Theater & Arts category, Page 25
How Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre stays nimble amid coronavirus uncertainty
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre teachers, dancers and students hold fast to the old adage — “dance like no one is watching” — through the rocky days of the coronavirus pandemic. With practice spaces closed and classes canceled, they’ve had to do a bit of improvising to stay on their toes. Joseph...
Broadway shutdown due to coronavirus extended again until January
The shutdown on Broadway has been extended again — until at least early January. Although an exact date for performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows through Jan. 3. “The Broadway experience can be deeply personal...
Support local theaters though virtual documentary of the iconic Ella FitzgeraldVideo
Most people know Ella Fitzgerald’s powerful voice. They may not know the talented jazz singer also loved baseball, collected cookbooks and had a passion for fashion. Or that she was once homeless and made fun of because of her weight, and that she fought for civil rights. To learn more...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust shuffles Broadway series shows
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced Wednesday the cancellation of one show and the rescheduling of another for its PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical” has been canceled. “Hadestown,” originally scheduled for Oct. 27-Nov. 1, has been rescheduled to Sept. 7-12, 2021. These decisions had to...
Playwright August Wilson to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star
August Wilson is going Hollywood, after a fashion. The famed playwright from Pittsburgh will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles. Wilson was among the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s 2021 honorees announced last week. Also announced...
‘Hamilton,’ ‘Phantom’ will be off London stages until 2021
Some of London’s biggest West End shows, including “Hamilton” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” won’t reopen until next year, producers announced Wednesday, as arts bodies warned that Britain faces a “cultural catastrophe” because of the coronavirus pandemic. Producer Cameron Mackintosh, his producing partners and his Delfont Mackintosh Theatres group...
Real-life Pittsburgh couples to act in live, online micro-plays
Quantum Theatre will host four evenings of live online programming, featuring seven Pittsburgh-area actor couples who cohabit in real life. The text will come from Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information,” a collection of 57 micro-plays, featuring more than 100 characters “exploring the breadth of human experience and our shared hunger...
Pittsburgh CLO plans online theater education classes
Pittsburgh CLO Institute of Performing Arts will offer a new series of online educational programs from June 29-Aug. 21. Offerings will include week-long workshops, weekend seminars, master classes, private lessons and professional development symposiums. “As leaders in performing arts education, we aim to create a developmental platform for all ages,...
Larry Kramer, playwright and AIDS activist, dies at 84
NEW YORK — Larry Kramer, the playwright whose angry voice and pen raised theatergoers’ consciousness about AIDS and roused thousands to militant protests in the early years of the epidemic, has died at 84. Bill Goldstein, a writer who was working on a biography of Kramer, confirmed the news to...
Pittsburgh Playhouse season will celebrate ‘American spirit’Video
The upcoming season at Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse will celebrate “love, human resiliency and community spirit,” according to a video announcement from managing director Drew Martorella and artistic director Steven Breese. The 2020-21 season includes the Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning “Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches,” eclectic dance...
Patrick Stewart’s Shakespearean sonnet readings shine light during crisis
When the time comes to tell our grandkids about the pandemic of 2020, there will be no shortage of stories. It was scary. Everything shut down, and tens of thousands died. People were so panicked, you couldn’t find toilet paper or flour on store shelves. Schools closed. All you could...
Shakespeare troupe plans open reading session on Zoom
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks is taking registrations for the next Bring Your Own Bard, an informal session in which professional actors and non-actors can perform their favorite Shakespeare pieces. BYOB is set for May 26 on Zoom, with the room opening at 7 p.m. and the program beginning at...
Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre connects with patrons through Facebook
Prime Stage Theatre is bringing the performances to you. The Pittsburgh-based arts and education company, which presents productions based on classic and contemporary literature, has launched an online storytelling series. Prime Stage Shares is available on the company’s Facebook page, free of charge. New segments appear three times a week...
Stopped cold: ‘Frozen’ musical on Broadway will not reopen
NEW YORK — The big budget musical “Frozen” will not reopen when Broadway theaters restart, marking the first time an established show has been felled by the coronavirus pandemic. Until now, only shows that were waiting to officially open have announced postponements or cancellations. Disney still has “The Lion King”...
Broadway shutdown extended until at least Labor Day
The shutdown on Broadway due to coronavirus concerns has been extended again — until at least early September. Although an exact date for performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows through Sept. 6. “While all Broadway...
Roy Horn, dark-haired half of flamboyant illusionists Siegfried & Roy, dies of complications related to coronavirus
Roy Horn, the dark-haired half of Siegfried & Roy, the flamboyant, German-born illusionists whose lavish stage productions and trademark disappearing white tigers and lions made them one of the biggest draws on the Las Vegas Strip, died Friday. He was 75. Horn, who suffered a severe wound to his neck...
Mountain Playhouse cancels its upcoming productions
Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, Somerset County, has canceled its upcoming summer and fall productions. “Unfortunately, it has become clear to the staff and board of directors that due to the ongoing concerns regarding (covid-19), the Mountain Playhouse cannot produce our 2020 season as planned,” said Patricia Carnevali, executive director and...
Adapting: Dance students, teachers adjust to life during coronavirus pandemicVideo
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways the global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. Nine months ago, Isabel Ganovsky and her fellow senior dance majors at North Carolina’s Elon University started planning their senior thesis project. “We chose to create...
Gemini Children’s Theater offers online ‘Wonderland’ video, activitiesVideo
Children can go through the looking glass with Gemini Children’s Theater for an online “Alice in Wonderland” adventure. The McKees Rocks-based theater has posted a video and series of activities based on Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s story. Suggested for children ages 3 and up, the video fearturing members of the...
Pittsburgh CLO cancels entire summer season of musicals
Pittsburgh CLO canceled all of its summer season of musicals. The decision was made as a result of uncertainties and risks related to the covid-19 pandemic, according to Executive Producer and CEO Van Kaplan. The season was set to open June 2 with national tours of “The SpongeBob Musical” and...
Brian Dennehy, Tony-winning stage, screen actor, dies at 81
NEW YORK— Brian Dennehy, the burly actor who started in films as a macho heavy and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, has died. He was 81. Dennehy died Wednesday night of natural causes...
Kids can join theater’s ‘Pirates of the Mon’ online adventuresVideo
Children are invited to set sail from home with Gemini Children’s Theater for an action-packed “Pirates of the Mon” adventure. The McKees Rocks-based theater has posted a video in which Allegheny Annie and Captain Schnook board the Black and Gold Pearl in search of the Triangle Treasure. In order to...
‘Penn State Presents’ airs nightly livestream featuring alumni, students
John Simpkins, head of musical theater at Penn State University, was not happy at having to cancel the performances theater students would have put on this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to continue bringing Nittany Lion students’ talents to the public, Simpkins is hosting “Penn State...
How do Broadway stars cope with silent theaters? They singVideo
The coronavirus silenced Broadway. It could not silence two of its rising stars. Samantha Pauly and Brittney Mack, who play two wives of Henry VIII in the musical “Six,” have turned their disappointment at having their musical on hold by doing what they do best — singing for an audience,...
‘Hamilton’ cast reunites to sing for young fanVideo
Poor 9-year-old Aubrey’s dream of seeing “Hamilton” was dashed by coronavirus. But thanks to social media and some kind hearts, the young fan got something far, far better. By now, you’ve likely heard about John Krasinski’s “Some Good News,” a low-budget, weekly show on YouTube that shares only positive, feel-good...
