Theater & Arts category, Page 27
20/20 Performing Arts founders talk theater, inspirationVideo
Two Penn-Trafford High School alums have a “perfect vision” of how to share their love of theater with young performers. Madison Nick and Jonathan Heinbaugh, both of Penn Township, are co-founders of 20/20 Performing Arts, a new school that focuses on providing acting classes, workshops and summer camps to students...
Saint Vincent Summer Theatre cancels season
Saint Vincent College has canceled the 2020 season of Saint Vincent Summer Theatre, citing travel and other gathering restrictions associated with covid-19. Plans were for the season to open May 21 with “The Marvelous Wonderettes.” “This is certainly a difficult and unfortunate decision as Saint Vincent Summer Theatre has been...
‘Mamma Mia’ comes to Jeannette High School stageVideo
Editor’s note: Due to the coronovirus pandemic, high school musicals have been postponed. It looks fun — Jeannette seniors Jada Bass, Kiara Frederick and Jenna Painter sing and dance together on stage to ABBA’s hit “Dancing Queen.” But perfecting the steps and lines has taken months for the trio who...
Broadway shuts its doors over ongoing coronavirus concerns
NEW YORK — New York’s governor ordered all Broadway theaters to shut their doors in the face of ongoing coronavirus concerns, plunging into darkness one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and causing turmoil in the run-up to the Tony Awards. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday banned gatherings of...
‘Hunchback’ coming to Greensburg Salem Middle SchoolVideo
It’s not easy playing The Hunchback of Notre Dame, according to Greensburg Salem Middle School student Loyal Wesley Heverly. “One of the hard parts about Quasimodo is, I just have to bend down all the time, and it hurts my back,” joked Heverly, 13, who has the title role in...
Norwin goes ‘under the sea’ for spring musicalVideo
Editor’s note: The Norwin High School production of “The Little Mermaid” has not been canceled. During this unprecedented time, the production has been postponed until medical professionals and government officials deem it safe for public schools to reconvene. New performance dates will be released. All current ticket holders will then...
Catch a one-of-a-kind retelling of Shakespeare at the Geyer
Seeing Actors and Artists of Fayette County’s production of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged” is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No, really, it’s a one-time, never-see-it-like-this-again show. Director Andrew Johnson of Donora said that’s because the play written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield that parodies the plays of...
Riverfront Theater’s ‘Proof’ is about family (and a little math)
Four Pittsburgh actors play characters that are an integral part of the search for answers behind a mysterious mathematical proof in Riverfront Theater Company’s production of David Auburn’s drama, “Proof.” The play that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play is the story...
Monessen students prepare to stage ‘Shrek’Video
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolf has announced that all Pennsylvania schools will be closed for the next 10 business days, and as a result the musical has been postponed until further notice. When Milana Sacco thought about taking the stage in Monessen Middle/Senior High School’s...
Saint Vincent Summer Theater announces upcoming productions
Three audience-favorite musicals are on tap for the 52nd season of the Saint Vincent Summer Theatre. The schedule includes Roger Bean’s off-Broadway musical comedy, “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” May 21-31; Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s Tony Award-winning classic, “The Sound of Music,” June 25-July 5; and “Million Dollar Quartet,” featuring the music of...
Freeport Area High School brings tap-dancing musical ’42nd Street’ to the stageVideo
It’s a musical with a lot of kick. Freeport Area High School presents its 2020 spring musical “42nd Street” from March 12-15. And who better to direct the classic musical chronicling the story of a small town Pennsylvania girl with Big Apple dreams than Freeport alumnus, Broadway performer, New York...
Leechburg High School brings ‘Godspell’ to the stageVideo
Leechburg Area High School drama students will bring to life parables from the Gospel, with an updated twist, as they present “Godspell” on March 13-15. Think punk meets rock in this remastered 2012 version of “Godspell,” created by Grammy and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz. “Godspell” features a myriad of...
‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ opens March 12 at Burrell High SchoolVideo
It’s toga time as Burrell High School presents its spring musical, “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.” Set in ancient Roman times, the show is comedic, fast paced, full of twists and turns as it follows the antics of Pseudolus, a slave attempting to win his...
Greater Latrobe’s ‘Mamma Mia!’ blends romance, comedy and classic pop hitsVideo
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Greater Latrobe School District has limited attendance at “Mamma Mia!” to two invited people per participant in the musical. Attendees will be asked to identify the cast member they are representing when they arrive at the senior high auditorium. There will be an...
‘The Band’s Visit’ delivers quiet, powerful message on Benedum Center stage
The musical “The Band’s Visit” isn’t the kind of stage spectacular — with big production numbers, massive colorful sets and glitz-and-glam costumes — that typically wins awards on Broadway. But surprisingly it did, capturing 10 Tony Awards in 2018, including Best Musical, and the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Musical...
Delight in the sights, sounds of ‘Rhythm of the Dance’ at PalaceVideo
The National Dance Company of Ireland’s “Rhythm of the Dance” show is back in the states for another round of shows, just in time to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day season with the troupe’s American fans. It’s not like the champion dancers, professional singers and musicians had a chance to...
Derry Area tackles challenging ‘Les Miserables’Video
As high school musicals go, “Les Miserables” is no “The Little Mermaid.” It’s a challenging production, acknowledged director/producer Kayla Tamer — possibly one of the most challenging musicals Derry Area High School has ever attempted. After last year’s “The Little Mermaid,” Tamer felt her students were up to the task....
Southmoreland students will shine in spring musical ‘Seussical’Video
Southmoreland High School Music Theatre with fill the high school auditorium in Alverton with singing and dancing from “Seussical the Musical,” a family-friendly show based on the words of Dr. Seuss. “They selected ‘Seussical the Musical’ because it is family friendly and has familiar characters, and it weaves a lot...
City Theatre in Pittsburgh announces 2020-21 season
Pittsburgh’s City Theatre, based on the South Side, prides itself on introducing cutting-edge new works. In keeping with that tradition, the company announced a 2020-21 season filled with bold new plays. The season opens Sept. 19 with “Frankenstein” by Emmy Award-winning performance collective Manuel Cinema, described as “a new take...
Murrysville siblings work both sides of the stage for ‘Sound of Music’
When Camryn Hall wakes up in the morning, the Murrysville teen may have to take a moment to think about exactly which rehearsal — or rehearsals — she needs to prepare for. Some days it’s rehearsal for the Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s upcoming production of “The Sound of Music,” in which...
Chartiers Valley High School comes alive with ‘Young Frankenstein’
At Chartiers Valley High School, spring musical director Kim Giffin chooses the actors and actresses first, then the production. “I see what kids I have, and then I pick the show,” Giffin says. “I like to do the auditions first and then fit them into the roles for the musical.”...
Stage Right’s ‘Cabaret’ an always relevant social commentary
Irwin native Mandie Russak has frequented the Kit Kat Club before, where she welcomed visitors as the Emcee in a previous production of “Cabaret” by Split Stage Productions in 2017. She returns to the seedy night spot as the unforgettable Sally Bowles, an English cabaret performer during the rise of...
Theatre Factory tackles deep issues in ‘She Kills Monsters’
A game of Dungeons and Dragons holds the key to secrets about a deceased relative in Qui Nguyen’s contemporary play, “She Kills Monsters,” being performed Feb. 28-March 8 at The Theatre Factory in Trafford. The play focuses on a young woman, Agnes Evans, trying to come to terms with the...
‘Phantom of the Opera’ coming to Greensburg SalemVideo
Alex Podolinski has a technique for getting into character as the Phantom of the Opera. “To prepare myself I like to go backstage and kind of wander, and that sounds kind of creepy,” he said. An appropriately creepy technique for a famously creepy character. Greensburg Salem High School this weekend...
Pitt-Greensburg play takes aim at government bureaucracy, small-town corruption
Con men, government inspections, corruption and mistaken identity all cross paths in the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg’s upcoming production of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Government Inspector.” When the postmaster of a small Russian town reads a resident’s mail and begins spreading the word that a government inspector will soon be...
