If Van Kaplan is whistling a happy tune these days, he's probably multitasking. It's a busy time for the Pittsburgh CLO and its executive director, what with piling on frequent-flier miles to audition actors for the summer season and check on the company's Broadway investments.

Yes, Broadway.

"If you stand in the middle of 46th Street and look in either direction this spring, you'll see our shows," said Mr. Kaplan, taking a breather recently in the lobby of Pittsburgh's Westin William Penn.

The CLO has above-the-title producing credits for Broadway's most anticipated new musical, "The Addams Family," starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, and Twyla Tharp's latest dance show, "Come Fly Away."

It may be a while before the Downtown Cultural District sees ripple effects from that corner of the Great White Way, but that's the ultimate goal. When investments like this come up, Mr. Kaplan said, the first question is always, "What does this mean for Pittsburgh and the CLO?"

His board of directors asks the same question because the investment for the CLO can be considerable.

Mr. Kaplan would not reveal a dollar amount, but here's a general idea of how it may work:

A new Broadway musical can take years to develop. The lead producer(s) makes the initial investment, likely millions of dollars, and then invites in other investors at various levels. An above-the-title credit for an anticipated hit like "The Addams Family" could mean an investment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and a prominent identification on the website and the playbill, although a marquee mention is reserved for the likes of Disney and Oprah.

Benefits include a percentage of return on investment -- although there are limits for a nonprofit like the CLO -- as well as being first in line for the show when it tours and the prestige that comes with having your brand associated with a potential hit.

Development of new musicals, both locally and nationally, has long been a part of the 64-year-old company's mission. CLO has a new-works partnership with Carnegie Mellon University and for the first time is working on projects with Point Park University. Productions for its summer subscription series also reflect a mandate to showcase a mix of newcomers -- many from the CLO Academy and Mini-Stars programs -- and straight-from-Broadway talent.

But presenting the first-time national tour of a "Spamalot" or a "Legally Blonde" can fill seats in a hurry. This season's schedule includes the murder-mystery musical "Curtains," making its Pittsburgh premiere in June.

You won't find that one on the Cultural Trust's just-announced PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh series for 2010-11, which includes the "Wicked"-sized production of "Mary Poppins," Tony-winning revivals of "Hair" and "South Pacific," and acclaimed new musicals like "Next to Normal."

At times, the organizations have invested so that a touring show may spend one week on the CLO series and one week on the Trust series. Pittsburgh CLO is a tenant of the Trust and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which certainly want to see seats filled at the Benedum Center and Heinz Hall.

To have two presenters in such close quarters "is a unique situation to just a few markets in the country," said Al Niccolino, vice chairman of The Broadway League and chairman of the Independent Producers Network, which includes Mr. Kaplan.

"Certainly I think CLO's involvement in those shows is motivated by their willingness to step up and get those shows when they tour for their series. But overall, I think the underlying motivation is the development of new shows."

Large-scale investment doesn't guarantee large-scale success. The CLO has gone out on the limb with musicals such as "Dr. Doolittle," "Casper the Musical" and Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," which toured but never made it to Broadway.

"The Addams Family," which has been previewing in Chicago, would seem to be less risky business.

Mr. Kaplan said working with a board of directors that understands risks vs. rewards is the reason the CLO is able to extend its brand and boost new works.

"It clearly enhances the reputation of the company more broadly in a regional and national context," said longtime board member John Williams, chairman of the committee on new works development and co-chairman of the budget and finance committee.

"It does permit some of the talented Broadway performers to recognize the CLO so that all of a sudden they are more interested in coming to Pittsburgh to appear, and that can't hurt."

The CLO recently became a client of Bernie Telsey Casting, one of the top agencies in New York. Last year, they were able to cast Broadway veterans Beth Leavell and Hunter Foster in the season finale, "Into the Woods."

To attract that level of talent, you have to have an attractive brand, and "Van Kaplan and the CLO enjoy a terrific reputation," said Mr. Niccolino, who operates the NAC Entertainment chain of theaters in Binghamton, Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., and Scranton and Erie.

"Those of us who do what we do, what I do, we've established ... these wonderful franchises in our community where we bring the best of Broadway," Mr. Niccolino said. "We've developed audiences that like to come to them, they've become a vital part of their quality of life."

That's why big-name, big-money producers are turning to "those of us out on the road," as he puts it, to help with the skyrocketing costs of developing new works.

"We need them, we want them, and we're assisting in the process ... We've done it individually, we've done it as an institution, as CLO is with these two shows, which is pretty substantial -- incredible, actually."

For "The Addams Family," as an example, Pittsburgh CLO has two above-the-title credits.

Pittsburgh CLO has further enhanced its national reputation through participation in the Jimmy Awards, the National High School Musical Theater Awards that are based on the CLO's own Gene Kelly Awards showcase.

Susan Lee, a Wexford native, is chief marketing officer of the Nederlander Organization, which owns the Broadway theaters that will house "Addams" and "Fly." It also partners with Pittsburgh CLO for the Jimmys, named for James Nederlander Sr.

"We've done a lot with CLO and Van Kaplan in the past, and he's been a really terrific leader in helping to raise the profile not only of Pittsburgh but in the role that Broadway presenters play in the industry," Ms. Lee said.

Being involved in industry collaborations like the Jimmys and groups like the independent network are "very important for a theater that wants to be presenting the best and the brightest and the newest."

Mr. Kaplan has watched the mixed reviews earned by "The Addams Family" during its Chicago run and visited during rehearsals as well. He noted the changes that have been made and will continue to be made in advance of the Broadway opening April 8.

Other shows are crowding his schedule right now. The CLO Cabaret gets ready to present Lenora Nemetz in "Nunsense," which opens in previews March 11, and Pittsburgh CLO continues to cast its summer shows. Other new musicals in the pipeline include one based on the Jake Gyllenhaal film "Bubble Boy."

"The fact remains that funding new works ... is simply part of our mission," said board member Mr. Williams. "It is part of the development of the [CLO's] future and for musical theater in this country, frankly."

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