Renée Fleming is Guest Soloist of the “Now Is The Time Gala” By George B. Parous Despite the rain and the maze of scaffolding in front of the building, a mob found its way into Heinz Hall last evening to… Read More ›
Reviews
Reviews of current productions by our writers
Review: Bravura Cast Sparkles in Pittsburgh Public Premiere Musical ‘Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For’
By SHARON EBERSON In a full-circle, overdue moment, the words “Hi, I’m Billy Strayhorn,” are at last being said on a Pittsburgh stage. Conjuring the late jazz genius is Darius de Haas, kicking off a tour-de-force performance and immediately opening… Read More ›
‘#UglyCry – Grief Hits Different’ Offers an Honest and Introspective Look at Death and Grief
Reviewed by JESSICA NEU From the moment audiences walk into the Carnegie Stage to attend Off the WALL Productions‘ #UglyCry – Grief Hits Different, they are greeted with a uniquely immersive theater experience. A staff member politely approached me to… Read More ›
The CLO Reopens the Greer Cabaret Theater with a Superb Production of ‘Tick Tick…BOOM!’
Reviewed by MAC HOOVER Throughout the mid to late 1980s, Jonathan Larson worked feverishly on his original musical Superbia, hoping to bring a new edgy face to the stogy Broadway shows by incorporating contemporary popular music. As he worked to create, he waited… Read More ›
‘Alba In Conexiones’ Kicks Off the Liberty Magic 2023-2024 Season
Reviewed By MARIA SCIULLO When was the last time you felt truly connected to those around you? Maybe not sitting at a Steelers game, cheering a touchdown, or marveling at the glitz-spectacle that is the Eras Tour. Both are great,… Read More ›
‘Cleopatra & Antony’ Make All the World a Stage in Pittsburgh’s Parks
Reviewed by Dr. TIFFANY RAYMOND, PhD Feminist swag is often emblazoned with reminders that the future is female. Director Jennifer Tober doesn’t limit that to the future. The past and present are female, too, thanks to Tober’s all-female production of Shakespeare’s Antony… Read More ›
Review: Pittsburgh CLO Crafts a Visual Feast for Season Finale, ‘Natasha Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812’
By SHARON EBERSON From the moment you walk into the Benedum Center auditorium, you know: This is something different. The modernist design that greets you – a bedazzled backdrop and a neon sign reading: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet… Read More ›
Review: Front Porch’s Moving ‘Merrily’ Revives a Musical Old Friend
By SHARON EBERSON Merrily We Roll Along is a musical notorious for its lack of merriment. But there is plenty of reason to make merry at the New Hazlett Theater, where the talent onstage and that gorgeous Sondheim score reign,… Read More ›
Throughline Theatre Company Revives ‘Living News Festival’ a Historic Theater Concept in a Brilliant New Production
Limited Run Now to August 20th at Carnegie Stage By JESSICA NEU Throughline Theatre Company’s unique production is based on the Living Newspapers productions from the 1930s. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted the Federal Theater Project as part of the Works… Read More ›
Siegfried Tieber’s ‘Sixty-Seven Keys’ Combines Magic, Memory to Make Lasting Memories for Audiences
By JESSICA NEU At the opening of each Liberty Magic performance, venue manager Zoe Ruth gives a curtain speech where she explains that there are two types of people who watch magic shows: the skeptic and the dreamer. Since attending several shows at Liberty… Read More ›