'South Side Stories' updated at City Theatre for 10th anniversary

Ten years ago, Tami Dixon sat on the corner of a busy street in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Next to her was an empty chair and a sign that read “Tell me a story about the South Side.”

People did.

They told her about their struggles, their successes, the acceptance that they found within the tight-knit community and the soul-deep love that they have for the city of Pittsburgh. Dixon combined the stories to write and perform her one-woman show “South Side Stories” at the neighborhood’s City Theatre.

The play broke box office records and went on for an extended run. Dixon ended up a resident of the South Side Slopes for 16 years and became enamored with the historic neighborhood.

With the show’s 10th anniversary fast approaching, Dixon, who now lives in Squirrel Hill, decided to update her love letter to the neighborhood that captured her heart all those years ago.

“South Side Stories Revisited” will be a nod to the original performance, but something completely new featuring stories from residents in the current South Side.

“It’s much easier to talk about the past because we’ve been through it,” Dixon said. “We’ve reconciled with it. We’ve shaken hands with it.”

Dixon said that a big inspiration to update the show came from the pandemic and the chaos that the world had been thrown into when the virus swept the country.

“Whoever and wherever you were, it affected you,” Dixon said. “That faith and trust that the world would keep working the way it should was gone.”

She said the pandemic had left her with new questions about life, and she no longer recognized the world she had grown up in.

“I was sure that people had those questions, too, and my job was to just listen, not to fix anything,” she said.

Dixon said that she worked through a six-month process with the play’s original director, Matt Morrow of San Francisco, and City Theatre’s co-artistic director, Clare Drobot.

“It was incredibly inspiring and moving to see how the community reacted to Tami’s work (10 years ago),” Morrow said. “I think since the pandemic, the worth of theater and how it impacts people’s lives has really been called into question. We didn’t have it for a long time and the question loomed — did it matter?”

Morrow said that jumping back into the process with Dixon was a warm reminder of the power of live theater and the importance of local work within that space.

“Not only is it a reminder of the potency of theater and the effect that it can have on a community’s life, it’s also a really good sociological tool to sort of measure where we are as a culture,” Morrow said.

Morrow said that the show reflects the community’s words and feelings about the present. Working as a group, Morrow, Tami and Drobot reshaped the original script to dissect the new stories and hit points that will resonate with a 2024 audience.

Dixon said that she had about 45 stories by the end of the interview process. She will present each in character as the person who shared the story with her.

“I want to honor the people who gave me these stories,” Dixon said. “It’s my job as an actor to pay homage.”

She added that the neighborhood and the people who live there would always have a piece of her heart.

“Beyond my living there, it’s rich in humanity and history, and it’s breathtaking,” Dixon said. “It’s a wonderland.”

“South Side Stories Revisited” will premiere at the City Theatre Company at 8 p.m. Friday and will run through Feb. 18. Tickets can be purchased at citytheatre.culturaldistrict.org.