By MINGSI MA Playwright Ann Baker‘s Infinite Life depicts a group of five women and a man on a wellness retreat at a fasting facility. They sunbathe on lawn chairs, with only a parking lot behind a bakery in their line… Read More ›
Helena Ruoti
Review: Comfort From Infinite Pain Abides in the Indomitable Women of ‘Infinite Life’
Chronic pain has invaded the bodies of every character in “Infinite Life,” a constant companion as they lounge in the sun, ruminating on their paths to a fasting clinic, sipping water, hungering for peace, conjuring distractions and supporting each other in their separate journeys. In a quietly compelling 110 minutes, the Annie Baker play now at barebones productions in Braddock, does not tick off any boxes of expectations; rather, it lives and breathes in a singular realm of slow-burn storytelling.
Barebones Assembles a Starry Cast for ‘Infinite Life’
In rehearsal these days, an abundance of riches faces back at Patrick Jordan as he directs some of the leading ladies of the Pittsburgh stage — Tami Dixon, Sheila McKenna, Karla Payne, Helena Ruoti, and Cary Anne Spear — in “Infinite Life.” The Annie Baker play, opening Friday, March 6, 2026, at barebones productions’ Braddock black box, focuses on a group of mature women in physical pain. They share their stories, and their longings, while lounging on the patio of a Northern California fasting clinic.
Review: Resilience Is in Style for the Women of ‘Steel Magnolias’
By JADE GOODES Take a trip down South, or at least as far as the O’Reilly Theater, and catch up with the denizens of Steel Magnolias. No matter how familiar you are with these women and their story, Pittsburgh Public… Read More ›
Casts announced for City Theatre’s Native Gardens, Pittsburgh Public’s ‘Steel Magnolias’
If you follow Pittsburgh theaters on social media, you know that casting news has been coming at a fast-and-furious pace, with City Theatre and Pittsburgh Public Theater each announcing the cast of their upcoming shows this week. City is up… Read More ›
Review: Pittsburgh Public’s “Murder on the Orient Express” is a Pageantry of Solid Acting, Period Costumes, and an Amazing Set Design
Reviewed by Bob Hoover Playwright David Mamet recently wrote that “theater on Broadway has largely been replaced by pageantry.” Audiences “come to Broadway exactly as they come to Disneyland. They do not come to risk their hard-earned cash on a… Read More ›
Martin Giles boards Public’s ‘Orient Express’ as Poirot
By Sharon Eberson Post updated with newly released production photos by Michael Henninger Martin Giles popped up on my Zoom screen to reveal an epic mustache a few weeks ago. Back then, the hair on his upper lip seemed headed… Read More ›
Discover What Lies “Downstairs….” At City Theatre
City Theatre’s latest production begins with the flushing of a “Pittsburgh toilet.” This inside joke puts us in an unfinished basement to find a disheveled bare-chested Martin Giles stumbling barefoot into another day. He’s Teddy, the down-and-out and probably crazy… Read More ›
Love is a Battlefield in “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
By Caleigh Boniger Within the first few minutes of the Pittsburgh Public’s production of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 –directed by Ted Pappas, former Public artistic director in a return engagement–it is very clear that when Nora Helmer slammed… Read More ›
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City
City Theatre’s dynamic production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City may not be for the faint of heart, but it is about the faint… Read More ›