Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Encyclopedia
Cultural District, Pittsburgh
The Cultural District is a fourteen-square block area in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA bordered by the Allegheny River on the north, Tenth Street on the east, Stanwix Street on the west, and Liberty Avenue on the south....
of Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Pittsburgh CLO stages productions of musical theater classics, drawing more than 200,000 patrons each year; its annual budget is nearly $10 million.
Established on 20 February 1946, it premiered at Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
on 3 June 1946, where it offered outdoor performances until 1958. In 1961, the Civic Arena, was built to house the CLO. The arena, former home of the Pittsburgh Hornets (AHL, 1961-67) and the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
(NHL, 1967-2010) hockey franchises, is covered by the world's first retractable roof, designed so that audiences might enjoy theater under the stars. The company moved to the Benedum Center
Benedum Center
The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts is a theater and concert hall located at 719 Liberty Avenue in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
in 1988. CLO opened its newest venue in 2004, The CLO Cabaret at Theater Square.
Pittsburgh CLO's history began when Abraham Lewis Wolk, a Pittsburgh City Councilman, attended a performance of the St. Louis Municipal Opera, the first American summertime musical theater. Wolk wanted to copy the idea, and after discussions with Pittsburgh retail magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann
Edgar J. Kaufmann
Edgar J. Kaufmann was a prominent Jewish German-American businessman and philanthropist. He owned and directed Kaufmann's Department Store, the most prominent one in 20th century Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania...
, who helped with financing, Pittsburgh CLO was established.
Since 1946, Pittsburgh CLO has been dedicated to the preservation, creation and promotion of live musical theater. Pittsburgh CLO produces a Main Stage Season, A Musical Christmas Carol and operates the CLO Cabaret. Programs include the Academy, Mini Stars, the Richard Rodgers Award, the Construction Center for the Arts and being a partner in Elephant Eye Theatricals. National touring includes Doctor Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle (disambiguation)
Doctor Dolittle may refer to:*Doctor Dolittle, the central character of a series of 14 books written by Hugh Lofting between 1920 and 1952*Doctor Dolittle , a 1967 Rex Harrison film musical...
, Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
’s Copacabana
Copacabana (musical)
Copacabana is a TV-musical, stage musical, and nightclub show written by Barry Manilow, based on the song of the same name. The show toured the United States and, as of 2006, became available to license to performing companies and schools for the first time....
and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
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On Broadway Pittsburgh CLO has participated in Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
, Curtains
Curtains (musical)
Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes....
, Monty Python's Spamalot, The Color Purple
The Color Purple (musical)
The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman. It ran on Broadway in 2005 and has been touring throughout the US...
, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life is a musical revue based on the life of Chita Rivera, with a book by Terrence McNally and new songs by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens as well as songs from various other composers...
, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
, Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
, Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
and Big River
Big River (musical)
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical with a book by William Hauptman and music and lyrics by Roger Miller.Based on Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it features music in the bluegrass and country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel...
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Pittsburgh CLO's numerous programs for students include the Gene Kelly Awards
Gene Kelly Awards
The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, named after the actor/director Gene Kelly, are given out yearly by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the University of Pittsburgh. The award was founded in 1991 and celebrates excellence in the musicals of the Pittsburgh...
, founded in 1990.
In 2004, the Pittsburgh CLO produced The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, featuring Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and he has appeared in major box-office successes including The Fly, Jurassic Park and its sequel Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and Independence Day...
as Harold Hill, alongside his then-girlfriend, Catherine Wreford
Catherine Wreford
-Biography:She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in June, 1980.She starred in the Broadway production 42nd Street.-Movies:* Chloe * Pittsburgh * The Butcher * Lords of the Underworld...
, Illeana Douglas
Illeana Douglas
Illeana Douglas is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer.-Background:Douglas is a granddaughter of the actor Melvyn Douglas and his first wife, artist Rosalind Hightower, and has said that her grandfather's performance in Being There, in particular, was influential on her own...
, and Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
. This production was later made the centerpiece of mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
/documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh (2006 film)
Pittsburgh is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film that follows American actor Jeff Goldblum as he attempts to secure a green card for his Canadian actor/singer/dancer girlfriend by appearing with her as the leads in a summer regional theatre production of The Music Man in Goldblum's hometown of...
.