CMU School of Drama


Monday, April 24, 2017

Pittsburgh CLO festival fosters next generation of small musicals

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh CLO held a sneak peek of a new music festival that will bloom in Pittsburgh next spring, with the emphasis on small-scale shows and nurturing the next generation of writers.

The festival is part of a $10 million capital campaign that is 95 percent complete, with 35 percent coming from board members. The campaign includes $5 million for new works development, with $3 million specifically for the festival. More than 100 local and national artists will converge here March 26-April 8, 2018, providing an attraction for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, which will hold its 2018 spring conference April 4-6 in Pittsburgh.

3 comments:

Evan schild said...

This is such a cool idea. I think that musicals usually seen on Broadway have big casts and big production numbers. There are some exceptions to this such as Next to Normal or First date. I think small cabaret style shows have such a huge potential for regional success. The shows I just listed did not stay on Broadway for a long time. Next to Normal for about two years and First Date about 6 months. However, these shows are a regional hit. Regional theatres love to do small shows because it costs way less money to produce. Another great thing that CLO is doing is that they are putting the money into making sure the shows are quality. They want to make sure that what they are going to produce is worthy of that and they will spend money to make sure it is worthy, which is great! I cannot wait for next year to see what big hits come out of this!

Rebecca Meckler said...

Its wonderful that the CLO is starting to help new plays get produced. I thinks it’s great the the CLO is trying to not just produce the plays, but help them moving forward. Another aspect of festival that I’m intrigued by is the community aspect. I wonder if they are trying to attract the Pittsburgh community at large or just the arts community. If it is the Pittsburgh community, how are they attempting to engage everyone? Are the planning on having talkbacks after the shows or bringing local schools or nursing homes to see them? Its great that they are trying to test new works with the community at large because the playwright can get a better understanding of where the play can improve. Overall, I’m very excited to see what new works the CLO has in store, what happens after the initial production, and what the name of this event is.

Marisa Rinchiuso said...

I'm so looking forward to this new portion of Pittsburgh CLO's content. We often hear so much about small plays, but it's quite unique to hear about small musicals being produced. The only platform that I know of for that is the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and even that is an extremely high level platform. It is great to see something local and soon that will be produced from one of Pittsburgh's biggest theatres. I thought it was funny but odd that the director of the event said that it did not have a name yet. I wasn't sure whether he was referring to a literal name or a title for what the event is about. In addition, I wonder if tech and design will have any role in this event. Anyways, I am really looking forward to seeing newer works produced in town, hopefully giving opportunities to local playwrights and composers who wish to get out and get noticed.