By SHARON EBERSON
There are moments that, even as they are happening, when you know one day you will look back and boast, “I was there.”
That’s how I feel about Pittsburgh CLO‘s 80th Anniversary Gala Concert.
I have been in Pittsburgh since 1980, so I missed a few decades (relative to my age) of the Civic Light Opera. Yet I believe every single person attending the concert joined honoree Carol Hefren Tillotson, whose experience with CLO dates back to the initial 1946 season at Pitt Stadium, had the feeling they were witnessing “my CLO,” coupled with the emotional impact of knowing something was coming to an end.
During a nostalgia packed night — including the honoring of former CLO intern Stephen Flaherty, the award-winning composer of Ragtime, with the Richard Rodgers Award — the end of an eight-decade era was mentioned several times, as well as the hopes for the future in combination with Pittsburgh Public Theater (let’s not dwell on that here; there’s more to come).
Among the goodbyes during the June 12 concert at the August Wilson African American Culture Center, Executive Producer Mark Fleischer will take on a new position in Tennessee after CLO’s 80th and final summer season. He directed the event, working with performers, some veterans, some relative newcomers, all of whom I have watched and whose talents I have enjoyed during the course of their careers:
Gene Kelly Award winners Kai Sachon and Marnie Quick; Carnegie Mellon students Bree Taylor and Samantha Allison Nelson (both will be in 2026 summer shows); proud form CLO Academy kids and theater artists Ryan Cavanaugh, Alex Manalo and Stephanie Maloney; Pittsburgher Matthew Hydzik, recently returned from Broadway; Aaron Galligan-Stierle, head of Slippery Rock’s BFA Acting and Musical Theatre and CLO’s current Bob Cratchit; Tom J. Schaller, Director of Theatre at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School; performer and CLO Community Engagement Manager Brady Patsy; and Pittsburgh musical theater stalwarts J. Alex Noble (17 CLO summer and cabaret shows), Lisa Ann Goldsmith (15) and Christine Laitta (26!).
Many of these singer-actors are educators, coaches and/or hold down other jobs in our community. When Ms. Hefren Tillotson was presented with the Chloe Award “for extraordinary civic leadership, philanthropy, and support of the arts,” she said the thing she liked best about Pittsburgh CLO is that it is local.
She asked if the actors on stage at the August Wilson Center were all local, to which there was a resounding, “Yes!” That included the members of the orchestra as well.
My friend Chris Laitta had the honor of introducing the terrific CLO Orchestra, super-charged on this night under the direction of Robert Neumeyer. The concert was conceived, written and masterfully orchestrated by Neumeyer, with additional orchestrations by Richard Rockage. Under the direction of outgoing CLO Executive The performers moved through a Golden Age Medley, CLO Broadway Medley and more, representing the history of CLO, the upcoming summer season, and Flaherty’s repertoire, with choreography by Emily Stoken-Bondi.
The night featured a tribute to presenting sponsor Joan Clark Davis, and an appearance by Paul Palmer, who, between 1976 and 2016, appeared in nearly three dozen CLO shows. Board Chair Joseph DiVito Jr. figured that Pittsburghers had the opportunity to attend more than 700 CLO shows over the past 80 years. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd, a long time member of the CLO family — whose favorite judging is for the Gene Kelly Awards — introduced an “In Appreciation” video, honoring those “whose contributions continue to inspire.”
CLO Academy students followed remarks by Director of Education Jim Scriven with a mashup, of sorts, of A Chorus Line and George Benson’s On Broadway. The Pittsburgh CLO Mini Stars, CLO Academy students and a group of 2026 Gene Kelly Award nominees delivered a powerful rendition of “You Will Be Found,” from Dear Evan Hansen.
In honoring Fleischer, former Board Chair Helen Hanna Casey recalled his pandemic pivot to Zoom meetings, and the celebration of 75 years of the company, held at Heinz Field in 2021. Another night to remember on the way to 80. Flaherty noted that this year marked the 79th Tony Awards — which puts CLO in the lead.
A favorite “brief shining moment” came near the end of the concert, one that Fleischer said was a surprise. He had directed Camelot last season, and the night’s core group of singers delivered the finale of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.
With the line “one brief shining moment,” it seemed like a perfect ending. But the night was not done.
There had already been a musical tribute to Flaherty, with selections from Ragtime, Anastasia, Seussical, Once on This Island, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones, Lucky Stiff, and My Favorite Year.
Neumeyer and the orchestra appeared to be playing us off and into the night (or dinner and more entertainment; I was there just for the concert), when Flaherty returned to the stage, and pianist Catie Brown graciously relinquished her seat to him.
He said, “These are the first notes I played on the piano I brought with me from Pittsburgh 40 years ago,” and treated us to a solo rendition of Ragtime, the 2026 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical Revival.
This was a night where I freely hugged people who I have known for many years, to acknowledge their contributions to the musical theater and arts landscape of Pittsburgh. I was seated in the balcony of the August Wilson Center, notably with family members of performers, and beside the producers of the all-local Front Porch Theatricals, who were counting the many performers and musicians who had graced their musicals at the New Hazlett Theater.
Whatever form local musical theater takes in years to come, this will be a night to remember, and to say, “I was there.”
For more, follow Sharon Eberson at https://www.facebook.com/SharonEbersonPGH and follow onStage Pittsburgh at https://www.facebook.com/onstagepittsburgh/.
Categories: Company, Feature, National and Local Awards, Our Posts, Reviews
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