Latest / Pittsburgh Sunday Morning / TOPIC: Justin Fortunato, Producing Artistic Director, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center

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TOPIC: Justin Fortunato, Producing Artistic Director, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center · Pittsburgh Sunday Morning

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: And welcome back. This is a public affairs program shedding
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the light on interests and issues and concerns of the
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: greater Pittsburgh area. My next guest is Justin Fortunato, Producing
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Artistic Director of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center. Good to
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: see you again. How are you? Hi, Johnny. Good to
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: see you, too.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: So this is like the 20th year or something, anniversary?
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: In 2006, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center opened its doors.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: It's crazy because it feels like you guys have been
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: here forever. We're babies.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we can't even legally drink yet.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Wow. So this is the 20th year. So that's got
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: to be... It's incredibly exciting.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: I joined Lincoln Park in 2015, right before their 10th anniversary.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: So it's been wild for me to watch the growth
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: over the past 11 years.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Well, tell us... Tell us about the start and when
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: you took over and what some of the plans that
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: you have for the 20th anniversary. Sure.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is a professional performing arts
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: center located in Midland, Pennsylvania in Beaver County. And it
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: also houses a performing arts charter school. So from 845
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: in the morning to 320 Monday through Friday every day,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: students come from 90 different school districts in Pennsylvania to
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: practice their craft. whether that be theater, musical theater, dance,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: media and visual arts, pre-law, health sciences, writing and publishing.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: It's an amazing school. My son went there. My stepdaughter
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: went there. My daughter-in-law all went there.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: The talent in that building is crazy. Anytime I see
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: a resume from a student who's auditioning for something and
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: it says they were born in 2011, it's a good
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: reminder of the talent we have. But at 3.20, when
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: the school day ends, we turn back into a professional
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: performing arts center. So students from the charter school have
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: the opportunity to audition for the shows that we do,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the eight Clearview Federal Credit Union Subscription Series shows, as
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: well as a slew of other programming. The building opened
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: in 2006, and since then, we've continued to grow, not
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: only in our productions and what we do, not only
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: in our student body, not only in the artists that
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: we welcome into our space, But our mission of making
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: arts accessible and affordable to everyone, and this season coming
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: up in particular, our 20th anniversary, is an encapsulation of
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: the past two decades. We're bringing shows back that we've
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: performed once in our history, some of the most popular
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: titles ever to be on our stages. So, yeah, this
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: year is going to be a... nine-month-long celebration of the
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: past 20 years.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: So tell us about the, you know, when it started,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: what were some of the goals of the performing center?
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: And then when you took over, what were some of
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the goals? And then now it's come to the 20th anniversary. Sure.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: I mean, it started around education. Midland was an old
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: steel town. And when those organizations moved out and with
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: the closing of Lincoln High School, there was a need
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: for local education. And the founders of Lincoln Park decided
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: to use the arts as the way in, not only
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: to the education side of things, but also to the community.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: So opening in 2006 with big shows right out of
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: the gate, like Grease the Musical, Cats, these big popular
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: titles to grow the student body. And eventually the campus expanded.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: There's another building right across from us at one Lincoln
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Park called Alumni Hall, which houses the cafeteria and more
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: music studios. And since I joined in 2015... What.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Was your first production? Do you remember?
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: The first production I ever directed was a Roger and
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Hammerstein's review called A Grand Night for Singing. And it
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: was the show before I became the artistic director. So
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: I got to know the facility. I'd never been there.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: It opened when I was a junior in high school
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: in 2006. And the moment I stepped into the building
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: for my first meeting to direct that one show, I
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: fell in love with the possibilities of what that organization
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: had to offer. In the past 11 years since I've
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: been there, one of the things I heard when I
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: started for the first few years was this is the
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: best kept secret.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I was just going to say that.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: In Beaver County. And it's about a half an hour away. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: 25 minutes from Pittsburgh International Airport.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: And you're going to see some amazing, mind-blowing shows.
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  Speaker 2: I very much appreciate that. And the chip on my
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: shoulder has been for the past 11 years. We don't
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: want it to be a secret. So certainly since 2020,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: since COVID, from 2021 to now, I can say with
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: a very happy heart that our reach has expanded and
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: people do know who we are. And I get to
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: talk to patrons who are coming. You know, the metric
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I look at the most, more than any, are return patrons.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: And it's wonderful to see a name that I don't
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: recognize on a ticket report. And then I see that
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: name pop up again for the next show. So I'm
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: incredibly proud of the group of artisans.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Well, it's a double-edged sword. You get the recognition, but
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: now there's an expectation.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you have to do good stuff. We have an
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: overture reception every year where we announce our season to
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: our subscribers. And one of the gentlemen, we did a
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: little talk back, said, you know, you guys keep topping yourselves.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: I don't know how you keep doing it. I don't
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: really know either, other than the talent that we have
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: in our building.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: And so let's talk about the upcoming season, because that's
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: the reason why you're here. You want to talk about
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: And you have to be excited about this season. Very much.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we open our season in just a couple of weeks.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: We open on October 2nd with Disney's Frozen the musical.
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  Speaker 2: And that's a show that we did the junior adaptation
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: of in 2019, which is a 60-minute adaptation. This is
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: a full-fledged Broadway musical. And it's rare, you know, the
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: movie came out in 2013, especially for some of the
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: kids in the cast, the younger kids. This show, that
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: movie means so much to a generation. And it means
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: so much to audiences. Kids grew up with it and
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: parents now have kids who are just falling in love
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: with Elsa and Anna. So, you know, anytime you get
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: to do an international intellectual property like that with such
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: fan love, it's really exciting. But it has all the
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: stage magic in the world.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Obviously, there's a lot of people who are familiar with Frozen,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: but comes with that as the expectation that, you know,
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: there's people who dearly love these. Oh, sure. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And that's an added level of responsibility, but fun, knowing
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: that everybody's going to know every word that the actors
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: are saying and knowing what the songs are. But, yeah,
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: it's a fantastic show, and especially in the Disney canon
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: of musicals. You know, they've added over 11 songs to
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: the stage production, still keeping the songs from the movie
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: that everyone fell in love with, like Let It Go
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: and Do You Want to Build a Snowman? But it's
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: been a lot of fun to work on, and it's
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: a great way to kick off our 20th.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Have you started pre-production for that show yet? We have, yeah.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: We went into rehearsal a couple of weeks ago.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Cast is doing a great job. And yeah, like I said,
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: we opened in just a couple of weeks on October 2nd.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: And how do you find these characters? Because, you know,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: you have some of the... People who are trying out
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: from the school, but that's not exclusive. Yeah, yeah.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: So our shows are a mix of professional equity actors,
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: professional non-equity actors, and students of the charter school. So
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: we had, you know, it's a wide berth of the
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: young lady playing young. Anna, for us, is a CLO
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Academy kid who played at the CLO last summer. The
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: gentleman playing Sven, the puppeteered reindeer, his name is Zay Clark.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: He's traveled the country doing it because you have to
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: be an acrobat.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: No, so if you have somebody who's traveled the world
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: and they go, oh, I'm going to Midland, Pennsylvania, and
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: their expectation when they come in. Oh, it's a lot
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: of fun.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, because, you know, you put someone up at a
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: hotel and they drive across the Shippingport Bridge and they
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: see the nuclear power plant and they wonder what they've
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: gotten themselves into.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: And then they come into our building and they see
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: it's a real deal.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Then they go, wait a minute, this is real. This
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: is a real, serious production.
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  Speaker 2: Frozen is a great example of the intergenerational programming we do,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: where you have kids in fifth and sixth grade, you
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: have graduating seniors of the Lincoln Park Charter School, and
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: then you have professional working actors from around the country
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: as well as in the western Pennsylvania area.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: What is your biggest challenge when it comes to these productions?
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question. Every show brings a different challenge.
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  Speaker 2: I think the main thing, and I'm sure you can
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: relate to this, is being in the present when you
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: always have to be thinking about the next thing. I'm
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: already in deep planning for our 27-28 season. So anytime
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: you're doing any type of live performance.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: You want to be in the now.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: But you're also thinking 18 months in advance. So, yeah,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: for me, that's what I always come back to. Be
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: where you are when you're there.
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  Speaker 1: All right. So let's talk a little bit in the future.
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  Speaker 1: What are you following? Sure.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: So we follow up Frozen with the biggest holiday offering
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: we've had in our history. The holidays at Lincoln Park,
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: especially over the past decade. have grown to be a really,
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: really special time. We have our 30-foot Balsam Hill Christmas
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: tree that we erect in our atrium every year and
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: have a big light-up celebration. But the three holiday titles
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: we're bringing audiences this year are Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr.,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: A Christmas Story, The Play, and our 19th production of
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. So these three holiday shows, the nostalgia
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: and the warmth, I'm really excited.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: But it's a nice mix.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: You got something like Rudolph Jr.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: What is that?
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a 60-minute adaptation of the made-for-TV movie that
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: everybody fell in love with. It's a perfect show to
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: introduce young theater-goers to who may not have a two-and-a-half-hour
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: show in them, but they would enjoy to see a 60-minute.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: And then? The Christmas Story, obviously.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's based off the beloved film, The Gene Shepard.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: classic about growing up in the Midwest in the 50s
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: and Ralphie's quest to get his Red Ryder BB gun.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: That's a show that we've actually produced several times in
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: our history, six times previously. So it was really important
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: for us to bring that title back because it was
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: kind of that and Nutcracker were kind of the impetus
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: for the types of holiday programming that we do every year.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: So of all those three shows, which one is like
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: the most popular?
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: It's hard to say. When we presented Rudolph Jr. in 2022,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: it was one of our highest attended shows in a
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Christmas story. Tickets are going incredibly fast. Subscriptions went on
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: sale immediately. at the beginning of July. And single tickets
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: went on sale about five weeks ago on August 10th.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: So it's been.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Wonderful to see the response to these titles. And people,
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: especially around the holidays, There's nothing better than taking a
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: moment from the craziness of spending time with family and
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: getting ready for family and wrapping gifts, getting to go
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: to the theater and having an excuse to not be
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: able to look at your shopping list for a couple
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: of hours.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: You talked about being in the moment. So, you know,
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: you're working on Frozen and pre-production and then you got
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: an eye on what's happening in December. So that's got
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: to be a challenge.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, those auditions are already in flux. But it makes
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: the building and the organization feel so alive. I mean,
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: the fact that we always have a production in some
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: level of performance, whether it's pre-production or the rehearsals or auditions, tech,
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: it really makes the building feel alive 24-7.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: So now 2027, so you're already talking about December, so
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: that means 2027 is just around the corner.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Do you have some shows that you want to....
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: With Our Town, the Thornton Wilder classic. And that's the
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: first play that Linkin Park ever produced 20-some years ago.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: It's been hailed as the greatest American play, and I
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: understand why. It deals with the beauty in the mundane,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: everyday life. And it deals with a small town.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: What made you bring that back?
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: It's the quintessential play, and there's a lot of parallels.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Grover's Corners, which is a small American town that's represented
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: in the play, isn't very unlike Midland, where we are,
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: which is a small community.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: That's exactly where I was going to go with it,
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: because they're the connection of a small town America.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: Very much so, and it just deals with the importance
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: of everyday aspects of falling in love and family and
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: marriage and eventually death. So it's a beautiful show and
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: a great way to start the second half of our season.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: All right. And after that, what other shows do you have?
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: A show that I'm very excited about. So the last
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: time we presented this show was in 2013. The show
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: is called My Way, a musical tribute to Frank Sinatra.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: And the show is written for four actors and a
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: three-piece band. And we've worked with the authors to expand
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: the show. So there'll be a nine-piece live jazz orchestra
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: on stage with an expanded dancing and singing ensemble. bringing
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: over 55 song titles to life of Old Blue Eyes.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: So yeah, if you're a fan of Frank Sinatra, it's
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: a dumb mess. What's crazy is that a younger generation
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: is starting to accept him as a true talent. And
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: it's unbelievable that Hollywood hasn't really embraced Sinatra because his
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: story is so unique.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: It's true.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a musical right now that just opened on
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: the West End about Frank Sinatra. I think one of
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: the reasons for that is he was such a genuine article. Man,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: is it hard to get anybody to buy that anybody's
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: playing him or anybody's trying to be who he was.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: So the cool thing about this show is it's not
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: an impersonation of Frank, but it's really a celebration of
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: all of the music that, like you said, you know,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: you can, if you're scrolling through TikTok, you'll hear his
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: music being a backing track for things.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: It is. Yeah, it is. Indelible. And I still do,
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: I'm still a wedding DJ and Every time you have
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: somebody in their 20s asking for— The way you look tonight.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: It's because he's—and what an original. An American original.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: It's very true. And, you know, his filmography and his
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: recording scope is— I' m a big fan, and I can't wait
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: to bring that to audiences.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: And we're not done. You got a big one coming
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: up in April. We do.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: So April 30th, we bring back one of the most
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: popular titles in our history that was last performed in 2014, The.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Wizard of Oz. Never heard of it. Yeah, exactly.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: It's a story that almost every story in pop culture
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: can be drawn back to. The idea of the outsider
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: coming to a new place and trying to get home.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: This show holds such a place in people's hearts. I
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: was just having a conversation with a patron the other
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: day about how it would always play on Thanksgiving. When
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: we were putting together our 20th and looking at these titles,
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: the color for our 20th anniversary is emerald green. So
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: when I heard the word emerald and just started thinking,
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: it was a no-brainer to bring back The Wizard of
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Oz with your live, you know, real dog and Toto
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: and all of the flying and a tornado on stage
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: and In this newly reimagined 21st century production. I'm terribly
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: excited for the possibilities of that show.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: And you have a younger generation who is connecting with Wicked. Exactly.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: And now you're bringing this back.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you kind of get to see where it all
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: started for Elphaba. But I'm really excited. And it's a
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: show that, again, there's very few shows. I've never worked
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: on the show personally. I'm looking forward to directing it
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: for the first time. But shows like that, shows like Frozen... Man,
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: did Vegas really stick in people's hearts because everybody has
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: a memory attributed to them.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Well, speaking of memory, there's a lot of people who
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: have a memory of your next show.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we close out our season in June of
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: 2027 with the first show Linkin Park ever produced in
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: the fall of 2006. And that's Grease, the musical. This
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: is a title that since I started 11 years ago,
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: patrons ask me every year, when are we doing that again?
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: How are we doing that? And I've been patient. to
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: wait for the 20th anniversary. But I'm so excited it's here.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: The music is undeniable. The show is so much fun.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: And if I had to pick a title that encapsulated
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: the youthful energy that is the foundation of our programming,
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: it's Grease, about a bunch of high schoolers growing up.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: And so we only have a couple of minutes left.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: Every time I talk to you, things just go... quickly.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: So I need an elevator pitch of not only your events,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: but tell us more about the center. Sure.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Tickets start at $ 20. And I can confidently say it
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: is the best value in town for the production value
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: that you're going to see. Parking's free around our building.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: We have food trucks two hours before every performance so
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: you can grab a bite to eat. Enjoy the beautiful park.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Lincoln Park's named after the beautiful park that's behind it.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: And enjoy an evening of theater. And the thing that
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: makes Lincoln Park stand apart from other regional theaters, there
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: is something so cool. about seeing a kid in school
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: who's talented and you forgetting that they're a teenager next
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: to a professional actor who has credits all throughout the country.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: And it's that melding of intergenerational programming. That's our magic sauce.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: And that's what audiences, I think, are really connected to.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: Best way to get tickets is to visit our website, lincolnparkarts.org.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: And they're selling fast. So my hope is that you
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: and your families can carve out some time to come
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: to the theater to enjoy this family-friendly programming. Because, you know,
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: with the rise of AI and such, everyone's worried about
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: live performance. I'm an optimist that live performances aren't going anywhere.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's—it's just not the same. Yeah, it's not.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: And, you know, the community of— Being in a dark
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: room with 700 other people sharing, you know, you hear
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: each other laugh. You hear each other sniffle. There's nothing
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: like it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: And it's just 30 minutes just north of Pittsburgh.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not far away.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: You've got food trucks. You have dinner there. And, of course,
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: a $ 20 ticket. You can't beat that kind of thing.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: So Frozen is coming up in just a few weeks.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: During the holidays, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr., The Christmas Story,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: and Nutcracker in 2027. You've got Our Town, My Way,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra. I circled that one.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: I'd love to get you out there, Johnny. The Wizard
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: of Oz in April, then June of next year, Grease.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: It sounds like you have your hands full.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: A little bit, yeah, but it's going to be fun,
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: and it's a labor of love.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: All right. You have about 30 seconds left. Is there
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: anything else that you want people to know about Grease?
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: The Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: The main message I'd like to share in 23, 22,
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: 21 is when you come to Lincoln Park, the question
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: you'll be asking on your walk back to your car is,
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: when can we get back out here to see a show?
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: That's awesome.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: And I'm looking so forward to welcoming audiences into our
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: building just in a couple of weeks.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: Justin Fortunato, Producing Artistic Director, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Get more information and get your tickets at lincolnparkarts.org. I
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: got the website, right? Yes, sir.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me, John.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: Justin, thank you so much. As always, if you have
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: a comment, a concern, or an idea for a future program,
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: please email us from this radio station's website. I'm Johnny Hartwell.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening.