Artistic Vision

Artistic Statement for 2023-2024 Season of Programs

In 1946 it was a bold idea to produce live musical theater under the stars of Pitt Stadium, however the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera was driven by the vision that musical theater could bring a community together. Our community has faced many challenges over the past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing institutionalized racism within our neighborhood and country, however we are constantly guided by our core vision and celebrate all that the true American art form can offer. We invite our audience to come to the Pittsburgh CLO to have the best musical theater experience they expect of our beacon organization, but also come with an open mind to experience classic stories told in new ways or hear stories not traditionally told. Our season will feature a classic Golden Age Repertoire and Sondheim favorite, such as West Side Story and Into the Woods. We chose these two classic pieces due to both of them having a recent successful movie and Broadway run. We will also be presenting the current touring production of Oklahoma, directed by Daniel Fish, who adds a daring interpretation to the classic show our audiences love. We chose this work specifically due to its new interpretation that makes this 1940’s work relevant with the audiences of today. We have always been a family friendly organization and love when the whole family goes out to a night of theater and SpongeBob SquarePants, The New Musical will be just the event for that! This show gets everyone out of their head and seat with a colorful spectacle of joy with a timely message. We believe this show lets your imagination run wild and everyone will see the world through childlike eyes. Our season will be rounded out by the heart touching story of Bright Star and the first regional premier of Beetlejuice after a successful Broadway run. These pieces were chosen based on our mission to continue to bring Broadway to the audiences of Pittsburgh, and how better to do that than a regional premier? After the COVID-19 pandemic we want to bring a season of comfort, joy, and thrilling theatrical experiences to our audience, while also creating opportunities to learn and grow together.

The Academy is one of the greatest strengths of the Pittsburgh CLO and we will continue to invest resources on training the next generation of theater artists and sharing the love of musical theater with the community, regardless of age. In the wake of the COVID pandemic, we continue to offer classes in-person and online. We commit to building a robust online library of classes, so location is no longer a barrier to those who wish to partake in our world class training.

The Pittsburgh CLO is committed to ensuring a successful future for the American musical art form by developing new musicals. In an effort to expand opportunities for new works, we will be reigniting our SPARK: Igniting the Future of Small Musicals initiative. We will hold an annual festival in March that will allow musical theater writers to workshop and present new pieces. Additionally, we will commission a BIPOC artist for a year-long residency with the Pittsburgh CLO. They will be involved with teaching in the academy, as well as given the resources needed to create a new work. At the completion of the residency, the new work will be fully produced by the Pittsburgh CLO with a two-week run.

We are so excited to see our next season come to life and witness our audiences experience cherished classics and thrilling spectacle, alike. We look forward to becoming a greater part of discovering and creating new work in the years to come to ensure that Pittsburgh audiences will be among the first to see Broadway’s future biggest hits.