Reviews of current productions by our writers
By GUILHERME MELETTI YAZBEK Before the curtain even rises at the Benedum Center, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has already begun casting its spell. Soft blue light washes across the proscenium with the shimmering texture of moonlight reflected on water, gently… Read More ›
The arrival of “Working,” the first of Front Porch Theatrical’s two summer musicals, marks a sign of the season that’s as sure and welcome as a robin is to spring.
If you lived through the era of the Vietnam War draft lottery, the independent production of the new play, “Sixty-Nine — Seventy,” is sure to force a visceral reaction. As it pertains today, it is a study as to how the timeline of the “peace, love and war” era is knocking on the door of 2026.
The remarkable version of Jitney in Italian finished up three days of captivating sold-out Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre audiences on Sunday, ending a quick American tour that celebrated the years-long journey that carried the production from Vicenza, Italy, to August Wilson’s hometown.
By GUILHERME MELETTI YAZBEK Upon entering Attack Theatre for the informal showing of Jeanine Durning’s The Play presented in Pittsburgh this past Friday, one is met by a sparse scenic arrangement: two folding chairs, a bucket, a stage cube, a music stand, and a cushion…. Read More ›
By JESSICA NEU Pittsburgh native and internationally renowned choreographer Kyle Abraham celebrated the 20th anniversary of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham with a homecoming performance as part of the Pittsburgh Dance Council series at the Byham Theater. The dance company last performed in Pittsburgh in 2021. Last night’s show… Read More ›
By HANNAH WING-BONICA Pittsburgh’s newest theatre company, The Haunted Theatre Company, allegedly was founded by British theatre producer Erasmus Bartholomew Wicklowe in 1861. The company recently has found a new home in Pittsburgh, led by artistic director Michael McGovern (and a few ghosts)…. Read More ›
“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.
By Guilherme Meletti Yazbek Presented over two evenings as part of Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Freshworks program, A Conversation, by multidisciplinary artist LaTrea Derome, unfolded as a modest yet affectively charged work-in-progress. The piece operated through a deliberately simple scenic device—one that placed personal narrative… Read More ›
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.
