Canonsburg girls onstage in ‘Gypsy’
Canonsburg’s Madeline Dalesio, left, and Madison Liberatore will perform in the ensemble of the Pittsburgh CLO’s “Gypsy” at the Benedum Theater.
Madison Liberatore
Madeline Dalesio
Everything is coming up roses for two Canonsburg girls who will get a taste of Pittsburgh’s “big stage” this month.
Madeline Dalesio, 10, and Madison Liberatore, 12, will perform in the ensemble of “Gypsy,” a Pittsburgh CLO production that opens tonight at the Benedum Theater and runs through July 19. Both girls have performed with Washington Community Theater and recently joined the Pittsburgh CLO, which teaches youth classes in dance, voice and acting.
Dalesio, a daughter of Dale and Mary Dalesio, is a home-schooled student and member of the Venice Homeschool Co-op. A performer since she could walk and talk, Dalesio even remembers the first musical she watched at age 4.
“I was very little, and it was right at Heinz Hall on Christmas Eve,” she said, recalling the production of “Annie.”
“I was just amazed,” she said. “I thought that I wanted to do it.”
And perform she did. Years later, she ended up playing the role of Molly in an “Annie” production by the Old Schoolhouse Players, a community theater in Hickory. She also performed in productions of “The Music Man,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and, most recently, “Our Town” at Little Lake Theatre in Canonsburg. She was featured in commercials for UPMC and Washington County Tourism.
A film she starred in, titled “All Swans Must Be White,” will be released later this summer.
Despite their young ages, both Dalesio and Liberatore already have extensive résumés. On Dalesio’s, her “special skills” include baton twirling and the ability to speak in British, Cockney and Southern American accents. Liberatore’s skills include acrobat hula hooping and horseback riding.
Liberatore, daughter of Kevin Liberatore and Mary Rothka, is a seventh-grader at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland. And like most natural-born performers, she also fell in love with the stage at an early age.
“I started singing at 5 and started dancing at 6,” she said.
She started getting some on-stage experience, and, “By the third show I was in, I always wanted to sing and dance everywhere,” she said.
Past performances include “High School Musical 2,” “Seussical the Musical” and, most recently, “Fiddler on the Roof,” which was presented by Washington Community Theater. She appeared as an extra in several movies, including “Last Witch Hunter” and “Cleveland Abduction.”
Neither Liberatore nor Dalesio plans on giving up the spotlight anytime soon.
“I get nervous before, but after I’m off stage, I just want to do it again and again,” Liberatore said. “It’s like a rollercoaster.”