With news on off the WALL and Carnegie Stage, and casting news from Prime Stage, Front Porch Theatricals, and independent Sixty-Nine—Seventy.
🎭 ICYMI from oSP:
- On the Road: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Announces 2026 European Tour: 13 Concerts, 6 Countries, 9 Cities
- What’s Next: Pittsburgh Public Theater Concludes 51st Season, Opens Doors to Alumni Theater Company
- Review: Corny As It May Seem, ‘Shucked’ Sows Seeds of Punny Fun
- Review: ‘Breadcrumbs’ at Carnegie Stage Explores Dementia
- Review: The Pleasures and Limits of Laughter – The Second City’s ‘Laugh Harder, Not Smarter’ at City Theatre
- Review: Pittsburgh Playhouse’s ‘Our Town’ is a Stoic Portrait of Mortality, Companionship, and the Passage of Time
(Images: Sharon Eberson)
END OF AN ERA: OFF THE WALL IS OFF TO ICELAND
The heartfelt production of Breadcrumbs at Carnegie Stage marks the bittersweet finale to 19 years of uncompromising theater-making by Hans Gruenert and Virginia Wall Gruenert, but only here in Pittsburgh. The founders of the popular Main Street venue and off the WALL productions are staying closer to their new home in Iceland, and will continue to produce theater, but in the Nordic Circle, where there are venues to be had rent-free, and you can keep ticket revenue, and other European countries.
The fate of Carnegie Stage, when the Gruenerts’ lease is up at the end of the year, is being negotiated. Here’s hoping that the accessible, agile black box theater is here to stay. The venue is currently being operated by Erika Cuenca, who, in Breadcrumbs, gave a masterfully controlled performance of a character whose life was out of control. She carried the weight of personal catastrophes affecting two characters with an air of helplessness and the blossoming of hope. Virginia Gruenert, as a writer whose dementia was stealing her words, one by one, presented as frail physically, but fierce in her desperation to stave off the thief. The ingenious use of Post-It notes by set designer Stephanie Mayer-Staley and director Ingrid Sonnichsen were constant reminders of what was being lost, while humanity remained intact.
While Breadcrumbs continues this weekend, here are some last words from oSP as Hans and Virginia depart after their nearly two-decade investment in providing a home for their own productions, as well as for other small, independent local theater companies: Thanks for the memories.
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: https://www.insideoffthewall.com/
CASTING ABOUT FOR WHAT TO DO? WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED
May signals summer blockbuster season at the movies, while local theater continues to heat up. Here’s some casting news from upcoming productions:
Prime Stage’s premiere of Speak, a play by Pittsburgh’s Tammy Ryan, directed by Dana Hardy, is at the New Hazlett Theater, North Side, May 1-3, 8-9, 2026. Based on the novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak tells, “A moving story about a teenage girl who uses art to find her voice and redefine her identity. The play is an empowering testament to resilience and finding one’s voice and strength.”
The cast: Milena Casciani (Rachel/Ensemble), a junior at Upper St Clair High School; Aylee Gardner (Melinda), a sophomore at Point Park University; Jacqueline Germer (Melinda 2), pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance at Carnegie Mellon University; Grace Gouwens (Heather/Ensemble) of Fox Chapel; actor, director, and producer Jeff Johnston (Mr. Freeman), making his Prime Stage debut; Sadie Karashin (Nicole/Ensemble/choreographer), an Our Lady of the Sacred Heart sophomore; Eamonn Mcelfresh (Andy/Ensemble), a senior at Pittsburgh CAPA who is heading to Ithaca College to pursue a BFA in acting; local actor Justin Mohr (Father/Ensemble); Zora Rose (Ivy/Ensemble), Pittsburgh CAPA; and Anne Marie Sweeney (Mother/Ensemble) and Evan Vay (David/Ensemble), in their Prime Stage debuts.
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: https://newhazletttheater.org/events/speak/
Also at the New Hazlett, Front Porch Theatricals kicks off its summer on May 15-17 and May 20-24, 2026, with the Tony-nominated Working, the musical adapted by Stephen Schwartz in 1978, and revised in 2012. Directed for Front Porch by Daina Michelle Griffith, with music direction by Douglas Levine, Working is based on Studs Terkel’s landmark 1974 oral-history book “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” The revised 2012 version includes songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Taylor, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, and Susan Birkenhead.
THE CAST: Cadee Velasquez (Woman 1), Melessie Clark (Woman 2), Vanessa Reseland (Woman 3), Matty Thornton (Man 1), Dylan Pal (Man 2), and Stefan Lingenfelter (Man 3).
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: https://newhazletttheater.org/events/working/.
Alex Manalo is back with her second independent production, the double-cast show Sixty-Nine — Seventy, by Michael Eichler and directed by Manalo at City Theatre on the South Side, May 14-17 and 21-24, 2026. The play is described as: “City Theatre’s lobby transforms into a bustling 1969 student union, placing you directly inside the world of the play. Instead of sitting at a distance, patrons step into the space where the action unfolds, surrounded by conversation, tension, and the pulse of a campus during a turbulent moment in history.”
CAST 69: Jack Senske (Barry), Marissa Lily (Naomi), Mal Mackenzie (Sharon), and Thomas B. Andrews (Andy). CAST 70: Cam Webb (Barry), Naomi Terrell (Naomi), Sarah Altomari (Sharon), and Nick Grosso (Andy).
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/sixtynineseventypgh/sixtynine-seventy
🎟️ Reminder: The discount ticket initiative Go See a Show! is ongoing, with 18 performing arts companies and Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama participating. Find tickets at https://www.goseeashowpgh.com/ and read all about via onStage Pittsburgh.
👉 Don’t forget—you can always explore the next two months of performances, organized by date or company, anytime at onStage Pittsburgh.
👉Did we miss your show? Send us your updates at info@onstagepittsburgh.com so we can share them in a future Call Board.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, CALL BOARD, Our Posts
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