Our 2017 Summer Musical Preview features a mixed bag of musicals from the interactive Clue, the zany Spamalot to three “serious†musicals exploring life’s purpose; Avenue Q, Pippin and Big Fish.
Do you like board games? Then Clue is for you! This interactive musical is based on the popular game of the same name. The plot revolves around solving the murder of Mr. Brody at a mansion that is occupied by several possible suspects.
The audience deduces the solution from clues given throughout the performance. The audience chooses from 216 possibilities incorporating the potential murderers, weapons and rooms! Only one hard-nosed female detective is qualified to unravel the merry mayhem. Even after the culprit confesses, a surprise twist awaits.
Clue: The Musical by the Summer Company. Directed by Justin Sines at the new Genesius Theater on the campus of Duquesne University. Performances run June 15th through the 25th
Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 students available at the Box Office or online here.
If Stage 62’s rollicking production of Peter and the Starcatcher is any indication of their ability to do comedy, then their take on Monty Python’s Spamalot is bound to be a hysterical funfest. Spamalot borrows from, well honestly it actually rips off, Monty Python and the Holy Grail transforming the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable into a classic Broadway musical. Of course there are showgirls, knights, cows and fabulous French people. Did I mention the killer rabbits?
Spamalot presented by Stage 62. Performances Thursday to Saturday, Jul. 20th to 22nd and 27th to 29th at 8 p.m., Sunday Matinees on July 23rd and 30th at 2 p.m.
Laugh until it hurts at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie, PA
Tickets:Â Adults: $20, Students/Seniors: $15 available here.
The Tony Award winning Pippin is the story of a young prince and heir to the throne, who is searching for his own “corner of the sky†as told by a traveling troupe of actors led by the cunning and charming Leading Player. After he returns from college, Pippin searches for a fulfilling purpose in life. The Leading Player encourages Pippin to experiment: dabble in bloody battles, go for licentious and lusty sexual entanglements, and try out savvy political maneuvers. Despite his adventures, Pippin discovers that finding one’s life significance is really way more complicated than he thought. There are as many interpretations as to the shows meaning, as there are productions. Watch and see if you can figure it out.
Carnegie Mellon alumni Stephen Schwartz wrote the now classic show tunes originally while at CMU as a student production. Rumor has it not one word or note from the original CMU production made it to the Broadway version!
Pippin is in residence the Theatre Factory in Trafford, PA with performances July 7th through 23rd at 8 p.m. and Sunday the 17th and 23rd at 2 p.m.
Tickets: Adults $18, Seniors & Students $16, visit www.theatrefactory.com or call 412-374-9200
Imagine if Sesame Street was for adults. This is the premise of Avenue Q, a place where puppets are friends, Monsters are good and life lessons are learned. Avenue Q is the winner of three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score. The show tells the story of Princeton, a lad just out of college who moves to a sketchy apartment way out on Avenue Q.
Instead of “10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1†and “One of These Things is Not Like the Otherâ€, Avenue Q serves up “We’re all a Little Bit Racistâ€, “The Internet is for Pornâ€, “It Sucks to be Meâ€, and I’m Not Wearing Underwear Todayâ€. Princeton and his newfound Avenue Q friends, all who grew up as unique people; searching for jobs, dates and their ever-elusive purpose in life.
The Alumni Theater Company is comprised of all Black performers. Like most musicals, Avenue Q was not written by or for Black people. According to Alumni Founding Director Hallie Donner “The cast and creative team are working together to bring meaning and relevance to this performance from the perspective of young Black Americans.â€
Donner says “Avenue Q is about twenty-something’s finding purpose in life. That couldn’t be more relevant to us. Yet the show’s casual attitude of “just relax” and let life happen to you and it will all work out is very much a viewpoint created through the lens of white privilege. We look forward to challenging audiences with our take on this theme.â€
The Alumni Theatre Company’ production of Avenue Q is located at the New Hazlett Theatre in the North Side with performances on July 28th, 29th, and 30th. For tickets visit https://www.artful.ly/store/events/11504 Â
Front Porch Theatricals is excited to put Big Fish in the directing hands of Pittsburgh native Spencer Whale, a vibrant young storyteller and Cornell University graduate.
Big Fish is a magnificent whopper of a tale that centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest… and then some! Edward tells incredible, larger-than-life stories that thrill everyone around him. His adult son, Will, is no longer amused by his father’s fantastical tales and insists on a rational rather than an exaggerated account of his father’s life. When Edward’s health declines and Will learns that he and his wife, Josephine, will have a son of their own, Will decides to find out his father’s “true†life story, once and for all.
Big Fish is a heartfelt, powerful, and truly magical musical about fathers, sons, and the stories that we use to define our identities.  Big Fish is a show that’s richer, funnier and BIGGER than life itself.
This will be Whales’s return to musical theatre in Pittsburgh after he won a Gene Kelly Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role when he was a student at North Hills High School before he attended Cornell University. Billy Hartung plays Edward Bloom and Kristiann Menotiades is his wife Sandra.
Big Fish by Front Porch Theatricals at the new Hazlett Theatre on the North Side. Performances run August 18th to 27th. Tickets: Adults: $30 online; $35 at the door; Students, Groups and Artists; $24 and are on sale now on ShowClix! https://www.showclix.com/event/big-fish
It looks like we are in for an interesting Summer Musical season again this year! Enjoy.
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Categories: Feature