Chris Cox, Director of Marketing and Communications for Pittsburgh Opera, recently took the time to discuss the production of Fellow Traveler’s with Shannon Crowley who sings the role of Mary Johnson, and shared with us the following transcript of their conversation:
Chris Cox: Shannon Crowley, thank you so much for being with us today. Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist.
Shannon Crowley: I’m from Virginia Beach, Virginia. I got started in opera early on. I went to a performing arts high school in Norfolk, where I studied opera for three hours every day. I went to Michigan State for undergrad, and then to Rice University in Houston for my graduate studies. After that, I auditioned for all the young artist programs and got into Pittsburgh Opera’s, and here I am.
Chris Cox: This is your second year as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist. What did you enjoy most about your first year?
Shannon Crowley: I love the group of artists that I’m with. We really love each other and have so much fun putting on everything that we do. We have a lot of little concert gigs and runouts that we do together, and we just have the best time performing together.
Chris Cox: Can you tell us about the roles you had last season, and whether you had a favorite?
Shannon Crowley: Last year, I sang Zelmira in Haydn’s Armida and the Shepherd Boy in Tosca. The Shepherd Boy was my favorite.
Chris Cox: The Shepherd Boy wins out, even though you’re off stage and only sing for a few seconds?
Shannon Crowley: The woman singing Tosca, Anna Maria Martinez, was one of my graduate school professors, and it was really cool to watch her do her thing. It was my first production with Pittsburgh Opera, which made it extra special, and I also got nicknamed Shep. Everybody calls me Shep now, and that is from me singing the Shepherd Boy.
Chris Cox: OK, Shep, well, in Fellow Travelers, your role is a little more prominent than the Shepherd Boy’s. Who is Mary Johnson?
Shannon Crowley: Mary Johnson is one of the three principal roles in Fellow Travelers. She works for Hawk and is very close to Tim. She is not directly involved in their love story, but she’s a kind of friend to them both. Mary is like a light in all the darkness that’s happening on stage. She provides the voice of reason and is the grounding force for everybody on stage.
Chris Cox: When push comes to shove, where do Mary’s loyalties lie?
Shannon Crowley: Mary is on the side of goodness and love. In the end, she doesn’t approve of Hawk’s actions. Even though she has love for him, she can’t get behind his decisions. I think that she ends up on Timmy’s side. It’s open to interpretation whether she’ll stay friends with Hawk.
Chris Cox: What are you enjoying about this role so far?
Shannon Crowley: I really love this role. Often, I will play silly characters, and it’s really refreshing to play this down-to-earth woman. She’s rational and normal. Many operas are larger than life – this is the first time I’ve played a character where I really feel like this is just such a normal, normal person. That’s so refreshing. Plus her music is beautiful.
Chris Cox: What else are you enjoying about Mary?
Shannon Crowley: Mary has a great wardrobe. The costumes are very 1950s, and that era had some great fashion. I have about seven costumes, which is so fun. There are so many scene changes, spanning different times and places. It feels very musical theater, actually.
Chris Cox: How are rehearsals going?
Shannon Crowley: They have been awesome. [Brian Staufenbiel] is one of my favorite directors I’ve ever worked with. He listens really well, and things feel very collaborative. He said on the first day that he didn’t want to recreate his previous production. He said our production is about our relationships and the story that we’re telling this time. With a piece like this, that takes some of the pressure off and lets you explore what the piece means to you. These are also some of the most efficient rehearsals I’ve done. This is our fourth day of staging, and we’re already going to finish staging the show. It’s really been a fun process.
Chris Cox: Fellow Travelers, the opera has been around for about 10 years. It’s gained national traction, is performed by many opera companies across the country, and has been heralded as an instant classic. What do you think is Fellow Travelers’ appeal to the audience?
Shannon Crowley: It’s set in America, in a more recent time period [the 1950s] than most operas, and the language is familiar, which already makes it a little bit more accessible. And although the story is about one point in time, the themes of forbidden love and people being persecuted for the way they live are still sadly relevant now. Everyone in the audience can find a parallel to their own lives. You also find something, and see somebody you know, in each character, which is cool.
Chris Cox: What does the audience have to look forward to when they see this show?
Shannon Crowley: Much of the audience will experience opera in a new way. Fellow Travelers breaks a lot of the preconceived notions many people have about operatic stories. Its music is beautiful, accessible, and melodic. People may be surprised at how much they love this music —both people who have been to opera all their lives and people who have never seen an opera. I really think there’s something for everybody there.
Chris Cox: Thanks so much, we can’t wait to see you on stage!
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Fellow Travelers is at the Byham Theater with performances November 14 – 16, 2025. For more information including the story synopsis, and tickets, visit: https://pittsburghopera.org
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Feature Stories, Show Previews
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