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Nick Nivari is an award winning Pittsburgh playwright, composer, and director, serving as a CLO Ambassador and former director of the Strand Theatre. His musical Local Singles has run across the US, after starting in 2020 through an NEA grant and later earning him 5 Broadway World Awards, including for best direction.
Paxon: How many shows have you done for Local Singles so far, and how many are left?
Nick: – We have just completed our second week of a five-week run. At five shows a week, that means we have done 10 with 15 still to go.
Me: Where did you get the idea for the story?
Nick – I had the name for the show back in 2016, well before I ever thought I could write anything like a musical. I was driving down a highway in Pittsburgh (It was McKnight Road in the North Hills, to be specific) and there was a sign stapled to a telephone pole with 4 words. The words were: “Local? Single? Call Now!” …followed by a phone number. That sign was so confusing to me. We were well into the dating app world, so I didn’t even think services like that still existed. But even still, I just didn’t get it. Who’s calling that number- and who is answering? Is the person answering also single? Am I just supposed to date whoever answers the call? I loved the title “Local Singles,” and always thought that, should I ever write something, that would be the title. From there, I started thinking about what kind of stories would take place at these singles meetings that would surprise me. I didn’t want to write a simple meet-cute love story, I wanted to think beyond what could be there. I also wanted to talk about familial love outside of a typical family unit, and how placing people looking for love in a support group set on finding love could instead result in everyone finding each other. Maybe they don’t find their “soulmates,” but maybe they find something even better.
Me: Could you elaborate a little on the history of the show, like theaters it’s been in and changes made?
Nick – I started writing the show in June of 2019, and finished in December of that year. I started sending it to a ton of people, and it was eventually picked up at The New Hazlett Theater. I was named Pittsburgh’s Community Supported Artist, and the show received a grant through the National Endowment for the Arts for a full production. When covid hit our production, they doubled down on the show and gave us the funds to shoot it as a feature film from inside the theater, and record the original cast recording with musicians from the Pittsburgh Opera (and me haha).
The film debuted in March of 2021, and then 11 months later we had our second full production, this time at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin, PA- produced by Stage Right. The show then traveled to the Colorado New Musical Festival in Denver, and then saw its third full production in Charlotte, NC in January of 2024- produced by Queen City Concerts. I applied for the Off-Broadway Self-Producing Residency at The Players Theatre in November of 2022. I Interviewed in New York for the residency in May and June of 2023, and then I signed the Off-Broadway contract to bring Local Singles to NYC in August of 2023. And now, 17 months after signing, we are open and running Off-Broadway.
Nick (cont.) – As for changes- there have been quite a few! Some I do not say publicly, as the storylines and songs are much better now than in previous versions, so I keep them locked in the “vault.” I have really fleshed out the orchestrations for this current production, particularly the cello charts which are much more robust. I also cut a song between the North Carolina production and the New York production because it just wasn’t moving the plot along. My mom liked the song though, so I kept it in there as long as I could 🙂
Me: What positions did you have in Local Singles since you weren’t the director?
Nick – I wanted to hire a director for the Off-Broadway production because I needed as many creatives in the room with me to make sure the show was a success. I am so glad I did, because not only did I love the director I hired (over 150 people applied for the position, I interviewed 12), but he brought so much more to the table. Plus, I would have actually died from too much work (I’m barely hanging on as it is!). For this production, I am a co-producer with The Players Theatre, and I am the Music Director/Conductor/Piano Player in the pit. (I also wrote the book, music & lyrics)
Me: Back in Pittsburgh, what other shows had you directed before the strand?
Nick – Ha! Not much! I had music directed two shows in college (Spelling Bee and Hedwig) and then I music directed a few new musical projects with Musical Theater Artists of Pittsburgh. As for directing, I had really only done the first production of Local Singles. I won the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Direction for that production, but that was basically it.
Me: Out of the shows you directed at the Strand, what show would you want to do again, and what show would you never want to do again?
Nick – Great question! I was overjoyed to really sink my teeth into Godspell. That was a really beautiful rehearsal and performance process for me. I ended up having to MD and direct that one (I emailed like, 60 music directors and they were all doing the spring high school shows…) but being so involved with that cast on every level and really making big creative choices in every scene created an environment that was everything we ever hope theatre to be. I also highly rank Little Shop and Spamalot as well. Those are shows I could watch every day.
Nick (cont.)- I will never, for as long as I live, be involved in any way with White Christmas. I have nothing against the movie, but yikes I think the show is a bore. Plus, that was by far my hardest rehearsal process at The Strand, which certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. The irony? That’s the best selling Strand show of all time. I fought so hard to get the snow machine in the rafters, because I thought- “Hey maybe if it snows on the crowd they’ll be the only thing they remember.”
Me: What led to Spamalot getting a revival?
Nick – Ron [the owner of the theater] liked being in it and wanted to do it again.
Me: What is your favorite show of all time (Aside from Local Singles of course)?
Nick – I rank The Last Five Years at the top, as well as Les Mis, Jesus Christ Superstar, Company, Fun Home and Ordinary Days.
Me: How much influence did you have on set creation at the Strand?
Nick – I had final say on everything, but it was always a team effort between Kelly, Mark, Ron and I. Then, we’d bring in someone like Chuck to help with the design and construction. Oftentimes Kelly, Mark and I would come up with a rough sketch about 5-6 months out, and then the guys who could build things would come in and do the rest. I do not claim to be a designer at all. I was always happy to let someone else take the lead because it would always be a better product than whatever I would come up with
This was interesting to see the growth of his career in Pittsburgh and then in NYC