Tip of the Hat to the Stars Behind the Scenes

President

Kendra Whitlock Ingram, President and CEO

Executive Office

Rona L. Nesbit | Executive Vice President

Vanessa Braun Manager of Employee

Engagement and Director of Accessibility

Dana Love Receptionist

Carroll de Vera Roberts Manager of Board Engagement and Executive Special Projects

Cheryl Schnippert Executive Assistant to the President

Maureen Shannon Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs

Kevin C. Wilkes Vice President and Chief Security Officer

Education

Tracy L. Edmunds Vice President, Arts Education

Julissa Bermea Manager of Early Childhood Programs

Elizabeth Foster-Shaner Director of Arts Education

Kalee George Manager of Arts Education Programs

Shakirah Stephens Manager of Arts Education and DMIS Programs

Strategic Partnerships and Community

Engagement

Theresa Bell Vice President

Kristin Baker Program Manager

Development

Nicholas Gigante Senior Vice President of Development and Real Estate

Ryan Bromley Donor Concierge Specialist

Kaylin Cranmer Manager, Development Systems

Linda Fletcher Manager of Foundation and Government Giving

James Hill Manager of District Properties and Government Affairs

Timothy Kim Manager of Corporate Giving

Heather Masterson Senior Director of Individual Giving and the Capital Campaign

Kimberly Mauersberg Senior Director of Institutional Giving and the Capital Campaign

Endicott Reindl Senior Manager of Individual Giving

Rebecca Rickard Assistant Director of Institutional Giving

Elliott Shuppy Assistant Manager, Development Systems

Caitlin Skaff | Manager of Individual Giving

Finance

Linda Jakubec Vice President of Finance

Dana Agostinone | Accountant and Accounts

Payable Specialist

Timothy Baum Risk and Finance Manager

Benjamin Boggio Facilities, Operations and Real Estate Manager

MaryAnne Culleiton Senior Manager, Finance –

Payroll and Benefits

Lisa Fisher Controller

Casey Gnage Senior Manager, Finance –

Facilities and Programming

Christa Lerch | Finance Manager

Marketing and Communications

Marc Fleming Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Broadway Programming

Emily Balawejder Art Director

Morgan Barba Senior Designer

Jamie Cuba Show Marketing Director

Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery Marketing Manager

Seth Culp-Ressler Digital Marketing and Content Manager

Jonathan Fobear | Senior Designer

Madigan Greiner | Show Marketing Manager

Rebecca Hansborough Integrated Communications Specialist

Ashley Kier Marketing Coordinator

Brian Nichols | Senior Designer

Diana Roth Senior Communications Manager

Derek Scalzott | Senior Director, Communications and Marketing Management

Andrea Sharfman | Marketing & Communications

Engagement Manager

Programming

Scott Shiller Senior Vice President of Artistic

Planning and Venues

Sarah Aziz Director of Three Rivers Arts Festival and Program Manager of Festivals and Special Projects

Bri Fallahee Programming Manager

Tara Fay Coleman Gallery Manager, Visual Arts

Heather Irwin | Programming Manager

Pamela J. Komar Director of Theater, Music and Youth

Programming and Executive Director, Children’s

Theater Programming

Randal Miller Director of Special Projects & Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts

Joseph Morrison Venue Manager of the Harris Theater

Zoe Ruth Silberblatt | Venue Manager of Liberty Magic

Shared Services

Hannah Feldhues Shared Services Associate

Linda Wagner Advertising Sales Manager

Theater Operations

Eugene F. Ciavarra | Vice President Operations, Theaters and District Amenities

Lyla Bartman | Production Manager

Bernard M. Bloom | Director of Production

Katelyn Colwell | Theater Operations Manager

Diane Hines Production Manager

Joanna Obuzor Director of Operations

Andrew Ostrowski | Theatrical Renovation Project Manager

Ashley Rieser Director of Volunteer Services and Front of House Guest Experience

Vinay Thomas | Manager of Volunteer Services and Front of House Guest Experience

Information Strategy and Technology Services

Daniel Hoffer | Chief Information Officer

T.C. Brown | Tessitura Quality Assurance and Data Support Administrator

Craig Donavin | Ruby on Rails Full Stack Developer

Patrick FitzGerald | Director of eCommerce

Danielle Greaves Lead Web Developer

Rebecca Harriman Director of Projects and Enterprise Applications

Devin Loney Network Administrator

John Mash Network Administrator

Nancy Sheleheda | Sr. Director of Application Development and Support Services

Justin Snair Director of Network and Cloud Infrastructure

Dale Snyder | Help Desk Manager

Katie Springer | Technology Manager

Michael Tiernan Jr. | Director of Network Operations and Security Technologies

Kevin Vetterly Help Desk Analyst

Katina White Tessitura Support Administrator

Christine Wingenfeld Partnership Manager and Data Analyst

Guest Services

Albert Rodibaugh | Vice President of Guest Services and Patron Experience

Joi Brook Senior Manager of Sales

Pamela Cain | Group Sales Manager

Arthur Diaz Event Operations Coordinator

Rhonda Jones Guest Services Supervisor

Maria McIntyre Full Time Ticketseller

Julie Neal | Director, Guest Services Operations

Brenna Painter Full Time Ticketseller

Aimee Plotz Event Operations and Data Analysis Manager

Dennis Sen | Event Operations Coordinator

Karoline Smith Full-Time Ticketseller

Timothy Smith Lead Ticketseller

Eric Thomas Director, Guest Experience

Benedum Technicians

Christopher Evans Stage Technician, House Sound Engineer

Adolf Hundertmark Stage Technician, House Carpenter

Benedum Engineers

Dennis Curry Chief Engineer

Dustin Curry Operating Engineer

Rick Jordan Operating Engineer

Brett Melisko Operating Engineer

Greer Cabaret Theater

Robert Bollman Stage Technician, Houseman

Graham Fandrei Director of Programming

Byham Administration

G. Bryan Briggs Production Manager

John Mumper Director of Theaters and Facilities

Ann Urwin Operations Manager

Byham Technicians

Gregory Brooks Stage Technician, House Sound Engineer

Steven Schultz Stage Technician, Head Carpenter

Byham Engineers

Bernard Bacho Operating Engineer

Todd Fedorek | Operating Engineer

Thomas Hatala | Operating Engineer

Christopher Kazar Operating Engineer

Daniel O’Brien Operating Engineer

Jeff O’Laughlin Chief Engineer

Wood Street Galleries

George Dun Gallery Attendant/Installer

Liberty Magic

Dedicated to Elevating the Art of Magic

2022-2023 Season Shows

n Lucy Darling in Indulgence

Wed, May 3 - Sun, Jun 11, 2023 n Jimmy Ichihana in The Cards

Wed, Jul 5 - Sun, Aug 13, 2023

Season Specials n Jon Tai in Road Signs

Wed, Apr 12 - Sun, Apr 30, 2023 n Mr. Messado’s School of Magic for the Young and Young at Heart — Family

Sun, Jan 8 - Sun, May 28, 2023 n Eric Jones in Immaculate Deception

Wed, Jun 14 - Sun, Jul 2, 2023

Lucy Darling in Indulgence

The playfully provocative Lucy Darling is just one character in the arsenal of endlessly talented performer, Carisa Hendrix. Her philosophy? “Why be just one fabulous person when you can be many fabulous people?” With cleverness, magnetism and exceptionally good hair, Lucy breaks all expectations in this character driven exploration of magic and scintillating banter. Her mastery over both subtle sleights and powerful visual magic has made Lucy the most beloved character in stand up magic.

Unbelievably hilarious, devastatingly clever, and powerfully magical, Lucy Darling is a rising star and award-winning entertainer featured in the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. She is the star of the Super Channel documentary Carisa Hendrix: Girl on Fire, which tells the true story of the struggle to create her Las Vegas magic show. She was voted Stage Magician of the Year at the Magic Castle in 2019. Lucy’s creator, Carisa Hendrix, is a Canada-based touring variety artist known first for the character of Lucy Darling and second for her expertise in fire eating.

Jimmy Ichihana in The Cards

Few dare to test the limits of the most versatile prop in the magicians kit as tenaciously as Jimmy Ichihana. In this premier performance Jimmy brings his mastery of math to the art of intricate close up card magic, testing the laws of probability and transcending presumptions. A combination of time honored card classics and original creations, this brand new show uses little more than a deck of cards and a fervor for magic to create lasting memories of the impossible.

Jimmy has learned from some of the greatest magicians in the world—having even spent a year in Madrid to study the card techniques of the masters. He’ll use every trick in the book (and several not yet written) to deceive your senses. Innovative sleight of hand, misdirection and more undisclosed trickery will be debuted for the very first time on the Liberty Magic Stage in this interactive celebration of card conjuring and mechanics.

Jon Tai in Road Signs

In “Road Signs,” magician and storyteller Jon Tai recasts a quintessential American road trip as a voyage to unearth what dreams are really made of. Come with him on a journey that Sean Collier of Pittsburgh Magazine called a “remarkable” and “moving” experience. Inspired by the Ship of Theseus paradox, this play with magic transports audiences through a time warp and into the wilderness, backlit by lanterns and bonfires, where past and present blur and audience members become primary characters in the evening’s story. “Road Signs” explores questions about personal identity, reinvention, and escape through Tai’s quintessentially human brand of storytelling and magic, which the Chicago Sun-Times calls “beguiling” and “simply astonishing.”

Jon Tai is a celebrated magician and storyteller, whose mission is to foster connections between people through shared moments of astonishment. He performs magic across the country and around the world, in person and virtually, and has called the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Liberty Magic Theater his home base since its grand opening in early 2019. He is best known for having co-created and starred in “Missed Connections” Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in New York City, following its premiere at Chicago’s MacArthur Award-winning A Red Orchid Theatre. Jon is a ten-year veteran of the medical software industry and is proud to support several health and human services nonprofit organizations through his magic including Hello Neighbor, the Cancer Caring Center, Beverly’s Birthdays, and Pace Schools. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Psychology, he lives with his wife Kate and tiny dog Nina in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Messado’s School of Magic for the Young and Young at Heart

Forget everything you know about magicians pulling rabbits out of top hats. Mr. Messado brings a fresh new take on the age-old art of prestidigitation. Join superstar magician Mr. Messado for his new astonishing play designed exclusively for Liberty Magic. Time tested through thousands of performances at appearances around the world, schools, company events, private parties and more, Mr. Messado’s Magic School for the Young and Young at Heart will have both teens AND adults amazed from start to finish! This 60-minute spectacular, featuring a combination of stunning magic and clean comedy, is full of interactive wonder. Whether it be shouting the magic words from the comfort of your seats or by coming up on stage to be trained as a magical assistant, every member of your party will actively participate throughout the show. Mr. Messado’s story begins on the TV screen of his grandmother’s Philadelphia living room where global stars like Michael Jackson and David Copperfield ignited a love for entertainment and storytelling. In this deeply personal, hilarious and engaging performance you’ll get to know the mister behind the magic, the rabble-rousing raconteur behind the cape, the magic mentor who is Mr. Messado.

This unique family friendly matinee takes place each Sunday at Liberty Magic, our one-of-a-kind intimate speakeasy with only 67 seats in 4 rows, typically reserved only for adults. Mr. Messado’s Magic School for the Young and Young at Heart is recommended for ages 13+. Little brothers and sisters 6 years and older can tag along. No tattletales, snitches, or cheats.

FAQ: Age Requirements. We have found that kids 5 years of age and under won’t understand most of what is happening in this sophisticated magical play, and will probably start to wiggle in their seats because they don’t have the attention span to sit and watch

Eric Jones in Immaculate Deception

In December of 1972 something magical happened at Three Rivers Stadium. To this day spectators are unsure just how it transpired. Through some combination of skill, chance and miracle Steelers fullback, Franco Harris, recovered a fumbled ball and pulled the team from the depths of sure defeat, scoring a game-winning touchdown with 30 seconds on the clock. One of the greatest plays of all time – The Immaculate Reception.

Drawing inspiration from our city’s history of miraculous moments, Eric Jones, Liberty Magic’s Inaugural Magician and Artistic Advisor, returns to the Liberty Magic stage for a third residency to bring us a brand new show. Featuring perplexing prestidigitation created with Pittsburgh in mind, this premier production is sure to amaze and inspire. Don’t take your eye off the ball… or the card… or the coin… You just might catch The Immaculate Deception.