On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of seeing Pittsburgh CLO’s opening night performance of Rock of Ages. A campy, jukebox musical featuring hit 1980s rock`n`roll anthems from artists such as Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Steve Perry, and… Read More ›
Archived Reviews
Archived from Pittsburgh in the Round
Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s “Scandals and Schicchi” a Fun Night of Song and Comedy
Pittsburgh Festival Opera is wrapping its summer season with Scandals and Schicchi, and its premiere last evening was received enthusiastically by a pleased and cheering crowd. It’s important to first note that only a single repetition will be given, Sunday… Read More ›
Confronting Life’s Agonies in Throughline’s “‘Night Mother”
By Casey Cunningham How do you save a person who doesn’t want to be saved? How do you convince a person that life is worth living when life has never once been kind? Is it nobler, (to paraphrase some play… Read More ›
Pittsburgh Classic Player’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”: A Study in Meaningful Theatre
By Eva Phillips Pittsburgh Classic Player’s A Streetcar Named Desire is not an easy thing to sit through. This is in no way a reflection on the quality of the show as a whole—which is extraordinary—nor the performances given by… Read More ›
“Boeing Boeing”: Hilarity at 30,000 Feet with Little Lake Theatre
It is Paris in the 1960s, love is zooming through the air – and so are planes. Bernard is a bit of a playboy with his American, Italian, and German flight attendant fiancées. He likes to keep a time table… Read More ›
Seeing the Wonder in Stage 62’s Mamma Mia!
By Eva Phillips There is an embarrassing truth that should be addressed before I embark on a review of Stage 62’s Mamma Mia! I could write about Mamma Mia! in my sleep—not just because of the sheer number of times… Read More ›
Pittsburgh Festival Opera Presents Richard Wagner’s “The Valkyrie”
The first performance of Wagner’s epic The Valkyrie was given last night by Pittsburgh Festival Opera in the Falk Auditorium at Winchester Thurston – an abbreviated, spliced version that stirred a great deal of animated conversation during the intermission…. Read More ›
Madcap Mafia and Moliere Re-Imagining in Kinetic Theatre’s “Scapino”
By Eva Phillips Mob bosses. Murderous fathers. Ill-fated romance. Deceit and chicanery. Florida. Moliere. If these somewhat incongruous elements seem like a combustive recipe for intrigue and uproarious absurdity, it’s because they are in the latest from Kinetic Theatre, Scapino…. Read More ›
Theatre Factory Spices Up High School Angst in “Heathers: The Musical”
In looking at popular media from the last fifty years, you’d be forgiven for thinking every single high school in America is an inescapable hellscape where the popular students are merciless, the unpopular kids are powerless, and the adults are… Read More ›
Pittsburgh Festival Opera Opens 2019 Season With a Dazzling Performance of Strauss’ “The Love of Danae”
The Love of Danae (Die Liebe der Danae), an opera in three acts from the later years of Richard Strauss’ long and illustrious career, was presented last night as the opening performance of Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s 2019 offerings. As mentioned… Read More ›