Friendships, bringing some of the greatest Broadway musicals to the community theatre stage and giving scholarships to students pursuing their dream of going into the arts are the three things that Harold McAulliffe cherishes most about his years as music director for Pittsford Musicals.
His remarkable dedication to the organization and to the community theatre scene in Rochester in general will be celebrated when Pittsford Musicals marks its 50th year on November 10 with “50 Years of Song and Dance”, A Night Honoring Harold McAulliffe and his 50 years of Musical Leadership at the Lyric Theatre.
McAulliffe, a longtime resident of Pittsford who retired as Pittsford Sutherland High School’s choral director and musical director several years ago, was one of those community members who helped Pittsford Musicals grow into one of the most respected and admired community theatre organizations in the area and, in a way, it all was by chance.
“I had done coursework for a graduate degree from the Eastman School of Music,” McAulliffe recalled. “The choral director for Pittsford High School (at the time there was only one high school in the district), Howard Tappan, was taking a one-year sabbatical to get his doctorate at Florida State. I needed a job, even though I knew it would be for just one year during his sabbatical. When Howard and I sat down to chat about his program, one of the things he said was that there was a zealous, energetic English teacher who wanted to get students involved in musical theatre. Howard did not like musicals and didn’t want to take his program in that direction. As an undergraduate at Mansfield State, I was bitten by the music theatre bug thanks to a professor, Jack Wilcox, who had been the runner-up to Gordon McRae for the role of Curly in the movie version of Oklahoma, so I liked musical theatre. As the school year progressed, it was decided the school would do a musical and we produced the district’s first musical, South Pacific, which I was music director for.”
That show was presented in the middle of May and was attended by members of the Park Road Elementary School PTA, which had done lip-sync versions of two musicals, Bye Bye Birdie in 1966 and The Pajama Game in 1967.
“Four members, Ruth Snelgrove, Bonnie Smith, Carol Newcomb and Bo Courtney, approached me shortly after they had attended South Pacific and talked to me about what the PTA had done and that they wanted to take the group beyond lip sync,” McAulliffe said. “They liked what we had done with South Pacific and asked me to join them.”
McAulliffe told the group that he was only in the district for a year. Shortly thereafter, Pittsford School District Superintendent Herb Bettinger (who knew that a second high school, Pittsford Mendon, would be built within the next five years) called McAulliffe into his office and told him he was doing a good job and that the district would find a spot for him. When Tappan returned from the sabbatical, McAulliffe was hired as a guidance counselor and also taught a couple of music classes at Pittsford High. When Pittsford Mendon was completed, Tappan moved to that school as its vocal teacher and McAulliffe became the vocal teacher at Sutherland.
With his stay in Pittsford secured, McAulliffe joined Snelgrove, Smith, Newcomb and Courtney along with others. Pittsford Musicals was incorporated in 1968, breaking with the PTA and producing one more lip sync show: Bajour in 1968 before producing its first live production, The Music Man, in 1969.
“About three or four guys put up the money to do that first live show,” McAulliffe said. “As PM grew, I asked that some proceeds from the show go to high school graduates pursuing degrees in the arts. I felt we needed more of a purpose beyond just entertainment; otherwise we wouldn’t have much of an impact.”
When Pittsford Musicals went “live” in 1969, very few other towns had an adult community theatre group so the organization’s reputation for high-quality productions and talent quickly grew. It mounted incredible productions over the next four decades, such as Camelot, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street and Will Rogers Follies (the last two being dance-heavy shows).
The respect and admiration that Pittsford Musicals built over the years helped it become the first adult community theatre organization in Rochester to present the blockbuster show Les Miserables. McAulliffe had a hand in that as well.
“I had seen the show in New York and I was just so fascinated, so electrified by the show,” he said. “Because I dealt with many of the theatre houses in New York for the high school musicals, I knew many of the people who worked there. I was talking with someone I knew at Music Theatre International and said if they ever got the rights to Les Miserables and were letting those rights out to adult community theatre groups that Pittsford Musicals would like to be the first on the list in the Rochester area and would they call me if they let out the rights. Many years passed, but finally the call came. I remember turning around and calling the President of Pittsford Musicals’ board at the time. We knew we needed to act fast to secure the rights and we did so, within 24 hours.”
Not surprisingly, Les Miserables happens to be on the list of McAulliffe’s top shows that he has done with Pittsford Musicals. He also lists Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Brigadoon, 42nd Street and South Pacific that he has a fondness for and has enjoyed. In the case of both Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof, he says that those shows are favorites because of how the music is married to the story and is so befitting of what the script demands along with the fact that they have a strong meaning, message and purpose as does South Pacific.
“Of all the shows we have done, I think Les Miserables is probably Pittsford Musicals’ greatest achievement as an organization and is the best not just in an artistic sense, but all the way around,” McAulliffe recalled. “Vocally, that cast was the strongest we probably ever had and we knew that a lot of people would come out and audition because they would want to be in the first organization to do it. It was one of the most intense audition processes I have ever gone through. We probably could have cast it three different ways, but there is no question that Joey Campagna (Valjean), Chris Streeter (Javert) and Laura Jean Diekmann (Fantine) were incredible in their roles.”
Asked if there are any shows that Pittsford Musicals hasn’t done that he wishes the group had done, McAulliffe said West Side Story and Show Boat, citing the fact that both (like Les Mis and Fiddler) have a depth and marriage of music and script about them.
Friendships and family have been cherished moments from McAulliffe’s involvement with Pittsford Musicals. He met his wife, Juanita, when she was in the chorus of the group’s 1970 production of Camelot. Their daughter, Jodi, has also been in a couple of PM shows.
“The friendships I have made through Pittsford Musicals are very meaningful to me and have continued through my life and there are many artistic directors and choreographers that I truly enjoyed working with,” said McAulliffe, noting he keeps in touch with many such as John Bolton who have gone on to be in Broadway shows after having been in PM shows when they were younger and that he has also worked with many graduates of both Pittsford Sutherland and Pittsford Mendon who have come back to perform with PM as adults when they took jobs here in the area after college.
Asked what has given him the most satisfaction in being involved with Pittsford Musicals, McAulliffe said the answer is two-fold.
“One is knowing that what we’re doing was not just for entertainment value but it was also raising money to help students pursue their dreams of going into the arts. The other aspect that has given me great delight is seeing adults grow in their roles, seeing their enthusiasm and their striving to make a show the best that it can be. That’s been the most rewarding for me.”
