Pittsburgh CLO’s Kara Cabaret series returns to the Greer Cabaret Theater with The Rocky Horror Show, plus wrap-around events that include a RHS Drag Brunch and Late Night Costume Contests. The company calls the production “an important milestone as the CLO does the ‘time warp’ to attract the next generation of audience members, with new shows and related experiences.”
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: NEW HORIZON’S ‘SISTAS’ AT KELLY STRAYHORN
New Horizon Theater helped theater-goers ride out the July heat in East Liberty, making beautiful noise at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, following a season Downtown, with host Pittsburgh Public Theater.
Mining decades of popular music by the likes of Ma Rainey and Billie Holiday, to The Supremes, Alicia Keyes and Beyoncé, the “Sistas” – four Black women and their white sister-in-law – share memories, unearth revelations, forge reconciliations and tighten bonds while sifting through attic treasures after their matriarch’s death.
Their trip through family life also opens the door to many hard-won and inspiring lessons from the history of Black women in America.
When I saw the final performance on Sunday, July 27, the talented cast featured Karla C. Payne, Tasha Michelle, Angelique S. Strothers, and Jenny Malarkey, plus 2024 PG Performer of the Year Melessie Clark, showing her range as Tamika, representing the family’s younger generation. Clark recently appeared in Goddess, a musical produced at New York’s Public Theater.
Willa “Katy” Cotten also appeared in part of the New Horizon run of playwright Dorothy Marcic’s Sistas, which opened off-Broadway in 2011 and stayed more than nine years. A shout out to the team behind the production, under the direction of Eileen J. Morris, with musical direction by Dwayne Fulton and choreography by Mils “M. J.” James, plus another in a long line of evocative sets by Herb Newsome. – By Sharon Eberson
“Ten 10-minute plays celebrating the weird and wonderful heart of Pittsburgh.”
SOMETHING NEW: ALL THINGS PITTSBURGH PLAY FESTIVAL
The All Things Pittsburgh Play Festival – 10 original, 10-minute plays by local playwrights – gets underway this weekend at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s newly refurbished Three Stories Peirce Theater, Downtown.
Ensemble Actors Studio introduced the company of more than 50 local artists, “who bring the heart, hustle, and hilarious charm that only Pittsburgh can.” The way it works: Writers choose the actors they want to write for, and “every part in these plays is written specifically for the person performing it. Playwrights get 10 days to write a script from scratch. Directors get 10 days to bring it to life with their cast. And then … the curtain goes up.
More details: https://onstagepittsburgh.com/2025/07/01/a-wave-of-theater-washes-over-pittsburgh-for-summer-2025/, The All Things Pittsburgh Play Festival is 8 p.m. August 1-2 and 2 p.m. August 3 at Three Stories Peirce Theater, 937 Liberty Ave, Downtown. Tickets: $20 at https://www.ensembleactors.com/theater-co.https://www.ensembleactors.com/event-list
PSO’S SCHOOLTIME CONNECTS STUDENTS WITH MUSIC
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has announced the 2025-26 schedule for the free program Schooltime, noting significant growth last year, with an 8.5% increase in participating districts and a 5.6% rise in schools. The PSO has set a goal of reaching 100% of Allegheny County school districts, beginning by introducing a new bus fund for schools with low-income enrollment.
Schooltime brings K–12 students into the world of orchestral music, in person and online. In the upcoming season, Schooltime will include an “All-American Edition” of the Meet the Orchestra program and an open call for music scores from Pennsylvania composers. Registration for will be available starting Friday, August 1, at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/schooltime.
RAGE OF THE STAGE REVIVES POPULAR ‘DOROTHY IN OZ’
Something more wicked than Wicked this way comes: For year No. 24, Rage of the Stage players is reviving Dorothy in Oz, “what is arguably our most “POP-u-lar” production,” written by James Michael Shoberg. Dorothy in Oz is a twisted take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, featuring “dark and mature humor,” with references to the original children’s novel, the 1939 film, The Wiz (1978), Return to Oz (1985), and, of course, Wicked. The play runs 8 p.m. August 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14 and 14, plus a 2 p.m. matinee on August 10, at the Margaret Partee Performing Arts Center, 523 Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue. Tickets and details: https://www.rageofthestage.com/2025/07/06/dorothy-in-oz/.
REGIONAL MUSIC FEST SUPPORTS IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
All Together Now!, a benefit music festival for Pittsburgh’s immigrant community, will bring together local musicians, community leaders, and residents for four days of music and solidarity, August 7-10, at various venues in the Greater Pittsburgh region. All proceeds will support the Collaborative for Immigrant Impact, a network of 18 Pittsburgh-based organizations that serve as a safety net for over 20,000 immigrants in our community.
Featured Performers Include: Clinton Clegg, Buffalo Rose, The Buckle Downs, John Gresh Gris-Gris, Polkamaniacs, Cisco Kid, Nied’s Hotel Band, Jon Bindley, townsppl, Small Hours, Penna Players, Devilish Mary, The Doo Wop Doctors, JasonBorisoff & Dave Shepherd, Jagtime Millionaire, Whiskey River, VZHM Acoustic Union, Turkey Foot, and more.
All musicians, bands, and venues are offering their time or spaces for free. For more information and tickets, visit https://alltogetherpgh.com/schedule-tickets/
TAKE IN SQUONK’S ‘BROUHAHA’ AT THE LIBRARY
Squonk Opera’s latest Brouhaha performance is scheduled for August 10 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main (Oakland), before the unique local performance artists head back out on tour. Brouhaha is an immersive outdoor spectacle, bursting with rollicking music, dazzling imagery, and the thrill of audience participation. Squonk will perform as part of the Summer Reading Extravaganza, hosted by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. For details, visit: https://www.carnegielibrary.org/event/extravaganza
PBT TRADITION ‘UNDER THE STARS’ RETURNS TO HARTWOOD
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is back at Hartwood Acres for the free Ballet Under the Stars outdoor performance, on August 24. The program includes: Emeralds and Stars and Stripes Pas de Deux (George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust) excerpts; The Mighty Casey (Lisa de Ribere) excerpt; Three Preludes (Ben Stevenson) excerpt; Angels in the Architecture (Mark Godden); Falling Forward (Caili Quan); Dracula (Matthew Griffin); and Finale (Madison Russo). Details: Visit https://pbt.org/performances/hartwood/
NEW HAZLETT INVITES YOU TO A BLOCK PARTY
The New Hazlett Theater’s free Northside Arts Block Party is 2-6 p.m. August 8, featuring art, music and food, while “celebrating the creativity of their neighborhood.” The event includes Shiftworks, Saturday Light Brigade, City of Asylum, Artist Image Resource, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and more, with live music, art activities for all ages, local food trucks, and theater tours. Details: https://newhazletttheater.org/events/block-party/
IN MEMORIAM: BRIAN EDWARD, GEORGE GREER
The Pittsburgh community lost a bright light when theater artist Brian Edward, the Sewickley native, Point Park alumnus and founder of the video interview show ‘Burgh Vivant, died on July 12, at age 44. His legacy of artistry, advocacy and joy lives on in the many artists and patrons whose lives he touched. Learn more about Brian in Michael Buzzelli’s QBurgh tribute here. … George Greer, a lifetime trustee on the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Board of Directors and steadfast supporter of the arts in Pittsburgh, died at age 92, on July 26. In a social media post, the Trust said: “His dedication, vision and kindness left an indelible mark on our community. We will be dimming the marquee at the Greer Cabaret Theater this week in his honor.” For more, visit https://bit.ly/4mnK7RG.
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