Theater & Arts category, Page 34

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has teamed with Hill District community members for the annual “Lift Every Voice” concert, a celebration of the neighborhood’s cultural legacy The concert is at 8 p.m. March 2 at Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts in Downtown Pittsburgh. Symphony and associate conductor Andres Franco will...

Holding true to national trends, “Mamma Mia” is the most popular high school musical in the region. The latest count shows eight area schools singing and dancing to the ever-popular strains of ABBA. The 2018 release of the film sequel, “Mamma Mia 2,” surely helped add to the musical’s popularity....

Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks promises a “turn to the ridiculous” in the next installment of its Bring Your Own Bard reading series. “Shakespeare Games” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Te Cafe, 2000 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. “We will feature readings from Shakespeare’s plays, but with a...

Pittsburgh Opera’s “Second Stage” productions of new operas, which account for one of the six operas it stages each season, fulfill one of the company’s most vital missions. We love the old operas that dominate programming everywhere because of their great music serving universal themes. Contemporary opera has the advantage...

Beloved cartoonist and creator of the comic strip “Peanuts” Charles M. Schulz has been gone for 19 years, but his wit and wisdom live on in tributes such as Clark Gesner’s classic musical, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.” Stage Right Professional Theatre Company will bring his lovable characters –...

Seton Hill University Theatre will present a contemporary play that won a Pulitzer Prize (2011) and Tony Award for Best Play (2012) with its production of “Clybourne Park” Feb. 22-March 1. Director Denise Pullen, associate professor of theater at Seton Hill University, wants audiences to be aware that while the...

Most typical days in many people’s lives are uneventful and not so noteworthy. That’s not the case with Claire, one of the main characters in “Fuddy Meers,” a play being staged Feb. 22-March 3 at The Theatre Factory in Trafford. Claire has a rare form of psychogenic amnesia that erases...

Murder — sort of! — is about to celebrate a 25th anniversary in Oakmont. That’s how many years the good people of the murder mystery dinner shows at United Methodist Church, Oakmont, have been pretend dying to keep the church’s local and far-reaching social outreach programs not only alive but...

A Greensburg student did the Bard proud, winning her category in a Shakespearean competition with more than 1,000 Pittsburgh-area competitors. Carolyn Jerz, a homeschooled student, won best monologue in the 8-12 grade division for her performance as the Duke of York from Shakespeare’s play “King Henry VI, Part 3” More...

The cast of Armstrong Community Theater (ACT) is about to “let the sunshine in” in “Peace, Love and the ’60s” on Feb. 22-24 at Worthington Community Center. It was an easy choice to focus this tribute to an era, says Paul Wright of ACT, and, along with Karissa Lloyd, director...

Pittsburgh Musical Theater continues the 2018-2019 Seize the Stage Season and Rockin’ West End Series with “Nunsense the Mega-Musical,” at the Gargaro Theater, 327 S. Main St. in the city’s West End. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. March 21-23, 28-30 and at 2 p.m. March 24 and 31. The show...

It’s not all singing and dancing. A lot of work goes into staging a high school musical. From picking the show and securing the rights, to casting, rehearsing, building sets and creating costumes, to paying for the whole thing – it’s enough to earn the folks who do it a...

Stage Right Pittsburgh has an idea for Valentine’s Day weekend that will combine seats to a stage show, complimentary bubbly, chocolate strawberries and a rose for that special someone. Does it get any better than that? Or theatergoers can forego the VIP package and just enjoy the first adult performance...

For Marina Stefano of Bullskin, Fayette County, performing in “A Chorus Line” at Geyer Performing Arts Center is a real test of her stamina. In addition to choreographing the musical, she also plays Diana, whom she describes as “a fun-loving and sarcastic character,” a part that requires her, among other...

On the one-year anniversary of the Feb. 14, 2018, school shooting in Parkland, Fla., seven universities across the country, including Point Park University in Pittsburgh, will host a staged reading of the award-winning Off-Broadway play, “Church & State.” The play tells the story of a gun-loving senator running for reelection,...

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s 50th Anniversary Celebration will include five major programs offering a wide range of dance from Romantic era mainstays to new works by choreographers with strong ties to Pittsburgh. Artistic director Terrance Orr says the company is doing well, and boasts an exceptional roster of dancers and a...

Planning a season of opera is a complex undertaking. It’s not just finding the right blend between adventurous new works that advance the artform and the established repertoire audiences already love. There’s also finding performers who will bring their roles to vivid life and choosing fresh, appealing productions. “What interesting...

Actor Brendan Conaway of Plum says portraying Clyde Barrow in Split Stage Productions’ musical adaptation of “Bonnie and Clyde” is the most challenging role he’s ever played. “It requires so much energy both physically and vocally,” he says. “It’s an emotional roller coaster for me and Victoria (Buchtan) from the...

Stage Right Artistic Director Tony Marino is about to stretch the limits of that old stage adage that promises “the show must go on.” Marino assures his audience that he and his cast of actors will be ready to roll when the curtain goes up at Greensburg’s The Palace Theatre...

Saint Vincent College Players will present four performances of the musical comedy “Damn Yankees” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 15 and 16, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Performing Arts Center of the Robert S. Carey Student Center. General admission tickets will be available beginning one hour prior...

NEW YORK — Ever since the historical musical “Hamilton” began its march to near-universal infatuation, one group has noticeably withheld its applause — historians. Many academics argue the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, the star of our $10 bills, is a counterfeit. Now they’re escalating their fight. Ishmael Reed, who has...

The Cabaret Theatre will present the absurdist comedy, “Funicello’s Birthday,” from Feb. 6-16 in the Olde Main Building, 350 Main St., Latrobe. The play’s title refers to the late actress and singer Annette Funicello, first known as a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club. “It doesn’t matter whether anyone...