Liberty Magic: Joshua Jay makes magic in Making Magic
Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, PhD and Theron Raymond (6th grader)
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Liberty Magic continue their 2025 show series with magician Joshua Jay in Making Magic.
Jay is a world-renowned magician who travels over 300 days a year performing his art. The fact he’s in Pittsburgh through June 1 to premiere his brand-new show is a boon for our fair city. On May 21, he’ll even be throwing out the first pitch with a magic trick at the Pirates game. If only he could bestow the magic of a winning season on the Buccos!
This award-winning, globetrotting magician is also neighborhood adjacent. He was born and raised in nearby Canton, Ohio. Immediately following the world premiere of his new show here in Pittsburgh, Joshua Jay will perform at the massive Kennedy Center.
In a meta-moment, a voiceover of Josh’s internal monologue deliberating how to start the show in fact opens the show. He establishes both his impeccable timing and ability to connect with the audience when he walks on stage just as the narration muses, “They scream with excitement.” The audience responds accordingly, and the hype energy is made real. He performs a series of illusions that rapidly raise the bar and reinforce his 2020 “Magician of the Year” accolades.
Jay shares “This is a show about the making of a show.” Accordingly, he talks about the process of creating this world premiere over the last eight months. His authenticity fosters a bond with the audience. As a magician, it’s his job to make his tricks look effortless – so effortless they’re breath-taking illusions. Like any profession, one doesn’t necessarily think about what it takes to achieve expertise. When Jay talks about practicing his tricks in front of a 3-way mirror to see what they look like from different angles, it’s a unique insight into the labor of creating effortlessness.
Joshua Jay at Liberty Magic
One piece of “show making” Jay shares is he started taking shadow puppet lessons during the pandemic. (I didn’t even know shadow puppet lessons were a thing.) He wanted to learn enough to do one trick he had conceptualized. His instructor refused to teach him for a single trick, and five years later, he’s still a student. This half-decade commitment is an inspiring testimony to his growth mindset and dedication to advancing his craft.
Subsequently, he treats the audience to an exquisite shadow puppet show. We live in a high tech world, yet Jay casts magic with the ordinary. It’s utterly transfixing to witness his hands become storytellers as they cascade through a panoply of animals. The creatures are accompanied by a gentle soundtrack of nature sounds, and his flawless timing matches each shadow to the appropriate animal sound. You find your eyes involuntarily darting from the screen of shadows to his actual hands to see the shapes and evolution of stag to elephant to owl. He brings it back to the trick in question, astonishing as his shadows interact with real objects.
Jay’s tricks are layered stories. He thoughtfully utilizes audience participation. This simultaneously builds engagement and allows him to remove himself from the magic, making the participants unexpected heroes. It also heightens the wow factor as he somehow didn’t touch a thing and yet, magic! This is particularly true with his card tricks, which are the mainstay of his show. He stabs cards with a sword and makes cards appear that triangulate data points from random audience members. His experimental show reminds us that making and telling stories is the magic of a collective experience.
Ages 12 and up are welcome, so don’t miss the chance to see Joshua Jay in Making Magic through June 1, 2025 at the wonderfully intimate Liberty Magic (811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222). Liberty Magic also offers a VIP experience to go backstage and connect with Josh after his show. You’ll see a few bonus magic tricks too. Purchase tickets online here.
Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, Ph.D., and Theron Raymond (6th grader)
Prime Stage Theatre finishes its 28th season with Sherman L. Sergel’s adaptation of Reginald Rose’s 1955 play, Twelve Angry Men. The play was a fast-follow to Rose’s 1954 Emmy Award-winning TV movie of the same name. In 1957, legend Sidney Lumet directed the Academy Award-nominated film version. The story’s rapid adaptation across mediums is a testimony to its relevance in the cultural zeitgeist.
The show opens with the voice of God. The unseen presiding trial judge instructs the 12 jurors and reminds them to “deliberate honestly.” Director Shane Valenzi wisely freeze frames all 12 actors in the jury room during this speech. This not only heightens their deference but anchors the rule of law as the prevailing voice in the room. The judge’s voice is commanding and authoritative, reminiscent of the opening narration from Law & Order.
Costume designer Meg Kelly is true to the era with all dozen dressed in suits. However, it’s not a sea of sameness. Juror #4 (Keith Zagorski) wears a tailored pinstripe suit, distinguishing him as an authoritative executive and a man of means. The foreman (Mark Spondike) is hunched and dressed in a dated and worn looking suit with trousers a smidge too short that bespeak a working class life. These status subtleties are outward manifestations of how the assembled jurors differ in the deliberation process and deciding of a verdict. They may be 12 white men, but they’re hardly a homogenous group.
The cast of “Twelve Angry Men.”
The play’s title is a little aggressive and off-putting but also inaccurate. Twelve Angry Men conjures a one-dimensional emotional valence. Anger is an emotion. However, there’s more frustration than anger. The jurors are motivated and distracted by highly relatable externalities. Juror #7 (Luke Hancock) wants a quick verdict so he can get to the Yankees game he has tickets for. Hancock imbues this with the modern equivalent of missing a Taylor Swift concert. The monetary and experiential costs of missing the game weigh more heavily on him than the fate of a man’s life.
As Juror #12, Marc Duchin paces, exuding the energy of an edgy, amped-up ad executive. He’s preemptively anxious about the prospect of a lengthy deliberation, worrying aloud that “my job could be gone.” Despite being a 70-year old play, the cutthroat concerns of employment security are remarkably resonant.
There’s also vulnerability in the emotional landscape. Juror #8 (Everett Lowe) asks thoughtful questions that force the jurors to dissect details of the trial’s timeline, which is unveiled over the course of the deliberation process. Lowe physically towers over the other actors, and his height becomes symbolic of his commanding wisdom.
Alex Barnhart’s mid-century set design is austere and brilliant. The wooden jury room floor is covered by an area rug that leaves a generous perimeter of exposed flooring. The area rug is shadowed by a rectangular table that’s uncomfortably small for 12 people. Barnhart’s concentric layering thoughtfully creates a sense of the walls closing in. His minimalist design also allows the people and their personalities to fill the set.
What director Shane Valenzi does miss is cigarettes and ashtrays. Smoking was the 1950s norm, including courtrooms and jury rooms. If you’ve ever seen Lumet’s film, the jurors smoke throughout the deliberation. Some full ashtrays and herbal cigarettes would have sharpened the era-specific feel and heightened the suffocation of small room claustrophobia.
Juror #11 (David Knackman) is a European immigrant. While Juror #11 is a naturalized citizen, Knackman leans into a lingering accent to earmark the immigrant. He echoes the omniscient, absent judge, making an impassioned speech for due process, the legal system, and democracy. He reminds the assembled that he came to America because it’s a place where “A man is entitled to unpopular opinions,” and it is “one of the reasons why we are strong.” With America’s courts and legal system currently under siege, that reminder of strength has never been more relevant.
-TKR, Ph.D. & TR
You can see Prime Stage’s production of Twelve Angry Men through May 11, 2025 at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212. Purchase tickets online here.
The 2024-2025 Trust Arts Cabaret closes out its season with the stunning CMU graduate, Patina Miller (“Power Book III: Raising Kanan”).
The star of stage and screen opened with a sultry rendition of “Fever.”
Miller went on to sing from the Broadway songbook, briefly stopping to share anecdotes about her time in Pittsburgh. At the 9:30 show, Miller’s former Carnegie Mellon University voice teachers were in attendance.
Patina Miller at the Trust Arts Cabaret
Miller nailed “Corner of the Sky” from the 2013 revival of “Pippin” in which she starred as the Leading Player, the show’s emcee/narrator character, a role originated by Ben Vereen.
Her set list included “Fabulous Baby!” from her star turn as Deloris Van Cartier in the stage adaptation of “Sister Act.”
Miller belted some of her favorite songs, including “No One is Alone” from “Into the Woods.”
Miller was accompanied by James Sampliner, a veteran music director for countless Broadway artists including Pittsburgh’s own Billy Porter.
The evening at the Cabaret was, as the song states, “Fabulous Baby!”
-MB
The Trust Arts Cabaret series is at the Greer Cabaret Theatre, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For tickets to the 2025-2026 Trust Arts Cabaret series click here.
Jenna (Zanny Laird) knows that her whole life is about to change when she learns that she’s pregnant in the blockbuster Broadway play, “Waitress.”
Jenna doesn’t love her husband, Earl (Corey Rieger), with good reason. The man is cruel, selfish and lazy. However, Jenna can’t figure out how to leave him.
Jenna’s personality is perfectly encapsulated in song, “She is messy, but she’s kind. She is lonely most of the time,” but she’s also an amazing pie maker. Fellow waitresses, Becky (La’Nette Wallace), and Dawn (Catherine Baird) are slinging hash and flinging barbs in Joe’s Diner alongside her. They are also her moral (and sometimes immoral) support system.
Jenna’s the overwhelmed one. Becky is the sassy one. Dawn is the ditzy one. It’s the 70s sitcom “Alice” with a Sara Bareilles soundtrack.
Her life changes when she meets Dr. Jim Pomatter (Brett Goodnack, everyone’s favorite chainsaw wielding Ash), her gynecologist.
Meanwhile Becky is knocking boots with the manager, Cal (Ben Sheedy), the Mel to Jenna’s Alice. Dawn gets a meet-cute with the goofy but lovable, Ogie (a hilarious Quinn Patrick Shannon, turning in a brilliant performance in a smaller role).
The diner owner, Joe (Danny Herman), is a tough curmudgeon, but he’s got a soft spot for Jenna, as long as she remembers to put his tomatoes on the side.
Becky (La’Nette Wallace), Jenna (Zanny Laird) and Dawn (Catherine Baird) sing through their shifts at Joe’s Diner in “Waitress.”
When putting the show together, Director Tim Seib picked the perfect ingredients, blending top notch actors, a superb band, with amazing music created a smash hit.
Laird has proven time and time again that she is a star on the Pittsburgh stage and would be welcome on any Broadway stage. Her rendition of “She Used To Be Mine” is a showstopper. There are not enough hyperboles to describe it.
Goodnack also has star quality. He has grown into a charismatic and dynamic leading man.
Side note: This critic recognized Goodnack’s burgeoning talent in a musical theater improv group, the Wunderstudies, nearly fifteen years ago where he told a certain Patch reporter to “Try the funnel cakes!” at a fair in Oakdale, PA.
Wallace’s Becky is a blast. She absolutely slays with “I Didn’t Plan It,” a powerful number that opens up the second act.
“Waitress” is filled with extras. Diners need patrons and musicals need backup dancers and harmonizers. It’s a gifted class of background performers. Nurse Norma (Jeyni Ortiz-Valentin) dishes out some of the best lines of the show, spitting them out, under her breath, with candor and aplomb. Isabel Kruse has a silent role as Jenna’s deceased mom, but it is a poignant performance.
Tucker Topel’s scenic design emulates the Broadway stage version of the set with soft pinks and blues fit for Lulu’s nursery. It is perfectly complemented by Todd Nonn’s impeccable lighting design.
Excellent costumes by Jeremy Eiben, which includes, waitress costumes, street clothes, and some Revolutionary War cosplay.
One small side note: There are renovation plans in the works for PMT stages and that’s a good thing, because if you get stuck behind a tall or broad- shouldered person, you’re only seeing part of the performance.
The show runs a little long, especially when setting up all of the characters and their various storylines, but it gives all of the principle cast members their own moment to shine.
If you’re ready for a uplifting story of hope and redemption, “Waitress” is ready to serve you. It’s a must-see show.
-MB
“Waitress” runs until May 25 at the Gargaro Theater in Pittsburgh’s West End, 327 South Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. For more information, click here.
Ray Cooney’s wildly successful, nine-year run of the British farce “Run for Your Wife” prompted him to write the sequel, “Caught in the Net, “currently running (or more accurately zooming) across South Park Theatre’s stage.
The bigamist London taxi driver John Smith (Justin Mohr) is still married to Mary (Jocelyn Hillen) and Barbara (Misty Challingsworth). After eighteen years of duplicity, things have become more complicated because John now has two children: Barbara’s son, Gavin (Owen Stillwell), and Mary’s daughter Vickie (Josie Manculich).
Gavin and Vickie meet on the internet and are amazed at how much they have in common. They’re planning to get together for tea at Vickie’s parents’ apartment. (Teenagers–tea? Yes, after all, they live in London). Understandably, John is horrified that his years’ long subterfuge will be discovered, so he schemes to prevent the teenagers from meeting by using any means possible, including enlisting his friend Stanley (Noah Kendall) to keep the teens apart.
Stanley and John spin a series of increasingly ludicrous tall tales to stop the inevitable meeting of John’s offspring. The hilarious lies create farcical situations- ringing cell phones, doorbells, people frantically knocking on locked doors, mistaken identities, not-so-dead bodies, and silly disguises.
From left to right: Owen Stillwater, Misty Challingsworth, Jocelyn Hillen, & Josie Manculich. Photo Credit: South Park Theatre
Mohr is frenetic from the beginning of the play until the end. The physicality, energy, and volume he summons must leave him exhausted after every performance.
Hillen skillfully plays the loving wife and mother. Her range of emotions ranges from patient, loving mother to rabid, maniacal anger. She is believable in every scene.
Challingsworth’s sweet new age concern for others is delivered with warmth and sincerity.
Kendall’s Stanley is wonderfully comical. His sincere, riotous efforts to support his friend, John, highlight his comedic timing, funny facial expressions, and high energy.
Manculich and Stillwell both give natural authentic performances as the likable, polite, yet frustrated teens who want nothing more than to meet each other.
Stanley’s dad is an amusing Bob Rak who makes the very best of all his laugh lines, “dirty old man” gestures and body gyrations.
The clever set design (Robert Hockenberry) adds to the comedy. Two nearly identical apartments, side by side on the stage set the scene for two simultaneous conversations, with similar dialogue in each apartment.
Director, Gavin Calgaro orchestrates these conversations with intricate timing thus engaging the audience.
The witty dialogue in “Caught in the Net” elicits hearty laughter throughout the show. This fast paced, slapstick. high energy show builds a compelling case for monogamy! If you enjoyed “Run for your Wife” you’ll not want to miss this show!
LtTL
“Caught in the Net” runs through May 17 at South Park Theatre, at the intersection of Corrigan Dr & Brownsville Road, South Park, PA. For tickets and more information, click here.
Henrick Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” premiered in Copenhagen in December of 1879, Since then numerous adaptations have been written for both stage and screen.
The Heritage Players chose Frank McGuinness’ adaptation with the plot focusing on Nora’s (Chelsea Kikel) increasing fear that her seemingly “doting”, somewhat oppressive husband (who treats her like a plaything–a doll), Torvald (Kieran Craft) will learn of the criminal means she employed to secure a bank loan to provide the medical care for him prescribed by their family friend, Dr. Rank (Reed Mack). The treatment was successful in saving the ailing Torvald’s life. Coincidently, the still unpaid loan originated from the same bank where he’s the newly appointed manager.
When bank employee Nils Krogstad (Kamran Mian) learns that he’s going to lose his position at the bank, he threatens to expose Nora’s forgery to Torvald unless she can convince him to keep him employed.
Several twists and turns lead to a surprising or maybe not so surprising ending.
Nora (Chelsea Kikel) finds a moment of joy, even under the thumb of her oppressive husband.
Kikel gives a strong performance. She’s convincingly merry, flirtatious, loving, frightened. angry, frustrated and desperate. Her fluid emotions and mercurial mood swings are all very real. The strength of her work is consistent and her energy unflagging.
Craft comes across as a condescending and controlling man more concerned about his own reputation than his wife’s happiness.
Mian’s stuffy, cold, calculating Kragstad later redeems himself.
Mack has a tender, moving scene with Kikel when he confesses his longtime love for her.
Director, Nancy Caronia makes an interesting choice. Between scenes when the actors exit the stage from the right side, they walk across the theater, from right to left, in front of the audience, (and also in front of the continuing action on the stage), then they walk up the left aisle to exit the auditorium. It distracts from the onstage action.
Declan Hines’ lovely period costumes lend a historic, nostalgic tone. (Nostalgic? Wait — I wasn’t around in 1879, but still –the costumes provide a pleasant touch.)
“The Doll’s House” was inspired by a real life event. A friend of Ibsen’s was sent to an insane asylum by her husband after he learned that she borrowed money to pay for his medical treatment. He was furious that she did something without his permission and had her committed. Ibsen was greatly disturbed by this event and was motivated to write a play that validates women and their need for autonomy, and individual freedom. He saw the need for women to escape the limiting expectations of a patriarchal society.
Seeing this interesting adaptation will surely provoke stimulating discussions about individualism, freedom, self-respect and fulfillment.
LtTL
“A Doll’s House” runs until May 4th at the Elizabeth Seton Center at 1900 Pioneer Avenue, 15226.For tickets and more information, click here.
In Cleveland, Ohio, in 2004, Shawn (Robert Hunter) wants to buy season passes to LeBron James’s inaugural season with the Cavs, and, instead, gets a lifelong, yet unlikely, friend, in the ticketholder, Matt (Michael Patrick Trimm) in Rajiv Joseph’s play, “King James.”
The fast friends bond over LeBron. The play takes place over four quarters, like a basketball game, in 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2016. Their lives take roller coaster turns, up, down and sideways throughout the four significant years of their friendship.
Matt and Shawn go mano a mano in the pickup game of life.
Their lives become intwined in a variety of ways. When Shawn becomes friends with Matt’s parents, things get a bit awkward. Societal issues become a sticking point between them. Things get ugly in the second act, when Matt slips a comment out about LeBron that becomes a seismic quake in their friendship.
Ultimately, the story is about platonic friendship, a difficult feat to pull off in a two-hander. Joseph keeps the text laser-focused on basketball, and the subtext on money, race and education.
Shawn (Robert Hunter) discusses the game with Matt (Michael Patrick Trimm). Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Both of the male leads are charming to watch, especially when they’re geeking out over their favorite player, the titular King James (LeBron).
The nature of fandom is a core component of the show. Even though, LeBron James feels like a third character in the play, the subject of their bond could have easily been any iteration of fandom. The could have easily been Terrible Towel-waving Steeler fans, or light saber-wielding Star Wars fans.
Matt (Michael Patrick Trimm) and Shawn (Robert Hunter) learn that LeBron is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Trimm brings a lot of sitcom energy to the work. His character is an over-the-top sports fan is meant to have a manic dynamic. It works, especially against Hunter’s more measured character (until things flip when LeBron returns to Cleveland).
Hunter does a terrific job as the more intellectual of the two. His character starts off as aloof, distant, but as the show progresses, he is the more open and passionate member of the duo.
Both characters have an arc, and the actors handle each of their respective changes with finesse.
Monteze Freeland directs the show with verve. Even though the story is “two men shooting the shit,” Freeland keeps the kinetic energy high, the actors are in constant motion.
Tony Ferrieri does another spectacular job with the set. Act one takes place in a church that is converted into a wine bar complete with ornate stain glass windows. Act two takes place in a curiosity shop, stuffed with vintage tchotchkes, including a standing globe, a human skull and a stuffed armadillo.
Side note: The Armadillo, Armand, is a plot point throughout the show.
Shout out to Howard Patterson’s sound design. Normally, when the actors are mic’ed, it’s riddled with feedback loops, or that scruffy noise when the mic rubs up against facial hair or loose clothing. Patterson’s microphones elevated the actors voices without being noticeable or annoying.
“King James” doesn’t carry the dramatic weight of “Birthday Candles,” but it’s a delightful story about friendship. If you have a basketball enthusiast in your life, this could be the play that gets him or her into the theatre. You might be able to create a lifelong theatre fan. The theatre, every theatre in Pittsburgh, could benefit from having a few more fans. After all, sports and theater are nothing without fans.
-MB
“King James” runs until Sunday, May 11 at the City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. For tickets and more information, click here.
John (Trieu Tran) works for a British master and his daughter, Miss Julie (Shelby Garrett) in a house in Hong Kong. His girlfriend, Christine (Yan Pang) serves as the all-round domestic in that same household.
After World War II Hong Kong is still controlled by the British, although their influence is waning.
Julie loves both John and Christine although she often doesn’t show it. She’s been reared in Hong Kong. Exposed to Chinese culture but as part of the white hierarchy, there are social boundaries that can’t be crossed.
There has always been a reckoning that the upper and lower classes don’t mix. This “upstairs, downstairs” mentality may soon be broken as John has aspirations for independence. His potential wealth and growth would take him outside of his social class.
Christine is content being the obedient servant and is the only moral person in the household. She embraces Chinese traditions but is also a faithful Christian.
Julie has a more selfish outlook on life. She wants to be entertained and satisfied constantly. It is apparent that she never had the parental attention she now seeks in others.
There is a definite distinction and division in the two classes within the household. Not only a division by class, race and culture, but also the rancor of colonialism.
Poster for “Miss Julie.”
When Julie decides to break all social barriers by meandering “downstairs” into John’s world, everything changes.
Note: Playwright Amy Ng’s adaptation of “Miss Julie” incorporates more than differences in social class. By adapting the play as if it occurred in the 20th century it can and does include distinctions in race and culture, along with the concept of colonialism.
Pict’s production of “Miss Julie” is outstanding, beautifully presented and well-acted.
Garrett is excellent as the tormented Miss Julie. She transitions easily from the spoiled young woman who demands attention from John. She is a crazed, confused woman whose emotions and rationale are fluid and easily changed. In spite of her behavior, Garrett conveys a sense of sadness a troubled soul.
Tran is a dynamo. His desire to move and grow out of his current station in life is palpable. He has a wide range of emotions – funny and endearing, at times subservient, angry and combative, physically threatening. He is an equal opponent in his and Julie’s psychological warfare.
As the domestic servant Pang keeps her cool most of the time, capitulating to both John and Miss Julie. When she finally reaches her limit, Pang lets loose, freeing herself from the demure, always acquiescing person to a woman with a mind of her own.
Mimi Jong as Auntie has no vocal lines but her presence as “Auntie’s Ghost” as she gently glides across the stage or plays the Erhu is soothing.
“Miss Julie” was written by August Strindberg with adaptation by Amy Ng.
Scenic Design by Tucker Topel is exquisite and artistically presented. Bob Steineck complements the set as Lighting Designer.
Kudos to Director to Elizabeth Elias Huffman.
-CED
“Miss Julie” runs from April 18th to May 4th at Carnegie Stage, 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA. 15106. For tickets and additional information, clickhere.
To view the works by Kara Walker currently on display at The Frick Museum of Pittsburgh until May 25, 2025, can be described as, “Enlightening,” according to KEA, a local Pittsburgh performer, singer-songwriter, and visual artist. “It opened up a whole new horizon for me,” she added. That new horizon included an intimate evening of music at The Frick Museum, a first of its kind experience for KEA, pairing the songs of Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye, among others along with her own personal music and poetry, in conversation with the racial history of America addressed by Walker’s artwork exhibited throughout the museum.
“Kara Walker’s art invites viewers to confront uncomfortable truths and the complex relationship between the past and present,” explained Dawn R Brean, Chief Curator and Director of Collections at The Frick Museum.
Inviting musicians to fill the museum with sounds in response to the art on view is something The Frick Museum has welcomed into its space often during its recent exhibits. It adds elements of collaboration, commentary, and community within the art scene in Pittsburgh that is more refreshing than simply seeing the art or hearing the music separately—though inspiring on their own, together there are more layers and contexts to be explored, much like Walker’s artwork.
KEA and the band.
On March 29, 2025, KEA graced the stage at The Frick Museum alongside Gary K., on the strings, and George C. Jones on the congas. Her powerful performance included an original poem, she titled “Unapologetic Freedom,” describing the struggles of Black Americans from the Civil War, to the Civil Rights Movement, to modern-day, where the line of her poem, “equality and our livelihood was at stake,” dwelled over the audience in deep reflection of the current political climate. KEA also gave voice to one of her top-charting songs, “Holla If You Hear Me” which she impressively wrote in just over 10 minutes, and released in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, hoping to inspire change for Black Americans. In her soul-filled sounds, she sang, “Change is needed now,” and “One thing and one person at a time.”
According to Brean, “The Kara Walker exhibition is a continuation of a larger Frick initiative to reexamine history with a contemporary lens. This is perhaps best seen in our new, reinterpreted tour of Clayton, the historic home of the Fricks. The new tour titled Gilded, Not Golden strives to learn from the Gilded Age and open dialogue on how we still feel the effects of that era in our everyday life today.”
Brean continued, “The Civil War and the Reconstruction Era laid the foundation for the Gilded Age, a time when industrialists, like Henry Clay Frick, amassed immense fortunes. As a Gilded Age historic site,I find it so illuminating to reflect on our nation’s history, how it shaped and continues to shape our present day. The issues central to that time—citizenship, industry, voting rights, power and wealth inequalities—are still relevant today. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a newspaper headline is from yesterday or 1892. Kara Walker’s work engages with these themes in such profound ways, drawing powerful connections between the past and present. Contemporary artists in particular have the power to humanize complex issues and draw these connections in such engaging ways. Kara Walker’s work is a great example of that power.”
KEA’s vocals in concert with Walker’s work were uniquely powerful and moving. When speaking about the inspirations that have had the power to move her, KEA expressed, “I draw my inspiration, number one, from the community and from the struggle. It’s about the strength within that struggle.” She described her early musical inspirations, which she also found in her parents.
“I grew up in the inner city, a Black neighborhood here in Pittsburgh and my parents were married at the time, and I’d seen my Dad going through so much, working and having to deal with issues at work because of the color of his skin. My parents, both being musical people, my Dad being a guitar player and a singer, introducing my Mom being a violist. They showed me different genres of music.”
Specifically, KEA recalled hearing her mother play Marvin Gaye’s song “What’s Going On” and she did not understand why her mother was crying. Years later, KEA, who balances her career in music while being a single mother, keenly understands her mother’s tears, and is equally inspired by Marvin Gaye and her own children.
Of her own music KEA expressed, “I’ve honed myself as somebody who speaks about struggles, issues, relationship struggles that most people don’t want to talk about, but I tackle it.”
Not shying away from the tough subjects sums up Walker’s works as well. Through the use of strategic artistic silhouettes overlaid atop enlarged renditions of Harper’s Weekly, pictorial drawings depicting scenes from the Civil War across mainly southern territories of the United States, Walker highlights racial inequality and the repugnance of slavery in stark black and white prints. The layered nature of Walker’s prints invites viewers to confront the positive and negative spaces of the artwork and the history. A few of Walker’s pieces also depict layers within layers, like a female silhouette within a male silhouette, and a boy within man, to further the conversation around gender inequality and generational disparities.
“The visual disruption of her black silhouettes silkscreened on the surface of Winslow Homer’s illustrations brings to the surface a silenced history of violence that is absent from the initial narrative. We decided to include a content warning so visitors could prepare themselves to encounter images that might be graphic or emotionally overwhelming,” said Brean.
On of the pages from Harper’s Weekly from the Civil War years.
Brean also explained, “What makes our showing of this exhibition particularly unique is the inclusion of bound copies of Harper’s Weekly from the Civil War years that are typically housed in the Clayton library. These original editions from our collection are presented alongside Walker’s work, inviting further dialogue between historical and contemporary perspectives and how artists serve as a witness to American history—as it unfolds and in its aftermath. We booked this exhibition several years ago (museums are often planning exhibitions years out) so this show became even more timely in a way we never anticipated. But that shows that Walker’s work is more urgent than ever. We will continue to engage in an open and honest exploration of the past, in all its depth and complexity.”
Planned or unplanned, the presence of these pieces at The Frick Museum clearly could not have come at a more poignant time.
KEA’s contribution gave a certain light to the darkness that is much needed in this moment. “Music is hope. Music is support,” the singer stated, “During my darkest days and darkest times that’s all I had, was music to help me through. It’s all about hope, it’s all about ‘Let’s help the people.’”
Giving voice to the people of Pittsburgh is another thing The Frick Museum inherently values. “Over a dozen Pittsburgh community members—artists, professors, and local leaders—accepted our invitation to contribute guest labels to deepen the conversation. We are grateful for their insights and the rich dialogue they’ve helped foster; that isn’t possible when there is only the ‘museum’ voice represented in the labels,” Brean reflected.
Through art and music, The Frick Museum’s Kara Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) exhibition is changing the community—for the better—one viewer at a time.
To hear more of KEA’s music to accompany your own visit to this exhibition, follow her on social media: Instagram @musicbykea, Facebook @Kea; and YouTube @KeaTV.
Musicians Joe/Josephine (Matt Loehr) and buddy Jerry/Daphne (Tavis Kordell) witness a gangster-style murder in 1930’s Chicago. These musicians have two alternatives: contact the police about what they witnessed or run like hell. They choose the latter.
With high heels clicking, lipstick applied generously, dresses flowing and a flair for the dramatic, Joe (AKA Josephine) and Jerry (now Daphne) join a female orchestra led by band leader Sweet Sue (Tarra Conner Jones). They’re headed to California, hoping to escape detection.
Adjusting to this new world is not an easy task as they’re always on edge not to drop their cover.
Joe has always been a womanizer and even in disguise as Josephine he’s enchanted with singer Sugar (Leandra Ellis-Gaston). Joe’s personality as Josephine is to act, speak and react as a prim, churchly-type woman.
Adapting more easily to this environment, Daphne relishes his role as a female. He finds a strength and confidence in this new role that he didn’t have previously as Jerry. He’s more assertive and independent as Daphne than he ever was as Jerry.
When millionaire Osgood (Edward Juvier) enters the picture and meets Daphne, he is immediately smitten.
How will all the players resolve their issues and problems? Do the gangsters ever catch up with Joe and Jerry or will they be forced to live this dual life forever? Is Osgood still in the picture? Does Sugar still sing for Sweet Sue?
“Some Like it Hot” is a sizzling production showcased with hot dancing (and lots of tap), singing and acting by the entire cast.
Note: Based on the movie by the same name, this 2022 Tony Award winner inserts some modern references around gender identity and racism.
A phenomenal performance by Loehr. He easily transitions from an outgoing, in charge guy to a mild, religious woman, to a German. His comedic timing is impeccable, and dancing is on point.
Kordell sashays his way into our hearts as Daphne. He develops his character from the more reticent Jerry to the vivacious and outgoing Daphne. His comedy delivery, both physically and vocally is well done. Great singing of “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather”.
Ellis-Gaston captures the strength and talent of a singer who is determined to be successful in a time when obstacles often prohibited or slowed that growth. Her vocals on “A Darker Shade of Blue” and “Ride Out the Storm” are powerful.
Brash, loud and opinionated, Jones holds court as the in-charge band leader. She has some sharp comedic lines and great stage presence. Her rendition of “What Are You Thirsty For?” is powerful and opens the show with a big bang.
Juvier stands out as the likeable but naïve and bizarre rich man. He falls in love with Daphne at first sight and is determined to win her affection. Juvier’s comedic and dancing skills come to life as he prods Daphne to “Let’s Be Bad”.
“Some Like it Hot” Book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin. Music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.
Hats off to Costume Designer Gregg Barnes for exquisite costume designs.
Choreography by Casey Nicholaw was superb, heightened further by the excellent dancing ensemble.
Brilliant lighting design by Natasha Katz and Scenic Design by Scott Pask.
-CED
“Some Like It Hot” runs April 15th to April 20th at the Benedum Center for Performing Arts, 7th and Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For tickets and additional information, clickhere.
