Bio
VAN KAPLAN has extensive experience in arts management as a theatrical consultant and as CEO/Executive Producer of two major not-for-profit arts organizations: Casa Manana Musicals, Inc. (1990-1997) and Pittsburgh CLO (1997-2022.) Both organizations operated several theatres, created regional productions, hosted Broadway National Touring Productions and offered extensive programming in arts education.
As CEO of Pittsburgh CLO, he oversaw the management and year-round programming of one of the largest musical theater organizations in the country. Under his leadership, the organization enjoyed the support of nearly 200,000 patrons. He worked closely with a 75-member Board of Directors and full-time staff of 40, with an additional 200 seasonal employees. Along with creating fresh new productions of Broadway classics, his responsibilities were to advance the not-for-profit’s mission to develop new works and showcase emerging talent. Kaplan was responsible for the organization’s summer subscription season at the 2,800 seat Benedum Center, year-round programming at the 250-seat Cabaret Theater (a brand-new venue he initiated and opened in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh in 2004 in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust), and an annual production of A Musical Christmas Carol at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theatre. He oversaw the organization’s educational efforts, including the Pittsburgh CLO Academy of Musical Theater - serving more than 300 students; a university internship program; New Horizons, and in-school programs Gallery of Heroes and Creative Vision. He also created a new works development program in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University. Other ongoing initiatives included overseeing the Construction Center for the Arts, and presenting the nationally acclaimed Richard Rodgers Award, the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater and SPARK, a festival for new small-cast musicals which he launched in 2018 funded by the organization’s very successful 10-Million-dollar Next Generation Capital Campaign.
While at Pittsburgh CLO, he also produced or co-produced several productions on Broadway: Purlie Victorious starring Leslie Odom Jr., The Piano Lesson with Samuel L. Jackson, American Buffalo starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss, Mr. Saturday Night starring Billy Crystal, The Lifespan of a Fact with Daniel Radcliff, American Son starring Kerry Washington, Emilio and Gloria Estefan’s On Your Feet!, The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper, Farinelli and the King starring Mark Rylance, Evita with Ricky Martin, Catch Me If You Can, Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away and The Addams Family starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. He has produced national touring productions of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Camelot, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Phantom, Singin’ in the Rain, Chess, Grand Hotel, City of Angels, Evita, Brigadoon and he assisted the Disney organization in producing the national tour of Disney’s High School Musical.
In 2009, Kaplan initiated and co-founded the National High School Musical Theatre Awards / Jimmy Awards, now in its 16th year, and co-produced a documentary series about the program that aired in 2012 on hundreds of PBS member stations, including its top markets.
In 2015, Kaplan lead produced the new musical An American in Paris, which premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in 2014, and after winning 4 Tony Awards on Broadway, went on to debut in London, Tokyo, Toronto, Australia and toured throughout the U.S. and Europe.
As a life long stage director, his credits include Guys and Dolls with Victoria Clark; She Loves Me; West Side Story with Max von Essen and Ali Ewoldt; Kopit & Yeston’s Phantom; Boeing-Boeing; On the Town; Sweeney Todd; South Pacific with Cathy Rigby, Nunsense, Shear Madness, Ruthless! and the regional premiere of Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues at Pittsburgh’s Quantum Theater. He directed the touring production of You Say Tomato I Say Shut Up! across the country, and original shows for Caesars Entertainment at the Rio, Paris and Bally’s Hotels in Las Vegas. Since 2009, he has directed The Jimmy Awards on Broadway.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Kaplan was accepted into the Juilliard School at the age of 17 under the direction of legendary producer John Houseman, and completed his education with a degree from Southern Methodist University. He began his career as an actor performing in film and television prior to joining the acting company of Casa Manana Musicals in 1980, where he worked for the next 17 years in various capacities as an actor, director, production stage manager, development director and administrative director. He was named Executive Producer/General Manager in 1990, and held that position for 7 years before moving to Pittsburgh CLO in 1997 to become CEO/Executive Producer.
In his 40 years in the theatre he has worked with celebrities such as Anna Maria Albergetti, Ed Begley Jr., Tony Bennett, Betty Buckley, Cid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Nell Carter, Patrick Cassidy, Ray Charles, Carol Channing, Cyd Charisse, Natalie Cole, Tim Conway, Charles Durning, Morgan Fairchild, Jamie Farr, Sutton Foster, Ana Gasteyer, Malcolm Gets, Jeff Goldbum, Noel Harrison, Jerry Herman, Hal Holbrook, Artie Johnson, Van Johnson, Shirley Jones, Ruta Lee, Rich Little, Bob Newhart, Gavin MacLeod, Rue McClanahan, Johnny Mathis, Lilian Montivecci, Billy Porter, Tom Poston, Howard Keel, Debbie Reynolds, Don Rickles, Chita Rivera, Joan Rivers, Charles Shaughnessy, Jerry Seinfeld, Sally Struthers, and James Whitmore.
Kaplan has consulted for the National Endowment for the Arts, is a former Theatre Panel chair for the Texas Commission on the Arts and served as adjunct professor for Carnegie Mellon’s Masters of Arts Management Program. He has traveled to South Korea and China as a theatrical consultant and is often asked to assist in developing educational programing and advising on theatrical productions. He is a Board member of The Broadway League, serves on the Investment Committee of the Independent Presenters Network (IPN) and is a past president of The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT). He is a lifetime Tony Awards® voter.
