Broadway Names and Pittsburgh Ties Include ‘Into the Woods’ Castmates Patti Murin, Manu Narayan and Joe Serafini

By SHARON EBERSON

Pittsburgh CLO put on a show today to announce artists who will populate their 77th summer season of musicals, with many tracing connections from here to Broadway and back again.

Into the Woods, for example, will include the starry trio of Patti Murin, Broadway’s original Anna in Frozen, and Pittsburgher Manu Narayan (seen most recently in Broadway’s Company) as The Baker’s Wife and Baker, and Disney+ star and Bethel Park native Joe Serafini (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) as Jack – a role he played for CLO Academy in 2013.

The message of the day from the company and executive producer Mark Fleischer was that this 2023 summer of musicals was “created by Pittsburgh, for Pittsburgh and partnered with Pittsburgh.” That concept was personified at the outdoor Trust Oasis on Seventh Street, Downtown, with local artists Christine Laitta and Brady Patsy leading CLO Academy kids in numbers from the upcoming musicals.

With members of CLO Academy looking on, executive producer Mark Fleischer announces artists and initiatives for the 2023 Pittsburgh CLO summer season. (Images by Sharon Eberson)

In producing Once on this Island, Fleischer said, CLO is delivering on a “COVID promise” to Pittsburgh audiences – the tour of the Flaherty-Ahrens musical was canceled due to the pandemic. 

“But we are not reliant on tours,” said Fleischer, who added that Dormont native and Tony-winning composer Stephen Flaherty will be present in July to see his show at the Benedum Center.

Fleischer also touted CLO’s partnership with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to create a sensory friendly room, available for all performances.  The “Quiet Space” at the Benedum will be “an area to provide calm, focus and comfort to neurodivergent patrons.”

Christine Laitta and Brady Patsy, center, perform with CLO Academy kids at a Pittsburgh CLO event Tuesday in the Pittsburgh Cultural District.

CLO also took the opportunity to point out that all six summer shows will have sets built by the Pittsburgh CLO Construction Center located in Springdale, employing ‘local union labor to build Broadway-quality sets for not only PCLO’s summer season, but for … musical theater productions throughout the U.S.

“Guests that come to the Benedum Center this summer are going to see familiar faces both on stage and in the audiences — we love to hear the stories of Pittsburgh CLO friendships that occur from traditions of meeting back up each summer at the theater,” Fleischer said.

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Here are performers and creative teams announced yesterday for the Pittsburgh CLO 2023 summer season:

ANYTHING GOES (June 13-18): director Ameenah Kaplan, choreographer Mara Newbery Greer, music director James Cunningham, featuring Broadway veterans Rashidra Scott as Reno Sweeney and A.J. Shively as Billy Crocker, with Andrea Weinzierl (Avonworth High, Point Park University, CLO) as Erma.

INTO THE WOODS (June 27-July 2): director Scott Weinstein and choreographer William Carlos Angulo, music director Cunningham, featuring Murin, Narayan and Serafini

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (July 11-16) director/choreographer Marc Robin, music director Thom Culcasi, featuring Hanley Smith as Maria, Will Ray as Captain Von Trapp and Madeline Dick as Liesl. (Dick played youngest daughter Gretl in CLO’s 2011 production.)

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (July 25-30): director/choreographer Gerry McIntyre, music director Cunningham, featuring Mason Reeves (Frozen’s Kristoff0 as Daniel Beauxhomme, Darius Harper (Kinky Boots) as Papa Ge and Pittsburgh’s Melessie Clark.

GUYS & DOLLS (August 8-13): director Darren Lee, choreographer: Mark Esposito, music director Cunningham, featuring Broadway veterans Jeff Kready as Sky Masterson and Nikki Daniels as Sarah Brown and Pittsburgh’s Christine Laitta as General Cartwright.

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 (August 22-27): director Dontee Kiehn, choreographer Charlie Sutton, music director Cunningham, featuring Jason Gotay as Anatole Kuragin, Kennedy Caughell as Sonya and 2022 Gene Kelly Award winner and Carnegie Mellon’s Kylie Edwards in the ensemble.

For tickets and details, visit https://www.pittsburghclo.org/buy-tickets 

Brady Patsy and CLO Academy kids perform a number from Guys & Dolls.

Categories: Our Posts, Preview, Season Listings, Show Previews

Tags: Anything Goes, Broadway, Into the Woods, Joe Serafini, Manu Narayan, Musical, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet, Once on this Island, Patti Murin, Pittsburgh CLO, Stephen Flaherty, The Sound of Music