By Guilherme Meletti Yazbek Before the curtain rises, The Great Gatsby – A New Musical already begins to build its world. The sound of waves and distant seagulls drifts through the Benedum Center while the audience settles into their seats. Framed by the illuminated… Read More ›
The 35th annual Gene Kelly Awards honoring excellence in high school musical theater in Allegheny County crowned the 2026 winners on Saturday night. Representing four budget categories, the Outstanding Musical winners, announced by Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, were Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition (Budget Level 1), Central & Oakland Catholic High Schools’s The Addams Family (Level II), Elizabeth Forward High School’s The Prince of Egypt (Level III), and Pine-Richland High School’s Chicago: Teen Edition (Level IV).
By JESSICA NEU Onn Wednesday, students, teachers, families, and friends eagerly gathered at the Benedum Center for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Student Share Celebration of Disney Musicals in Schools. Each student, audience member, school staff member, and performer was full of… Read More ›
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.
The 2026 nominees for Pittsburgh CLO’s Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater are here! onStage Pittsburgh has the full list of 35th annual awards ceremony and showcase on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the Benedum Center.
CALL BOARD for 2026 NFL DRAFT WEEK:
With news about the Benedum Center evacuation; detour to New Hazlett’s CSA “Sexy Ghost” finale; and Pittsburgh Draft Days To-Do’s.
If you love rapid-fire, eye-rolling puns, the North American Tour of “Shucked,” now at the Benedum Center, will fill you to overflowing with “farm to fable” lunacy and laughter.
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.
“Water For Elephants: The Musical,” coming to the Benedum Center March 31-April 5, is purposefully, unapologetically theatrical. The show that takes its inspiration from the 2006 novel by Sara Gruen, comes alive with circus performers and life-sized puppets, including the elephant Rosie, a horse named Silver Star, and a dog named Queenie.
