After being rejected from the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, eight theatre companies decided to create their own edgy opportunity by conceiving the Fringe Festival. Fast forward 6…
Two glasses of water sit on a table. One glass is pure, the other poisoned. Richard Keitel reads Nassim Soleimanpour’s words for the first time with revelation, by the end of this performa…
On my way to the Pittsburgh Playhouse the other night a rare thing happened: I was late. My bus was behind schedule and I had to run down the street, making it to the studio theater at 8:01…
Around the world this month, as the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s passing, thespians are especially recalling how they “met” Shakespeare. So, I’m now asking other Pittsb…
When giving tours as a docent at Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, I gleefully relished showing off a digital copy of a 400-year-old book. The words in the book a…
As the third show of Pittsburgh Musical Theater (PMT)’s “Magnificent Movie Musicals” season this year, Sister Act is an excitingly soulful production filled with blessings, laughs, g…
Sex with Strangers is an examination of anatomy, not solely the physical intimacy that the two characters’ share, but also the anatomy of a writer’s work, how once purely exposed is some…
Whether it’s movies, concerts, sporting events, or plays, everyone has their own form of escapism. Everyone has something they like to attend so they can forget about what’s going on in …
A good play has a message and uses the plot to make that message known. It creates developed characters who go through (usually) trying times and they learn something about themselves by the…
Mark Clayton Southers experienced August Strindberg’s Miss Julie as translated by Irish playwright Frank McGinnis back in 2008. While attending the Dublin Theater Festival, Southers consid…
Last weekend, Point Park’s Conservatory Theatre Company opened its production of The Bluest Eye, adapted from Toni Morrison’s book by Lydia R. Diamond and directed by Monica Payne. This …
Last Saturday, February 20th, Kimberly Richards was back in Pittsburgh teaching her class titled Sister’s Easter Catechism: Will My Bunny Go To Heaven? and schooling the audience on where …
To all eager readers, yes you get a glimpse of naked men, but the surprising strength of The Full Monty isn’t in the stripping of clothes, but rather in the stripping of the pride and dign…
A first date can be a living hell. Unless you’ve had very serious surgery or were a prisoner of war, you’ll probably agree first dates are hell. Two strangers who know absolutely nothing…
Stunning designs. Electrifying dance moves. And your classic 70’s disco. Yes, I am talking about the show that made the world fell in love with John Travolta. No I’m not talking about Gr…
The time is 1950. You are in New York City. And you’ve got a lady friend to flatter. What do you do? Fast forward to 2016. You are now in the Steel City. Same situation. How can you win ov…
After the lights go down in the spacious Javo Studios in upper Lawrenceville, a woman walks onstage with a glass of wine and a deck of cards. She sits at a table and begins to deal out a gam…
“I want some more!” Having just reviewed Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s newest production of Oliver in October, this was the first line popped into my head when I first heard the news th…
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley is a torrent of frustration, confusion, and kindness as two socially bereft characters make an awkward attempt at finding happiness. Adrif…
Red is the color of passion, energy, and action. Macbeth is fueled by these same psychological elements on his prophetic and treacherous path to the throne of Scotland. The Pittsburgh Classi…
For my second big show in Pittsburgh I had the great fortune to see Bricolage Production Company’s Yinz’r Scrooged Friday night, which is part of their Midnight Radio series. I don’t t…
Walking in to see my first Quantum Theatre production ever I had no idea what to expect. Chickens in the Yard by playwright Paul Kruse has given me a unique style to continue to look forward…
A couple of months ago I saddled up to my Netflix and watched the documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? For an hour or so I absorbed the story of singer/activist Nina Simone and got teary …
Some shows you just hear the name of or see a poster for and they scream “Comedy!” or “Tragedy!” or “Musical!”. In the case of A Servant to Two Masters at the Pittsburgh Public, …
Sight is arguably one of the most essential senses. With sight, one is able to perceive texture, color, and light. The Conservatory Theater Company at Point Park University brings each aspec…