Pirates Hurler Pitches His Theatrical Chops at LP
- danielleroy42
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
What was former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steven Brault doing at a performing arts school Wednesday?
Singing a song from the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, talking about his love of theatre, and even demonstrating a dance move or two, of course.
That's because Brault, a southpaw hurler who played for the Pirates from 2016 to 2021, is also an accomplished vocalist who's released an album of Broadway standards. He was at Lincoln Park to present a master class in the school's Main Theater to a group of middle and high school students from all seven of the school's arts departments.
Brault was interviewed by Media Arts instructor Lil Pontis, who asked about how he balanced playing baseball with performing while he was in high school.
"It wasn't actually that hard," Brault said. "There are a lot of similarities between the two, I would say." He added that "High School Musical--that was literally my life."
Brault, who grew up in San Diego, admitted to the audience that sometimes he faced skepticism from his high school teammates about his love of theatre. But by the time he went to college--at Regis University in Denver, where he was encouraged to play baseball and perform in shows--he said that 15 of his teammates came to see him in a musical.
"You know, people grow up," Brault said. "If people give you a hard time for trying something...you're the one who had the guts to try it."
Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, Brault went on to start and relieve for the Pirates. He was no slouch with the bat, either, tying for the National League lead for hits by a pitcher in 2019.
But a serious lat injury effectively cut short his pitching career, and he retired from baseball in 2023.
"It was a little depressing at first," he acknowledged. "But I just had to say, 'OK, what's the next challenge?'"
It turned out to be broadcasting. Brault now calls Pirates games for Pittsburgh SportsNet, and said he's grown to love being behind the mic. "It's really made me appreciate all the work that goes into the game from the media side," he said.
However, he still keeps his musical chops sharp. Brault has appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and in 2020, he released his A Pitch At Broadway, an album produced by Grammy-nominated producer Loren Harriet. Brault has also sung the National Anthem at Pirates' games, most recently last July before an intrastate matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
He delighted the audience at Lincoln Park Wednesday with a rendition of "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton, although he said that Wicked remains his top musical pick.
It was another show, however, that provided Brault's favorite role. In response to a question from a student, Brault revealed that he most enjoyed playing Joe Hardy, the real estate agent-turned-slugger who stars in Damn Yankees.
"To play a baseball player, while I'm in a musical, onstage," Brault said with a shrug, "it was just too perfect, you know?"
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school located in Midland, PA, and open to all Pennsylvania families. Students grades 7-12 are bused from more than 90 different school districts to study the arts concentration of their choice: theatre, writing and publishing, media arts, health science and the arts, music, dance, and pre-law and the arts.
For more information, visit lppacs.org or contact: admissions@lppacs.org