First, there was Schoolhouse Rock, a series of short educational music videos that covered subjects ranging from history, grammar, and math, etc. The series was the brainchild of a Madison Avenue adman when he noticed his kids could remember the… Read More ›
SummerWithPITR
PSIP Continues Its Mission to Offer Fun, Accessible Theatre with Henry V
No one can say Artistic Director Jennifer Tober and the Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks hasn’t been busy over the past twelve seasons. The company has been producing free public performances of Shakespeare’s works in the Pittsburgh city parks since… Read More ›
Red Hills
Multidimensional, quasi-interactive plays are gradually becoming a phenomenon in theatre, in which evocative themes and transgressive or incredibly sensitive subject matter can be portrayed and explored with more efficacy, vitriol, and immersive sensorial touches that allow for greater intimacy. Moreover,… Read More ›
Annie
When I was given this assignment, I was greatly confused at being told that the theatre I was going to was in Greenfield. I lived on the Squirrel Hill/Greenfield edge for eleven years and have been doing theatre in Pittsburgh… Read More ›
Big Fish
There is a reason we tell each other stories that go beyond a recollection of the facts. We like to think we’re our own historians, and sometimes we are, but we don’t make myths as a matter of record. The… Read More ›
The Audience
There is a sort of unintentional impracticality to presenting a dramaturgical narrative that focuses on the heavily romanticized (and even fetishized, to some extent) monarchical dynasty of the United Kingdom. More specifically, a narrative focusing on the emblematically stodgy and… Read More ›
Go Back for Murder
The Summer Company presents Agatha Christie’s Go Back for Murder, an unusual take on the traditional murder mystery. What could be more exciting than family secrets, intrigue, suspense, romance and seduction? The story begins as a young English woman from… Read More ›
Billy Elliot
Keystone Performing Arts Academy presents Billy Elliot the Musical based on the 2000 film by the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. The… Read More ›
Little Shop of Horrors
Horror and comedy mix well. Laughter and terror are base emotions, but both require a degree of nuance to actually work. A comedy with stilted rhythm is unsettling; horror without subtlety is hilarious. Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors wasn’t… Read More ›
Million Dollar Quartet
There are two kinds of jukebox musicals in the world. In one type, the songs originally performed by an established musical act are incorporated into that person or group’s biography. Examples of these highly marketable, live docudramas include Jersey Boys… Read More ›