It seems impossible that among the hundreds of scenic designs created by Tony Ferrieri for Pittsburgh theaters, Anything Goes marks his first set at the Benedum Center. The musical that open…
Vanessa Severo’s Solo Show Concludes Pittsburgh Public Theater Season By SHARON EBERSON Experiencing Vanessa Severo’s indelible portrayal of the artist Frida Kahlo, be prepared to be swe…
By SHARON EBERSON Of Frida Kahlo’s 143 known paintings, 55 are self-portraits. They are painted in bold strokes, with the artist’s face often in three-quarter pose, her eyes engaging the…
By SHARON EBERSON The alchemy of Every Brilliant Thing is a wonder that apparently works with just one consistent ingredient. Marcus Weiss is the lone actor, guide, soothing presence and oft…
Conceived by Pittsburgh Film Office and Pittsburgh Public Theater leaders, the initiative plans to train behind-the-scenes workers for union jobs By SHARON EBERSON Two dynamos meet at the Du…
By SHARON EBERSON The sparkling talent and dedicated drive were always there, pushing against walls of denial and prejudice. Then along came some dynamite named Lola, and Billy Porter became…
An hour-long program of highlights from the 2023 Gene Kelly Awards for High School Musical Theater Excellence can be viewed on CBS News Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 31, at 8 p.m. You can f…
By SHARON EBERSON Truisms abound in the laugh-out-loud comedy Chicken & Biscuits, with one in particular that bears repeating: “Family is a loaded word.” And to that I say, “Amen…
By SHARON EBERSON In a dazzling display of talent Saturday night, the big winners at the 2023 Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre were Our Lady of Sacred Heart, W…
Previews begin on May 25th By SHARON EBERSON Mental health is no joke, so a comedy about depression might seem like a contradiction. Not so, says Marcus Weiss, the performer at the center …
By Sharon Eberson Joe King got a call at just the right time. Sheree Goldstein wanted a recommendation to put on a drag show at the Square Cafe in East Liberty, and he wanted to try somethin…
By Sharon Eberson There’s a name on the cast list that might make you stop and say, “Whoa, that Sheldon Ingram?” Yes, indeed, it is the WTAE-TV reporter who has been branching out into…
By Sharon Eberson For those of us who lived through “The AIDS Crisis,” few things may astonish more than life-sustaining drugs advertised on network television. Yet that’s where we are…
By Sharon Ebderson Tacy Byham and Tomé Cousin were recipients of City Theatre’s annual Robert M. Frankel Awards today, May 20. The awards, bestowed since 1994, are named for the longtime …
Director Rob James and star Chad Elder chat about joys and challenges of rarely done musical By SHARON EBERSON Director, actor and educator Rob James is known as a Sondheim kind of guy, so i…
Nominees for the 2023 Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, representing 32 Allegheny County schools, were announced today. The annual awards ceremony and showcase…
By SHARON EBERSON Visually striking from start to finish, the production of American Fast currently holding court at City Theatre introduces us to a character I have not seen previously on t…
By SHARON EBERSON Mandy Patinkin, in one of his winking asides between songs Thursday night, murmured, “What was I thinking when I put this show together?” And who could blame him? Patin…
By SHARON EBERSON It’s the merry month of May on your calendar but it’s March Madness onstage at City Theatre. In his new play American Fast, Kareem Fahmy puts the NCAA Basketball Champi…
By SHARON EBERSON It’s Tony Awards Nominations Day, and as always, there were a few surprises emanating from the celebration of the best of Broadway. Some Like It Hot scored a leading 13 n…
Lauren Yee’s latest arrives at Pittsburgh Public Theater in a collaboration with Portland Theater By SHARON EBERSON The bittersweet road-trip comedy Young Americans has, itself, traveled a…
By SHARON EBERSON Susan Tsu, the award-winning costume designer and Carnegie Mellon professor, had just administered a final exam when her face popped up in close-up, a Zoom call. You could …
By SHARON EBERSON If you’ve been planning your local theater-going for the next month, you must have noticed the coincidence. It’s not that Pittsburgh Public Theatre Downtown and Cit…
Broadway’s Elizabeth Stanley, Lesli Margherita Join Hometown Stars Names familiar from the Golden Triangle to Broadway to Disney+ and beyond are aglow in Pittsburgh CLO’s 2023 summer sea…
By SHARON EBERSON With a unique display of First Folios as a backdrop, Quantum Theatre previewed its 2023-24 season, which includes Hamlet and the return to the scene of another Bard tragedy…