invests in new works, including 20 Broadway shows (25 Tony Awards) featuring the current productions of Cinderella, Kinky Boots and Matilda. Its dedication to the musical theater art form extends to include such programs as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Richard Rodgers Award, the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Construction Center for the Arts and the CLO Cabaret.

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