Celebrity News – onStage Pittsburgh

Stephen Flaherty’s ‘Ragtime’ and Carnegie Mellon Alums Feature Prominently Among 2026 Tony Award Nominees

By Sharon Eberson on May 5, 2026 • ( 0 )

Nominations for the 79th TONY AWARDS showcase the Pittsburgh theater community’s contributions to Broadway, including 11 nominations for the revival of Ragtime. Composer Stephen Flaherty, a Dormont native, won the 1998 Tony for Ragtime’s musical score, and will receive the Richard Rodgers Award on June 12, five days after the 2026 Tonys ceremony, at Pittsburgh CLO’s 80th Anniversary Gala.
For his performance in the current revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, Ruben Santiago-Hudson earned a nomination as Best Featured Actor. He previously won a Tony in that category, in 1996, for Wilson’s Seven Guitars. The play’s five nominations also included Best Costume Design, for Paul Tazewell.
For more local ties and full list of Tony Award nominees, read👇

Mark Fleischer Sets Exit From Pittsburgh CLO After 80th Summer Season

By Sharon Eberson on March 12, 2026 • ( 1 )

Mark Fleischer will leave as executive producer of Pittsburgh CLO after its 80th summer season in 2026, and take a co-leadership role, with Patrick Cassidy, at Studio Teen Theatre Company in Franklin, Tennessee.

Pittsburgh CLO Has Its Christmas 2025 Scrooge: Tony-Winner Denis O’Hare

By Sharon Eberson on November 12, 2025 • ( 0 )

Denis O’Hare follows in the miser-to-wiser footsteps of high-profile predecessors as the Ebenezer Scrooge of Pittsburgh CLO’s “A Musical Christmas Carol,” which returns to the Byham Theater December 13-23, 2025.

2025 Tony Awards Takeaways: Diversity on Display, Little Wins Big, and CMU Rules

By sharononstagepittsburghcom on June 9, 2025 • ( 0 )

I watch the Tony Awards with Pittsburgh in mind, because the pipeline of talent between here and Broadway is, hands-down, among the region’s chief exports. It also is the awards ceremony that gives and gives, showcasing live performances by the world’s top musical theater artists, especially for those who may never make it to New York. Here are a few highlights and observations from viewing the 2025 Tony Awards.

Pittsburgh CLO Launches Full-Length ‘Madame Clicquot’ Musical

By Sharon Eberson on May 30, 2025 • ( 0 )

To be clear, this isn’t a review. To have a world premiere of a full-length musical in front of a Pittsburgh audience, presented by Pittsburgh CLO and populated with top-notch talent – from Broadway, regional productions and inside the Cultural District – is both an event and an opportunity.

2025 Tony Award Nominees Include CMU Alums Megan Hilty, Natalie Venetia Belcon

By Sharon Eberson on May 1, 2025 • ( 0 )

The 78th annual Tony Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, May 1, 2025, with, as is often the case, Carnegie Mellon University alums front and center. Megan Hilty earned her second Tony nod, this time as leading actress in a musical for “Death Becomes Her.” Natalie Venetia Belcon is nominated in the featured actress category for “The Buena Vista Social Club.”

New 3-Play 2025 Festival Brings ‘Two Trains Running,’ ‘Fences,’ ‘Ma Rainey’ to the Hill District in August

By Sharon Eberson on April 26, 2025 • ( 1 )

Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company and the August Wilson House have made it official, setting the schedule for a 2025 three-play summer festival, titled August Wilson’s American Century Cycle Experience. with Stephen McKinley Henderson scheduled to direct “Fences.”

Pittsburgh Fringe Provides Latest Setting for Daniel Gerroll’s Passion Project, ‘DR GLAS’

By sharononstagepittsburghcom on March 20, 2025 • ( 1 )

UPDATE: Due to a scheduling conflict, the March 26 and 27 shows of the Bebento Productions Inc./Daniel Gerroll show DR GLAS have been cancelled. The schedule goes on as planned March 28-29 at the Bloomfield Garfield Activity Center, 113 North… Read More ›

Javon Johnson’s ‘Sanctified’ Sings to the Heavens for Generational Unity

By Sharon Eberson on February 27, 2025 • ( 1 )

The Star of ‘The Oval’ Directs His Own Work for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company By SHARON EBERSON Even with rehearsals underway, Javon Johnson is still surprised that Sanctified is making its first appearance on a Pittsburgh stage. He chalks up… Read More ›

Pittsburgh to Broadway and Back: Everything Theater, Everywhere, All at Once

By sharononstagepittsburghcom on February 3, 2025 • ( 0 )

By SHARON EBERSON At a time when federal funding for the arts is so precarious, I thought I’d tell you a little bit about my past few weeks of attending theater. By the numbers, starting on January 14 through Sunday,… Read More ›