Cranberry girl debuts in major role with CLO's 'Mary Poppins'
PITTSBURGH — Clare Chiusano, 11, of Cranberry Township made her debut in a major role with the Pittsburgh CLO on Tuesday night in “Mary Poppins.”
Clare plays Jane Banks in the musical, the daughter in the family Mary Poppins arrives to help.
She survived opening night with apparent ease.
“There were just a few mistakes, and some of them were mine,” Clare said.
“My dress almost ripped,” she said, laughing about it Wednesday morning. “It got caught on the stairs. That was funny.”
“And I fell in one scene, but it kind of played into the scene so I just kept going. I don’t think anyone even noticed.”
Clare started at the CLO Academy in the summer of 2012. Her CLO Academy credits include “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Seussical the Musical,” “Hairspray,” and “Peter Pan Jr.”
She will be a seventh grader in the Seneca Valley School District in the fall. She tried out for and was accepted into the Lincoln Park School for Performing Arts in Midland, Beaver County, said her mother, Deana, but at this point has elected to continue at Seneca Valley.
At school, Clare participates in the announcement club, and she and a classmate got together to increase cancer awareness, and they made bracelets to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Clare has to wear a wig in “Mary Poppins,” her mom said, because she cut her hair short last year for charity.
Though Clare said she doesn’t have her eye on any shows down the road, if any come along that interest her, she would audition for a role.
Her favorite musicals include “Phantom of the Opera,” “Jersey Boys,” “Matilda,” and “Newsies.”
“I really want to see ‘Fun Home,’” she said of the musical that Sunday won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
She has two brothers, one younger and one older, and is the daughter of Deana and Christopher Chiusano.
“Mary Poppins” runs through June 21 at the Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Ave. Tickets start at $35.
Call 412-456-6666 or visit pittsburghCLO.org for further information.
