Theater preview: 1776 – The Musical at Pittsburgh Public Theater

David De Angelo — my good friend and fellow Pittsburgh blogger — got a peak behind the scenes at the preparation underway for the Public’s upcoming production of 1776 – The Musical. And, because he’s a grand fellow, he posted all about it on his blog. He shares some insights from cast members about the politics …

Theater preview: The Royal Family at the Pittsburgh Public Theater

I love “stage door” plays and movies, like All About Eve, Singing in the Rain, All That Jazz, and pretty much every movie Fred Astaire made. So I’m particularly excited about the play that opens the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s new season, The Royal Family. Video preview of “The Royal Family” at the Pittsburgh Public Theater” …

Don’t know what it is, but I know what I like

What is it about art that makes us hate art lovers so very much? It’s easy enough to love artists themselves, particularly artists who can convey emotion beautifully on the canvas but who struggle to express simple thoughts in conversation. I like that over-abstracting flavor of awkwardness in a person. What I don’t like is …

To see and see again: Lillian Hellman and “The Little Foxes”

Pictured standing (left to right) John Shepard, Chris Landis, and Ross Bickell. Seated is Helena Ruoti. Photo credit: Pittsburgh Public Theater. In 1982 I was Lillian Hellman for fifteen minutes. For 10th grade English class, we were each asked to choose an author and to research and report on that author. We were encouraged to …

New play: Harry’s Friendly Service, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater

There’s a new play in Pittsburgh that I want to see, but my schedule is conspiring against me. In case I can’t attend, I thought I’d at least let everyone else know about it — maybe if there’s a strong, positive response, the theater will extend it for a while until I can get a …

This weekend: Bricolage’s “play-in-a-day” event

From the email inbox, an announcement of a very cool event involving my friend Rick Schweikert and some of Pittsburgh finest theatre professionals: B.U. S. 4 Bricolage Urban Scrawl Bricolage presents our third annual Play-in-a-Day Series MARCH 21ST 937 LIBERTY AVENUE FIRST FLOOR Join Bricolage for a unique benefit to unveil a brand new season …

“The Lady with All the Answers” at the Public — plus special blogger opportunity

If you grew up poring over the advice that Ann Landers and Dear Abby handed out in their daily columns — or if you just enjoy a night of great live theater — you’ll want to check out the next production at the Pittsburgh Public Theater: "The Lady with All the Answers." (Local bloggers have …