By JESSICA NEU From the iconic opening lines of “Circle of Life” to the timeless story of Simba’s triumphant ascent to the leader of Pride Rock, Disney’s The Lion King has embedded its way into history since it originally premiered as an animated… Read More ›
Show Previews
What to look for in an upcoming production.
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks Reimagines ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ for Fall 2026
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks rings in fall 2026 by reimagining The Merry Wives of Windsor “as a joyful, flamboyant celebration of pride set against the vibrant gay club culture of the 1980s.” Directed by Catherine Aceto and opening September… Read More ›
Preview: Award-Winning Playwright a.k. payne Journeys Through Time With ‘BURNBABYBURN!’
The world premiere of the award-winning playwright a.k. payne’s “BURNBABYBURN! the american dream” is a co-production of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company and the August Wilson House. In the play, generations of women confront truths about motherhood, love, loss, and Pittsburgh — “a city that both holds and haunts their dreams” — as they ask questions across time.
Preview: Disney’s ‘The Lion King’: Keeping the Legacy Alive on Stage
By MINGSI MA Since the musical’s premiere in 1997, Disney’s The Lion King has staged more than 11,000 performances. This poses an interesting challenge: After years of touring, the performers know the lines, songs, and dances by heart. The muscle memory is… Read More ›
Preview: Bridges and Stages 10-Minute Play Festival Is Back and on the Move to the North Side
By Mingsi Ma The Becoming Arts Collective marks the return of the Bridges and Stages 10-Minute Play Festival for its second year by introducing a new partnership at a new site, The New Hazlett Theater. The 26 new plays, selected… Read More ›
Locally Produced ‘Rent’ at Greer Cabaret Brings Peter Matthew Smith Back to Pittsburgh
‘RENT’ AT THE GREER
The Greer Cabaret continues asthe Downtown place to be for locally produced musical revivals. Coming up in September: BDE Productions rents the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust venue for “Rent,” directed by Peter Matthew Smith.
Preview: New Pittsburgh Company With Familiar Faces Brings ‘Assassins’ Musical to Greer Cabaret
Michael McKelvey’s return to Pittsburgh includes producing and directing musicals with Pittsburgh theater artists, starting with “Assassins,” the Sondheim-Weidman show with Carnegie Mellon roots.
Preview: ‘Come From Away’ Arrives With Stories of ‘Relentless Decency’
TALKING “COME FROM AWAY” WITH LISA ANN GOLDSMITH AND DREW LEIGH WILLIAMS
Lisa Ann Goldsmith was “a plane person” on September 11, 2001, bound from Ohio for her home in New York. Drew Leigh Williams was in a rural PA high school, near Harrisburg. With the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks almost upon us, the musical “Come From Away” is a reminder that, amid the devastation and trauma, there also were generosity and kindness at work. For Front Porch Theatrical’s upcoming production, Goldsmith plays the role of Beulah Davis, a composite of real-life residents Beulah Cooper and Diane Davis. Williams will don the uniform of the pioneering American Airlines pilot, Captain Beverly Bass.
Kinetic Theatre Starting Five: Agatha Christie’s ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’
A CLASSIC AGATHA CHRISTIE WHODUNIT IN CARNEGIE
Sam Tsoutsouvas portrays Hercule Poirot in Kinetic Theatre’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”
Preview: ‘Book of Mormon’ Star Kim Exum Joins Alumni Theater for ‘Once on This Island’
‘BOOK OF MORMON’ BROADWAY STAR KIM EXUM MAKES PITTSBURGH DEBUT AS THE GODDESS OF LOVE IN ‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’
Exum joins her childhood friend Monteze Freeland in the Alumni Theater Company production.
