Dramatic Arts

By SHARON EBERSON The spirit of August Wilson permeated the O’Reilly Theater Monday night, as the monologue and design competition that bears his name came home to Pittsburgh for the first time.  The August Wilson New Voices Competition – formerly the August Wilson Monologue Competition – crowned winners culled from more than 1,000 high school…

Hello, and welcome to Shouts And Murmurs, a weekly email for paid supporters of The Crush Bar, written by me, Fergus Morgan. Every week, I round up the best theatre writing elsewhere - reviews, interviews, opinion, long-reads - plus any other interesting or inspiring theatre stuff I find. At the moment, you can read…

By JESSICA NEW If we reflect on pop culture history, we can likely recall numerous examples of allegorical tales of suburban relational dysfunction. From American Beauty to Revolutionary Road and Married with Children, dramatic comedies that use humor to alleviate the discomfort from the perils of one’s life are pretty standard.  Yasmina Reza’s 2008 play God of Carnage is an…

Dramady with Operatic Interludes Opens at the Byham The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, as is widely known by now, is a play rather than an opera. There certainly is piano-accompanied singing, but about two thirds of the production is eloquently enunciated dialogue. It’s a masterfully crafted play that manages to encapsulate the persona of…

Powerful Program Thrills Audience and Scores Another Success for PSO By GEORGE B. PAROUS Everything was thrillingly perfect at Heinz Hall last evening. That about sums it up. But a few more words for those who weren’t there, or are planning on being at the Sunday matinee, a few might not be totally out of…

“In 1943, the National Negro Opera Company is set to perform on a floating barge to evade racially-segregated venues,” the opera’s program notes tell us. “But when bad weather threatens—pushing the performance to a segregated performance hall—visionary impresaria Mary Cardwell Dawson must find a way forward.” The notes continue: “Mary Cardwell Dawson’s dream to…

By SHARON EBERSON It won’t be long before Marc Masterson wakes up to new adventures and some well-earned “me” time, and without the exhilaration and headaches of running a theater company. Just now, however, he’s in the thick of what he also has been doing for nearly four decades – working on a developing play. …

The season welcomes renowned University alumni, brand new suites of programming, and more.    Point Park University‘s vision for the award-winning Pittsburgh Playhouse‘s 2024-2025 season embraces community-focused and family-friendly offerings. The ambitious season includes a full roster of offerings from the Conservatory of Performing Arts, a newly developed interactive and immersive experience boasting cutting-edge 360-degree…