Pappas brings laughter, togas, ‘Comedy Tonight’ to the Public

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Once more before he goes, Ted Pappas wanted to fill the O’Reilly Theater with music and laughter.

The retiring head of Pittsburgh Public Theater picked “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” as the final musical theater he will direct and choreograph to show off the company’s wide range and as a personal prelude to diving into the darkness of “Hamlet.”

“In a way it was my gift to the company,” Mr. Pappas said. “I wanted a theater full of laughter, I wanted a big box office, I wanted action and a lot of great actors on the stage. I wanted a show that had pedigree and glamour and dancing — I wanted a full menu.”

After the Stephen Sondheim musical comedy and before the Shakespearean tragedy, the Public will present “Heisenberg,” a recent relationship drama by the writer of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” that will mark the return of former City Theatre artistic director Tracy Brigden to Pittsburgh as director. Where: Pittsburgh Public Theater at the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown. When: Thursday through Feb. 25. 7 p.m. Tuesday; 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday (plus 2 p.m. Feb. 22); 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday (no matinee Jan. 27 or Feb. 3); 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $30-$75 ($15.75 for age 26 and younger); ppt.org or 412-316-1600.

“The range of the Public Theater, to do ‘Forum’-’Heisenberg’-’Hamlet,’ is something we and all of the city is proud of,” Mr. Pappas said.

He also wanted to work again with Jimmy Kieffer, who in 2015 starred for Mr. Pappas in the Public’s “A Servant of Two