A letter from the Editor,

According to Punxsutawney Phil, Spring is still another two weeks away, yet we couldn’t help but look ahead to the next three months and we are excited! Spring is a time for musicals, season finales and pulling out your light jacket in exchange for your winter coat.

Our writing team is continuing to grow and flourish so stay tuned for even more coverage of Pittsburgh’s theater scene coming up. We’ll be diving head first into the Fourth Annual Pittsburgh Fringe Festival at the end of March, finding out why Peter and the Starcatcher is such a popular show, not just in Pittsburgh but the rest of the country, and check in with some old friends like Little Lake Theater and the Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh (MTAP).

We would love to hear from our readers and follow along with your theater adventures so keep in touch with us on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #SpringwithPITR.

Happy Spring!

Mara E. Nadolski

Let’s start off with the Top 5 shows we’re looking forward to this Spring!

#5 – 4.48 Psychosis – off the WALL Productions: While maintaining their commitment to supporting the underrepresented female artist comes off the WALL Productions’ season finale: 4.48 Psychosis, author Sarah Kane’s final work before her untimely suicide. With a script that reads more like a poem, off the WALL will give us a peek inside Kane’s particular case of clinical depression. We’ll have a lot to think about in this Pittsburgh Premiere opening at Carnegie Stage April 21st.

For tickets and more information, click here. 

#4 – Oedipus Rex – PICT Classic Theatre: PICT bounces into 2017 swinging with the Sophocles classic Oedipus Rex. A royal murder, a few prophecies, and a little incest are all one needs to realize you just can’t escape fate. Opening their third show at their new home in the Union Project, PICT promises many favorite Pittsburgh actors in this new take on a play that is well over two thousand years old starting March 23rd.

For tickets and more information, click here. 

#3 – Patience – Pittsburgh Savoyards: Last seen from the Savoyards in 2009, Patience was one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s longest running shows when it opened in 1881. The story of a milkmaid stuck in an unwanted love triangle stars some Pittsburgh Savoyards’ favorites, like Mia Bonnewell and Board President Michael Greenstein. This classic satire opens March 3rd at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.

For tickets and more information click here. 

#2 – Hercules Didn’t Wade in the Water – Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company: Rounding out their 2017 season of world premieres, Pittsburgh Playwrights presents us with a drama, with comedy, set amongst the wreckage of one of the worst disasters in modern America: Hurricane Katrina. Playwrights’ regular Wali Jamal slides into the director’s role to guide us through the story of two sets of people just trying to survive. Hercules Didn’t Wade in the Water opens at Pittsburgh Playwrights May 6th.

For tickets and more information, click here. 

#1 – Forever Plaid – The Lamp Theatre Players: After many ups and downs
getting here, The Lamp Theatre in Irwin, PA finally held its grand opening a little over six months ago. Since then they’ve held many events, from Split Stage Productions’ performances to classic rock cover bands. Now the Lamp has its own performing company, The Lamp Theatre Players, set to produce their inaugural show, Forever Plaid. The 1989 musical revue will open March 3rd, 80 years after the Lamp Theatre first opened its doors.

For tickets and more information, click here.

While we’ve got you, check out our Top 5 Musicals you don’t want to miss here!

Stage 62 is starting up their 55th season this year and we’ve got the inside scoop here.

Check out what 12 Peers Theater has up their sleeve this year in Mark’s preview here. 

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the Pittsburgh Festival Opera lately, (formerly known as the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s SummerFest). We have an inside look at next installment of their Music That Matters A Gathering of Sons here. 

Get the scoop on all the hot parties and fundraisers with our roundup of Pittsburgh’s gala season. Check it out here. 

And once again, our busiest weekend of the year is rapidly approaching: the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival. Here are some highlights of what to expect this year.

Steel City Shakespeare will be announcing their 2017 season any minute now, brush up on your SCSC knowledge with our Jeffrey Chips Artist Spotlight. 

Winter got to be a busy season, here’s some of what we covered in the last few months:

Rust by the Duquesne Red Masquers

As One at the Pittsburgh Opera

The Complete History of America (abridged) at the Theatre Factory

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by the University of Pitt Stages

The Royale at City Theatre

Woody’s Order! at the Pittsburgh Playhouse

Twelfth Night at the Pittsburgh Public Theater

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by barebones productions

Cabaret by Split Stage Productions

Into the Woods at Comtra

Midnight Radio Holiday Spectacular at Bricolage

Mr. Marmalade at CMU

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Quantum Theatre

Unbolted by Attack Theatre

Categories: Feature