Like so many theaters, Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse season came to an abrupt halt last spring after the first performance and only performance of the eagerly awaited Pippin.
Today, during the opening concert of its inaugural summer music festival, Inside/Outside, the Playhouse announced its 2021-2022 season. Artistic Director Garfield Lemonius and Managing Director Drew Martorella unveiled a robust season filled with an eclectic and inclusive mix of art, performance, music, film, and spoken word. The new season aims to reimagine the Playhouse’s mission, embrace community and contemporary performance, along with celebrating the work of the university’s renowned Conservatory of Performing Arts theatre and dance students.
Managing Director Drew Martorella
The gathering for the announcement Thursday was held in an indoor-outdoor setting on Forbes Avenue, with the Playhouse’s Highmark Studio Theater opened wide to the patio and outside steps. Before announcing the season, Lemonius, called the Downtown Playhouse “a national treasure and a Pittsburgh treasure.” The facility opened in 2018.
“Our season is quite distinctive this year as we expand our repertoire to include more artistic experiences,” said Garfield Lemonius, who is also the Acting Dean of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. “This season is unlike anything we’ve ever presented. It’s wholly different and entirely Point Park University. We invite everyone to join us to rediscover community, connect, and celebrate the greatest of unifiers – the arts.”
Artistic Director Garfield Lemonius announces
the upcoming Playhouse season at a Downtown
event on June 24, 2021.
PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS: THE ARTISTS SERIES FEATURING INNOVATIVE AND INSPIRATIONAL PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING ARTISTS
The Rivers Don’t Know
September 7 – 19, 2021
By James McManus
Directed by Michael John GarcésInspired by stories from the community, The Rivers Don’t Know explores the experiences of refugees and immigrants in Pittsburgh. Through three interlocking stories of a 1940s steel miller worker, a Somali family, and a class of ESL students, the production explores what it means to call the steel city
home.
And So We Walked
October 23, 2021
DeLanna Studi, Cherokee performance artist, and activist, performs her frank, heartwarming and inspiring
story about a contemporary Cherokee woman and her father who embark on an incredible 900-mile
journey along the Trail of Tears.
Dancing Wheels
November 6, 2021
The Dancing Wheels Company considered one of the premier arts and disabilities organizations in
The United States is a professional, physically integrated dance company uniting the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities. With dancers representing the diversity of age, ethnicity, gender, and physical ability, the Company embodies the message of equality and accessibility.
Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Holiday Concert co-produced with MCG Jazz
December 22, 2021
The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra (PJO) is one of the finest ensembles in the country and is comprised of top jazz musicians from the Pittsburgh region. The orchestra’s holiday celebration concert has become a
tradition for families all over the Greater Pittsburgh region as a way to take a break from the busy prep of the season. The critically acclaimed PJO recording, “Joyful Jazz,” was one of the top holiday albums of
2015 and continues to receive widespread airplay each holiday season. The concert will feature music from the album as well as some special new surprises.
Paul Taylor Dance Company
January 29, 2022
Celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Paul Taylor, “the most inventive and versatile choreographer of our time,” (New York Post). In honor of Taylor’s wide-ranging and impactful repertoire, “one of the most
exciting, innovative, and delightful dance companies in the entire world,” (The New York Times), Paul
Taylor Dance Company’s return to Pittsburgh is a tribute to a true dance icon.
American Moor
Written and performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb
Directed by Kim Weild
February 16 – 20, 2022
The theatrical event of the season! A tour-de-force performance. As an experienced, African American actor auditions for Othello, he is met with prejudice, racism, and privilege while negotiating with a young, white director who presumes to understand Shakespeare’s Moorish prince far better than the performer standing before him. By combining an audition from hell and a cutting, laugh-out-loud internal monologue, American Moor challenges the capacity of theatre to make all people fully visible and embraced. Written and performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb, American Moor’s electric storytelling explores the inequities of life as a Black actor and life as a Black man.
Resistance Revival Chorus
April 3, 2022
The Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC) is a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance and to uplift and center women’s voices.
CONSERVATORY THEATRE SEASON
Curtains
October 13 – 17, 2021
It’s the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959. Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night
performance of a new musical. When the leading lady mysteriously dies on stage, the entire cast & crew
are suspects. Enter a local detective, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan! Packed with glorious
tunes and a witty, charming script filled with delightful characters, Curtains is a hilarious journey for both
performers and the audience. The Broadway production garnered 8 nominations at the 2007 Tony
Awards® including Best Musical.
Little Children Dream of God
November 3 – 14, 2021
On a balmy night in Miami, soon-to-be mother, Sula, floats ashore from her native Haiti determined to forge a better life in America for her unborn son. But even as the life hoped for appears within reach, Sula knows she can’t outrun her past forever. Little Children Dream of God is a dark yet hopeful drama about learning to start a new life by facing the one you left behind.
TBD
December 8 – 19, 2021
The Children’s Hour
February 16 – 27, 2022
By Lillian Hellman
One of the most compelling plays from this great American writer, The Children’s Hour is a powerful and timely story of how one malicious lie can undermine the lives of good people. It’s a serious adult play that reminds us that truth is often elusive and dire consequences can grow from selfish deception and lies.
Spring Awakening
March 16 – 20, 2022
The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, told by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater through what Entertainment Weekly called, “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade,” Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood with a poignancy and passion that is illuminating and unforgettable. This landmark musical is an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality, and rock and roll that’s
exhilarated audiences across the nation like no other musical in years.
Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches
April 6 – 17, 2022
One of America’s most ambitious plays, Angels in America is a monumental artistic achievement. Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, Tony Kushner’s work is at once playful and profound, extravagantly theatrical, and extraordinarily entertaining. A night at the theater not to be missed!
CONSERVATORY DANCE SEASON
The 2021 – 2022 dance season offers an exceptional array of works from the dance world including ballet, modern, contemporary, commercial jazz dance, and hip hop. A compelling blend of masterworks from icons of dance such as Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Bob Fosse will anchor the season. And to broaden and provoke audiences’ view of dance, the Playhouse is bringing in the sophistication and intricacies of contemporary trendsetters like Justin Peck, making this one of the most memorable dance seasons in Pittsburgh Playhouse history.
Contemporary Choreographers
October 13 – 17, 2021
Featuring works by Teena Marie Custer, Norbert De La Cruz II, Al Blackstone, and Jessica Lang
Fall Student Choreography Project
November 10 – 14, 2021
Featuring cutting-edge, fresh work by some of the top young artists in the country
Winter Dance Concert
December 15 – 19, 2021
Featuring works by Justin Peck, Penny Saunders, Jason McDole, and Camille A. Brown
Faculty ChoreoLab
February 16 – 20, 2022
Illuminating the fierce creativity and talent of the Conservatory’s dance faculty and students
Spring Student Choreography Project
March 23 – 27, 2022
Featuring more cutting-edge, fresh work by some of the top young artists in the country
Spring Dance Concert April 20 – 24, 2022
Featuring works by George Balanchine, Bob Fosse, Rennie Harris, and Martha Graham
Subscriptions for the 2021-22 season are on sale now. Subscriptions may be purchased by calling 412-392-8000 or emailing boxoffice@pointpark.edu. Visit pittsburghplayhouse.com for more information.
Individual tickets will go on sale on August 1, 2021, at the Playhouse box office, online at pittsburghplayhouse.com, or by calling 412-392-8000.
Categories: Feature