By SHARON EBERSON
Kiesha Lalama’s vision as the head of Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University is building for the future by staying relevant in the present, reviving cherished parts from the past, and launching the students of Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) onto the global stage.
The Playhouse and COPA training ground on Forbes Avenue, Downtown, includes three theaters, a sound stage, a costume studio and more, and is in operation year-round. As with any arts organization and university, it is subject to the every-changing tides of education, the performing arts and entertainment trends. For Lalama, that means staying ahead of the tide, instead of sitting back and waiting to ride what’s next.
“I can’t explain our growth,” she said a few weeks before the return of students to the Point Park campus. “It’s unprecedented. And it’s a new business model. And to be able to meet those needs, we have to grow and change and transform.”
The Pittsburgh Playhouse website has a spiffy new look, with its facilities and programming more prominently on display. An example of something new this year is Yuletide! A Holiday Spectacular (December 10-20, 2026). Beyond choirs from throughout the Pittsburgh area, celebrity appearances, and other “fun things,” Lalama is hoping to stretch the Playhouse’s holiday reach beyond it’s home on Forbes Avenue, near Smithfield Street.
“The energy in Pittsburgh during the holidays is fantastic, so how do we expand that offering, especially being one block away from Market Square?,” Lalama said. “We noticed that during Fall Fest, people were seeing our giant pumpkin in the street and coming to see what was going on. They were enjoying live music, food trucks, and all the offerings. … So we’re going to build a partnership with Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and try to expand on that, so it comes straight up to Smithfield. To be able to provide more opportunities for the city and families certainly is one of our goals.”
Lalama was appointed managing and artistic director — later executive producer — of the Downtown Pittsburgh Playhouse in July 2023. In May of this year, she added the title dean of Point Park’s School of Theatre, Film and Animation, after serving in an interim capacity.
Her goals across the COPA disciplines include the heady aspiration of creating entertainment “that has legs,” a phrase she uses again and again.
To that end, the premiere of the jukebox musical Girls Just Want To Have Fun The Musical! will launch November 13-22, 2026, at the Playhouse. Lively McCabe Entertainment, which has been developing the work with Jennifer Werner directing and choreographing, will co-produce with Primary Wave Music and Point Park University. The musical is inspired by the 1985 film of the same name.
“What separates this agreement and partnership from any other is that these new works will be developed January through May in our curriculum. So we have a class designed for new work development,” Lalama said.
The pre-launch publicity has boldly targeted the production for Broadway and the West End.
“I feel like we have the resources here as a university, and with those resources comes tremendous responsibility,” said Lalama, seated in her office in the Playhouse, a room with one side in the modern era (the building on Forbes Avenue opened in 2018) and one wall with abutting the University Center, which integrates buildings from the turn of the 20th century.
“If we can be part of that machine, to help bring new works, whether it’s film, entertainment or theater [beyond a regional launch], then we should do it. I think the challenge has been the business model. But if you have a production company that’s willing to share the revenue, the profits, then those will be the right people that we end up producing with. That’s the goal now, is that we don’t just use resources without expecting something in return.”
PLAYHOUSE REP AND PLAYHOUSE JR.
Playhouse Rep (or The REP, as it was known in its early days) and Playhouse Jr., which were both stalwarts of the Oakland venue. Starting in 1999, the Rep paired students with professionals in full-length productions. The re-launch starts with Tuesdays With Morrie (February 3-7, 2027), while Playhouse Jr. returns with The Mirrorman, “an interactive family adventure where imagination, magic, and audience participation create unforgettable memories (May 11-16, 2027).
Playhouse Jr. had a head start, in a way, as the Playhouse has originated holiday family entertainment, with a Fall Fest that includes Boo’s Halloween House Party, a family-friendly musical by Point Park alum and Broadway’s Ahmad Simmons, which returns October 23-November 1, 2026.
“I think The Rep and Playhouse Junior were there, just not categorized or labeled. So we started slowly bringing it back with Robin and Me, and then certainly with The Chief last year, and the Playhouse Jr. with ASCEND, it just doesn’t look like a classic theater,” Lalama said.
The latter is an experience, created by Lalama, that she described as, “innovative and immersive theater that’s moving into the future of the industry somewhat.”
With these productions, “students will receive their first professional contract and get paid to perform while simultaneously offering young students their first experience with live theater.”
With ASCEND, the Playhouse “tested the water” of bringing in school field trips, “so we have it down to a science now.”
RESTRUCTURING AND MOVING FORWARD
In May of this year, when the financially strapped Pittsburgh Public Theater’s remaining staff was dismissed, onStage Pittsburgh reported pink slips that were happening at the Playhouse as well.
Lalama said the layoffs were due to a “necessary restructuring,” and there have been hirings before and since.
“It’s really this simple,” Lalama said. “We have grown and transformed at a remarkable rate. Change is absolutely necessary in this industry. For us to meet where we’re going and our vision, we have had to restructure the Playhouse in three key positions. Change is very, very difficult [but] to meet our needs for restructuring and growth, there had to be change. That’s it.”
Lalama called the period of growth at the Playhouse “unprecedented,” including an expansion of business operations, community relations positions, and, with aspirations for Girls Just Want to Have Fun and ASCEND, “a company manager-type person” who understands international travel, companies, and unions.
“Going global” is another.
“We’re forming partnerships overseas. We want to go global. We don’t want to just limit it to the States. We want these students to have those kinds of opportunities everywhere,” said Lalama, who visited the University of York, in the UK, which is known for its studies in the Business of the Creative Industries.
In partnership with the York model, “We formed classes from the School of Comms, School of Business and School of Education designed for our performance students in broadcasting, journalism, multimedia, website building, entrepreneurship … favorite class is Money and Life. So then they have more tools in their toolbox.”
Add taking part in developing works “that have legs,” and, “There’s a lot of positive energy and momentum right now,” Lalama said. “At a time where it is challenging, we’re doing everything in a great way to move everything forward, by investing in the students and investing in the future of the industry. … There’s a lot of really good things happening in Pittsburgh, and we’re part of that.”
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