Author Archives
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Review: Prime Stage Theatre’s ‘Speak’ Speaks Volumes About Aftershocks of Sexual Assault
“Speak,” a new play about the intentional damage — physical and emotional — we are capable of inflicting on one another, and the healing powers of kindness and art.
The work, an adaptation by Tammy Ryan of Laurie Halse Anderson’s popular 1999 YA novel, was commissioned by Prime Stage Theatre, and made its debut on April 30 at the New Hazlett Theater.
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Q&A With City Theatre’s ‘Hedwig’ Star, Treasure Treasure
“I’ve always been drawn to characters that take up a lot of space and refuse to leave the stage. I was born to play Hedwig.” — Treasure Treasure, who stars for City Theatre in a first-time revival of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.
The production at the Greer Cabaret, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, was visited by Hedwig creator and recent “Oh, Mary!” star John Cameron Mitchell during rehearsals, saying of the Broadway role “It’s going well. Easier than Hedwig!”
As she takes the stage this week as Hedwig, Treasure answers questions for onStage Pittsburgh.
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Review: PMT’s Moving ‘Evan Hansen’ Showcases Stellar Cast, Dynamic Design
A cautionary tale of troubled teens, families in crisis, and the consequences when a lie goes viral, DEAR EVAN HANSEN burst onto Broadway in 2016, and rewrote the rules of engagement by adding social-media screens to 21st-century theatrical storytelling. In Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s riveting regional premiere of the Tony Award-winner, Anthony Marino Jr.’s superbly awkward Evan and the strikingly original staging are among the reasons to revisit Dear Evan Hansen if you have already seen the show. If you haven’t, or even if you have, bring tissues.
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Preview: Prime Stage Theatre Commissions Tammy Ryan to Give Voice to ‘Speak’
Prime Stage Theatre’s season of premieres continues this weekend with a commissioned work by playwright Tammy Ryan, who has adapted the National Book Award finalist “Speak” for the stage. The YA novel about consent, trauma, and healing has frequently been near the top of the ALA’s banned books list since its 1999 publication. “Some people are afraid to let teenagers, as Laurie would say, be exposed to the realities of the world,” Ryan said, quoting “Speak” novelist Laurie Halse Anderson.
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‘Evan Hansen’s’ Anthony Marino Jr. Was Born to the Stage
A theater kid from birth, Anthony Marino Jr. is set to play the lead in “DEAR EVAN HANSEN” for Pittsburgh Musical Theater. “I think always being immersed in that world just kind of wired my brain in a way that made me know, ‘That’s what I was made to do.’ ”
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Arts Landing Ribbon-Cutting Showcases What’s in Store for Pittsburghers, Beyond the NFL Draft
The new 4-acre Downtown park Arts Landing was given a blockbuster welcome on April 17, 2026, when local and state dignitaries including Governor Josh Shapiro attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a week before thousands of football fans invade Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft.
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Review: Corny As It May Seem, ‘Shucked’ Sows Seeds of Punny Fun
If you love rapid-fire, eye-rolling puns, the North American Tour of “Shucked,” now at the Benedum Center, will fill you to overflowing with “farm to fable” lunacy and laughter.
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In London, a Warm Pittsburgh Hug for the Artistry of Mason Alexander Park and the Hilarity of ‘Oh, Mary!’
COMMENTARY by SHARON EBERSON How do you give a stage production a “best” award and not even nominate the lead performer? That’s what the 2026 Olivier Awards did this past weekend. Mason Alexander Park, the incomparable star of Oh, Mary!… Read More ›
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Pittsburgh Public Theater Concludes 51st Season, Opens Doors to Alumni Theater Company
Pittsburgh Public Theater, following the finale of its 51st season, has announced that Homewood-based Alumni Theater Company will present “Once on This Island” at the Public’s Downtown home, the O’Reilly Theater, with dates and tickets sales TBA. “This production is everything The Public stands for,” said Managing Director Shaunda McDill.
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Review: Powerful Drama ‘Paradox of Education’ Teaches Hard Lessons of Racism on Campus
In Ty Greenwood’s powerful new drama, “Paradox of Education,” a group of Black students discover that scholarships to a PWI — predominantly white institutions — come with student debt, living up to academic expectations and piles of obligations, along with shouldering racially-charged, passive-aggressive encounters and outright hostility.
Produced by Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, in a dynamic directorial debut by Maurice Redwood, the play comes out of the gate swinging, and doesn’t let up.
