Culture / Theater

The audience poured an avalanche of applause over the cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of “Hamlet” following its opening performance April 19 — uproarious cheering, whistling and standing ovations galore. But I did not stand, and instead left the theater feeling indifferent and unchanged. “Hamlet” is a delicate creature — a kaleidoscope of metaphor, […]

Chloe Torrence circled a group of actors and singers onstage at the Charity Randall Theatre, kicking off her normal weeknight routine. “Starting tonight, you cannot call ‘line’ anymore,” Torrence said. “We start tech rehearsals soon, so you should know your lines by now.” The junior theatre arts and music major then started warm-ups for the […]

Pitt’s production of “Marie Antoinette” has everything needed to recall the history of its title character — chandeliers, a guillotine and plenty of wigs. But make no mistake — this is not a historical play, but a “meditation on excess,” as director Le’Mil Eiland notes in the program. After watching the performers and seeing actors […]

Upon walking into the Charity Randall Theatre in Oakland Friday night, I was immediately transported from the dreary Pittsburgh weather to the even drearier Skid Row. But after two hours there, I didn’t want to return to the Steel City. Pitt’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” a 1982 off-Broadway gem, brings the ‘60s doo-wop-inspired […]

Cheers roared throughout the O’Hara Ballroom as the individuals on stage repeated the word “mine” over and over in an effort to reclaim their sexuality, prompting the audience to join in. The Campus Women’s Organization’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” — a play about the reclamation of gender and body confidence in an age of […]

Since she found theater, San Francisco-based artist Rhodessa Jones said she has always had a place in the world — whether it be to share her ups and downs or to offer other women a chance to speak out. “Theater has been the one lover that has never let me down — it demands a […]

Onstage, two actors sparred, bickered and gestured toward an imaginary hole in the floor as a willing audience played along — bringing to life a story from the mind of a fellow Pitt student. At the third annual Playwriting Festival, hosted by the Pitt Performance Collaborative, three students had the chance to see their original […]

A woman — illuminated by a single spotlight and clad in a bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her head and a pale green face mask — stands alone on stage and releases an enraged scream. The opening scene of CorningWorks’ fall 2017 production “six a breast” launched a theater full of Pittsburgh locals into a […]

Nestled deep within Falk Library atop Cardiac Hill sits one of Pitt’s most unknown gems — a small art exhibit comprised of artifacts from past plays performed by Pitt’s medical school. Annually, fourth-year med students perform a pop culture-themed play with a medical twist, called Scope & Scalpel. According to the Scope & Scalpel website, […]

You don’t need to know how to spell “dramaturgy” to see the theatre department’s newest play — but it would probably help. While some of the vocabulary may require a college reading level, the actors in Pitt Stages’ current production ask viewers to think back to a time when even the most infinitesimal problems seemed […]