Theater & Arts category, Page 31
Review: ‘Lion King’ still magically transports Pittsburgh audience to African savanna
Some Broadway musicals have a way of pulling in their audiences as soon as the pit orchestra plays its first bars of music at the start of Act I. The national touring production of Disney’s “The Lion King” — in town for a four-week run through Sept. 29 at the...
Theatre Factory’s 25th season focuses on all kinds of families
The Theatre Factory’s 25th season will focus on families – not only traditional families, but also families of faith, neighbors, cultures, passions and friendships. “When picking the shows for our anniversary season, we wanted to incorporate a family feel,” says Jeff Johnston, promotions manager for the Trafford theater company. “We...
Wonders of Mother Nature inspire ‘Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy’Video
Neil Goldberg’s “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” is coming to two area venues. One of the theatrical and circus director’s many productions created from his Dream Studios in Pompano Beach, Fla., the acrobatic and musical adventure is inspired by Mother Nature’s wonder and beauty. Western Pennsylvania audiences will have an opportunity...
Barebones Productions gets back to bare essentials with ‘True West’ play in Braddock
After enjoying a brief foray into glitz and glamour with its successful staging of “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” Barebones Productions is getting back to the gritty content it’s largely known for. Sam Shepard’s play “True West” opens Friday at the Barebones Black Box in Braddock, representing a return to...
Family values at heart of new Apple Hill Playhouse production
An award-winning contemporary play set in rural Ireland that digs into family values and love caught the eye of veteran actor Dennis “Chip” Kerr of Greensburg. “Irish plays are almost always about families, unrequited love, words not spoken, words that should not have been spoken, and all delivered by characters...
Unmatched spectacle of ‘The Lion King’ returns to Benedum stageVideo
“Disney’s The Lion King” has proven itself to be the most moving Broadway musical — both literally and figuratively — that many theatergoers have ever experienced. From the emotions of a touching story about “The Circle of Life” expressed in music by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice,...
Inclusive theater troupe will hold ‘Grinch’ auditions in Murrysville
Acting Up, an inclusive theater troupe for actors of all abilities, will host auditions for a production of “The Grinch,” from 2 to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 14 at First Presbyterian Church in Murrysville. Appoints will be in 30-minute blocks with nine actors per block. Actors should prepare the following: •...
Vigilance Theater Group produces immersive theater
There is a theater experience where guests become part of the show. “Welcome to Moonside” is a production of the Vigilance Theater Group where there is no stage, no curtain. You, who attend, will be asked to assist evil spirits who are from a place called Moonside. Some of them...
Get the inside scoop on The Palace Theatre with free tours
Visitors on the annual free public tours of The Palace Theatre in Greensburg not only learn the theater’s history, but hear tales of its operation and other functions the venue serves. “I think one of the things people enjoy the most is not just what they see, but what they...
Jake Gyllenhaal attributes conquering fear to Oscar-winning docVideo
Few performances are as daunting as the one-person play. That’s why Jake Gyllenhaal had to find a way to conquer that fear when he took on the role of Abe in the second half of “Sea Wall/A Life.” “Before I did it, I was terrified,” Gyllenhaal said of “A Life,”...
Heidelberg native cast in ‘Hello, Dolly!’ playing at Benedum
Davis Wayne couldn’t stop smiling as he stepped onto the Benedum Center stage. He was home. “I love Pittsburgh, and I won’t shut up about it, and everybody knows that,” said Wayne, 23, a native of Heidelberg. For the past year, he’s been traveling the United States as part of...
Demolition of former Pittsburgh Playhouse continuesVideo
Demolition of the Pittsburgh Playhouse buildings in Oakland is underway. The site of live theater since the 1930s, the structures became vacant last year when the new Pittsburgh Playhouse opened Downtown as part of Point Park University’s ongoing expansion. The Oakland site will be sold by Point Park for development....
Freeport Theatre Festival performs classic ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’
“Arsenic and Old Lace” is one of those killer classics. Written by Joseph Kesselring, two maiden aunts, Abby and Martha Brewster, have a curious charity. They poison lonely, elderly gentlemen with homemade elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, in order to put them out of their misery. Set in 1941, the...
‘Grease’ is the word at Scottdale’s Geyer
Actors and Artists of Fayette County takes audiences back to those fabulous ‘50s with its production of the popular Broadway musical “Grease” Aug. 15-18 at Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale. Will Dixon of Greensburg is directing the 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey that made John Travolta...
Ladies who lunch — err, sip — take center stage at Apple HIll Playhouse
It’s amazing what determination and the occasional liquid refreshment can do to successfully make friends from strangers. Apple Hill Playhouse’s production of “The Savannah Sipping Society” Aug. 15-25 at the Delmont theater brings together four middle-aged Southern women with very little in common who in six months turn their lives...
Stage Right to host auditions for 2019-20 professional season
In its 2019-20 performance season, Stage Right’s Greensburg theater company will have audiences partying under the sea, doing a dance called the “Time Warp” and delivering newspapers in turn-of-the-century New York City. But first, they’ll need some actors. Auditions for the upcoming season will take place Aug. 24 at the...
Hal Prince, towering Broadway director and producer, dead at 91
NEW YORK — Harold Prince, a Broadway director and producer who pushed the boundaries of musical theater with such groundbreaking shows as “The Phantom of the Opera,” ”Cabaret,” ”Company” and “Sweeney Todd” and won a staggering 21 Tony Awards, has died. Prince was 91. Prince’s publicist Rick Miramontez said Prince...
Sewickley’s Tull theater seeking creative fare options for space
The Tull Family Theater wants restaurateurs to get creative when crafting ideas that would transform its 2,044-square-foot auxiliary space into a food and beverage venue. That could mean anything from pop-ups to shared or rotating spaces to various restaurant concepts and business accelerators. “We are really open. That’s part of...
Faye Dunaway fired from Broadway-bound play ‘Tea at Five’ after crew conflict
Faye Dunaway has been fired from a Broadway-bound play after an alleged altercation with crew members. The Oscar-winning actress was dropped after the Boston run of “Tea at Five,” a one-woman show in which she portrayed Katharine Hepburn. The project was set to mark Dunaway’s return to Broadway for the...
St. Vincent Summer Theatre closes season with ‘Always … Patsy Cline’
The musical “Always … Patsy Cline” is filled with songs — 27 to be exact — made popular by in the late ’50s and ‘60s country music star. But the show being staged by Saint Vincent Summer Theatre is more than a rundown of her hit records that include “Crazy,”...
O’Hara’s Stage Right theater unveils new name
It’s a big year for Stage Right Performing Arts & Education. The group marked 55 years of community theater with a move to a new home at Aspinwall Riverfront Park and announced this week that there will be a name change as well. The new moniker — Riverfront Theater Company...
Apple Hill Playhouse returns to Sondheim’s classic ‘Funny Thing’
Apple Hill Playhouse revisits one of Stephen Sondheim’s classic Tony Award-winning musicals with its production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” running July 25-Aug. 4. Set in ancient Rome, the musical focuses on the efforts of a slave named Pseudolus (Nathaniel Yost) to win the...
Break out the dictionary for Stage Right Pittsburgh’s summer show
Stage Right Pittsburgh takes high school students back to their grade school days with its Young Artists Summer Musical production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The Tony Award-winning comedy by Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn revisits the drama and fun of the annual competition that pits an...
‘Lion King’ Pittsburgh run includes sensory-friendly performance
A sensory-friendly performance of Disney’s “The Lion King” will be included in the Sept. 4-29 run of the blockbuster musical in Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center, as part of the 2019-2020 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is partnering with Disney Theatrical Productions for the special performance at 2...
Mountain Playhouse stages comedy ‘Things My Mother Taught Me’
Moving day doesn’t go quite as planned for newlyweds Olivia and Gabe in the new romantic comedy, “Things My Mother Taught Me,” running July 23-Aug. 4 at Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown. Katherine DiSavino’s script has the couple driving halfway across the country to start their new life together in Chicago....
