L'Chaim, To Life, To Leon

It is with extreme sadness that we report that our dear friend and one of the founding producers of Front Porch Theatricals, Leon S. Zionts lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away on November 10th, 2019. We will find many opportunities, we hope, to honor him and his commitment to musical theater and the musical theater community. 

"Leon S. Zionts was a man with a song in his heart, a joke at the ready and a helping hand for all in the theater community that he called his second family. The 61-year-old lawyer, performer and producer died midday on Sunday from pancreatic cancer. He spent his final days in his Point Breeze home, receiving friends and surrounded by his family and with his beloved dog, Fiyero, who always got a program credit. When he died, the show tune "Corner of the Sky' was playing on repeat."

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 - Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

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"Zionts began producing musicals with Bruce E.G. Smith in 2008, forming the boutique musical theater production company Front Porch Theatricals. Nancy joined the company in 2014. 'We became producers,' Smith said. 'We always joked about the musical The Producers. He wanted to be in the image of Max Bialystock and I was Leo Bloom.' They staged productions of popular, well-known shows like In the Heights, Parade and Big Fish. 'The heart and soul of the company is Leon and that will never be replaced,' Smith said."

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 - David Rullo, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle