Pittsburgh CLO is looking for that Spark again. Its second New Musicals Weekend, a project of the Next Generation Campaign’s New Small Musicals Initiative and a mini-me of the SPARK festival, bursts into the Pittsburgh Cultural District Saturday and Sunday.
The New Musicals Weekend has a four-pronged mission: to foster the development of new musicals for the CLO Cabaret at the Greer Cabaret, Downtown; support writing teams with financial and creative resources, build relationships with local and national artists; and share the new works process with Pittsburgh CLO audiences.
Two recent features of the CLO Cabaret — "Game On" and the current "The Double-Threat Trio" — come from the 2018 SPARK festival.
Readings include "The Girls Have Demons," a new draft of the musical about a teenage girl possessed by a demon, and "The Perfect Mate," a CLO commissioned work about love in the year 2163 — when a woman who believes in romance wins the opportunity to test the PerfectMate, an emotionally savvy robot. Cast members for all readings include a mix of pros and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama students.
At 10 p.m. Saturday, you can check out more "Works in Progress," an open-mic event for the New Musicals Weekend artists to share songs and stories at the Greer Cabaret.
Readings and post-show discussions take place at the Benedum Center rehearsal studios, entry on Liberty Avenue at Tito Way. They are free and open to the public, but require RSVPs at www.pittsburghclo.org/spark/new-musicals-weekend-2019.
The 2019 New Musicals Weekend schedule:
Saturday, April 13
10 a.m.: "Somewhere Over the Border"
1 p.m.: "The Next Fairy Tale"
4 p.m.: "The Perfect Mate"
7 p.m. :"These Girls Have Demons"
Sunday, April 14
10 a.m: "The Next Fairy Tale"
1 p.m.: "These Girls Have Demons"
4 p.m.: "The Perfect Mate"
7 p.m.: "Somewhere Over the Border"
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg. Sign up for the PG performing arts newsletter Behind the Curtain at Newsletter Preferences.
First Published: April 11, 2019, 12:00 p.m.
