With news about Kelly Strayhorn’s Fall 2026 Schedule; Prime Stage Rethinking Program Model at 30; Welcome Summer Trend: Sold Out Shows.
🎭 ICYMI:
- Preview: Disney’s ‘The Lion King’: Keeping the Legacy Alive on Stage
- Preview: Award-Winning Playwright a.k. payne Journeys Through Time With ‘BURNBABYBURN!’
- Review: Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s “Ballet Under the Stars” is the Perfect End-of-Summer Family Event
- Kiesha Lalama Envisions Pittsburgh Playhouse and Point Park COPA on the Global Stage
KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER AT 25: FALL 2026 SCHEDULE
The Kelly Strayhorn Theater has announced its 2026-2027 theme, “For Each Other, continuing a yearlong celebration of 25 years of art, community, and connection.” This fall, KST welcomes “a powerful cohort” of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) artists, led by the world premiere of Maree ReMalia’s WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER, exploring grief, memory, and joy in relation to adoption. Co-directed by Adil Mansoor and produced by and created with Hatch Arts Collective, WOWEO will be accompanied by a Community Dinner with Maree ReMalia prior to the performance. KST also is suppporting two Freshworks performances-in-progress: “Playwright Mal MacKenzie follows a mother navigating grief and acceptance alongside her trans child through an AI chatbot, while LGBTQ+ Thai American artist lys scott grounds music in local roots, identity, and belonging.” Seasonal favorites Pumpkin Palooza and Suite Life celebrate KST’s legacy, with Suite Life this season featuring youth artists from Alumni Theater Company, with musical direction by saxophonist Yoko Suzuki and directed by Monteze Freeland. KST also presents the inaugural Suite Life Paradigm Awards, which honor “performing artists and behind-the-scenes visionaries who are redefining music and dance in the Greater Pittsburgh area.” Nominations are open to the public until Monday, September 7, 2026. Vote here. Awardees will be announced in October. Throughout the season, Mutual Aid Residents Dreams of Hope and Balafon West African Dance Ensemble continue to offer workshops, and classes at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty.
KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER FALL 2026 PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
- Freshworks: Mal MacKenzie, AURA | 7:30-9 p.m. October 2-3, including post-show discussion | KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. | Pay What Moves You: $15-$30
- Maree ReMalia: WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER | co-presented by KST and Hatch Arts Collective | 7:30-8:45 p.m. (with post-show discussion) October 23, 2026 | 2-3:15 p.m. (with ASL interpretation) and 7:30-8:45 p.m. (followed by karaoke afterparty in the KST lobby) October 24, 2026 | Kelly Strayhorn Theater | Pay What Moves You: $20-$35
- JADED: Remind Me, My Dream | October 23-December 18, 2026 | Kelly Strayhorn Theater |Pay What Moves You: $0 – $20
- Pumpkin Palooza: An East Liberty Halloween Adventure | 1-4 p.m. October 31, 2026 | Kelly Strayhorn Theater | Pay What Moves You: $0-$25
- Freshworks: lys scott, chronicles of a crazy girl | 7:30- 9 p.m. (including post-show discussion) November 6-7, 2026 | KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave. | Pay What Moves You: $15 – $30
- Suite Life: A Celebration of Billy Strayhorn & Gene Kelly | 6-7 p.m. VIP reception, 7:30-9 p.m. concert, November 28, 2026 | Kelly Strayhorn Theater | Pay What Moves You: $35-$200
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: https://kelly-strayhorn.org/
PRIME STAGE AT 30: ‘REIMAGINING OUR PROGRAMMING MODEL’
VIA PRIME STAGE ON META: This is an important milestone, and it’s also a time to look ahead. Guided by our Board of Directors, we are using this anniversary season to evaluate how we best fulfill our mission, strengthen our organizational capacity, deepen community partnerships, and reimagine how we produce and present professional theater. Instead of planning another season; we are building the foundation for a successful future. More information will be forthcoming as we reimagine our programming model to balance fully staged professional productions with staged readings, workshops, and community-based programming. This approach allows us to remain artistically ambitious while using our resources more strategically and creating more opportunities for artists and audiences.”
👉 The post asks audiences to “help shape our future” by completing the survey here.
(Image: onStage Pittsburgh)
TRENDING AS SUMMER FADES: SOLD OUT SHOWS
Music to any theater-makers’ ears are the words “sold out.” Front Porch Theatricals concluded its two-show summer season with a sold-out run of Come From Away at the New Hazlett Theatre. For the final shows of Kinetic Theatre’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd this week, Andrew Paul advised to check and see if someone turns in a ticket for the Carnegie Stage show. Same for Michael McKelvey’s production of Assassins at the Greer Cabaret, with all six performances sold out. The folks at South Park Theatre noted, “Thank you for filling up our entire flight log this weekend! There are a limited number of seats available for our final weekend of Boeing Boeing,” August 27-29. And, for Artistic Director Karla Boos’ weather-delayed directorial swan song, The Tempest at Carrie Furnaces, Quantum Theatre happily reported: “Full run, SOLD OUT!”
I will attend the sold-out finale of Little Lake Theatre’s Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B, on Sunday, August 30, but there are still tickets to be had earlier.
🎟️ TICKETS AND DETAILS: Little Lake Theatre’s Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, https://www.littlelake.org/
🎟️ 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, Our Posts
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