By SHARON EBERSON
Pittsburgh CLO’s 2025 summer just got one-production bigger with the announcement that it will present the premiere of Madame Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical, a lead-in to the three-show subscription season.
Madame Clicquot will be produced as “a special stand-alone production” at the Byham Theater in addition to Pittsburgh CLO’s three-show summer of musicals at the Benedum Center. The premiere is made possible by enhancement funding via the commercial producer, 42nd Parallel Productions.
The work about the woman who innovated Champagne production during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, features a book, music and lyrics by Lisette Glodowski and Richard C. Walter.
“We are over the moon to be joining forces with Pittsburgh CLO,” director/choreographer Laurie Glodowsk said in a statement. “Their commitment to excellence in producing musical theater, especially in nurturing new works, made them the perfect choice for this collaboration. We’re delighted to bring our vision to life alongside such a talented team and share it with Pittsburgh’s passionate theatergoers. Let’s raise a glass together!”
“Through collaborations like this, Pittsburgh CLO remains dedicated to creating new theatrical experiences, nurturing artists, and developing productions that have the potential to become Broadway hits,” said Mark Fleischer, PCLO’s executive producer. “We are also proud to provide opportunities that ensure that Pittsburgh’s musical theater community continues to be a hub for talent and innovation.”
A studio cast album with a 13-piece orchestra was released in April, following industry readings at New York Theatre Barn’s New Work series in 2020 and a 2021 concert with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. The six-song album features Victoria Frings as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, Kevin Massey as François Clicquot and Paolo Montalban as Louis Bohne.
No cast has been announced for the Pittsburgh CLO production. Dates and ticket sales also are TBA.
The real-life Madame Clicquot, born Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, defied the norms of the day as a female entrepreneur who came to be known as the “Grande Dame of Champagne. Her story includes a Romeo-and-Juliet love match and tragedy.
The website for the brand Veuve Clicquot celebrates its founder, stating, “Her creativity and lust for innovation led to many firsts in Champagne: the first known vintage champagne; the invention of the riddling table; the first known blended rosé champagne – three inventions that revolutionized champagne-making and were widely adopted by producers, becoming the basis of modern champagne production.”
She also was the subject of Tilar J. Mazzeo‘s New York Times bestselling biography, The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, which was the basis of the 2023 film Widow Clicquot.
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