Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Meet the Plaid Tidings Cast

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aja Jones
ajones@pittsburghclo.org
412-281-3973 x224

Frankie, Jinx, Sparky & Smudge Are Back From the Beyond November 7
Meet the Cast of Plaid Tidings



Pittsburgh, PA • August 14, 2013 – Pittsburgh CLO is pleased to announce the cast of the highly anticipated return of Plaid Tidings to the CLO Cabaret, November 7 – January 12.  The cast features an exciting mix of Pittsburgh CLO veterans and newcomers to the CLO Cabaret.

Cast & Creative Team
Billy Hepfinger (Smudge) returns to the CLO Cabaret after appearing in this summer's Side by Side by Sondheim. A graduate of Princeton and a proud Pittsburgh native, Mr. Hepfinger’s local credits include the Pittsburgh CLO (A Musical Christmas Carol, Young Washington), Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater (Three Sisters, Ivanov), Pittsburgh Musical Theater (The Sound of Music, Hairspray), City Theatre (2011 Young Playwrights Festival), the REP/Pittsburgh Playhouse (Antarktikos), and Carnivale Theatrics (Next to Normal). NYC: workshop of Tamar of the River (Prospect Theater Company). You can also see Mr. Hepfinger in Pittsburgh Public Theater's upcoming production of Company.

Jim Hogan (Frankie) is taking the CLO Cabaret stage for the first time. National Tour: Spring Awakening. Regional:A Little Night Music (Arden Theatre Company), MASS, Grand Hotel, Sweeney Todd (Penn State Centre Stage),Spring Awakening (Mazeppa Productions).  BFA: Penn State.  www.jimhogan.org

Brandon Lambert (Jinx) is a recent graduate of Point Park University making his CLO Cabaret debut. Other Pittsburgh credits include Pittsburgh Public Theater's Born Yesterday, Pittsburgh Musical Theater's Legally Blonde,and Point Park University's Illyria.  Beyond performing, Brandon also enjoys writing music; he recently received the Anna Sosenko Grant for his musical Another World (book by Annick Dall), and his recent theatre-for-young-audiences show, Beauty Can't Sleep, was commissioned and produced by Gretna Theater this past summer.

Quinn Patrick Shannon (Sparky) returns to the CLO Cabaret after appearing in A Grand Night for Singing.  He is a graduate of Point Park University and has appeared in Assassins, The Rover, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Hair. His regional credits include roles with Theatreworks USA, West Virginia Public, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Stage 62 and Little Lake.

Eric Longo (Understudy) recently appeared in Chicago the Musical on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas andSouth Pacific at Delaware Theatre Company. Other companies include Quantum Theatre, Attack Theatre and Media Theatre. He earned his BFA from Carnegie Mellon and his Master of Music from Rice University.

Guy Stroman (Director & Choreographer) directed and choreographed Forever Plaid for the inaugural production of the CLO Cabaret.  He also directed and choreographed that show for the fifth anniversary of the theater, as well as the first production of Plaid Tidings the following season.  He has directed numerous productions of plays and musicals around the country and in New York, including: Driving Miss Daisy and The Glass Menagerie, both staring Sandy Duncan,” The King and I, starring Lou Diamond Phillips (Best Director Award), Twelfth Night, Loot(Best Production Award), 1776 (Best Director Award), Man of La Mancha (Audience Favorite Award), andShakespeare’s R&J, to name a few.  Mr. Stroman originated the role of Frankie in the original Forever Plaid in New York, London’s West End, and Los Angeles, where he won the L.A. Drama Critics Award for Best Actor.

Michael Moricz (Music Director) is active in the fields of orchestral, theater, dance and television music as a composer, arranger, conductor and pianist.   He was the second Music Director (from 1996 until Fred Rogers' death) for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS, and has also contributed original music for television productions on the Fox, Disney, Showtime, Discovery and PBS networks. Mr. Moricz has arranged material for Renee Fleming, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, Chita Rivera, Kander & Ebb, the "Three Mo' Tenors," Linda Lavin, Thomas Hampson, Michele Lee, Gary Beach, Kevin Glavin, Glory Crampton, David Budway, Opie Bellas and many others. He has done special dance arrangements for Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, Lee Roy Reams, Vivian Reed and for choreographers Tony Stevens, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Tomé Cousin, David Bell, Syrie Moskowitz & Kiesha Lalama.  His past work also includes the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Virginia Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, music festivals in Kansas and Aspen and the Kennedy Center Orchestra at Wolf Trap, where he has conducted his own music.  Mr. Moricz has been the long-time arranger/music director of The Gene Kelly Awards annually for Pittsburgh CLO, and has performed similar duties annually for The Tommy Tune Awards (Houston Theater Under The Stars) and The Capitol Awards (Raleigh, NC).  He has music directed the National High School Musical Theatre Awards on Broadway since the program’s inception in 2009.  In addition to much post-scoring in the recording studio, Michael arranged & produced the celebrated children's CD "Time to Sing" and Opie Bellas' CD, "Live for Life."

Andy Ostrowski (Lighting Designer) Mr. Ostrowski recently designed Side By Side By Sondheim, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up! and A Grand Night for Singing for Pittsburgh CLO, Bolero for PSO, PNME's summer season, August Osage County for The Rep at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Rigoletto for Pittsburgh Opera and City Theatre’s POP. National credits include: The Asolo, Virginia Stage Company, North Shore Music Theatre, Merrimack Repertory, Arden Theatre, Spoleto Festival USA, Dallas Summer Musicals, Theater of the Stars, Madison Opera and others. International: productions in Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, France, and touring all of Western Europe.

Tim Brady (Production Stage Manager) returns for his tenth season as PSM at the CLO Cabaret. As an actor, he has appeared in 11 productions of Pittsburgh CLO’s A Musical Christmas Carol and various summer season productions with PCLO. Other local theaters that Mr. Brady has performed with include The Pittsburgh Pops, Starlight Productions, The New Pittsburgh Jewish Theatre, Stage Right and The Theater Factory. Mr. Brady was also the managing director of the Conley Inn Dinner Theater in Irwin for 17 years. Tim also starred in the Jason Coll television pilot, “Munhall.”

Performance Schedule
Wednesdays 7:30pm
Thursdays 1:00pm* & 7:30pm * Thursday matinees with optional buffet – 11/21, 12/19
Fridays 7:30pm  
Saturdays 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sundays 2:00pm

Additional holiday matinees: November 29 and January 2 at 2:00pm

Tickets
Tickets are $34.75-$44.75 and are available online at CLOCabaret.com, by calling 412-456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square.  Groups of 10 or more can call the Group Sales Hotline at 412-325-1582 to learn more about special discounts and priority seating.

Media members may also access photos and other show materials by visiting the Press Room at pittsburghCLO.org. When prompted, simply enter “pressroom” as the username and “pittstadium” as the password.

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Since 1946, the Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the entire Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Under the direction of Van Kaplan since 1997, this not-for-profit arts organization appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year and produces a subscription series, educational programs, national tours and develops and invests in new works, including 18 Broadway shows (24 Tony Awards®) featuring the current productions of Cinderella, Kinky Boots and Matilda. Its dedication to the musical theater art form extends to include such programs as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Richard Rodgers Award, the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Construction Center for the Arts and the CLO Cabaret.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

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