Theater & Arts category, Page 23
Theatre Factory’s Christmas play offers in-person, livestream options
Viewers will have two options for enjoying The Theatre Factory’s production of “Christmas Gifts.” The old-fashioned radio-style play will be livestreamed for three evenings, with the opening night stream also available to an in-person audience at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont. Streaming time is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, when...
A unique recipe for healing: Bill Murray and a biblical text
Against the backdrop of a pandemic’s blight and wounds from an acrimonious election, a group of acclaimed actors on Sunday will stage an online reading of a religious text with remarkable relevance to the current moment: the Book of Job. Audience members may be drawn to the production by the...
City Theatre’s ‘Claws Out’ is bawdy, campy, shameless holiday fun
The holidays aren’t always merry and bright — sometimes the claws come out, as they will in City Theatre Company’s “Claws Out: A Holiday Drag Musical,” set to hit the digital stage on Friday. The action is described thus: “After attempting to give the north a new look, Mrs. Rachel...
Theater uses its creativity to defy pandemic and stage shows
NEW YORK — There’s theater on Broadway. You just have to adjust your sights. More than a hundred blocks north of Manhattan’s shuttered theater district but on that same famed thoroughfare, an actor recently read his lines from a huge stage. But there was no applause. Instead, all that was...
Gather round for haunted Christmas tales via McCarl Gallery podcasts
Spooky stories aren’t just for Halloween. Each Friday leading up to Christmas, the McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent College will present a new podcast featuring the reading of a haunted holiday tale from times past. “Every Christmas, we look forward to the spooky and fascinating tale of Ebenezer Scrooge...
Pittsburgh Opera’s free ‘Soldier Songs’ livestream examines reality of war
In response to Allegheny County Health Department’s Nov. 18 stay-at-home advisory, Pittsburgh Opera will not have in-person audiences for its upcoming production of “Soldier Songs.” The opera will be presented as a free livestream at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 on YouTube and Facebook, thanks to sponsorship from UPMC. Patrons may...
Westmoreland Ballet films ‘Nutcracker’ at iconic area locations
The Westmoreland Ballet Company takes “The Nutcracker” off the stage and into the community with a new video production of the beloved holiday classic. Filmed at indoor and outdoor locations around the county, the video will debut online at 7 p.m. Friday. It also will stream at 7 p.m. Saturday...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust launches ‘Keep the Arts Alive’ campaign, projects $500K in pandemic-related losses
Between The Palace Theatre and the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, more than 350 concerts and events have been canceled since March, lending much more weight to the name of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s “Keep the Arts Alive” fundraising campaign. “As an organization whose mission is to bring people together...
Stage Right plans 3 online versions of musical ‘Annie’
Mounting a theatrical production is complicated enough with one actor in the lead role. Stage Right is tripling the challenge by casting three Annies in an upcoming online production of the beloved Broadway staple. “Annie” is scheduled to stream nightly from Nov. 27 to 29 through the Showtix4u live-stream service....
Pittsburgh Opera holding ‘online Holiday Bazaar’ in lieu of in-person gala
The Pittsburgh Opera was hoping to have one of its festive in-person fundraising galas this fall, but coronavirus made it impossible. However, the Opera still needed to come up with a way to raise money to support its acclaimed Resident Artists program. So, next month, it will hold what it’s...
‘A Taffeta Christmas’ bringing holiday cheer to The Lamplighter in Delmont
Four singing sisters take a break from their national tour to return to their hometown of Muncie, Ind., for the holidays. While there, they visit a local television show to perform some ‘50s favorites and holiday classics. That’s the premise of “A Taffeta Christmas,” which the Orchard Performing Arts Company...
Prime Stage production explores private side of Albert Einstein
The personal, private side of Albert Einstein, the genius who developed the theory of relativity, is the subject of an upcoming Prime Stage Theatre online production. Matt Henderson will portray Einstein in the award-winning dramalogue, “Einstein, A Stage Portrait,” streaming at 8 p.m. Nov. 13. The one-man play first developed...
Local filmmaker teams with Greater Latrobe cast, crew for virtual fall playVideo
Characters in the Greater Latrobe Senior High fall play find ways to connect despite the separations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. The play’s cast, crew and authors also are looking for a new way to connect with their audience — with a filmed performance that will be presented online. Director...
Franklin Regional Thespians rehearse for virtual fall play, ‘A Delightful Quarantine’Video
The Franklin Regional Thespians were originally planning to perform “A Christmas Carol” as their fall production. But they certainly weren’t going to risk an asymptomatic Scrooge passing the coronavirus to Bob Cratchit. And, while this season’s virtual fall play has “Quarantine” in the title, it has nothing to do with...
PICT Classic Theatre streams ‘wicked drama,’ announces 24th season
PICT Classic Theatre is inviting theater lovers to enjoy “a wicked drama with great voices,” with its classic radio theater production of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll,” streaming through Saturday. PICT also will present an audio experience of the holiday classic, “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,” streaming Dec. 17-Jan....
Plans for PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh continue to evolve; ‘Hamilton’ confirmed for 2022Video
There’s good news and bad news about the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series, currently on hiatus due to pandemic restrictions. “I want to promise you and assure you that Pittsburgh will see Broadway again,” said Pittsburgh Cultural Trust CEO Kevin McMahon on Tuesday, during an online town hall meeting for...
Pitt-Greensburg plans online radio play version of ‘An Enemy of the People’
Clayton Gregg, a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, sees one advantage to the pandemic-driven practice of presenting Zoom versions of theater productions. “It might be good for someone with stage fright,” he said, to act from the comfort of home. Gregg will play the part of Peter...
McKeesport native chosen for commission for Black playwrights
Ty Greenwood believes we need light in these divisive times. “With everything that’s going on there is so much tension surrounding the (presidential) election, and there is outrage and violence in our country, I pray we get through,” said Greenwood, a McKeesport native, who lives in Seattle. “We need hope.”...
James Randi, dazzling magician and skeptic, dies at 92
James Randi, a magician who later challenged spoon benders, mind readers and faith healers with such voracity that he became regarded as the country’s foremost skeptic, has died, his foundation announced. He was 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation confirmed the death, saying simply that its founder succumbed to “age-related...
‘Jagged Little Pill’ leads Tony Awards nominations with 15
NEW YORK — The sobering musical “Jagged Little Pill,” which plumbs Alanis Morissette’s 1995 breakthrough album to tell a story of an American family spiraling out of control, earned a leading 15 Tony Award nominations Thursday, as the Broadway community took the first steps to celebrate a pandemic-shortened season that...
Stage Right plans outdoor, circus sideshow-inspired ‘Rocky Horror Show Live’
Get ready to do the time warp again. Stage Right Theatre Company will stage “The Rocky Horror Show Live” under a big top tent on Oct. 23-24 and 30-31. There will be a few pandemic-driven changes to the company’s long-running Halloween season production, including the outdoor venue, said director and...
Apple Hill Playhouse rummage sales to offer decades of costumes, props, antiques
Decades’ worth of memories will be up for sale beginning Saturday at Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont. Props, costumes, antiques, furniture, appliances, tools, building materials and other items collected over the years will be available during rummage sales from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 24-25. Owner Pat...
Greensburg Civic Theatre will play to live, virtual audiences
Doing live theater demands that everyone involved adapt quickly to changing conditions. Greensburg Civic Theatre is proving its adaptability as it prepares to stage “Almost, Maine,” a John Cariani play opening the troupe’s 69th season on Thursday. Each member of the cast of five will play numerous roles. “One thing...
Pittsburgh Opera to host live, in-person audiences for ‘Cosi fan tutte’
Mozart may not have envisioned singers wearing masks when he created “Cosi fan tutte,” but that’s the plan when the Pittsburgh Opera performs it in front of a live audience. The opera, which revolves around the theme of fiancée swapping, is the opera’s opening production of its modified 2020-21 season....
Broadway shutdown due to virus extended again until May 30
NEW YORK — Fans of Broadway will have to wait a little longer for shows to resume — until at least late May. Although an exact date for various performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows...
