Prime Stage Theatre’s 26th season brings literature to life with new productions, continued partnerships, an expanded Prime Stage Sprouts program, and a new installment of their interactive mystery podcast series.

“Our 26th season is designed so everyone can enjoy literature being brought to life at the New Hazlett Theater with our partnerships, mainstage performances, accessibility performances, the partnership with the Holocaust Center that reaches local, national and international audiences, and our special Sprouts Children’s Theatre Series for younger audiences and families,” said Wayne Brinda, Prime Stage Theatre, Producing Artistic Director. 

Early in November, with Halloween still in the air, the new season opens with a classic tale with a contemporary twist. This world premiere production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein follows the epic chain of events that led to the creation of life and asks who really is the monster?

Adapted by Pittsburgh’s own Lawrence C. Connolly, an acclaimed sci-fi/mystery author, you will see eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley create one of the most horrifying and suspenseful stories ever written as Dr. Frankenstein brings the Creature to life. 

This vivid imaginative science fiction story is perfect for Connolly whose stories have appeared in the magazines Amazing Stories and Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, some of which were reprinted in volumes of Year’s Best Horror Stories, edited by Karl Edward Wagner. 

Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley is one of five friends that take shelter in a Swiss mansion as a storm rages. Before the night is over you will see her conceive one of the most horrifying and suspenseful stories ever written.

Connolly also writes and performs the Mystery Theatre podcasts for Prime Stage Theatre. The new chapter podcasts will be released during the run of Frankenstein. Listeners become part of the story as they follow the clues providing feedback to the author to contribute to the story as it is created. 

The production is directed by Liam Macik, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Mount Lebanon High School and a BA in Theatre Arts from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC. Macik served as the founding Artistic Director of Throughline Theatre Company for seven years. His directing credits include productions of Judgement at Nuremberg, Oedipus Rex, and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Macik directed last season’s production of Prime Stage Theatre’s Arsenic and Old Lace.

Frankenstein | Based on the novel by Mary Shelley | Adapted by Lawrence C. Connolly | Directed by Liam Macik | November 4 – 13, 2022

In January, to begin the second Prime Stage Sprouts Series presents Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Based on the actual events of her life and woven through with powerful spirituals, you discover the courageous journey and heartwarming adventures of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad as she freed herself and others from the world of slavery. She is best known as “The American Moses 

Harriett Tubman and the Underground Railroad | Adapted by Douglas Jones | Directed by Linda Haston | January 20 – 29, 2023

In March, The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe comes to life on stage. On a rainy day in London, four children step through a magical wardrobe and discover an enchanted kingdom filled with fantasy, mystical characters, and suspense as the world of Narnia, based on C.S. Lewis’ timeless book, comes to life. 

The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe | Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis| Dramatized by Joseph Robinette | Directed by Wayne Brinda | March 3 – 12, 2023

April brings the world premiere of Perseverance to the stage – a powerful memoir of healing and renewal. Few visitors to the G&S Jewelry Store in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood during the 1960s and ’70s were aware that the cheerful proprietor, Melvin Goldman, had spent his teens enduring the horrors of Auschwitz before arriving as a penniless refugee in postwar Pittsburgh intent on reshaping his family’s destiny. Adapted for the stage by L.E. McCullough from the book by Melvin Goldman and Lee Goldman Kikel, Perseverance: A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Poland to America depicts Goldman’s irrepressible spirituality, unflagging love for humanity, and perseverance as he worked to replace Darkness with Light, one shop patron at a time.

Each year through the power of theatre and partnerships, Prime Stage Theatre and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh enGAGE the world in education, understanding, and actions against the atrocities of genocide. Perseverance is this year’s enGAGE production

Perseverance | April 15 – 16, 2023

In May, Prime Stage Theatre presents 39 Steps. A man trapped in a boring life encounters a woman who claims to be a spy. Soon, she is murdered, and he gets entangled in a nationwide manhunt. Hitchcock’s suspenseful thriller becomes a fast-paced spy experience with intrigue and nonstop laughs as four actors bring 15 zany characters to life.  

39 Steps | Based on the novel by John Buchan | Adapted by Patrick Barlow | Directed by Scott P. Calhoon | May 5 – 14, 2023

June brings another Prime Stage Sprouts production – The Boxcar Children. Four orphaned children are running away from their grandfather, who they believe is cruel. They find an abandoned boxcar in the woods, then call it home, where they can survive suspenseful mysteries and stay together. 

The Boxcar Children | Based on the novel by Gertrude Chandler | Adapted by Barbara Field | Directed by Laura Wurzell | June 16 – 25, 2023

All Prime Stage performances are accessible to everyone. Prime Stage Theatre is the region’s only theater company to attain Certified Sensory Inclusive status through KultureCity, a leading nationwide nonprofit for using its resources to affect change for those with sensory needs. The Hazlett Theater, where Prime Stage Theatre presents its production, is ADA accessible.

For more information on Prime Stage’s 2022/23 season visit https://primestage.com/events/

All Prime Stage Theatre productions are at the New Hazlett Theater on the Northside.

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