Tag: Culture

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Crawl Space

January 20, kicks off the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Gallery Crawl. There’s a ton of things to see and do downtown during the crawl. There will be musicians, singers, dancers, artists and improv comedy. Don’t forget to hit up the Winter Night Market. The indoor market will feature some of Pittsburgh’s most creative independent vendors. Start or end your crawl at 925 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Secret, Secret

Wanna know a secret? You can go to the Confidential Musical Theater Project on January 21 and see a musical. You won’t know which musical until you get there. The actors won’t even have met or rehearsed beforehand. There’s only one rule in the confidential musical theater project: Don’t stop, no matter what.  There will be plenty of surprises at the Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, 1000 Madison Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here, or check out the local Facebook page here.

 

Mad about Madagascar!

If you love the Dreamworks animated film “Madagascar,” you’re gonna love “Madagascar – a Musical Adventure.” The animated movie is back as a live action musical. Those darn penguins are so cute! You can find “Madagascar – A Musical Adventure” at the McKeesport Little Theater, 1614 Coursin Street, McKeesport, PA 15132. For more information, click here.

 

Zen and the art of art

January 21 is the opening reception to “Now and Zen.” Artists ChiaLing Pitluga, Boyd Payne, Lauren Braun and Mark Panza are looking for peace in their art. Peaceful images of another time and contemporary images that explore patterns and interiors of today in this lovely show with several mediums such as collage, photography, mixed media and painting. All designed to help you find your Zen. Find inner peace at Percolate: Art Space, Gallery and Creative Laboratory, 317 S. Trenton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. For more information, click here.

 

Fighting back

On January 21, “The Royale” by Marco Ramirez opens. Jay “The Sport” Jackson has his eyes set on becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, but the Jim Crow reality of 1905 America is making his dream difficult. Inspired by the true story of trail-blazing boxer, Jack Johnson. You can catch “The Royale” at the City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA 152203. For more information, click here.

 

Happiness Happening

This weekend, Pittsburgh’s own Randy Gilson of Randyland is featured in a documentary called “Pursuing Happiness.” The doc features several people pursuing happiness each in their own way. City of Asylum is donating the proceeds from the film back to Gilson’s Randyland. You can find happiness at the City of Asylum, 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Shark Tales

Friday and Saturday local comedian Gab Bonesso is recording a comedy album.  Each show will have different material for the album. Friday night Rick Sebak will be on hand to introduce her, and on Saturday a special guest star will introduce Gab to the stage. Phineas the Shark will be there for both evenings. Come out to Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Fit for a King

Nationally acclaimed poets and musicians celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at “Poetry Unplugged.” The event features Prentice Powell, Nate James, W. Ellington Felton, Gabriela Garcia Medina and more. It’s at the August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Tour de Force

Charles Ross will take on the Empire in his show, “One Man Star Wars Trilogy.” He will be Darth, Luke, Han, Chewie and Leia in this one man tour de force (get it?). The show is recommended for ages between 6 and Yoda. You don’t have to go to a galaxy far away, you just have to the Byham Theater, 101 6^th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, use the force, or click here.

 

Move over, Beethoven

Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste takes on Beethoven’s Symphony Number Seven. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 premiered in 1813 to benefit the wounded soldiers after the battle of Hanau. Hear it here at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

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Friday Goodness

Every Friday at the Andy Warhol Museum is Good Friday. If you’re looking for a more social experience when you browse a gallery, go to Andy. The Museum is open till 10:00 PM on Friday and offers half-price admission and cocktails. It’s a win-win as you unwind from the work week. It’s at the Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Clocking in

On Saturday, Pittsburgh unites for “Pittsburgh Unites! 15 Hour Perform-a-Thon.” There will be 120 performers showcasing their talents to benefit the ACLU of Pennsylvania. There will be singers, musicians, actors, contortionists, storytellers, male and female impersonators, DJs, belly dancers, comedians, poets, burlesque artists, bands and more. It’s going down at the James Street Gastropub & Speakeasy, 422 Foreland St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

The Play’s the thing

Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier tells his story from Vietnam to the Super Bowl, from the football field to the battlefield  and back, in “The Play,” starring Rocky Bleier. He will share his incredible journey from the front lines to the 50 yard line. It’s all at the Pittsburgh, Public Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Yes, they’re really doing it

The Harvey Wallbangers return to the Carnegie Stage in “Are we really doing this?” The sketch comedy group wants to ring in the New Year with a new show. They want you to forget about 2016 and slip into 2017 with their weird characters. They are promising “laughs out the wazoo!” I’m afraid to see what that looks/sounds like. You can find the Harvey Wallbangers at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

Incidentally Speaking

The Broadway award winning show, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” comes to Pittsburgh. When Christopher is accused of killing his neighbor’s dog, the boy sets out on a journey to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery that will change his life forever. It’s all at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

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by Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

A little bit Country

Patrick Marber’s witty adaptation of Turgenev’s “A Month in the Country,” becomes “Three Days in the Country.” A handsome new tutor comes to the house and love, in many different forms, blossoms. It’s at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

They know the Best Words 

Pittsburgh’s best storytellers are back at the Bricolage. They will be telling tales set to music with a live DJ at “Word Play.” The always-affable Alan Olifson will introduce a myriad of storytellers as Tracksploitation spins. It’s at the Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.

 

Crazy for you

2015 Pulitzer Prize winning play “Between Riverside and Crazy” comes to Pittsburgh. Walter, a retired police officer lives in a disorderly but very desirable rent-controlled apartment. He shares his chaotic home with son Junior, the foxy Lulu, and a convicted felon. Oh, and the dog. Things get even trickier when an ambitious couple from the NYPD and a surprising Church Lady barge in. It’s at the O’Reilly Theatre, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Shakes Beer

November 19 is “Much A-Brew About Nothing” Actors will be drinking and performing scenes from “Midsummer Nights Dream,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and more. Get thee to Hambones, 4207 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. For more information, click here.

 

Don’t be Shy-lock

It’s the last weekend to see “The Merchant of Venice.” Take the William Shakespeare classic and add in some “Great Gatsby” and shake vigorously. It’s at the Union Project, 801 N. Negley Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. For more information, click here.

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by Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Road Rage

Uncle Peck is going to teach Li’l Bit a lot more than road rules in Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive.” Vogel won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998 for her work. Caution: the play deals with some very adult content, but it’s beautifully written.  It’s at Duquesne University’s Genesius Theater, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282. For more information, click here.

 

Scout’s Honor

Scout’s beleaguered father as he fights an important court case in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Don’t set a watchman, go see this play instead. It’s at New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

Pull that Lever

Things seem dire, but fear not. Saturday November 5 you can dance your blues away at the “Worried about the Election – Move to Canada Dance Party.” DJ Antithesis will mix all your favorite Canadian artists like Drake, Avril, Alanis and the Biebs. There’s no cover but it is 21 and over. It’s at Mix Tape, 4907 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, click here.

 

It Ain’t Over till it’s Over!

If anyone can find the funny in the bitter end of the weirdest, wackiest election season in recorded history it’s John McIntire and his guests in “Almost Over- McIntire’s Dangerously Live Comedy Talk Show.” Join Johnny Mac, Comedian Gab Bonesso, Former House Minority Leader Mike Veon and Former Arlen Specter staffer Doug Saltzman for one last laugh before the election. You can find the fun at the Parkway Theater, 644 Broadway Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA 15136. For more information, click here.

 

All Stars

Sunday November 6 is the 24^th Kierra Darshell presents the Annual Miss Tri-State All Star Pageant. Drag queens compete in both beauty and talent categories. You can see the queens take the catwalk at the Cabaret at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

A sixth thing…

The First on Third

When the weekend is over, you can still have one more fun evening before the election. Pittsburgh New Works Festival kicks off its Reading Series on Monday, November 7, 2016 with three original works. They will be showcasing some of the top fifty plays that did not get into production at the Festival. On November 7, you can see “The Studdering Pig” by Raymond Werner, “Elephants” by Jordan Elizabeth Henry and “Salt Pie and Other Disasters” by Roxanne Amico. It’s at the Third Street Gallery, 220 3^rd Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

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House on Haunted Hill

ScareHouse continues to top Pittsburgh’s list of spooky destinations. This Halloween, gather your friends together and get scared. Go to 118 Locust Street, Etna, PA 15223, or park for free at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, 7340 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. For more information, click here.

 

Yinzer Zombies!

Midnight Radio is back with, “Night of the Living Dead, N’at,” a Pittsburgh-ese version of the classic 1968 horror masterpiece, “Night of the Living Dead.” It’s at Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue , 1^st Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Marvelous Team-Up

Top choices 1 and 2 combine to use their superpowers for evil when you “Enter the Imaginarium,” a joint production with the ScareHouse and the Bricolage Production Company. Bring your friends, because you’re going to need your crew to help you out of this tricky escape room! You can enter the Imaginarium by driving to 32 Alpha Drive West, Pittsburgh, PA 15238. For more information, click here.

 

Brewster’s Brew

Mortimer Brewster is getting married, but first he has to deal with his two old lady aunts who are poisoning single gentlemen, his certifiable brother Teddy, who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and his homicidal brother Jonathan, who returns to the family to lay low in “Arsenic & Old Lace,” a Halloween classic. Vist the Brewsters…just don’t drink the Elderberry wine. You can catch the whole wacky family at the Avenue Theater, 158 Brighton Avenue, Rochester, PA 15074. For more information, click here.

 

I said Scare City not scarcity

Pittsburgh is haunted. Don’t take my word for it go on the Haunted Pittsburgh Ghost Tour and find out for yourself. Take a spine-tingling tour.  “They’ll take you from the North Side to the South Side to the…Dark Side.” Tours start at the City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For tickets and more information, click here.

 

Puppets

In a church basement in a little town in Texas, something evil is afoot. Or, well — at hand in “Hand to God.” A rogue puppet named Tyrone has hijacked the hand of timid teen Jason and there’s nothing his classmates, his mother, or the pastor can do to exorcise this foul-mouthed demon. Hand to God is a thrill ride of a comedy about good and evil, sex and sin, faith, and the filthy mind of one twisted puppet. It’s at the City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. For more information, click here.

 

More Puppets

The laugh-out-loud puppet-filled musical “Avenue Q’ is back. It’s “Sesame Street” gone sideways! It’s the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. How do you get to Avenue Q? Go to the Genesius Theater, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, or click here.

 

Nearly Puppets

Uke & Tuba celebrate ten years of performing with a ukulele and Tuba (sometimes dressed as pink, little bunnies). Uke Skywalker and Tuba Fett will be singing and playing all their favorites in honor of the occasion. The show is October 1^st at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, 4412 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, click here.

 

Take the Fifth

“Shakespeare: Alive and in Wilkinsburg” on September 30^th and October 2. This 90-minute reading of Shakespeare’s “Henry V” has been created particularly for audiences that are new to Shakespeare, with an on stage “director” describing the play’s action and “teaching” the play to the audience as he does to the actors playing the roles. It’s at the Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Avenue, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221. For more information, click here.

 

The Donnas

Pittsburgh New Works Festival is ready to party! Sunday, October 2 the PNWF hosts the biggest theatre party of the year with the New Works Gala. Eat, drink, and celebrate the Pittsburgh New Works Festival! Join the Festival actors, directors, and playwrights as we honor the work done by everyone who brought this Festival’s world premiere plays to life!  This year’s gala will be held at Cefalo’s, 428 Washington Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

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By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

If I had a Hammer

Friday September 9, you can attend a world premiere reading of “Molly’s Hammer” by Pittsburgh playwright Tammy Ryan. Molly’s Hammer tells the true story of Molly Rush and the Plowshares 8, who on Sept 9, 1980 walked into a G.E. plant in King of Prussia, PA and damaged two nosecones of nuclear warheads in protest of the buildup of our nuclear arsenal. It’s at the Chatham College Eddy Theatre, Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15232. For more information and tickets, click here.

 

To Boldly Go…

Pittsburgh celebrates Fifty Years of Star Trek with a special screening of “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on Friday, September 9, 2016. Sponsored by Geek Pittsburgh. There will be a costume contest and even a pop-up art gallery. All proceeds benefit the Hollywood Theater and the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh’s premier museum of the cartoon and comic arts. Live long and prosper at the Hollywood Theater, 1449 Potomac Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. For more information, boldly go here.

 

Sporty Spice

Friday, September 9, Pittsburgh will have its very own sports comedy show for the City of Champions, “Matt Stanton’s Major League Variety Hour.” It’s a night of hilarious night of stand up, sketch, music, and short films showcasing our love, passion, and borderline obsession with sports. Hosted by Matt Stanton (Bob & Tom Show, and ESPN Radio) and will be featuring nationally touring comedians and Pittsburgh favorites. Come down to Hambones, 4207 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. For more information, click here.

 

Go nuts with Donuts

September 11, is PERSAD Center’s Donut Dash. You can participate in a 5K run, 5K walk or a 1.5 Mile Fun Walk (perfect for families, strollers and dogs). Go the extra mile for prizes by getting a friends to sponsor your Run/Walk. The Top Fundraisers get 60,000 Wyndham Rewards Points (good for any 4 night hotel stay worldwide). The Runner Up receives a $500 Amazon Gift Card. There are additional prizes and, of course, plenty of coffee and donuts! It all starts at Water Street and Hot Metal Street in Pittsburgh, PA 15203. To register and learn more, dash over here.

 

Adam’s Rib

See the “Children of Eden,” a story based on the Bible book of Genesis. It’s the age-old conflict of parents and children takes the stage in this epic, heartfelt Stephen Schwartz musical. Adam, Eve, Noah and other classic characters from the best-selling book in the world. Paradise is found at the Seton Center, 1900 Pioneer Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15226. For more information, click here.

 

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Valentine’s Day (Baum’s World)

Talking to the kitchen wall is the only way for Shirley to unload her frustration about her mundane marriage and her dreams left unpursued. Her life is a world of gray disappointment before a trip to Crete shatters her bleak existence with a vibrancy of people, landscape and mindset that she didn’t realize she was missing. It’s a one-woman show starring Karen Baum and it’s at the Union Project, 801 N. Negley Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206. For more information, click here.

 

Chasing Waterfalls 

Dine, drink and dance the night away in a tropical paradise. Gather up the gang and head to Phipps, because “Party in the Tropics” is back. It’s a nightclub in a rain forest…in Pittsburgh! Dance to the beats of a live DJ and unwind amidst the lush greenery and rushing waterfalls. It’s all at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, One Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3830. For more information, click here.

 

Money, Money

Bank robbers Hall and Dennis have just robbed a bank, but they’ve got nowhere to stash the cash in “Loot.” They hide it in the one place people shouldn’t look; in the coffin of Hal’s recently deceased mum. Check out all the wacky hijinks that ensue in “Loot” over at the Little Lake Theater, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317 . For more information, click here.

 

To Err is human

Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks moves over to Frick Park for performances of “The Comedy of Errors.” Two sets of twins cause an array of wacky adventures in this Shakespearean classic. Admission is free and it’s at Frick Park, Forbes Avenue and Braddock Avenue. Pittsburgh, PA 15217. For more information, click here.

 

Give me the Works

It’s the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. It’s your chance to discover the next great playwright or even the next great actor in the Festival. Thursday, September 1 the festival opens with Program A featuring “Deck Chairs” by Bill Arnold, “All Good Things” by Michael Lill and “More than meets the eye,” by F. J. Hartland. Then on Friday see “The Man Who Invented Love,” by Scott Romani, “My Strange Journey,” by William Newkirk and “Writer’s Block,” by Derek Lynch. On Saturday, you can see all six! It’s at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

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By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Pittsburgh is Funny!

On Thursday, August 25, the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival kicks off with special guest Quincy Jones alongside Sam Bourne, Ray Connolly and Molly Sharrow at eight and the Friendly Neighborhood Improv Show with the Ted City Yodelers, Lancaster Improv Players, Well Known Strangers and LGBTQ*Bert. The festival runs all week at the Henry Heyman Theater, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. For more information, click here.

 

Words and Music

Alan Olifson’s “Word Play” is back at the Bricolage. It’s a live storytelling event set to a DJ soundtrack. This time he’s spreading the love over two nights, August 26 and 27. Hear it all at the Bricolage Theater, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

 

Rock around the Block

The Buhl Foundation and One Northside Pgh “The Block Party: Allegheny City Central.” The Block Party is series of mini arts festivals that will call attention to and celebrate the valuable resources and local identities of Northside neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. It’s on Sunday August 28^th and the event is FREE and open to everyone. Come rain or shine. It’s at the Buhl Community Park at Allegheny Square, Children’s Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.

 

It may look like a Walnut

August 27 and 28 is the Shadyside Arts Festival on Walnut. Singer Michele Bensen says, “This festival is one I always look forward to every year. Walnut Street in Shadyside is where I started my Jazz Career here in Pittsburgh. Love all the artists that display their works.” Always listen to Michele Bensen. The Shadyside Arts Festival is on Walnut Street in Shadyside. For more information, click here.

 

Reading is Fundamental

Sunday Aug. 28, it the Pittsburgh New Works Staged Readings featuring three brand new plays; “Mercy Killing” by Rikki Schwartz, “We Got This” by Sheila Rinear and “That Time at Black Lake” Vicki Riba Koestler. It’s at the Carnegie Stage 25 W Main St, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information and a full schedule, visit here.

 

– MB