Tag: Culture

by Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

Let’s hear it for the boys! We go boy crazy this weekend with Jersey Boys, Altar Boyz and Choir Boy. Then, we go off to Carnegie.

Oh What a Night!

The Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning story about a quartet of blue collar kids who become the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. You’ll be singing hit songs from the 50s and 60s all night long. Croon along to “Sherry” at the Benedum Center, 7^th Street (between Penn and Liberty), Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

Boyz with a Z

Meet Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jaun and Abraham…the Altar Boyz. They will parody piety with pop songs such as “Girl You Make Me Wanna Wait,” and “Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone.”  Geez. Think of the roaming charges on that call! You can get down and pray with the Altar Boyz at the Cabaret at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

Skip the Plural

In an elite boarding school for young African American men, one young man struggles with his sexual identity after he becomes leader of the gospel choir in “Choir Boy.” Meet him and his hymnals at
Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

Concert in Carnegie

Renowned violinist and former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Concert Master Andres Cardenes and his wife, violinist Monique Mead, headline an eclectic roster of performers at “Menard Presents: Carnegie in Concert” on October 2, 2015. It is at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

Dinner, Drinks and the Donnas!

Sunday, October 4 is the 25th Annual Pittsburgh New Works Gala where actors, directors and playwrights are honored for their work in the Festival’s world premiere plays. On the silver anniversary of this year’s gala, meet WQED’s Rick Sebak and “The Chief,” Tom Atkins during a three course sseated dinner before the Gala. Or just go for the drinks and appetizers at the Gala itself.  It’s at Cefalo’s, 428 Washington Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. You can find out more about the Special 25^th Anniversary Dinner and the 25^th Anniversary Gala right here.

by Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Fright Night

Saturday September 26, stand-up comedy gets frightening with “Stand-Up Horror,” Michael McGovern’s one man act that’s equal parts comedy, horror and cabaret. It was a hit at the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival and now it’s back to gear you up for Halloween. “Stand-Up Horror” runs Saturday September 26 and Saturday October 3 at Modern Formations Gallery and Performance Space, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, go here.

Let’s be Frank

The Pittsburgh Public opens there new season with “The Diary of Anne Frank,” a true story about a teenage girl who writes in her diary during WWII. You can hide out with Anne at the Pittsburgh Public Theater 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

Deluge

The “Lower Ninth” is a play about the days after the levees broke in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. It’s at the Hill House 1835 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For more information and tickets, go here.

Sing!

Pharus is an enthusiastic leader of the Charles R. Drew Prep School choir, whose ambitions & emerging sexuality place him in a precarious situation in “Choir Boy.” See and hear his story at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh. For more information, click here.

Last Chance

It’s the closing weekend of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Saturday is your last chance to see six never-before-produced plays, programs C and D, and Sunday the festival closes with program D. Catch all the fun and excitement at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

-MB.

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Car Toons

See some art on the go. Penn Ave Arts in Motion blends with the Pittsburgh Art Car Festival to bring a day of free community fun focused on Art and Mobile Masterpieces! This community celebration includes a variety of entertainment for all ages. The Pittsburgh Art Car Festival will showcase creative modes of transportation including decked out whips, frankenrods, muscle, classic cars, tricycles, bicycles, big wheels, Art Cars, and more. The event gears up on September 19 at 5231 Penn Avenue (on the corner of Penn and N. Atlantic Avenue). For more information, go here.

Raw!

Jennifer Schaupp’s “Woman in the Raw” is generated from her personal blog entries, monologues, and Facebook status updates. The show will string together sarcastic and introspective musings ranging from a crush on singer Gwen Stefani to whether people actually care. The main character, played by Joanna Lowe, goes about a typical morning, sharing her eclectic thoughts with herself and any audience member willing to listen, all the while plugged in to social media channels. “Woman in the Raw” is at the Maker Theater, 5950 Ellsworth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232. For more information, click here.

The Beat Goes On

The Pittsburgh New Works Festival is in its third week. Come see the new never-before-seen plays, “Gravity Between Us,” “Rules of Discovery,” and “The Man that Got Away” Thursday, or come out and see “Grim Tidings,” “Nana’s Home Movies,” and “The Green-Eyed Monster” on Friday. OR see all six shows on Saturday! It’s all at the Carnegie Stage (formerly Off the Wall Theatre), 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

Get Dangerous

Friday September 18, it’s getting dangerously live again. John McIntire’s Dangerously Live Comedy Talk Show is back with special guest Mayor Bill Peduto. It’s the final installment of the “We Call B.S. on P.C.” regional tour. Also on the panel is Post-Gazette Sunday Editor John Allison and Comedian Michael Buzzelli. It goes down with the Mayor at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For tickets or more information, click here.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Before Samantha Stephens, there was Gillian Holroyd, a witch who falls for a mortal, Shep Henderson, in “Bell, Book and Candle.” Come see a romantic comedy about a man/witch relationship (not a Manwich relationship which is about the love of ground meat and spices). “Bell, Book and Candle,” is at the South Park Theatre, Corrigan Drive at Brownsville Road, Bethel Park, PA, 15219, For more information, click here.

Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Everything’s Coming Up Roses!

Move over, Dina Lohan, the ultimate show business mom is back and better than ever. “Gypsy” opens at the Little Theatre in McKeesport, the first show of their 55^th season! Join Rose, June and Louise in their trip across 1920s America, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born! The journey starts at the McKeesport Litter Theater, 1614 Coursin Street, McKeesport, PA 15132. For more information, click here.

Learning Curve

It’s not too late to get an education or to see a terrific play, “Educating Rita.” It’s the story of a feisty woman and a burned out professor and how they both grow from knowing each other. Get educated at the Charity Randall Theatre, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, go here.

Money Changes Everything

In “Dead Accounts” Jack unexpectedly returns home to his family, included his sister Lorna, and mother Barbara, They immediately suspect he is in some sort of trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when Jack’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Jenny arrives, and reveals Jack has stolen 27 million dollars. “Dead Accounts” is at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, click here.

Not just Kid’s Stuff

Relive your favorite moments from your favorite animated movies at “Music in Motion.” A concert featuring songs from Disney movies. Travel from frozen landscapes to under the sea, but first travel to the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

Marvelous Team Up

Quantum Theatre is always doing amazing work, but “A Winter’s Tale” they team up with Chatham Baroque and Attack Theatre to bring a Shakespearean fairy tale to life. Quantum’s moving feast of fiction is at the Union Trust Building, 10^th Floor, 501 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For more information, go here.

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.

It’s Labor Day! Kids, you get an extra day of weekend! Go out and play!

Daddy’s Little Girl

King Lear is on the move. You can see him and his daughters at Frick Park this weekend (next weekend Regan, Goneril, Cordelia and the gang move to Arsenal Park). Shakespeare in the Park is going to be in a bunch of parks this September. Head over to Frick Park, Beechwood and Nicholson, Squirrel Hill, for the festivities. For a full schedule of the events, additional information and more can be found by clicking here.

Sing! Sing!

The dinner bell is calling! It’s time for Dinner with the Nolens.  This month the Nolen’s welcome the musical improve stylings of baby GRAND to dinner. It’s a Song-tacular Supper. Come out on Saturday, September 5. The melody can be heard at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

In a Big Country

One of Broadway’s faded stars hosts a houseful of family and friends, each looking for love and acceptance in “A Country House,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies. “The Country House” is at the Playhouse, the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

On the Boulevard

There’s an opening reception on Saturday, September 5. Come see the stunning photography of Mara Rago. Rago has had over 25 exhibits of her fine art which have been recognized nationally and internationally. Her works have been published in several calendars, including “Feminine Frames, the art of mountain biking,”“Beauty and and t he Bike, real woman who ride,” and “Janine Lindemulder 2008.” The party starts at the Boulevard Art Gallery, 736 Allegheny River Boulevard, Verona, 15147. For more information, click here.

Get Festive!

Come to Carnegie where Mayor Jack Kobistek and the Carnegie Borough have proclaimed September to be The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Month! See brand new premiere short plays at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theatre).  Come down to the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, go here.

-MB.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

We’re gonna bookend the week with free stuff!

Hooray for Hollywood! 

Thursday, August 27 you can attend a Hollywood premiere (well, a premiere at the Hollywood Theater). There are free screenings of two locally produced films, “The Painter,” and “Transience.” It’s at the Hollywood Theater, 1449 Potomac Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. For more information, and trailers to the films, click here.

I Laugh, You Laugh, We all Laugh

Julie Goldman comes to town. Julie Goldman, is hailed as a leader of the next generation of queer humor. The Provincetown Banner proclaimed her as “an absolute Must See.” So, see her! On August 28, she will be at Cruze Bar, 1600 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

Lovely Ladies!

On Friday, August 28, you can get bawdy at the Smokin’ Betties Burlesque Bonanza! Performers such as Just Jingles, Macabre Noir and Kat DeLac and more! I suspect there will be plenty of feather boas on hand. It’s an art form, don’t judge. It’s also only ten bucks to see some Smokin’ Betties at the Club Café, 56-58 S. 12^th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. For more information, go here.

Laughter Ensues

Thursday, August 27 the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival kicks off with two separate shows. At 8:00, see Andy Picarro, Kristen Lundberg, Bill Crawford and headliner Todd Glass (Last Comic Standing). At 10, the Friendly Neighborhood Improv Show with babyGrand, Hustlebot, Number 1 Party School and Hotel Nowhere. At the Henry Heymann Theater, 4301 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, including a full schedule for the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival, click here.
Sunday Funday 

There’s one more free night of entertainment for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival (I toldja we were going to bookend the weekend with free stuff). Catch three original one-act plays on Sunday, August 30. Then, come back for the Festival in September. It’s at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theatre), 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, go here.

by Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

A Little Hotel on a Little Lake

In an obscure Parisian hotel, Monsieur Pinglet plans a tryst with his neighbor’s wife, but encounters half of Paris in the seedy hotel, including his own relatives and the Inspector of Public Morality in “A Little Hotel on the Side” It’s a door-slamming bedroom farce and it’s at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Dr, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, go here.

The Red Room in the Mad House 

Local singers and dancers unite in a brand new show by The MadHouse crew in “The Red Room” Sunday, August 23. Hear the vocal talents of Kelsey Purcell, Lindsay Pingor, and Patrick Bovo, and see some of Pittsburgh’s most talented dancers: Kerra Alexandra, Heather Lubay, Joanna Fliss, Alexandra Salerno, Josh Pugliese, & Joe Nickel in this red room extravaganza. You can find the Red Room at Latitude 360, 200 Quinn Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15275. For more tickets and information, go here.

That’s Italian Part I

While traveling to Italy with her mother, a beautiful young girl, Clara, has a chance encounter with a handsome, young man in “Light in the Piazza.” But Clara’s mom is trying to put the kibosh on the whole thing because Clara has a secret. You can find the “Light in the Piazza” at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.  For more information, go here.

That’s Italian Part II

The sisters are back! Raffaella, Enestine, and Concetta return in Pittsburgh’s monthly live sitcom in “Sisters Sorella.”  The reunited family is finding itself knee-deep in trouble after a cliffhanger ending in the last episode. Join them Friday or Saturday at 10 PM at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

Reading is Fundamental

See three brand new never-been-produced staged readings at the kickoff of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival on Sunday, August 23.  For absolutely no money down, you can see “Glue” by John Seibel, “Extraordinary Lies” by James Baden and “Flabby Abby,” by J. Thalia Cunningham.  Yes, it’s a free night of theater. It’s at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theater) on 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information,  click here.

And now a sixth thing…
Talk about it

It’s back! John McIntire’s “Dangerously Live Comedy Talk Show.” KDKA talk show host and stand up comedian John McIntire will be joined on stage by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s advice columnist and girl-about-town, Natalie Bencivenga, Pittsburgh Commissioner Heather Heidelbaugh and comedian Mike Buzzelli (that guy!). It’s at the Oaks, 310 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA 15139. For more information, click here: