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Theater & Arts category, Page 20

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Local filmmaker teams with Greater Latrobe cast, crew for virtual fall play 
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’ 
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 2022 
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...
Pittsburgh Opera productions to have small, live audiences
Pittsburgh Opera will welcome small, live audiences back to productions of its modified 2020-21 season, in addition to livestreaming all performances. First up is Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” opening Oct. 17 for six performances in front of socially distant audiences at its headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Stage director Crystal...
Quantum Theatre charts 2-mile ‘odyssey’ through Schenley Park 
Quantum Theatre is planning a 2-mile odyssey along the trails of Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park, through which visitors can access an interactive audio production of “OK Odysseus.” Five Greek columns will be placed throughout the park, at which Quantum Theatre artists and staff will act as guides. The journey will begin...
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s outdoor stage opens with magic show
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s new outdoor performance venue will do more than offer patrons a way to see live acts during ongoing covid-19 gathering restrictions. It also will be “an anchor” for community gatherings and development in the up-and-coming West End that the theater calls home, according to executive artistic director...
Met Opera skips this season, 1st Black composer opens ’21-22 
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Opera will skip an entire season for the first time in its nearly 140-year history and intends to return from the pandemic layoff next September with the company’s first presentation of a Black composer, Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” This season was...
Penn-Trafford graduates are bringing ‘Broadway to the Burgh’ 
Penn-Trafford High School grads Lindsey Brett Carothers and Jarrett Reiche know what it takes to make it on New York City’s famed Broadway. Carothers is an actress who has been in the Broadway musical “Bring it On” and starred as Glinda in the national tour of “Wicked.” Casting professional Reiche...
Pittsburgh Playhouse plans virtual theater, dance, speaker events
Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse is getting ready to launch “Here. Now. Next!,” a fall season of virtual offerings, including theater and dance productions, the new Dance Speaker Series and a re-imagined Media Innovators Speaker Series. The season will include several new works. “Some of our work this fall will...
‘Hamilton’ performances at Benedum Center being moved back 1 year because of coronavirus
You’ll have to wait a year to be in the room where it happens. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced Thursday that the performance of “Hamilton” is being rescheduled to 2022. The Broadway musical was scheduled at the Benedum Center on Jan. 5-Feb. 7. The new dates are set for Feb....
With Carnegie Mellon’s stages shut down, students create front porch venue for live theater
For the seniors involved in Carnegie Mellon University’s esteemed drama program, this was a year they had been looking forward to — years of study culminating in an entire season of 22 stage shows over the course of the school year. For now, the entire first semester of shows has...
Freeport Theatre Festival presents ‘President Arthur’s Inspiration’
The words in these letters spoke volumes. Julia Sand wrote to then-vice president Chester A. Arthur, who would become the 21st president of the United States, offering advice on how to be a better man. Arthur read the correspondence and seemingly took it to heart. You will have to come...
Inclusive theater troupe will hold holiday-play auditions in September
Auditions for a holiday play by inclusive theater group Acting Up will be at the First Presbyterian Church pavilion, 3202 North Hills Road in Murrysville. It is not an open casting call due to health and safety regulations. All potential participants must call or email to make an audition appointment....
City Theatre reimagines 2020-21 season
Drive-in movies are universally known. Well, how about a drive-in stage play? It’s one way Pittsburgh’s City Theatre is reimagining its 2020-21 season. The updated schedule includes a live drive-in experience as well as virtual content. Without this shift in planning, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust continues online programs, reopening plans
When will patrons be able to return to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District for live music, theater and other entertainment? While the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust does not have a date to resume in-person programs, it is “working with national tours and presenters to realign all 2020 season programs into the 2021 calendar...


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