Tag: Culture

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

 

The Dickens You Say!

Get ready for a twist on a holiday classic. Bricolage is finishing their Midnight Radio season with a Pittsburgh parody of the Charles Dickens story, “A Christmas Carol,” with “Yinz’r Scrooged.” Get your stockings and cap down to the Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Double Dickens!

Move over, Ebenezer. You’re not the only Dickens in town. PICT Classic Theatre is presenting, “Oliver Twist,” adapted for the stage by Alan Stanford. He wants food, glorious food (Note: this is the drama not the musical), and it’s at the the Charity Randall Theatre inside the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

 

Eggs Not included

What’s better than a Denny’s Grand Slam? The Moth GrandSlam on December 5, 2015. Come out and see, Todd Shaffer, Tristan Reid, Tim Sommers, comedians Krish Mohan, John Dick Winters, Derek Minto and more. They’ll all be telling stories with the theme “Now or Never.” So, go! Now. It’s at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

The Sarah Chronicles

Lily & Sam, an upwardly-mobile young urban couple, are in crisis mode. Lily’s pregnant & Sam is stuck in a panic that rings entirely true: they owe more than a hundred thousand dollars – how will they support a baby? That question will probably be answered in “Scared of Sarah,” at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

Have you heard about the Herdmans?

A group of unruly children learn the true meaning of Christmas in “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Come and see them at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, click here.

– MB

 

 

 

 

 

by Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

And I helped!

Support Small Business Saturday at the “I Made It Holiday Market.” One Hundred local artisans are selling handmade wares. Shoppers will enjoy music, entertainment, crafts and more. It’s  12 – 8 pm on Nov 27th (Black Friday) and 11 am – 6 pm on Nov 28th (Small Business Saturday). Also check out the food trucks. “I Made It” is at Nova Place (former Allegheny Center Mall, Northside) 100S. Commons, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Flaming Fruit!

After shopping at the “I Made It,” take a short walk over to the Carnegie Science Center. There’s always something going on. For example: instead of shopping on Black Friday, you can watch a live demonstration of people setting fire to fruit. It’s the chemistry of fire and the flavor of dessert. You can also see “The Christmas Star” on the big, big screen of the Rangos Omnimax Theater, or check out the Holiday Magic Laser Show at the Buhl Planetarium. It’s at One Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Art Kids

Black Friday is also Family Day at the Mattress Factory Museum. Imagine, share and explore! Everyone is invited to make a patterned sphere, weave a string installation, explore the museums with an interactive scavenger hunt, enjoy a hot chocolate bar, face-painting and more. It’s at the Mattress Factory Museum, 500 Sampsonia Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, go here.

 

Choo Choo Choose Me

The Garden Railroad is up at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Enjoy the Winter Flower Show, the train and all the lovely things at Phipps. It’s all at One Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

 

Quest for Funny

Saturday at 10 PM, it’s “Knights of the Arcade,” a live action Dungeons and Dragons game played on stage by comedians, improvisers and tried-and-true geeks. Every month, the Knights embark on an epic quest built entirely from audience suggestions. Pittsburgh Magazine proclaimed, “Best Nerd Fantasy Come to Life.” Check it out at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

 

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

 

Start your engines

Former high school buddies Frank, Swaino and Packie – now past their prime – meet off-hours one in Frank’s repair shop under cloudy circumstances in barebones production’s “Small Engine Repair.” Get your motor running up to 1211 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, PA 15104 to catch all the excitement. For mreo information, click here.

 

Play on Words

Alan Olifson has met a lot of storytellers. He’s bringing them up on stage to tell their stories with a live soundtrack in “Word Play.” Find him, Siovhan Christensen, Parag S. Gohel, Adam Tobias, and Tami Dixon at the Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Light ‘em up!

Friday, November 20 is Light Up Night in Pittsburgh. Watch the lights go up on Pittsburgh throughout the night. There’s jazz, fireworks, Santa Clause and so much more. For a full schedule of events, click here.

 

No plans?

Unplanned Comedy is planning on bringing lots of joy in 2016 with two new projects Unplanned TV, a screening of television pilots created by Pittsburghers, and Cinebrain, a live game show that will test your knowledge of film. Find out more about both projects at the Unplanned  TV Launch Party, Saturday November 21 at Hambones, 4207 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. For more information, click here.

 

Misguided

Monty Navarro is planning some serious shenanigans. He’s planning on getting his inheritance any way he can in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” part of PNC’s Broadway in Pittsburgh series. Get your guide to all the action at the Benedum Center, 7^th Street between Liberty and Penn, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.  For more information, click here.

 

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Lips Incorporated

It’s time to do the Time Warp again! Frank N. Furter is building a man with blond hair and a tan, but Brad and Janet are going to throw a monkey wrench into the whole affair in Stage 62’s“The Rocky Horror Show.” There even doing a Saturday night midnight performance. Don’t dream it, be it at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

Rainy Days

Hang out in Carnegie all weekend and go to “Welcome the Rain: A Cabaret Evening with Rebecca Covert” The big-voiced vocalist hits the Carnegie Stage in a new solo cabaret show that celebrates hiccups and wrong turns that make our lives so beautifully and hopelessly flawed. Covert will be accompanied by jazz artist, Reni Monteverde. It’s at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

After the “fact”

Prime Stage is following up “The Crucible” with “Abigail/1702,” an inventive tale about the girl who cried witch in Ye Olde Salem. It’s a Staged Reading and chat session on Sunday November 15 at the Prime Stage Studio, 840 Saw Mill Run Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. For more information, go here.

 

Give a Damn

Saturday, November 14, Frankly Scarlett returns to the stage with their “All Made Up” improv show… with a twist! In honor of Sadie Hawkins Day, the gals have each asked a guy to perform in the show with them! Featuring special guests, lots of surprises, and Scarlett’s patented blend of short form games & long form improv scenes. Get in on all the fun at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

All-Star Squad 

Sunday, November 23, female impersonators from across U.S. compete in Evening Gown & Talent categories at the Kierra Darshell’s 23rd Annual Miss Tri-State All Star Pageant.  Finally! A beauty pageant without Donald Trump! Come out to the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District at the Cabaret at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To commemorate Veterans’ Day, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is offering extended hours of its rare Civil War Room, the Captain Thomas Espy Post No. 153 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Ordinarily open on Saturdays or by special arrangement, the Espy Post will be open all 10:30 until 6:30 on November 11^th.

“We just finished the restoration of our beautiful Library, and I thought Veteran’s Day would be a great opportunity for people to come see both the Library and the Espy Post,” said Library Director and Espy Post Curator Diane Klinefelter.

Klinefelter, who has written two books on the Civil War and is a professional genealogist, will give a talk on “Finding the Veterans in your Family” at 11:00 a.m. A Civil War re-enactor, she will do so in period dress.

Veterans of the Civil War custom furnished a second floor room in the Library to hold their meetings and house there relics. They met there from 1906 until 1938 when the last member died in 1938. At that time the room was locked up for nearly fifty years, and fell into deep decline. The Espy Post was meticulously restored in 2010. The ACFL&MH’s Espy Post has been documented by scholars as probably the most intact GAR Post in the county. Once there were 7,000 posts from Portland, Maine to Portland Oregon.

November is a month to put the spotlight on the Civil War not only because of Veterans’ Day, but also because Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. The Library & Music Hall is home to the Lincoln Gallery, a collection of 100 photographs of Abraham Lincoln, from the earliest known 1847 daguerreotype to the 1865 photograph of Lincoln lying in state.

On Saturday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m., the ACFL&MH continues is Second Saturday Civil War Series. Civil War scholar Kris White will talk on “The Valley Forge Winter: The Christmas of 1862 in the Army of the Potomac,” one of the lowest morale points for the army, and yet one in which the still celebrated Christmas far from home.

Light refreshments will be served on both Veteran’s Day and at Mr. White’s talk. Civil War programming at the ACFL&MH is generously supported by the Massey Charitable Trust.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall opened in 1901. It is one of only four libraries in the country (three remaining) that Andrew Carnegie endowed. The ACFL&MH is Mr. Carnegie’s enduring thank you gift to the town that incorporated and took his name in 1901.

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

 

A Wing and a Prayer

This weekend you can see over 46 locally and nationally known wild life artists at the National Aviary for the Wings and Wildlife art show at the Pittsburgh Aviary.  The artists are working in a variety of mediums including paint, photography, jewelry, ceramics, wood and more.  On November 6, you can even attend an Opening Black Tie Soiree and Benefit Auction from 6 to 9.  The Wings and Wildlife Art Show is at the National Aviary, 700 Arch Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Oh Baby!

Want to see a Broadway musical made up right before your eyes? Say yes! Missy Moreno and Connor McCanlus, Pittsburgh-based actors use audience suggestions to create funny songs and original musical comedies. They’re hilarious and you can see them at the Cabaret at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Pulling Double Duty

Carlo Goldini’s classic farce gets a makeover in “A Servant of Two Masters” at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. This version goes retro-chic in Venice, 1965. It’s still all about cravings for love, money and food. See it at the O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information click here.

 

Arts and Letters

It’s not too late to see “Letters to Sala.” It’s the story of a young girl who survived seven concentration camps. Bring a handkerchief because it’s a tear-jerker and it’s at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, click here.

 

Saying Goodbye

Modern Formations is closing and the gallery is taking a final bow by paying homage to the community of artists that have supported, nurtured and loved it over the years. This final exhibit will showcase many local artists who have made the Modern Formations gallery a success. Come out to the opening reception November 6 and 7 at the Modern Formations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, click here.

 

 

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Mattress Monsters

Get ready for monsters, mummies and more at Yelp’s Monster Bash! You’re invited to the Mattress Factory on October 28 from 8-10pm for a free evening filled with spooky sights, sounds and snacks! The event is FREE, but a $10 suggested donation will benefit the Mattress Factory. Costumes are strongly encouraged.  Dress up and get down to the Mattress Factory, 500 Sampsonia Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

A Great Big Nightmare

Come out and see A Great Big World performing a FREE show at Nightmare on Hellsworth on Friday, October 30. Also performing will be Pittsburgh’s own Chris Jamison, Mish, Nick Bramlett, C.J. Mitchell & DJ Colt. Come out and in costume for the costume contest. Hellsworth is on blocked off section of Ellsworth Ave at Maryland Avenue. For more information, click here.

 

Cry Witch!

Prime Stage is getting witchy with it. They are presenting Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” In late mid-century Salem, Massachusetts, accusations of witchcraft are brought forth against a troubling number of young girls & adult women of the town. It’s at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Watershed Moments

It’s not too late to catch the University of Pittsburgh’s production of “Water by the Spoonful.” A motley crew gathers in an Internet chatroom to share life’s fragile successes and help weather its bleak realities. It’s at the Henry Heymann Theatre, inside the Stephen Foster Memorial Theater, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. 15213. For more information, click here.

 

The Day After

Once Halloween is over, there’s one more place for to see people dress up. Come out and see the best male and female impersonators in Pittsburgh at Kierra Darshell’s Drag Brunch on November 1. It’s at the James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy, 422 Foreland Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

 

 

 

Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

 

This is Halloween

Start your weekend early with the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. Jack along with all the denizens of Halloweentown are about to invade Christmas in “Disney In Concert: Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.” The movie will play on the big screen while the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra plays the music from the film. Head to Halloweentown at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Supper Time

An unusual dinner is served in “Brainpeople.” As the peculiar dinner progresses, reality unravels, sanity fractures and futures are irreversibly altered. The dinner bell rings at the Grey Box Theatre, 3595 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. For more information, click here.

 

Fickle Fingers of Fate

On Friday, October 23, it’s ladies night at “WoManos the Hands of Fate,” a staged performance of the cult film, “Manos the Hands of Fate,” with an all-female cast. The show also features a blend of pulpy, cheesy longform improv inspired by classic movie serials! It’s at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

The Dickens You Say

An orphan falls in with a group of pick-pocketing hoodlums in the musical, “Oliver!” Cause, boy, you’ve got to pick a pocket or two. It’s a dark, twisted tale that only Charles Dickens can tell and you’ll find it at the Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Frightful Night

There are scary creatures vying for the presidency and John McIntire is ready to frighten you with the cold, hard facts, and some comedy at his “Dangerously Live Comedy Talk Show.” McIntire’s guests are Mayor John Fetterman who’s running for the U.S. Senate, Former U.S. Senate candidate and world-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, and Handwriting Analyst Michelle Dresbold will sit down with him and talk the future of politics. It’s at the Oaks Theater, 310 Allegheny River Blvd. Oakmont, PA 15139. For more information and tickets go here.

 

 

 

by Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

 

What Women Want

Many women struggle with the changeless of balancing motherhood and career. Playwright Andrea Lepcio examines said struggle in, “Tunnel Vision.”  You can brave the Fort Pitt Tunnel or the Liberty Tunnel and go to the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theatre), 25 E. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, go here.

 

Once Upon a Time

The musical storybook mash up, “Into the Woods,” is back in the ‘Burgh. Follow the heroes, villains and woodland creatures into the woods at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA  15213. For more information, go here.

 

ADD Theater

If you’re off your Adderall, you might want to consider the “Ten-Minute Play Fest.” It’s a selection of 12 plays that are ten minutes or less. It’s also an inexpensive evening out at $3 to $5 dollar cover charge. It’s at the Community Activity Center, 113 N. Pacific Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, go here.

 

Reeling

This is the final week of the Reel Q Film Festival. On October 17, the closing film is the director’s cut of “54,” about the famously wicked nightclub, Studio 54. Then, go to the after party at the Arthur Murray Dance Center on 136^th 6^th Street, for dancing, disco and a costume contest. The fun begins at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, For more information, go here.

 

Fall into Spring

What better time to celebrate spring than in fall? Join the Pittsburgh symphony as they perform music from Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” It’s considered a musical masterpiece. It will be performed along with Ginastera’s concerto for the Harp and Orchestra and the symphony premiere of Edu Lobo’s  Suite Popular Brasileira. It’s all at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

 

Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

 

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

When an elderly man shows up uninvited to the wedding, all sorts of trouble ensues in “Prelude to a Kiss.” He only wants to congratulate the bride with a kiss, but it’s a pretty uncommon kiss that sets up a new dynamic for the newlyweds. The honeymoon begins at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, click here.

P.S. On October 11, you can support Little Lake by going to a party! Their annual Fall fundraiser is happening at the Valley Brook Country Club, 425 Hidden Valley Road, Canonsburg, PA 15317. At the event, Ina L. Block will receive the Will Disney Award and the 2015 Bob Jones Apprentice Scholarship will be presented. For tickets, click here.

 

Rivers of Babylon

Mark Delavan (Falstaff, Rigoletto, and Scarpia) portrays Nabucco in the epic story of the Jews in exile in Babylon in “Nabucco.” It’s a poignant story of betrayal and reconciliation at the Pittsburgh Opera (sung in Italian with English subtitles) and it’s at the Benedum Center, 719 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

 

Fruit Flavors

On October 3, the Frick Art & Historical Center opened an exhibition called, “Chris Antemann: Forbidden Fruit and Other Works in Porcelain.” Antemann’s major works, the Love Temple and Pthe Pleasure Garden (inspired by Fragonard’s famous Progress of Love series) will be on hand along with a  selection of her other works. You can find it at The Frick Art & Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. For more information, click here.

 

Dancing for Diversity

The August Wilson Center is open and ready to dance again! Across the nation and around the world, PHILADANCO is celebrated for its innovation, creativity and preservation of predominantly African-American traditions in dance. Founded in 1970, PHILADANCO has a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides, consistently performing for audiences representing an amalgamation of people from diverse communities. Come out and join the celebration on October 9, 2015 at the August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

 

Screen Queens

Reel Q Pittsburgh’s LGBT film festival opens October 9 with “Out to Win” a documentary about aspiring and established LGBT athletes sharing their experiences on and off the field. The festival has a host of other LGBT selections comedies, dramas, docs and more at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Theater, Pittsburgh PA, 15222. For more information, go here.