Literary giants clash in Kinetic Theatre's return to Pittsburgh stage

A meeting of two literary giants is the subject of Kinetic Theatre Company’s return to live performances, with the American premiere of Donald Steven Olson’s award-winning play, “Oscar & Walt.”

Oscar Wilde encounters Walt Whitman in the production running through Nov 20 at City Theatre’s Lester Hamburg Studio Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

“Cultures clash, egos flare, words fly, and secrets emerge as two of the greatest writers of the 19th century — one nearing the end of his career, the other just beginning — come face-to-face in an unforgettable meeting of minds and hearts,” according to a release.

“The two met in 1882 as Wilde was about to embark on a U.S. lecture tour. Whitman was 63 and Wilde was 28,” said producing artistic director Andrew Paul. “Before the tour, Wilde said the only person he really wanted to meet in America was Whitman.”

Both writers were controversial in their time. Whitman’s poetry collection, “Leaves of Grass,” was criticized for its sensuality and his personal life was scrutinized for evidence of homosexuality. Likewise, Wilde’s novels and plays offended many of his contemporaries and he was convicted and jailed for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts.

Formed and unformed

“Of course, we have no idea what really happened at the meeting, other than from correspondence between the two,” Paul said, but the conversation would have been rife with possibilities.

“Wilde was an unformed character at the time of their meeting. Though he’s still a witty guy tossing off one-liners, he hadn’t yet experimented with homosexuality and he wasn’t yet married,” Paul said. “Whitman is a fully formed character who serves as a sort of template for Wilde and who he wants to be, not only as an artist but also as a human being.”

Kinetic associate artist Sam Tsoutsouvas plays Whitman. Tsoutsouvas has performed leading roles on Broadway, in touring productions and at many regional theaters. In Pittsburgh, he also has worked with Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre and PICT Classic Theatre. He was in the first graduating class of The Juilliard School and was a founding member of John Houseman’s The Acting Company.

Wilde is portrayed by actor/singer/musician/writer Nick Giedris, who starred off-Broadway and on a national tour as Christian Grey in “Cuff Me: The Fifty Shades of Grey Musical Parody.” He played a rock-star version of Benjamin Franklin in a national tour of “We the People: America Rocks!”

The third member of the cast is Lisa Ann Goldsmith, who plays Whitman’s sister-in-law, Louisa Whitman. An actor and director with many New York and regional credits, she most recently played The Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Gulch in Pittsburgh CLO’s “The Wizard of Oz” at Heinz Field.

“Her character opens up the play and provides a sort of comic relief,” Paul said.

Feast for the audience

“Oscar & Walt” won the 2019 Best Full-Length Play award from the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights/West Hollywood Pride Reading Festival. Its world premiere — and only previous stage production — was later that year at The English Theatre of Rome, Italy.

Playwright Olson also is a novelist, travel and garden writer, and a popular speaker on garden topics.

“It’s a terrific play to stage and to produce, especially now (post-pandemic), since there are only three actors,” Paul said. “It was critical for us to get back to work, so we chose a small play to come back with on an affordable basis — but the audience will feel like it’s a feast of a play when it’s finished.

“(The venue) is a beautiful, little black-box theater. It seats 102, but we’re limiting capacity to 80,” he said.

Run time is 90 minutes with no intermission.

City Theatre requires that all audience members provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid-19 PCR test within 72 hours of attending a performance. Audience members must be fully masked while indoors.

Tickets for “Oscar & Walt” are $45, $25 for artist rate or $20 for ages 25 and younger with valid ID.

For tickets and information on show times, call City Theatre box office at 412-431-2489, noon-5 p.m. weekdays, or visit kinetictheatre.org.