Author Archives
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Review: Riverfront Opens Season with Dark, Dynamic ‘True West’
By JESSICA NEU Riverfront Theater Company has opened its 2023 season with Sam Shepard’s American classic about the combustible reunion of two estranged brothers, the dark comedy True West. Playing March 16-18, 23-25, the four-person play tells the story of… Read More ›
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Review: PMT’s ‘Once,’ a Story of Love, Self-Exploration, and Tradition
By JESSICA NEU I would have loved to have been at the first table reading for Once. As I imagine it, the cast and crew are gathered around and read the description of the first scene: “Strike the traditional Irish band complete… Read More ›
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Review: At Liberty Magic, Noah Sonie Challenges What is Real and Mystifies Perception
By JESSICA NEU Driving down to Liberty Magic to see Noah Sonie in Trust No One, I listened to Peter Gabriel’s music as he had announced his North American tour earlier that day. In his 1977 song, “Solsbury Hill,” he… Read More ›
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‘Beetlejuice’ Comes Alive at the Benedum Center
by JESSICA NEU “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” Say his name three times in a row, and the deceased yet paradoxically demonic yet kind-hearted man will come alive and visible for all living beings to see. The popular 2019 musical of the… Read More ›
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‘Ignite’ Sparks Inspiration, Hope and Purpose
Reviewed by JESSICA NEU “Think back to a time in your life when you felt extreme gratitude. Now let your spirit sink into that feeling. Feel it through your body. Remember how you were breathing in at that moment. Now… Read More ›
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Split Stage’s ‘Kinky Boots’ Brings Big Talent and an Important Message to Local Theater
By Jessica Neu A sold-out crowd of “ladies, gentlemen, and those who have yet to make up their minds” converged on Irwin’s The Lamp Theater to see Split Stage’s production of Kinky Boots. Director Laura Wurzell, music director Joy Morgan Hess, and choreographer Ashley Harmon bring… Read More ›
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A Magical Experience – The Pittsburgh Symphony, along with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, perform the score to ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’
By Jessica Neu As conductor Moon Doh takes the stage with a Harry Potter wand in hand, you get the feeling that something, dare I say…magical is about to occur. Doh introduces the evening’s performance as a “journey from film… Read More ›
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Review: ‘Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer’ at The August Wilson African American Cultural Center
Robin McGee’s performance is nothing short of stunning. She does not play Fannie; she becomes Fannie. By Jessica Neu Historical narratives surrounding African American injustice and equality are commonly told across environments. Tales of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr.,… Read More ›
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‘Life and Other Deceptions’ Reveals Magic at the Table and Also in Life
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Liberty Magic features Steve Valentine through January 20th, 2023. By Jessica Neu The word “magic” is used colloquially quite often. There’s holiday magic, the magic of traveling somewhere, magic when you get something to randomly start working… Read More ›
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‘Hairspray,’ Big Hair and Big Fun with a Theme We Have Yet To Overcome
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadwai in Pittsburgh presentation of Hairspray is at the Benedum Center this week through January 8th. By Jessica Neu Adapted from the 1988 film of the same name, Hairspray, opened on Broadway in 2002 and went on to… Read More ›