Author Archives
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With ‘Hangmen,’ Kinetic Theatre Brings McDonagh’s Gallows Humor to Carnegie
If there is such a thing as the “best hangman,” then it stands to reason that there is a second best.
Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy, “Hangmen,” is based loosely on the well-chronicled life of Albert Pierrepoint, the English hangman who executed hundreds of people, including 200 wartime criminals.
Kinetic Theatre, with producing artistic director Andrew Paul at the helm, will stage the play’s Pittsburgh premiere, opening August 7, 2025, at Carnegie Stage.
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Review: PSO Makes Movie Magic Minus, the Screen
An impossible task, it would seem to be, choosing symphonic soundtracks and creating a concert representing the breadth of movie music. It may be stating the obvious, but a good place to start is with “THE GOAT,” John Williams.
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Kathleen Marshall, Tom Viola, Kenny Leon and Paul Tazewell Among 2025 American Theater Hall of Fame Inductees
Kathleen Marshall, the three-time Tony Award-winning director/choreographer who grew up in Pittsburgh, is now an inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame. Her name will be inscribed on the walls of Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre, along with 2025 fellow inductees including award-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell and former Broadway Cares Executive Director and Western Pennsylvania native Tom Viola. Other 2025 inductees are Anne Bogart, Rocco Landesman, Richard Thomas, Kenny Leon, and, posthumously, Rebecca Luker.
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Director Adapts ‘The Seagull’ Through a Queer Lens
Quantum Theatre brings director Joanie Schultz’s gender-swapped adaptation of “The Seagull” to picturesque Chatham University. “What a gift to have somebody say, ‘Great, let’s do it,’” Schultz said of presenting “The Seagull” as a queer story. “And [Karla Boos] found this beautiful place to do it, and that’s been awesome. I mean, yesterday, we were doing a run-through, and there’s just like deer in the scenery, and you’re like, ‘OK. This is perfect.’ ”
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Pittsburgh Musical Theater Enters First Phase of Multimillion Dollar Transformation
The transformation of Pittsburgh Musical Theater got off to a smashing start – a wall-breaking ceremony on July 9, with Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Sara Innamorato striking the blows for change. The ceremony offered a view of the façade at the corner of Sanctus and South Main Streets, where a window to the two-story lobby will replace brick and mortar. Inside, renovations were already well underway.
The $8 million first phase of an ongoing $20 million campaign will add the building’s first elevator, allowing accessibility to all levels of a facility that includes the Gargaro Theater and the PMT Conservatory, for students ages 4-18.
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City Theatre Names 5 Winners of 2025 Young Playwrights Contest
City Theatre has revealed the winners of the 2025 Young Playwrights Contest, an annual regional competition for grades 7-12. The Young Playwrights Festival’s public performances will take place October 25-26, 2025.
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Juan Rivera Lebron Named to Leadership Roles in Theater for Point Park University
Juan Rivera Lebron has been hired to chair the Point Park University Conservatory of Performing Arts’ Department of Theatre, beginning July 1. In addition, the announcement on June 23, 2025, stated that Rivera Lebron will serve as artistic director of… Read More ›
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PMT Sets Season No. 35 With Some Things Old and New, Including ‘Dear Evan Hansen’
Pittsburgh Musical Theater turns 35 with a six-show 2025-2026 season, starting with the popular gorefest “Evil Dead the Musical,” and ending with the premiere regional production of Tony Award-winner “Dear Evan Hansen.”
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Q&A With the Stars of Pittsburgh CLO’s ‘Camelot’: Kyla Stone, Adam Kantor & Ben Jacoby
Pittsburgh CLO is bringing the Lerner & Loewe musical “Camelot” back for the seventh time, to lead off its 79th summer season, and the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table couldn’t come at a better time. The casting brings Broadway to Pittsburgh, through stars Adam Kantor as Arthur (“The Band’s Visit,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “RENT”), Ben Jacoby as Lancelot (“Beautiful, The Carole King Musical”) and Kyla Stone as Guenevere (“Harmony”; and “Into the Woods” with PCLO).
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2025 Pittsburgh Juneteenth Event Highlights
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, commemorating the end of slavery. On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation – 2 1/2 years after President… Read More ›
