Actress, Fox Chapel Area alum Regina Gibson returns home for original 1-woman show

Actress and singer Regina Gibson returns to her Pittsburgh-area stomping grounds for a one-night show on a relatable topic – dating angst – heightened by the comedic addition of opera music.

The Fox Chapel Area High School alum brings her “Divina: A Fantasy Cabaret,” a one-woman original opera-comedy-cabaret, to the New Hazlett Theater on Nov. 10.

“Fox Chapel Area, and Pittsburgh in general, is a great environment for theater,” Gibson said. “Coming back feels good.”

Gibson stars as Mary, a woman anxiously waiting for a return text from yet another disappointing suitor. As she wonders if she is being ghosted or gaslit, Mary fantasizes about what her musical hero, legendary opera singer Maria Callas, would do.

When the opera diva’s summoned spirit appears in Mary’s apartment, the story veers into a music-filled romp redefining what it is to be a leading lady on your own terms. The spirit of Calla ultimately provides relationship advice for the dating-fatigued actress.

“I love poking fun at myself,” Gibson said. “People who love opera will enjoy it, but people who don’t know anything about opera will also be entertained.”

The actress honed her theater chops early on as a student at Pittsburgh Musical Theater and CLO Academy. Gibson enrolled in grade school around the age of 8.

“It was such a supportive foundation,” she said. “There really wasn’t any question about what I would be doing with my future.”

She landed lead roles in plays and musicals during her years at Fox Chapel Area, from Mayzie La Bird in “Seussical” to Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet.”

Gibson then earned her BFA degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

A multi-genre vocalist spanning opera, Broadway, country and pop, her recent theater credits include performances with National Yiddish Opera Folksbiene, Metropolitan Playhouse, DC Capital Festival, Connecticut Shakespeare, Theatreworks/USA and Delta in the Sky with Diamonds.

Her initial foray into comedy came about a decade ago when she created a one-woman show, “The Apple Tree,” for New York’s United Solo Theater Festival and an original comedy web series, “Honestly, Amelia,” based on the classic children’s book character “Amelia Bedelia.”

Her upcoming show fuses laughs with a lifelong love of opera, introducing Maria Callas’ music into a cabaret setting.

The show is directed by Stephanie Cunningham and features accompaniment by Pittsburgh pianist Douglas Levine, who has composed original music or arrangements for Pittsburgh Public Theater, Gateway to the Arts, Point Park Conservatory Company and Pitt Repertory Theatre, among others.

Since its founding in 1996, Prime Stage Theatre has presented more than 100 plays that introduce student and family audiences to classic and contemporary works of world literature.

Gibson said New Hazlett Theater is the first place outside of New York that she’s performing “Divina: A Fantasy Cabaret.”

“After I went on another laughably bad date in New York, I went home and listened to Maria’s (music),” Gibson said. “I started to imagine what she would say to a man who treated her with anything less than adoration. Juxtaposing these operatic songs with self-deprecating humor was enormously appealing.

“It’s a show that inspires the audience to live bigger and more fully, while at the same time reminding us it’s okay to laugh at all the craziness happening along the way.”

The show is part of Prime Stage Theatre’s 2025-26 Monday Specials Series. Tickets are pay-what-you-can.