2024 Summer of Musicals
June - August 2024
Cultural District
Greer Cabaret Theater
NEW JERSEY’S FIRST SUPERHERO TAKES OVER IN THIS MONSTER OF A COMEDY!
He’s out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo the town’s blind librarian. Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, THE TOXIC AVENGER is an unexpected love story and laugh-out-loud musical horror-comedy. In an attempt to clean up New Jersey’s most polluted town, Melvin Ferd the Third is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as “The Toxic Avenger.” Our new hero is now a seven-foot mutant with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. You’ll laugh, scream and sing as Toxie rocks the house and saves the day! Adult Content
“INFECTIOUS. The Toxic Avenger is hard to resist.”
-Time Out NY
JULIA GEISLER (Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to work with the Pittsburgh CLO. This will be her third CLO production, she has previously appeared in the casts of Boeing Boeing and A Musical Christmas Carol. She works regionally as an actress and musician at some fabulous institutions including The Human Race Theatre, The Lawrence Arts Center, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, 12 Peers Theater, and as an occasional soloist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Kansas where she also taught acting and Musical Theater.
BILLY MASON (Black Dude) is thrilled to be making his CLO Cabaret Debut!! Billy’s theatre performance background includes Pittsburgh Musical Theater, The Strand Initiative, The Lyric Stage, Split Stage, Lincoln Park and a host of others in a wide array of roles. Favorite roles include “Shrek” in Shrek The Musical, “Horton in Suessical the Musical, “Kerchak” in Disney’s Tarzan, “Judas” in JCS and “Lucien P Smith” in The Boys Next Door. EBP, TCB, ZSM. God Bless! 1 Corinthians 13:13 LDTB! Follow me! twitter: @mason_billy instagram: billymason07
CAROLINE NICOLIAN (Mayor/Ma) is thrilled to be returning to the CLO Cabaret! She was last seen as Casey in First Date and other past credits at the Cabaret include Side by Side by Sondheim, Judge Jackie Justice and A Grand Night for Singing. She is a native of Pittsburgh and has worked for numerous theater companies in the city; she was seen in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris with PICT Classic Theatre, A Grand Night for Singing at St. Vincent's Summer Theater, and was the understudy for Eliza Doolittle in Pittsburgh Public Theater's My Fair Lady, to name a few. She received her B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Point Park University and is a proud member of Actor's Equity.
EVAN RUGGIERO (The Toxic Avenger) Born and raised in New Jersey, Evan is thrilled to be returning to Pittsburgh CLO in The Toxic Avenger. Previous Pittsburgh CLO credits include: Shrek The Musical (Pied Piper) and Man of La Mancha (ensemble/guitarist). Additional credits: "The Ellen Show" (Burbank, CA), Yes I Can (London, U.K.), Quelli Che il Calcio (Milan, Italy), Transcendence Theatre Company (Sonoma, CA), The Penalty (The Public, NYC) and his own one man show, One-Legged Song and Dance Man, which was just featured at The Kennedy Center in D.C., and is performed regularly at 54 Below, in NYC. Many thanks to the Pace family! Social media: @Lord_Pegleg
KATIE SEXTON (Sarah) Pittsburgh CLO debut! New York City based actress whose credits include South Pacific (Nellie), Oklahoma! (Laurie), The Marvelous Wonderettes (Suzie) at Allenberry Playhouse, Evil Dead the Musical (Linda) with Wolfbane Productions and Company (Susan) with BOMP in NYC. Katie was last seen on stage in Pittsburgh in Point Park University's production of The Light In The Piazza as Margaret Johnson. Thanks so much to Pittsburgh CLO and the cast and crew of Toxic! For my big beautiful family! BFA Point Park University www.KatieNSexton.com
QUINN PATRICK SHANNON (White Dude) is thrilled to return for his fifth production at the CLO Cabaret. He previously appeared in The 39 Steps (Clown), Plaid Tidings (Frankie), Judge Jackie Justice (Male Swing) and A Grand Night for Singing (Male Swing). Most recently, Quinn played Nicely Nicely Johnson in The Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Guys and Dolls. Other credits include My Fair Lady with The Pittsburgh Public (Ensemble), Forever Plaid (Frankie) with the Mountain Playhouse, Young Frankenstein (Igor) with Pittsburgh Musical Theater and Our Class (Wladek) with PICT Classic Theatre. He would like to thank his friends and family for all their love and support.
DAVID TOOLE (Understudy) rejoins the CLO Cabaret after his recent performance in First Date (Reggie, Gabe, Casey's Father, & Stoner Guy). Past credits include; WITH PITTSBURGH CLO: The Student Prince; WITH FRONT PORCH THEATRICALS: The Last 5 Years (Jamie Wellerstein); WITH PITTSBURGH MUSICAL THEATER: Disney’s Tarzan (Tarzan), Jesus Christ Superstar (Judas), RENT (Roger), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph), West Side Story (Tony), High School Musical (Troy Bolton). Outside of theater, David is one of 5 rotating National Anthem Singers for The Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a private voice instructor based out of the North Hills, and is the frontman for the Rock/Alternative band “Identity X” (www.idxmusic.com).
WES GRANTOM (Director) Thrilled to be making his Pittsburgh CLO debut! Recent directing credits include: Lone Star Spirits by Josh Tobiessen (Crowded Outlet), Eager to Lose by Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Ars Nova), Clybourne Park (Premiere Stages), Not J.A.W.S. (Fight or Flight Theatre Company), The Cloud by Matt Moses and The Steadfast by Mat Smart (Slant Theatre Project). Broadway credits as associate director: Act One, Annie, Brief Encounter, Waiting for Godot and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Wes is a recipient of the Drama League Directing Fellowship, Member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Artistic Director of Crowded Outlet and graduate of the University of Evansville.
MARA NEWBERY GREER (Choreographer) Choreography credits: 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards, A Christmas Story: The Musical (Paper Mill Playhouse and Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre), Shrek the Musical (North Shore Music Theatre), Legally Blonde (Sacramento Music Circus), Guys and Dolls (University of Michigan), Fiddler On The Roof (Burns Park Players) and Oliver! (Plymouth State University). As a performer, Mara has worked on Broadway, national tours, London and at regional theatres across the United States. Endless thanks to the Pittsburgh CLO for letting me be a part of this incredible production. Much love to Mom and Dad, J&K, CTG, Jook, and Michael, the best husband a girl could ask for. Proud member of SDC and AEA.
MICHAEL MORICZ (Music Director) has arranged for John Lithgow, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, Linda Lavin, Marvin Hamlisch, Renee Fleming, B.E. Taylor, and many others. He has composed original music for the Showtime, Disney, Discovery, Fox and PBS networks and incidental music for the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Columbia University; is music director for CLO’s Gene Kelly Awards and Broadway’s “Jimmy Awards.” He is the ballet conductor for the Fort Worth Symphony, and has long associations with American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris, PBT and Juilliard. He is proud to have been the music director for the final 5 years of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” on PBS. For CLO Cabaret he has music directed Judge Jackie Justice and Plaid Tidings.
TONY FERRIERI (Scenic Designer) Pittsburgh CLO: The 39 Steps, First Date. City Theatre: Sex With Strangers. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre: Miss Julie. barebones: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center: The Little Mermaid. Quantum: The Master Builder. Other credits include designs for: Milieu Theatrics NY, Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Opera, Carrnivale, PICT, Emelin, Northlight, Madison Rep, TheatreWorks, 1812 Productions, Playhouse REP & Conservatory, Tuesday Musical Club, Hartwood, Gargaro, Physical Theatre, Spur of the Moment, Chatham, Pitt, International Poetry Forum, Dana Phil Productions, Development Dimensions International, Saltworks and Unseam’d. Tony wishes to express his appreciation to all those who made this production possible.
Keith A. Truax (Lighting Designer) Is thrilled to be joining the company of The Toxic Avenger. Past credits include PICT Classic Theatre’s: Two Tales of Terror, Oliver Twist, Sharon’s Grave, How The Other Half Love & Women and Scarecrow. First Date, Altar Boyz for Pittsburgh CLO, Sherlock’s Last Case & Romance for Kinetic Theatre Ensemble, In NYC Good Girl Gone Bad & Walken on Sunshine Fringe Fetival. Keith recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with his Masters Degree in Lighting Design. For additional information please visit www.keithtruax.com.
Sep 22, 2016 - Jan 16, 2017
Greer Cabaret Theater
Approximately 2 hours, including intermission.
Find directions, traffic alerts and affordable parking options.
Children under the age of 3 will NOT be admitted to the theater.
Greer Cabaret Theater
NEW JERSEY’S FIRST SUPERHERO TAKES OVER IN THIS MONSTER OF A COMEDY!
He’s out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo the town’s blind librarian. Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, THE TOXIC AVENGER is an unexpected love story and laugh-out-loud musical horror-comedy. In an attempt to clean up New Jersey’s most polluted town, Melvin Ferd the Third is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as “The Toxic Avenger.” Our new hero is now a seven-foot mutant with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. You’ll laugh, scream and sing as Toxie rocks the house and saves the day! Adult Content
“INFECTIOUS. The Toxic Avenger is hard to resist.”
-Time Out NY
JULIA GEISLER (Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to work with the Pittsburgh CLO. This will be her third CLO production, she has previously appeared in the casts of Boeing Boeing and A Musical Christmas Carol. She works regionally as an actress and musician at some fabulous institutions including The Human Race Theatre, The Lawrence Arts Center, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, 12 Peers Theater, and as an occasional soloist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Kansas where she also taught acting and Musical Theater.
BILLY MASON (Black Dude) is thrilled to be making his CLO Cabaret Debut!! Billy’s theatre performance background includes Pittsburgh Musical Theater, The Strand Initiative, The Lyric Stage, Split Stage, Lincoln Park and a host of others in a wide array of roles. Favorite roles include “Shrek” in Shrek The Musical, “Horton in Suessical the Musical, “Kerchak” in Disney’s Tarzan, “Judas” in JCS and “Lucien P Smith” in The Boys Next Door. EBP, TCB, ZSM. God Bless! 1 Corinthians 13:13 LDTB! Follow me! twitter: @mason_billy instagram: billymason07
CAROLINE NICOLIAN (Mayor/Ma) is thrilled to be returning to the CLO Cabaret! She was last seen as Casey in First Date and other past credits at the Cabaret include Side by Side by Sondheim, Judge Jackie Justice and A Grand Night for Singing. She is a native of Pittsburgh and has worked for numerous theater companies in the city; she was seen in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris with PICT Classic Theatre, A Grand Night for Singing at St. Vincent's Summer Theater, and was the understudy for Eliza Doolittle in Pittsburgh Public Theater's My Fair Lady, to name a few. She received her B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Point Park University and is a proud member of Actor's Equity.
EVAN RUGGIERO (The Toxic Avenger) Born and raised in New Jersey, Evan is thrilled to be returning to Pittsburgh CLO in The Toxic Avenger. Previous Pittsburgh CLO credits include: Shrek The Musical (Pied Piper) and Man of La Mancha (ensemble/guitarist). Additional credits: "The Ellen Show" (Burbank, CA), Yes I Can (London, U.K.), Quelli Che il Calcio (Milan, Italy), Transcendence Theatre Company (Sonoma, CA), The Penalty (The Public, NYC) and his own one man show, One-Legged Song and Dance Man, which was just featured at The Kennedy Center in D.C., and is performed regularly at 54 Below, in NYC. Many thanks to the Pace family! Social media: @Lord_Pegleg
KATIE SEXTON (Sarah) Pittsburgh CLO debut! New York City based actress whose credits include South Pacific (Nellie), Oklahoma! (Laurie), The Marvelous Wonderettes (Suzie) at Allenberry Playhouse, Evil Dead the Musical (Linda) with Wolfbane Productions and Company (Susan) with BOMP in NYC. Katie was last seen on stage in Pittsburgh in Point Park University's production of The Light In The Piazza as Margaret Johnson. Thanks so much to Pittsburgh CLO and the cast and crew of Toxic! For my big beautiful family! BFA Point Park University www.KatieNSexton.com
QUINN PATRICK SHANNON (White Dude) is thrilled to return for his fifth production at the CLO Cabaret. He previously appeared in The 39 Steps (Clown), Plaid Tidings (Frankie), Judge Jackie Justice (Male Swing) and A Grand Night for Singing (Male Swing). Most recently, Quinn played Nicely Nicely Johnson in The Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Guys and Dolls. Other credits include My Fair Lady with The Pittsburgh Public (Ensemble), Forever Plaid (Frankie) with the Mountain Playhouse, Young Frankenstein (Igor) with Pittsburgh Musical Theater and Our Class (Wladek) with PICT Classic Theatre. He would like to thank his friends and family for all their love and support.
DAVID TOOLE (Understudy) rejoins the CLO Cabaret after his recent performance in First Date (Reggie, Gabe, Casey's Father, & Stoner Guy). Past credits include; WITH PITTSBURGH CLO: The Student Prince; WITH FRONT PORCH THEATRICALS: The Last 5 Years (Jamie Wellerstein); WITH PITTSBURGH MUSICAL THEATER: Disney’s Tarzan (Tarzan), Jesus Christ Superstar (Judas), RENT (Roger), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph), West Side Story (Tony), High School Musical (Troy Bolton). Outside of theater, David is one of 5 rotating National Anthem Singers for The Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a private voice instructor based out of the North Hills, and is the frontman for the Rock/Alternative band “Identity X” (www.idxmusic.com).
WES GRANTOM (Director) Thrilled to be making his Pittsburgh CLO debut! Recent directing credits include: Lone Star Spirits by Josh Tobiessen (Crowded Outlet), Eager to Lose by Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Ars Nova), Clybourne Park (Premiere Stages), Not J.A.W.S. (Fight or Flight Theatre Company), The Cloud by Matt Moses and The Steadfast by Mat Smart (Slant Theatre Project). Broadway credits as associate director: Act One, Annie, Brief Encounter, Waiting for Godot and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Wes is a recipient of the Drama League Directing Fellowship, Member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Artistic Director of Crowded Outlet and graduate of the University of Evansville.
MARA NEWBERY GREER (Choreographer) Choreography credits: 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards, A Christmas Story: The Musical (Paper Mill Playhouse and Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre), Shrek the Musical (North Shore Music Theatre), Legally Blonde (Sacramento Music Circus), Guys and Dolls (University of Michigan), Fiddler On The Roof (Burns Park Players) and Oliver! (Plymouth State University). As a performer, Mara has worked on Broadway, national tours, London and at regional theatres across the United States. Endless thanks to the Pittsburgh CLO for letting me be a part of this incredible production. Much love to Mom and Dad, J&K, CTG, Jook, and Michael, the best husband a girl could ask for. Proud member of SDC and AEA.
MICHAEL MORICZ (Music Director) has arranged for John Lithgow, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, Linda Lavin, Marvin Hamlisch, Renee Fleming, B.E. Taylor, and many others. He has composed original music for the Showtime, Disney, Discovery, Fox and PBS networks and incidental music for the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Columbia University; is music director for CLO’s Gene Kelly Awards and Broadway’s “Jimmy Awards.” He is the ballet conductor for the Fort Worth Symphony, and has long associations with American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris, PBT and Juilliard. He is proud to have been the music director for the final 5 years of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” on PBS. For CLO Cabaret he has music directed Judge Jackie Justice and Plaid Tidings.
TONY FERRIERI (Scenic Designer) Pittsburgh CLO: The 39 Steps, First Date. City Theatre: Sex With Strangers. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre: Miss Julie. barebones: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center: The Little Mermaid. Quantum: The Master Builder. Other credits include designs for: Milieu Theatrics NY, Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Opera, Carrnivale, PICT, Emelin, Northlight, Madison Rep, TheatreWorks, 1812 Productions, Playhouse REP & Conservatory, Tuesday Musical Club, Hartwood, Gargaro, Physical Theatre, Spur of the Moment, Chatham, Pitt, International Poetry Forum, Dana Phil Productions, Development Dimensions International, Saltworks and Unseam’d. Tony wishes to express his appreciation to all those who made this production possible.
Keith A. Truax (Lighting Designer) Is thrilled to be joining the company of The Toxic Avenger. Past credits include PICT Classic Theatre’s: Two Tales of Terror, Oliver Twist, Sharon’s Grave, How The Other Half Love & Women and Scarecrow. First Date, Altar Boyz for Pittsburgh CLO, Sherlock’s Last Case & Romance for Kinetic Theatre Ensemble, In NYC Good Girl Gone Bad & Walken on Sunshine Fringe Fetival. Keith recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with his Masters Degree in Lighting Design. For additional information please visit www.keithtruax.com.