With news about: 2026 Juneteenth schedule of events; ‘Hamlet: The Bad Quarto’; Quantum Theatre’s ‘The Tempest’; ‘Slings & Arrows’; Billy Porter reel; PSO & U.S. Steel partnership; MCG Jazz 250th Concerts; and more.
🎭 ICYMI:
- Updated: 2026 Pittsburgh Juneteenth Schedule of Events
- Review: Immersed in ‘Closing Time at the Moonside Cafe’, Where Audience Becomes Detective
- Review: Teen Girls Take a Wild Ride to Raising ‘Our Dear Dead Drug Lord
- Preview: Preview: Roméo & Juliette at the New Hazlett Theater
- Appreciation: A Night to Cherish: Pittsburgh CLO Concert Salutes 80 Years of Musical Theater
OPENING THIS WEEKEND: THE BAD QUARTO
Here’s a way to bring down the temperature: Instead of doom-scrolling, and after you’ve checked out what’s happening at onstagepittsburgh.com, lock on to your favorite live performing artists and organizations and see the work they are putting in to get you ready for their shows:
🎭 Hamlet: The Bad Quarto director Jeremy Seghers has had “A question for …” each cast member, and several at once, leading up to the play, opening Friday, June 19, 2026. For example, he asked of Ayden Freed, who plays Hamlet: What has been the most fulfilling aspect of working on this play? Answer: Being able to play. When I did things I didn’t even know were possible. When you feel so loose and free that you can truly listen to your body and the ensemble and just respond.
🛜 onSTAGE INTERVIEW: Twists in ‘The Bad Quarto’ Reveal Bard’s Early Approach to ‘Hamlet’
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: Hamlet: The Bad Quarto runs June 19-28, 2026, at the Richard E. Rauh Studio Theatre in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hamlet-the-bad-quarto-tickets-1987011305303.
🎭 On the Quantum Theatre website page for The Tempest, Karla Boos‘ directorial finale as Artistic Director of the company she founded 35 years ago, you will find links to “A Few Notes from the Director,” with the topics:
- “The Tempest and Cycles of History”
- “Shakespeare is better with Jeffrey Carpenter” (Boos’ observation: “Jeffrey Carpenter is a born Shakespearian. The text and its myriad meanings comes easily to this Swissvale native, and probably always did.”)
- “A Shakespeare Return”
- “Friends tackling famous roles”
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: The Tempest is at Carrie Furnaces July 17-August 23, 2026. https://www.quantumtheatre.com/tempest
🎭 Demaskus Theatre Collective has taken to social media to announce a casting call for a future Shakespeare project: The Tragedy of Othello, adapted by Frank D. Gonzalez. Details: https://www.instagram.com/demaskustheater
‘SLINGS & ARROWS’ AT 20: LIKE ‘THE PITT,’ BUT IT’S ABOUT THEATER
For some theater fans, Slings & Arrows is the gold standard of TV series about the obsessive, dedicated people who make regional theater. The too-short-lived Etoile, with a much bigger budget, on a much bigger stage, captured that same vibe for lovers of ballet. The Folger Shakespeare Library has honored the series by, “to paraphrase the question Stephen Colbert used to ask: Is Slings & Arrows a great television show, or the greatest television show? On its 20th anniversary, Austin Tichenor [Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company] takes a look at the 2003-2006 Canadian series about the struggles of a fictional Shakespearean theater.” Tichenor shares that, “When Slings & Arrows debuted on US television in 2005, it was hard to watch because its depiction of the chaos of creating theater—even as exaggerated and comical as it was—struck me as just too stressful and true to life (in the way I imagine some emergency room doctors and nurses must feel watching The Pitt).” Read the full post at https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/the-outrageous-fortune-of-slings-arrows
THEATER VIDEOS THAT HAVE US REELING
🎭 New York City Center has been posting videos of Billy Porter, Wayne Brady and company as the prepare musical numbers for the first all-Black production of La Cage Aux Folles (Through June 28, 2026). Watch a reel of Porter singing “Mascara” — “Everything’s fabulous!” — at https://www.facebook.com/reel/2196133334572674
🎭 We can’t get enough of the video of the curious cat that crashed the final death scene of a Turkish production of Romeo and Juliet. Maybe the kitty missed its first-act cue? (Mercutio to Tybalt, “Prince of Cats”: “Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives.”) O, live theater! And kudos to the cast that proved that the show must go on.
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND U. S. STEEL ANNOUNCE NEW COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and U.S. Steel have announced a new partnership designed to expand access to music education and community programming throughout the Mon Valley, with a particular focus on Braddock.
Rooted in a shared connection to Andrew Carnegie—who established his first steel mill in Braddock in 1875, opened the Braddock Carnegie Library in 1889, and served as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s first Board Chair—the partnership will support a range of educational and community initiatives.
As Presenting Sponsor, U. S. Steel will support the PSO’s Fiddlesticks in Your Neighborhood program, including a free family concert at Woodland Hills High School on July 12; Discovery & Drinks events at Carnegie One in Braddock featuring chamber music and artist discussions; the Orchestra’s Schooltime bus fund, which helps Mon Valley students attend educational concerts at Heinz Hall; and additional chamber music performances and speaking engagements at Carnegie One.
MCG JAZZ RECEIVES NEA GRANT FOR 250th CELEBRATION PROGRAMMING
MCG Jazz has been awarded a $13,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support Celebrating the Nation’s 250th Birthday with Music from U.S. Military Bands, a national initiative recognizing America’s semiquincentennial through performances and educational programs.
On June 18, 2026, the United States Navy Band Commodores, the Navy’s premier jazz ensemble, will present two free public concerts at the MCG Jazz Music Hall. Since 1969, the ensemble has represented the United States through performances that showcase the rich tradition of American jazz while supporting educational, ceremonial, and community engagement efforts nationwide.
In addition to the concerts, members of the Commodores will participate in educational programming with regional students, including discussions and an open sound check, allowing young musicians to learn directly from professional performers.
THE PSO BNY CLASSICS SEASON FINALE THIS WEEKEND
The season finale features Appalachian Spring, a moving, emotional centerpiece featuring artists from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre performing Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture. Barber Violin Concerto, Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, full of dancing rhythms and folk-infused melody, and a world premiere by Pittsburgh favorite composer Michael Daugherty round out this season finale celebrating American musical voices.
🎟️ 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.
👉 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: Arts and Ideas, CALL BOARD, Festival, Our Posts
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