Theater & Arts category, Page 22
Carnegie Mellon born, the musical ‘Godspell’ celebrates 50th anniversaryVideo
NEW YORK — It will come as little surprise to its legion of fans that the first professional musical to be mounted in the U.S. during the pandemic was “Godspell.” The Berkshire Theater Group in western Massachusetts put on a production in August with plexiglass partitions between the actors and...
PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh set to resume in October after pandemic pause
The PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series will take up where it left off, after “The Band’s Visit” was forced to close halfway through its 2020 run due to the pandemic. The Tony Award-winning production will return to the Benedum Center for six performances Oct. 28-31, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced....
Greensburg Salem presents ‘Charlie Brown’ as livestream musical
Beloved cartoon characters come to life for Greensburg Salem High School’s spring musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” The production, streaming Friday through Sunday, follows a day in the life of the neighborhood gang from Charles Schulz’s long-running “Peanuts” comic strip. “‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ is a...
Franklin Regional Thespian Club goes live for spring play, ‘The Dining Room’
Ian Sunny has played plenty of characters during his four years in the Thespian Club at Franklin Regional Senior High School. For his final production, he and seven cast mates will get the chance to revel in not one, but up to four “final” roles. “This is a chance to...
Franklin Regional Thespian Club goes live for spring play, ‘The Dining Room’
Ian Sunny has played plenty of characters during his four years in the Thespian Club at Franklin Regional Senior High School. For his final production, he and seven cast mates will get the chance to revel in not one, but up to four “final” roles. “This is a chance to...
Apple Hill Players find home at Theatre Factory in Trafford
The theater company left without a home after last year’s closing of Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont has found new boards to tread. The Apple Hill Players will share space in The Theatre Factory in Trafford, which is being re-branded as Trafford Performing Arts Center. The resident players there will...
Stage Right student cast takes yellow brick road to ‘Oz’Video
The biggest challenge Renata Marino faces in staging a socially distanced musical is choreographing the dance numbers. Marino is directing and choreographing “The Wizard of Oz,” featuring a cast of home-schooled and cyberschool students participating in the Stage Right Arts in Education program. The musical will play at 7 p.m....
Greensburg Civic Theatre romps through Shakespeare’s complete works
You might think you don’t like Shakespeare, but that might be because you haven’t seen Greensburg Civic Theatre’s version of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) .” “People see the name ‘Shakespeare’ and think it’s going to be dull and boring, but this show encapsulates the beauty of the...
Norwin adjusts for ‘The Little Mermaid’ performances
The Norwin High School Theatre Company’s production of “The Little Mermaid” is not going under the sea, but it will be heading outside. The musical will be performed under the lights in the Norwin Knights Stadium at 8 p.m. May 6-9. Performance of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” was canceled last...
Embattled producer Scott Rudin resigns from Broadway League
NEW YORK — Film and theater producer Scott Rudin is resigning from the powerful Broadway League as he faces allegations of decades of abusive and violent behavior. “I know apologizing is not, by any means, enough,” Rudin, whose credits include “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Book of Mormon” and a...
Pittsburgh CLO taking shows outside — at Heinz Field
Talk about performances at Heinz Field taking center stage. The Pittsburgh CLO is partnering with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a two-show “Summer Under the Stars” season in July that will feature “The Wizard of Oz” and an original musical revue, “A Broadway Musical Celebration.” “There’s no place like home, or...
Greater Latrobe’s virtual ‘Bright Star’ musical inspired by true, emotion-filled tale
Flashbacks to a century ago, a baby’s miraculous survival and songs with banjo accompaniment are among ingredients in this spring’s Greater Latrobe Senior High musical. As was this past fall’s play, the musical “Bright Star” will be presented in a performance filmed in advance by the school’s drama club and...
Nominations announced for Gene Kelly Awards
Nominees have been announced for the 30th Annual Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, with winners to be revealed during a virtual awards ceremony streaming at 7:30 p.m. May 29. Students from 31 Allegheny County high schools are participating in this year’s event, sponsored by Pittsburgh...
Valley High School’s musical ‘Peter & the Starcatcher’ to be streamed online
The audience was limited for the two performances of Valley High School’s spring musical, but that doesn’t mean everyone won’t get a chance to see it. The drama club’s production of the Peter Pan origin story “Peter and the Starcatcher” was recorded and will be available for streaming at 7...
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Prime Stage Theatre present ‘Miracle in Rwanda’
To commemorate Genocide Awareness Month, the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Prime Stage Theatre are teaming up to present an original production of the play “Miracle in Rwanda.” Saturday’s opening night features a livestreaming performance followed by recorded performances from April 16-26. The play is based on the life of...
Quaker Valley High School musical, ‘Pajama Game,’ to be streamed online
The spring musical at Quaker Valley High School will look a little different this year – but it’s happening. Austin Wolford, the school’s choir and musical director, said the play “Pajama Game” will stream online on April 16, 17 and 18. There will not be a live show. “It’ll basically...
Pitt-Greensburg theater production a dark dive into ‘Hamlet’
Pitt-Greensburg Theatre Company’s spring production is Shakespeare — but not Shakespeare for purists. “’Dark Hamlet’ is a collage production of William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ using a severe cutting of the text and the technology of video conferencing to create a morphine dream for the audience — and for the character of...
Greensburg theater troupe’s new show provides humorous life lessons
Some of the characters are “little jerks,” but that’s part of the appeal of the upcoming production by Greensburg Civic Theatre’s Greasepaint Players, said director Mike Crosby. In the storyline of “Miss Nelson is Missing,” a classroom of ill-behaved students test the patience of their teacher. When the long-suffering Miss...
Pittsburgh dating scene inspires New Hazlett Theater’s ‘Local Singles’Video
He heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend — and it inspired him to write a musical. The playwright is Nick Navari of Pine, the musical is “Local Singles” and the story is about a support group for local singles. “A friend of mine told me...
Stage Right’s operetta a safe pandemic haven for veteran Greensburg actor
The cast of Stage Right’s “The Pirates of Penzance” includes an actor who has traded the bright lights of the big city — at least temporarily — for the safety of his home town. “I came back to Greensburg last March to do a show at Stage Right that, obviously,...
Agatha Christie’s iconic sleuth reborn for Pittsburgh Public Theater play
Imagine Hercule Poirot poking around Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh Public Theater’s new production, he does just that. The legendary literary sleuth Poirot is reincarnated to solve a Steel City murder. “North of Forbes,” a new commission by local playwright Tammy Ryan, is based on Agatha Christie’s first novel. It will stream...
Pittsburgh’s City Theatre collaborates on spring online offerings
Spring virtual offerings from Pittsburgh’s City Theatre Company include collaborations with local artists and theater groups in other cities. The season will open with the world premiere of a work about virologist and epidemiologist Nathan Wolfe, an early proponent of pandemic insurance, created by his playwright wife, Lauren Gunderson. “With...
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ to be adapted into stage musical
Walter Tevis’ novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” which was recently adapted into a wildly successful Netflix miniseries, is headed to the stage as a musical, Level Forward, a female-led production company co-founded by Disney heir Abigail Disney, announced Monday. The company provided few details on the show, including a creative team,...
Pittsburgh Playhouse virtual season has theater, dance, speakers
Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse will open a season of virtual productions on Saturday with a new play-reading series. The season includes theater and dance productions, the Dance Speaker Series and a re-imagined Media Innovators Workshop & Speaker Series, building on expertise gained in mounting previous online performances, according to...
City Theatre receives NEA grant to produce new play
Pittsburgh’s City Theatre is on the receiving end of a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the largest grant from the theater discipline in Pennsylvania. The grant will support City Theatre’s commissioned play, “The Rivers Don’t Know,” about immigration in Pittsburgh. It is part of the first...
