Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Media Contact:
Diana Roth, Senior Communications Manager
roth@trustarts.org | 412-471-8717
2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series Assets
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Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series
Celebrating its 10-year anniversary season!
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the 2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series. Now in its 10th season, the Series continues to offer patrons a rare opportunity to see Broadway’s stars and today’s world-class leading vocalist on stage in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The 2022-2023 series performances will be showcased at the intimate 650 seat, state-of-the-art O’Reilly Theater located at 621 Penn Avenue, while exciting renovations are happening at the adjacent Theater Square Complex including the Greer Cabaret Theater where the performances have taken place in past seasons. These three venue destinations located in the heart of the Cultural District are projects of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
“The cabaret genre provides a truly unique experience that combines engaging storytelling with world-class vocal talent. The TRUST Cabaret Series has featured some of the brightest stars from Broadway, Hollywood, and the music industry who have dazzled our audiences over the years,” shares Randal Miller, Director of Special Projects and Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “We are honored to continue this legacy with the celebrated talents of Stephen Schwartz and Friends, Megan Hilty, LaChanze, Carole J. Bufford, and Norm Lewis. Every performance this season will showcase a different energy, performance style, and set of stories.”
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust gratefully acknowledges The Benter Foundation and Richard E. Rauh for their generous support of the TRUST Cabaret Series, which is arranged in cooperation with Spot-On Entertainment.
2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series Schedule
O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15222
Stephen Schwartz & Friends
Monday, September 19, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as an A&R producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play Butterflies Are Free; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well. For film, he collaborated with composer Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s Pocahontas, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted. Mr. Schwartz has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Mr. Schwartz’s most recent stage musical, Wicked, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway and in several other productions around the world. He received another Grammy for the cast recording, and in 2008, Wicked reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances. In 2015, he received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award® for his humanitarian and mentorship contributions to the theatre.
Stephen Schwartz & Friends has enthralled audiences around the world for over two decades — and received a standing ovation at every stop along the way. The beloved songs of the Grammy® and Oscar®-winning songwriter are given breathtaking performances by some of New York City’s best vocalists. This uplifting, soul-stirring concert features hits from classic shows like GODSPELL, PIPPIN, WICKED including “Magic to Do,” “Colors of the Wind,” “Corner of the Sky,” “Day by Day,” “When You Believe,” “Popular,” “For Good,” “Defying Gravity,” and more.
This unforgettable evening of magical musical theatre with Stephen Schwartz & Friends will showcase special appearances by: Tony Award-winner Debbie Gravitte, and Emmy nominees Scott Coulter and Michael McCorry Rose.
Megan Hilty
Monday, November 7, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Most recognizable for her portrayal of seasoned triplethreat Ivy Lynn in NBC’s musical drama Smash, Tony® nominee Megan Hilty is a dynamic performer both on stage and on screen. Hilty most recently played Lily in Annie Live! On NBC. Before that, Megan had the great pleasure of filming Patsy & Loretta, directed by Callie Khouri for Lifetime. Megan was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in a Limited Series for her performance as Patsy Cline. In March 2013, Hilty released her debut solo album, It Happens All The Time, which included fresh interpretations of compositions by contemporary songwriters and producers. In addition to Smash, Megan’s television credits include Bravo’s dramedy Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Hulu’s Difficult People, the final season of CBS’s The Good Wife, as well as The Good Fight for CBS All Access. Hilty also had a reoccurring role on Braindead for CBS as well as ABC’s hit series Desperate Housewives. In 2013, Hilty starred on the NBC series Sean Saves the World. On stage, Hilty received critical acclaim for her role of Brooke Ashton in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Noises Off. She earned nominations for a Tony Award®, Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award and won a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actress in a Play.
LaChanze
Monday, February 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Described as volcanic and a spontaneous force of nature with the unfailing ability to leave audiences breathless, Tony® and Emmy Award Winner, LaChanze is among today’s most highly regarded performers. Hailed by the New York Times as “magnetic,” LaChanze theatre credits are vast, including Trouble in Mind (Tony® Award nomination), Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Tony® and Drama Desk nominations) The Color Purple (2006 Tony® Award winner), Once On This Island (Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Ragtime, Company, Uptown It’s Hot and If/Then. Some of her Off-Broadway credits include The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Drama Desk nomination), Dessa Rose (Obie Award), Inked Baby, Spunk, and From the Mississippi Delta.
Always ready to skillfully deliver her best, she has flexed her acting muscles in the award-winning film The Help, Side Effects, Heartbreak Hotel, For Love or Money, Leap of Faith and My New Gun. On television, she has appeared in the award-winning HBO special The Night Of, Person of Interest, Law & Order: SVU, One Life to Live, Lucy, Sex and the City, Hercules, The Cosby Show, The Cosby Mysteries, New York Undercover and Heartbreak Hotel. She has the honor of appearing in the PBS special and cast album of Handel’s Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise (for which she earned the coveted Emmy Award) for her performance.
LaChanze has appeared in esteemed concert halls worldwide. Sharing her zest for all things life and happiness, she has taken her electric and highly praised Feeling Good tour right into her fans heart. Combined with her EP of the same name, LaChanze is on a mission to make the world feel good by giving her audiences a peek into her life through original songs and musical highlights from her storied career. LaChanze resides in New York with her two daughters.
Carole J. Bufford
Monday, March 27, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Carole J. Bufford has become one of the most sought after young performers in the New York cabaret & jazz scene and in 2020 was awarded the prestigious American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. Her recent shows, Speak Easy, (featuring the Grammy Award-winning Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks) and Body & Soul earned her rave reviews across the board, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Carole is the recipient of a Nightlife, Bistro and BroadwayWorld Award for Outstanding Vocalist. She has traveled all over the United States and recently made her London debut to great critical acclaim. She was featured in Michael Feinstein’s Great American Songbook series at Jazz @ Lincoln Center and has been spotlighted in numerous Broadway By The Year concerts at The Town Hall in New York City, and in California. Carole starred in Scott Siegel’s 11 O’Clock Numbers at 11 O’Clock at Feinstein’s at The Loew’s Regency along with Christina Bianco and Scott Coulter for an incredible eight-month run, one of the longest in Feinstein’s history. Carole originally hails from Lincolnton, GA where she grew up on healthy doses of Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Dinah Washington, and Bessie Smith. She attended Ithaca College where she majored in Musical Theater. She is a firm believer in honoring, celebrating, and teaching the Great American Songbook, from yesterday and today. She’d also like someone playing a nasty slide trombone to follow her around punctuating her daily activities.
Norm Lewis
Monday, May 8, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Emmy, Tony®, and SAG Award nominee, Norm Lewis, recently starred in Spike Lee’s critically acclaimed, Da 5 Bloods, and in the groundbreaking FX series, Pose. Additionally, Mr. Lewis can be seen starring opposite Reba McEntire in Lifetime’s Christmas In Tune, Peacock’s newest series, Dr. Death, and offscreen, his voice can be heard in the latest season of Apple TV’s animated series, Central Park. He was also seen as Caiaphas in the award-winning NBC television special, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!, alongside John Legend, Sara Bareilles, and Alice Cooper. Mr. Lewis returned to Broadway in the Fall of 2021, starring in Chicken and Biscuits at the Circle In The Square Theatre. He previously appeared in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island and as Sweeney Todd in the Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Barrow Street Theatre, receiving the AUDELCO Award for his performance. In May of 2014, he made history as The Phantom of the Opera’s first African American Phantom on Broadway. Television credits include Mrs. America, Better Things, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bull, Chicago Med, Gotham, The Blacklist, and Blue Bloods, as well as in his recurring role as Senator Edison Davis on the hit drama Scandal. Mr. Lewis is a proud founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization which stands together to help protect Black people, Black talent and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country.
TICKETS | INFORMATION
Subscription packages for the 2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series are on sale now. Single tickets ($60, $70) will go on sale Friday, August 12, 2022. Note, the 2022-2023 TRUST Cabaret Series will offer one performance (7:30 p.m.) by each artist on the season at the O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. Series subscriptions include all five performances. Price Level 1 season subscription is $300; Price Level 2 season subscription is $250.
To subscribe, call 412-456-1390 or visit, www.TrustArts.org/CabaretSeries.
Groups of 10+ call 412-471-6930 or visit, www.TrustArts.org/groupsales.
For more information about Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presentations, call guest services at 412-456-6666 or visit TrustArts.org. To learn more about Pittsburgh Cultural Trust venue entry and health and safety requiremetns, visit TrustArts.org/Welcome; and for real-time parking in the Cultural District, visit ParkPGH.org.
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The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation, and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.
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