“Speak,” a new play about the intentional damage — physical and emotional — we are capable of inflicting on one another, and the healing powers of kindness and art.
The work, an adaptation by Tammy Ryan of Laurie Halse Anderson’s popular 1999 YA novel, was commissioned by Prime Stage Theatre, and made its debut on April 30 at the New Hazlett Theater.
To be clear, this isn’t a review. To have a world premiere of a full-length musical in front of a Pittsburgh audience, presented by Pittsburgh CLO and populated with top-notch talent – from Broadway, regional productions and inside the Cultural District – is both an event and an opportunity.
“Mark Fleischer, who knows Matt [Castle] and Frank from Brainstorm Records, called them and said, ‘What on earth is this thing you’re doing with my favorite Champagne?’ And they said, ‘Oh, I think you might have to talk to Laurie. He didn’t even know I was from Pittsburgh, and I mean, my whole family is from Pittsburgh. And so it feels like bringing it home.”
By SHARON EBERSON The new play Art of Wise opens with a heart-stopping scenario, then turns back the clock for a lyrical, gripping buildup to a fateful faceoff, during an enslaved man’s desperate flight for freedom. The “art” of Art… Read More ›
By SHARON EBERSON If you’ve been planning your local theater-going for the next month, you must have noticed the coincidence. It’s not that Pittsburgh Public Theatre Downtown and City Theatre on the South Side open shows within a week of… Read More ›
‘A Christmas Story’ Returns for the Holidays Pittsburgh Public Theatre has announced three shows for the 2023-24 season, opening September 19 with the world-premiere production Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For. The musical about the jazz legend who grew up… Read More ›
By Sharon Eberson The highest praise for a comedy that strives to honor the French master Moliere is that it pummels hypocrisy and is as thought-provoking as it is laugh-inducing. Simon Bradbury’s The Illustrious Invalid accomplishes all of the above…. Read More ›
