What to look for in an upcoming production.
INTERVIEW with director JEREMY SEGHERS, who has chosen “HAMLET: THE BAD QUARTO” for his second directorial project in Pittsburgh — after his dramatization of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.” The director has theories of about what good comes of diving into “Q1” — the earliest known version of “Hamlet” — and why it is a relevant and insightful companion to what many consider to be the greatest play in the English language.
BANDALOOP, featured performers at the 2026 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, are hard to pin down — literally. Earlier this week, the troupe known for its “perspective-bending dance” could be seen high above Arts Landing — as seen in the video above — perparing for their Arts Festival schedule: 5-5:30 p.m. and 7-7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12; 1-1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13; and 7-7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 14.
The cast of “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” the “ferocious, darkly funny” coming-of-age play opening this weekend at barebones productions, answer questions about their first professional production, women working with women in theater, and more. The Alexis Scheer drama at the Braddock Black Box theater, June 12-June 28, 2026 is set in a treehouse, where a quartet of teens tries to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar.
Alumni Theater Company has announced a venue change for its summer production of Once on This Island. Originally scheduled to be presented at the O’Reilly Theater, the production will now take place at the University of Pittsburgh’s Charity Randall Theatre.
Pittsburgh CLO has announced the casts of productions for its 2026 summer season, a mix of frequent PCLO performers, Pittsburgh-based artists, and newcomers. After 80 seasons as the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, this is the company’s final season of locally produced professional musicals under that name. A new entity that combines elements of Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO will be announced in January 2027. Also this summer, PCLO also will presents the National Tour of Suffs, July 21-16, 2026.
Daina Michelle Griffith has memories of “Working” dating back to her college days, when her friend was performing in a Theatre Factory production of the musical. “I went out to see it and loved it,” recalls Griffith, who will direct the musical to lead off Front Porch Theatricals’ 2026 season, opening Friday, May 15, 2026. To take on Working, Griffith will direct back-to-back shows (next up is barebones productions’ “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” June 12-28, 2026. When Front Porch came calling, she thought she knew exactly what she was getting into – until it was explained that the show, conceived and first produced by Stephen Schwartz in the 1970s, was to be the 2012 revised version, updated with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The new play “Sixty Nine — Seventy,” among the independent productions sprouting in Pittsburgh this spring, is a throwback to the era of the Vietnam War, the draft lottery that sent young Americans to fight in Southeast Asia, and the antiwar protests of the “flower power” generation. It was the last military draft in the United States, ending in 1973, but not the last war. Every few years, it seems, the U.S. is embroiled in a violent conflict on foreign soil.
For playwright Michael Eichler, a University of Pittsburgh alumnus, and director/producer Alex Manalo, “Sixty Nine — Seventy marks” a second collaboration as the play readies for a May 14, 2026 opening. In March of last year, Manalo produced and directed Eichler’s self-funded “Repulsing the Monkey,” at City Theatre’s Lillie Theatre.
Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO have announced a “Prologue Season” of curated programming for the remainder of 2026, as they prepare to merge into one organization in January of 2027.
In a press release on Friday, May, 8, 2026, it was also announced that the O’Reilly Theater, home of Pittsburgh Public Theater since 1999, will undergo “significant renovations this fall.”
The lineup also includes the return of the Pittsburgh CLO holiday standard, “A Musical Christmas Carol,” at the Byham Theater, and “Who’s Holiday!” at the Greer Cabaret Theater.
The 67th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, has announced this year’s full performance lineup as it readies to make a splash in its new home, Arts Landing, June 5-7 and 11-14,… Read More ›
“I’ve always been drawn to characters that take up a lot of space and refuse to leave the stage. I was born to play Hedwig.” — Treasure Treasure, who stars for City Theatre in a first-time revival of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.
The production at the Greer Cabaret, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, was visited by Hedwig creator and recent “Oh, Mary!” star John Cameron Mitchell during rehearsals, saying of the Broadway role “It’s going well. Easier than Hedwig!”
As she takes the stage this week as Hedwig, Treasure answers questions for onStage Pittsburgh.
