When presenting a show as widely known and frequently told as A Lyrical Christmas Carol, it becomes important for a production company to breathe fresh life into the show, or at least to be excellent storytellers. Pittsburgh Musical Theater did… Read More ›
Month: December 2017
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is an annual choreography performance put on by Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School’s dance department. Dancers from second grade up to twelfth appeared in this rendition for the weekend-long event. Based on the 1816 novel by E.T.A…. Read More ›
FEMME
Femininity is rarely allowed to exist or function outside of intentional or unintentional archetypes. Since so much of the conception of femininity coincides with the process of othering or making women into The Other, it is inevitable that femininity slides… Read More ›
Amahl and the Night Visitors
“What brings you joy?” asks Resonance Works | Pittsburgh board of directors president Rob Frankenberry. There is certainly joy in listening to live classical music. There is joy in the artistry of skilled musicians. There is joy in the unadorned… Read More ›
That Time of the Year
We are at the Lamp Theatre in Irwin for the final dress rehearsal and a preview of Split Stages production of That Time of the Year which begins its two-day run tonight. Split Stage Productions co-owners Rob Jessup and Nate… Read More ›
In the Company of Oscar Wilde
The thing we seem to forget about legendary creative radicals like Oscar Wilde is that they were, in a word, radicals. Oscar Wilde may have been a student of literary history, but his work was prescient. To Wilde, society was… Read More ›
The Gift of the Maji
The Gift of the Magi was adapted by Jon Jory from a 1905 short story by O. Henry. Logically enough given the genre of origin, the play is fairly short and condensed. The narrative traces newlyweds Della and Jim… Read More ›
Midnight Radio A Christmas Story
Bricolage Production Company created a brilliant episode in their Midnight Radio series when they opened the audiovisual masterpiece A Christmas Story on December 7th. Based on the cult classic film, that practically runs 24/7 on TNT/TBS during December, the plot… Read More ›
A Musical Christmas Carol
When I walked into the Byham Theater to see Pittsburgh CLO’s A Musical Christmas Carol for the very first time, I let out an involuntary “Wow!”. The impact of D Martyn Bookwalter’s set is nothing short of breathtaking. Antique artifacts… Read More ›
A Christmas Carol
Everything about The Steel City Shakespeare Center’s (SCSC) production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol surprised me. This was my first SCSC performance and I have to admit, I kind of want to go back today and watch the show again. For weeks I… Read More ›