With news about the O’Reilly Theater, New Horizon Theater, the Henry Mancini Awards, and the 2026 Golden Quills
🎭 IKYMI:
- NEWS: Pittsburgh Public Staff All Laid Off on a Dark Day for Local Professional Theater
- FEATURE: 14 Community Theaters Featured in Downtown Pittsburgh Showcase
- REVIEW: When Ballet Makes Us Laugh: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
- REVIEW: ‘Working’ Musical Uncovers the Lives Behind the Livelihoods
- REVIEW: Waiting for Movement: News of a Difference in Beth Corning’s ‘Foolish Assumptions’
NEXT AT THE O’REILLY THEATER: NEW HORIZON THEATER
With the dust settling from the layoffs at Pittsburgh Public Theater, the company’s Downtown home, the O’Reilly Theater, continues to show some signs of life in the near future. While the Dollar Bank Lobby Series appears to have ended with the Pittsburgh Community Theater Showcase — no new events are listed on the website — but the third-floor Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall continues as the home of New Horizon Theater’s next show: Coconut Cake by Melda Beatty, directed Eileen J. Morris. The story about “friendship, aging, and the unspoken weight men often carry — especially when it comes to the women in their lives and the secrets they keep,” runs May 28-June 14, 2026. New Horizon’s move to the venue was part of Public Presents, “a series of performances and events brought to the O’Reilly Theater by community organizations, theater companies, and non-profits.” Upcoming on the O’Reilly’s mainstage in July: Alumni Theater Company’s Once on This Island.
Check out the recent WQED profile New Horizon Theater 👇
🎟️ COCONUT CAKE TICKETS: https://ppt.org/production/105347/list_performances
PICT: BARDS FROM THE BURGH NOW; ROLLING PREMIERE IN OCTOBER
Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre did a quick turnaround at Carnegie Stage for the fourth annual Bards From the Burgh reading series, following last week’s two-day fundraiser that included staged readings of the English Bard’s A Winter’s Tale (partly in Italian, mostly as read by Johnny Patalano, as a nod to the setting in what is modern-day Sicily. Read more about Bards From the Burgh at onstagepittsburgh.com and find tickets at https://pictclassictheatre.ludus.com/index.php
While Bards From the Burgh concludes the current PICT season, Artistic Director Elizabeth Elias Huffman revealed that the next production is part of a rolling premiere of Refugee Rhapsody, set for October 9-26, 2026. The play is by Yussef El Guindi, an award-winning playwright who has his MFA from Carnegie Mellon. Huffman noted that during her PICT tenure, every playwright, no matter where they are in the world, has been brought to Pittsburgh, and El Guindi is set for a talkback in October. Refugee Rhapsody, as described at the New Play Exchange, is about, “Sakinah, an Arab-American woman, [who] undergoes a mental health evaluation to determine what led to the violent crime she committed against Emily, a rich heiress. The play explores race, class, privilege, and how those factors collide and play out in today’s culture.”
HENRY MANCINI AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Kash Stevenson of Beaver Falls High School and Jersey Diehl of Freeport Area High were chosen as the top actor and actress at the Henry Mancini Awards, recognizing outstanding work in musical theater in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties. Under the sponsorship of the Pittsburgh CLO, this year’s Mancini Awards are part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmys). That means that Stevenson, a sophomore, is eligible for his second trip to New York City, representing the Mancinis at the national Jimmy Awards. Best Musicals were Mohawk High School, Water for Elephants (Budget Level 1), Slippery Rock High School, Anastasia (Budget 2); Western Beaver Jr./ Sr. High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition (Budget 3); and Knoch High School, Hadestown: Teen Edition (Budget 4). A program of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, the Mancini’s attracted a record 21 schools in 2026.
🏆 Follow the Henry Mancini Awards on social media for all the winners. Pittsburgh CLO’s 2026 Gene Kelly Awards ceremony, for schools representing Allegheny County, are on Saturday, May 23, at the Benedum Center.
IT’S JOURNALISM AWARDS SEASON, TOO
- Congratulations to onStage Pittsburgh contributor Mingsi Ma for winning a Golden Quill Award for Arts Criticism at the May 18 ceremony honoring outstanding achievement in local journalism.
- onStage Pittsburgh’s Sharon Eberson is a 2026 Robert L. Vann Media Award finalist in the category of Digital Multimedia for the interview: “VIDEO CHAT: Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company Launches 3-Play August Wilson Experience in Hill District.” The Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s 37th annual Vann Media Awards ceremony is May 28, 2026, at Point Park University’s Lawrence Hall, Downtown.
🎟️ 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 What’s Happening on local stages at onStage Pittsburgh.
👉 Don’t forget — you can always explore the next two months of performances, organized by date or company, at onStage Pittsburgh.
👉 Did we miss your show? Send us your updates at info@onstagepittsburgh.com so we can share them in Listings and a future Call Board.
Categories: CALL BOARD, Our Posts
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