It’s a busy weekend, Pittsburgh!
Check out Call Board for news about: City Theatre’s record-breaking ‘Hedwig’; Pittsburgh Playwright’s ‘BURNBABYBURN’ reading; Prime Stage on WQED; PSO’s Manfred Honeck and The Clarks; 2026 Tony Awards; and more.
Arts and Ideas
Our thoughts on the state of the performing arts in Greater Pittsburgh and nationally.
The Shows Will Go On at Carnegie Stage
GREAT NEWS OUT OF CARNEGIE!
Claire DeMarco has put her money where her theater dreams are, and partnered with theater artist and administrator Erika Cuenca to save Carnegie Stage, that vital black box at 25 W. Main Street in Carnegie.
“My hope,” DeMarco said, “is that it will remain a theater forever.”
Review: ‘Fun Home’ at the Theatre Factory
By HANNAH WING-BONICA It’s been twenty years since Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home made itself known in the graphic novel scene. It was only ten years later that Bechdel’s work became a hit on Broadway, with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and… Read More ›
What’s On Stage Pittsburgh: June 8th to the end of August, 2026
Here’s your guide to what’s happening on Pittsburgh area stages this week and through the end of August, from onStage Pittsburgh. Check back frequently as shows are being added regularly. Opening This Week Continuing Their Run Opening Next Week (June… Read More ›
What’s On Stage Pittsburgh: June 1st to the end of August, 2026
Here’s your guide to what’s happening on Pittsburgh area stages this week and through the end of August, from onStage Pittsburgh. Check back frequently as shows are being added regularly. Opening This Week Continuing Their Run Opening Next Week (June… Read More ›
Review: Eavesdropping on Brotherhood and Bonding in ‘Coconut Cake’
By MINGSI MA Coconut Cake, staged by New Horizon Theater and part of the Public Presents series, is a delightful treat. Written by Chicago-based African American playwright Melda Beaty, it takes place in a setting that does not serve coconut cake despite its delicious title: a McDonald’s on… Read More ›
A Converstation With Stephen Flaherty: Composer’s Ragtime’ Red-Carpet Ride Stops in Pittsburgh for Richard Rodgers Award
A CONVERSATION WITH “RAGTIME” COMPOSER AND DORMONT NATIVE STEPHEN FLAHERTY
Coming home to accept the Richard Rodgers Award is “a big, beautiful arc,” Stephen Flaherty was saying just the other day. Catching up with Flaherty was no easy task – he and his songwriting partner, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, have been on a seemingly endless red-carpet ride with the acclaimed revival of “Ragtime” ahead of the 2026 Tony Awards on June 7. Flaherty will then head home to the Pittsburgh CLO Gala on June 12, when he will become receive the award that has been bestowed on an impressive list of luminaries, starting with Mary Martin in 1988.
Review: The Light Without the Longing: Broadway’s ‘The Great Gatsby – A New Musical’ at the Benedum
By Guilherme Meletti Yazbek Before the curtain rises, The Great Gatsby – A New Musical already begins to build its world. The sound of waves and distant seagulls drifts through the Benedum Center while the audience settles into their seats. Framed by the illuminated… Read More ›
Review: South Park Theatre Stages Talley’s Folly: When Love Makes People Brave
By MINGSI MA South Park Theatre stages the second play of its 2026 season, Talley’s Folly, directed by Melissa Hill Grande. Playwright Lanford Wilson’s Talley’s Folly is a romantic comedy that one would not mistake for any other genre from the outset. The story follows… Read More ›
A Brutal Week in Pittsburgh Theater Demands A Reset: Let’s Do Better
I have seen the fallout from mismanaging expectations and a lack of transparency when jobs are lost, and the rift it can create between people practicing their calling and those entrusted with their livelihoods. The team transitioning Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO into a single entity, as well as those performing a “strategic review” of Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, chose to fire a whole bunch of people (three at the Playhouse) within a few days of each other, without providing any public-facing explanation.
Did they think no one would notice?
Here’s my plea: Le’s do better.