By Sharon Eberson
Thoughts of cabaret nights in Pittsburgh usually conjure the local and national headliners who grace the Greer Cabaret, Downtown. But some familiar names, in a perhaps unfamiliar place, are adding to the cabaret scene in our region.
The monthly show Hometown Talent has arisen in West Mifflin, at The Philippine Center of Pittsburgh, to benefit the Filipiniana Room and Stage Renovation.
This coming Friday, the 13th, the theme is AANHPI (Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander) Heritage, featuring local singers, including students from Carnegie Mellon and one from Shadyside Academy.
Hometown Talent began with a call to Pittsburgh performer, choreographer, and educator Alex Manalo from Don Mike Mendoza, of the expanding national company La-Ti-Do Productions.
La-Ti-Do’s mission is to be “a premier community of cultural and artistic diversity and inclusion through music and spoken word collaboration … and reignite the conversation in the artistic community on cabaret performances.” Besides Pittsburgh, there are now series in Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and Northern Virginia, with another soon added in Dallas-Fort Worth.
When Mendoza reached out to Manalo, a fellow Filipino, her reaction was, “There’s a need, so let’s do it.”
Finding a venue was the next step, and the thought was initially typical spaces, “like in the basement of a bar.” But Manalo’s mother is president, and Mendoza is a board member of the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh, which now co-sponsors the series and has given it its home.
Manalo was born and raised in the North Hills and attended Point Park University, and Mendoza hosts the shows. The cabaret is called Hometown Talent because “Pittsburgh people love Pittsburgh things. It’s not a brand name yet, but I have tried to cast everyone who is Pittsburgh based.” Each show features a different theme, and performers who have taken to the stage in West Mifflin include Tru Verret-Fleming, Catherine Kolos, Caroline Nicolian, Quinn Patrick Shannon, and Melessie Clark.
They have not yet added the La-Ti-Do element of spoken word performance but, for now are booking six to seven performers with an eye toward diversity. Tickets are $25 and include a to-go pack of Filipino food,
“It’s a kind, small thing but growing,’ said Manalo, who works at CLO Academy and can be seen on stage in Front Porch Theatricals’ upcoming Grand Hotel, which she also choreographed. “We started with a 15-person audience, and in March, we had 50 people, And now we are spreading the word to keep people coming out to West Mifflin. If you’ve gone to Kennywood, now you can come out that way, get some food, see something different and listen to some great local talent.” For more information and tickets visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hometown-talent-aanhpi-celebration-show-tickets-327493861957
Categories: Feature Stories, Show Previews
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