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Home , Aida (musical), Andy Blankenbuehler, In the Heights, Jonathan Larson, Matthew Lopez (writer), Newsies (musical)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Aja Jones 412-281-3973 ext. 224 [email protected] Images: Press Room User: pressroom Pswd: pittstadium

LIGHTS UP: ON WASHINGTON HEIGHTS AT PITTSBURGH CLO Fireworks Will Fly at Lin-Manuel Miranda’s July 7-16 at the Benedum Center

Pittsburgh, PA ∙ June 16, 2016 – Pittsburgh CLO is proud to produce Lin-Manuel Miranda’s IN THE HEIGHTS for the first time, July 7-16 at the Benedum Center. Capturing the vibrant culture of ’s Washington Heights community, this revolutionary musical merges hip hop music, influences and contemporary musical theater complemented by a remarkable cast of Pittsburgh CLO and Broadway veterans, including many from the original Broadway cast. Tickets are now available at pittsburghCLO.org, at the Theater Square Box Office, or by calling 412- 456-6666.

ABOUT THE CAST Blanca Camacho (Camila) was a part of the original Broadway cast of In the Heights. She worked with the late and in a piece with music by Mr. and book/lyrics by Spring Awakening’s . Ms. Camacho is a native New Yorker and NYU grad. TV credits include: Fire, Law & Order, Blue Bloods, Nurse Jackie, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Quantico, Divorce, Billions and Boardwalk Empire. Web series: Alternatino. She can be heard on TV and radio commercials, film, animation (Ice Age, Pinkalicious, Dora the Explorer), audiobooks and was the voice of Chiquita Banana.

David Del Rio (Sonny) is an American actor best known for starring in Fox’s : Live!, Universal Studios’ Pitch Perfect, and Blumhouse’s The Belko Experiment. He starred in Disney's Geek Charming and on Broadway in In The Heights. Mr. Del Rio directed four short films; and his feature, Sick For Toys, is slated to be released this year. He is also the co-owner of The Reel You, a demo-reel service in . He graduated from New World School of the Arts in , Florida in 2006, and the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, School of Film and Television in 2008.

Damon J. Gillespie (Graffiti Pete) has been in the Broadway casts of Disney’s and . His other credits include , (Carnegie Hall), The and The Good Swimmer. TV: Rise (A.K.A. Drama High) and Emmy®-winning “Girl You Don't Need Makeup” on Inside Amy Schumer.

Joshua Grosso (Usnavi) is making his Pittsburgh CLO debut with In the Heights. He is the 2012 Jimmy Award-winner for Best Actor and a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Grosso recently appeared in a new Korean musical in New York called Under the Bodhi Tree.

Marcus Paul James (Benny) was seen in Broadway’s Motown the Musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award®- winning In the Heights and 's Tony Award®-winning . His TV and Film credits include Collateral Beauty, RENT: Filmed Live and Live.

Yael Karoly (Carla) is making her Pittsburgh CLO debut. She is currently pursuing her B.F.A in at Point Park University. She has been seen performing in a variety of musicals and cabarets on both the west and east coasts.

Stephanie Klemons (Vanessa) is a Drama Desk™ Award-winning Broadway Performer and Choreographer. She is an original cast member of Broadway’s , In The Heights and If/Then. She made her Equity debut in the First National Tour of Bombay Dreams. She is the associate choreographer for Hamilton, Bring It On I and the First National Tour of In the Heights.

Billy Mason ( Guy) returns to Pittsburgh CLO after most recently appearing in The Toxic Avenger (Black ), and (Henri). Other credits include (Judas), Shrek the Musical (Shrek) and Seussical (Horton).

Rick Negron (Kevin) was born and raised in and received his BA from Sarah Lawrence College. His Broadway credits include Leader of the Pack, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Legs Diamond, , The Goodbye Girl, (L.A.), Mamma Mia! () and In the Heights. Mr. Negron has been seen in the National Tours of West Side Story (Action, Riff, Bernardo) and Man of La Mancha. He was also featured as a dancer in Michael Jackson’s “BAD” video and CHICAGO the movie.

April Ortiz (Daniela) was the Abuela Standby in In the Heights on Broadway. She has been a part of the National Tours of and La Cage Aux Folles. She was seen Off-Broadway in The View Upstairs and originated the roles of Inez in the east coast premiere of Matthew Lopez’s Somewhere at The Public Theatre, and Marina in Children of Salt. Regionally, she has performed Sunsets And Margaritas (Denver Center), Medea in Macbeth and Cinderella - Yale Rep and Bright Ideas - Laguna Playhouse. Film & TV: Father Of The Bride I & II, The Majestic, Golden Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, ER, 8 Simple Rules, Braindead, Law and Order CI and Down and Out In Beverly Hills.

Genny Lis Padilla (Nina) is taking a short break from her role in Broadway’s hit musical ON YOUR FEET! (OBC) to reprise her performance from the First National Tour of In the Heights where she starred opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda in her native country of Puerto Rico. Her Broadway Tour credits include In the Heights, RENT and Junie B. Jones. TV: The Blacklist: Redemption. She is an AMDA graduate and has a B.F.A in Musical Theater from the New School University. She studied acting at The Esper Studio in NYC and is currently earning a Master’s degree in IMC from Marist College.

Patricia Phillips (Abuela Claudia) was the first woman of African-American descent to play the role of Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera. Recent Broadway credits include and Live From : . She was a member of the original Broadway casts of La Boheme, The Secret Garden and . Television credits include two Tony Award® telecasts, The Sopranos and Everybody’s Fine with Robert De Niro. Ms. Phillips has also been a featured soloist with The Pittsburgh Symphony, The Minnesota Orchestra, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Bay Area Symphony, The Sioux City Symphony, The River City Brass Band and The Virginia Symphony.

In the Heights features a talented ensemble including Andrés Acosta, Lindsey Bracco, Cameron Burke, Christopher Campbell, Cameron Anika Hill, Carina-Kay Louchiey, Javier Manente, Aline Mayagoitia, Courtney Ortiz and James Allen Washington.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM Michael Balderrama (Director/Choreographer) is currently the resident Choreographer for Hamilton. Some of his select Broadway credits include Hamilton, Ghost, In the Heights and Movin’ Out, as well as films Rock of Ages, Across the Universe and Michael Jackson’s Ghost. Mr. Balderrama has choreographed and/or performed with , Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, Sutton Foster, Vanessa Williams, Brian , Mariah Carey and Jay Sean. He was the Resident Director/Choreographer of the Second National Tour of In the Heights and Associate Choreographer and Creative Consultant for the Broadway musical Soul Doctor. He has taught for over 25 years on four continents, in more than 20 countries and in 47 of the 50 . Mr. Balderrama is currently producing the upcoming new musical Whiskeyland and new play Uncle Jackie with his production companies, Silver Towers Productions, LLC and Last Call Theatricals, LLC.

James Cunningham (Music Director) joins Pittsburgh CLO for the first time. Mr. Cunningham’s New York credits include , music director for Bunnicula (TheaterworksUSA and original ), Hot Mess In Manhattan (The Araca Project) and Happy Birthday (TACT), for which he also provided original music. His National Tour credits as pianist/conductor include ’s White Christmas, , and Cats. For the past three seasons he has been a frequent music director for Casa Mañana where his credits include Million Dollar Quartet, Spamalot, Rent, , Les Misérables, Buddy…The Buddy Holly Story, Always… Cline and Cats. Regionally, he has also conducted productions for North Carolina Theatre, Sharon Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre , The Engeman Theater, , and Cape Fear Regional Theatre. He holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music and New York University.

HISTORY OF THE SHOW In the Heights hails from the creative minds of the legendary musical-writing team consisting of Lin-Manuel Miranda, and , with a stand-out book written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Quiara Alegria Hudes. Miranda began writing his earliest draft of In the Heights while he was a university student, and continued to craft this ground-breaking new musical until it was ready to hit the stage. After previewing in Connecticut in 2005 and Off- Broadway in 2007, In The Heights made its Broadway debut in March of 2008. It was nominated for 13 ®, winning the awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. Along with its success at the Tony Awards®, In the Heights was also honored with a Grammy Award® for Best Musical Show Album, Drama Desk™ nominations, winning for Best Choreography and Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Off- Broadway Cast), and also a nomination for the 2009 .

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAM Quiara Alegría Hudes (Book) garnered the HOLA award for outstanding achievement in playwriting from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors for her work on the book for In the Heights. In 2007, Hudes was chosen as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for her play Elliot, a Soldier’s Fugue, a second time in 2009 for In the Heights, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for her play . Her other plays include Yemaya’s Belly (2003 Clauder Competition for New England Playwriting, the Award in Playwriting, and the Kennedy Center/ACTF Latina Playwriting Award), 26 Miles, Grrrrl!, The Happiest Song Plays Last and Daphne’s Dive, among others. Ms. Hudes is also writing the script for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s animated movie Vivo for Sony Pictures Animation which is set to release in December of 2020.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (Original Lyrics & Music) is best known for being the composer, lyricist and the star of Hamilton on Broadway. He is also the Co-Composer and Co-Lyricist for Bring It On: The Musical which received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Musical. His Off-Broadway performance and writing credits include Hamilton (11 Tony Awards, 10 Lortel Awards, three Outer Critic Circle Awards, eight Drama Desk™ Awards, 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical and the 2015 for best New American Play) and Merrily We Roll Along and tick, tick… BOOM! (both City Center Encores!). Mr. Miranda’s TV credits include How I Met Your Mother, and Modern Family, among others.

Thomas Kail (Original Director) is a Tony Award®-winning director. He collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda for In the Heights and Hamilton, for which he received the Tony Award® for Best Director of a Musical. His additional Broadway directing credits include Magic/Bird, and The 24 Hour Plays. His Off-Broadway credits include Tiny Beautiful Things, Dry Powder, Hamilton, Where I Come to Die and Broke-ology among others.

Andy Blankenbuehler (Original Choreographer) is a Tony Award®-winning choreographer best known for his work for In the Heights and Hamilton. He is currently the Director and Choreographer for Bandstand on Broadway. Additional credits include (Tony®, Drama Desk™ and Outer Critics nominations), the 2012 Broadway revival of , the Broadway revival of Cats, the revival of The Tree, The People In The Picture (Roundabout), The Wiz (City Center), and the West End musical Desperately Seeking Susan. Along with his choreography credits, Mr. Blankenbuehler also served as the director and choreographer for Bring It On, The Musical which was the LA Drama Critics Circle Award winner and a Tony Award®-nominee.

Performance Schedule for IN THE HEIGHTS Friday July 7 8pm Saturday July 8 2pm & 8pm Sunday July 9 2pm & 7pm

Tuesday July 11 8pm Wednesday July 12 8pm Thursday July 13 8pm Friday July 14 8pm Saturday July 15 2pm & 8pm Sunday July 16 2pm

TICKETS Tickets are available online at pittsburghCLO.org, by calling 412-456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square. Tickets start at $25. Groups of 10 or more enjoy exclusive discounts and specialty packages. Call our Group Sales Hotline at 412-325-1582 for more information. Visit pittsburghCLO.org for further information.

Pittsburgh CLO gratefully acknowledges the generosity of PNC for its sponsorship of the PNC Spotlight Series and our Season Sponsors: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and WTAE-TV.

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Since 1946, 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 yearly who attend its performances at three venues in the Cultural District: a seasonal subscription series at the Benedum Center, A Musical Christmas Carol at the Byham Theater and year-round shows at the CLO . Its dedication to the musical theater art form includes educational programs such as the CLO Academy for Performance and Art, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Award and The National High School Theatre Awards. As part of its new works development, the organization has been involved with 22 Broadway shows (29 Tony Awards®), and in 2014 produced the world premiere of An American in Paris, on Broadway (4 Tony Awards®) and in ’s West End. For more information please visit pittsburghCLO.org.