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.
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.
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.
NEW 3-PLAY SUMMER FESTIVAL WILL HONOR AUGUST WILSON A newly minted three-play festival, titled the August Wilson American Century Cycle Experience, will run for six weeks this summer, said Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company’s Mark Clayton Southers, offering a sneak peek… Read More ›
By SHARON EBERSON Mark Clayton Southers pauses periodically to instruct son Marcus and nephew Matthew as they work behind the scenes: “Lemme see what you got. Oh, perfect. Get the big ladder. OK. Marcus, call your mom right now though…. Read More ›
By SHARON EBERSON So much Pittsburgh theater, so little time is among my top picks for the subtitle of my theater-going life. A good overall title might be: “There’s No Business Like Covering Show Business.” Combine those two, and you… Read More ›
