A Dark Day for Pittsburgh Professional Theater: All Staff Members of Pittsburgh Public Theater Receive Same-Day Layoff Notices
All staff members of Pittsburgh Public Theater were laid off effective immediately, as of Tuesday, May 19, 2026, a sad day for local theater that was first reported by WTAE-TV and verified by an onStage Pittsburgh source.
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.
Nominations for the 79th TONY AWARDS showcase the Pittsburgh theater community’s contributions to Broadway, including 11 nominations for the revival of Ragtime. Composer Stephen Flaherty, a Dormont native, won the 1998 Tony for Ragtime’s musical score, and will receive the Richard Rodgers Award on June 12, five days after the 2026 Tonys ceremony, at Pittsburgh CLO’s 80th Anniversary Gala.
For his performance in the current revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, Ruben Santiago-Hudson earned a nomination as Best Featured Actor. He previously won a Tony in that category, in 1996, for Wilson’s Seven Guitars. The play’s five nominations also included Best Costume Design, for Paul Tazewell.
For more local ties and full list of Tony Award nominees, read👇
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 ›
The new 4-acre Downtown park Arts Landing was given a blockbuster welcome on April 17, 2026, when local and state dignitaries including Governor Josh Shapiro attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a week before thousands of football fans invade Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft.
The reasons to flock to see Water for Elephants are not your typical musical theater must-haves. They include thrilling circus artistry and innovative puppetry, and, for those in the know, experiencing the adaptation of a beloved book-turned-movie-turned-theatrical romance. The touring company’s edge-of-seat daring was on display on opening night, as performers were tossed and caught, or were hanging and tumbling by a figurative thread, with only each other as a net.
PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER’S SHAUNDA McDILL talks moving forward into an uncertain future. “What I know is, we’re ready, and that is my job, is to make sure that our team is ready with a full season, and a balanced budget … In that way, our staff and our team, we have done our job and done it well. And I’m very excited about what we could share, and what might be possible.”
The 13th annual Pittsburgh Fringe Festival spreads it wings to 14 venues over 10 days, March 19-28, 2026, where adventurous audiences can choose from among three dozen live experiences in multiple genres.
The board chairs of Pittsburgh CLO and Pittsburgh Public Theater have shared with subscribers a proposed plan for the creation of “a new, consolidated producing theater company, designed to anchor a broader destination theater experience in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.” In a letter (see below) to “Dear Community,” sent on Monday, March 9, 2026, the exploration of shared resources may culminate in “not a merger, but the launch of something entirely new and exciting, built for Pittsburghers, by Pittsburghers.” Both boards are set to vote on the plan later this month
Go See a Show, a regional initiative involving nearly 20 producing theater companies, is underway, offering discounts to performances and aiming to “reenergize local audiences and celebrate the enduring impact of live theater.” Through July 2026, the campaign offers one-stop shopping at GoSeeAShowPGH.com, where discount codes are available for select performances.
