ELECTRIFYING “DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA”
As Roberta and Danny, Shannon Donovan and Michael Patrick Trimm provide enough sustained, electrifying performances and raw passion provide enough energy to light the Cathedral of Learning, from basement to tower and back, where the John Patrick Shanley drama is currently in residence.
“If this works, if [other independent projects] start to work, to us, it’s about proof of concept, that this can be part of the landscape.” — Michael Patrick Trimm
Pittsburghers know Michael Patrick Trimm as an onstage performer, so when he reached out to say he had joined the parade of local theater artists entering the producing ranks, accompanied by a model format and a mission statement, I was eager to chat. Here’s a chunk of our conversation.
REVIEW: “PICKLEBALL” at LITTLE LAKE SERVES UP LAUGHS.
I took along a good friend who plays pickleball to see the Jeff Daniels satire about the sport, and nonstop laughter told me all I needed to know. “Pickleball’s” dinks and bangers aside, this madcap satire of the fastest-growing game in America serves as an endless vessel for sports obsession, skewed socialization, aches and pains, triumphs and catastrophes, with each measurable in seismic proportions.
In PICT’s “The Smuggler,” a solo show by Ronán Noone about the underbelly of immigration, Michael Patrick Trimm’s Tim Finnegan gives off a pirate-like energy, in a fast-paced and energetic performance — Trimm won’t let you take your eyes off him for a second.
By SHARON EBERSON High winds and power outages this past weekend ushered in theater openings featuring provocative spins on hot-button issues, told with powerful performances. From uproarious laughter, to shock and empathy, the well-intended grownups of Eureka Day at City… Read More ›
The Smuggler – a one-man thriller in rhythmic verse – is finally ready for its closeup. Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre first announced Michael Patrick Trimm in the role of bartender/smuggler/immigrant Tim Finnegan for March of last year, working with director Patrick Cannon and expected at Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie. Fate and fire intervened, and Riley’s burned to the ground in November 2024. Starting March 13, 2026, Trimm is now ready to get fully under the skin of Finnegan, with a new director (Melissa Grande) and a new venue (Carnegie Stage), after more than a year of stop-and-start preparation.
By SHARON EBERSON It might put you at ease to know that you don’t have to be a sports fan to cheer for King James, a funny and poignant ode to lifelong fandom and an underdog friendship, struggling mightily to… Read More ›
BY SHARON EBERSON Catch my interview with Marc Masterson on the CitySpeaks: A New Play Podcast, conducted in advance of Masterson’s return to City Theatre for Birthday Candles, at the South Side theater through March 30, 2025. The podcast is… Read More ›
By SHARON EBERSON Fresh but still glowing with period flare, and dare I say fun when the subject is murder, Pittsburgh Public Theater’s 50th season is off to a fine-tuned, stylish start. The Jeffrey Hatcher adaptation of Dial M for… Read More ›
By SHARON EBERSON The comeback of Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre – PICT, in all of its incarnations – hits a new stride, with the announcement of two productions in Carnegie, PA, venues, the first in September and the next, in… Read More ›
