Any fairly seasoned or routine theatre-goer has a certain expectation for crowd makeup at certain shows. The niche, hyper-baroque, perhaps one person piece—the crowd is replete with art majors, the wandering scraggly dude wearing overalls with nothing underneath as a… Read More ›
SummerWithPITR
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play
12 Peers’ production of Mr. Burns reminds me how theatre is actually a sickness: an uncontrollable urge for group chemistry to elucidate collaboration, values and to define social archetypes. It’s a phenomenon that spans cultures for a reason; a desperate… Read More ›
Rumors
Neil Simon’s Rumors rumbles with all the kinetic energy of a whodunit but happily ignores the bullet points from the genre’s rulebook. This isn’t a play where the shock and awe come from the dramatic reveal of a criminal’s identity,… Read More ›
Avenue Q
Imagine if Sesame Street was for adults. This is the premise of Avenue Q, a place where puppets are friends, Monsters are good and life lessons are learned. The show tells the story of Princeton, who is a young man… Read More ›
Show Tune Saturday Night
The last Saturday night of the month, the Pittsburgh CLO presents Show Tune Saturday Night at the Cabaret in Theatre Square. It was conceived by the Mark Fleischer, the Producing Director at the CLO, as a combination meet and greet… Read More ›
Macbeth
An appreciation for the true essence of ensemble theatre, the electricity of enthusiasm and kinetic nerves that can pulsate through members of a troupe, is something that is not often considered or discussed in modern dramaturgy. While there are certainly… Read More ›
Resounding Sound
I didn’t know much about Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Resounding Sound before arriving at the New Hazlett Theater. I was a fill in for another writer that had fallen ill, so I only really knew the time and the place. I walked… Read More ›
Spamalot
I love musicals for the interlude of melodrama and escape they provide from my tragically mundane life. The singing and dancing, costumes, and live orchestra swelling between me and the stage make my heart happy. Opening night of Stage 62’s… Read More ›
Wonder of the World
Little Lake Theatre’s production of Wonder of the World is a zany madcap comedy populated by characters who are just a bit off center. What is normal these days? As the play opens, a young woman from Brooklyn named Cass is… Read More ›
Intermezzo
Pittsburgh Festival Opera continues to make good on its promise of producing Richard Strauss rarities, and for the fourth consecutive summer has revived one of the composer’s lesser known works. The company last year set the bar as high as… Read More ›