THE hot list
ON THE WEB: See what else is going on around town with the Post-Gazette’s online events calendar (and you can post your own information) at www.post-gazette.com/events.
ALL WEEKEND Superheroes in action
“Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes” takes over the PPG Paints Arena, Uptown, this weekend, assembling The Avengers, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Loki in his quest to rule the universe.
The production takes viewers from outer space to the Savage Land to New York City and beyond with video projections and a cast of aerialists, acrobats and motorcycle riders to portray heroes
and villains. Marvel fans will see Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk, a levitating Doctor Strange and Spider-Man swinging on his webs.
Spotlight News wrote of the show, “For adults who hesitantly assumed that it would be too childish, those worries would have melted away when the show immediately proved how much effort its actors, production team and special effects were put in to entertain the masses. This 90minute spectacle was an energetic kaleidoscope of pyrotechnics, motorcycle stunts, fight scenes, screen animation, interactive props, acrobatics, aerial moves and quippy dialogue.”
Times are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and noon and 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 to $90; ticketmaster.com.
THURSDAY Music for a great cause
The 15th annual Rhythms of Life Fundraising Concert at The Meadows Casino, North Strabane, benefits “Music Smiles,” a program, founded in memory of Pittsburgh musician Sonny Pugar, that brings live music performances to local health facilities.
The concert will feature the Rhythms of Life House Band — Bob Banerjee, Matt Barranti, David Granati, Jason Kendall, Joey Granati, Ben Tryc and Rick Manning — joined by Justin Wade, Byron Nash with Dennis Garner, Samantha Sears, Jesse Lowry with Kenny Blake, Katie Simone, Soulful Femme: Stevee Wellons, Cheryl Rinovato, John Vento with Ian Arthurs, plus Bastard Bearded Irishmen and more.
Sean McDowell will be on hand for opening remarks.
Doors at 6 p.m., music at 7 p.m.; +21, silent auction, door drizes, free buffet courtesy of The Meadows from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $25 entry, $20 advance; www.sonnypugar.org. Kelly’s gospel
Grammy-nominated gospel/R&B singer Tori Kelly takes the stage at the Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead in Munhall, touring behind “Hiding Place,” an album produced by Kirk Franklin that set the record for the most first-week streams ever for a gospel album and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart.
“With gospel music, you can’t sing without all your heart being in it,” she said in a statement. “This album was an opportunity to do what I felt and never hold back. I could just be free and let the song take me over.”
It begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $23.50; ticketfly.com.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY PMT’s ‘Annie’
Leapin’ lizards! The Richard E. Rauh Conservatory of Pittsburgh Musical Theater presents “Annie” as its annual collaboration with the Pittsburgh CAPA Orchestra at the Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Downtown.
Times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $18$55.25; trustarts.org or 412-456-6666.
FRIDAY
Cream team The Music of Cream — 50th Anniversary World Tour puts the next generation on stage at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg with Ginger Baker’s son Kofi Baker (drums), Jack Bruce’s son Malcolm Bruce (bass, vocals) and Eric Clapton’s nephew by marriage Will Johns (guitar, vocals).
They’ll offer personal stories and classic songs from the British power trio, including “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Crossroads,” “Spoonful” and “White Room,” performed with footage of their famed relatives on the big screen.
“We had such an amazing response to our first tour in Australia and New Zealand that we’ve spent some considerable time adding to the show,” Mr. Bruce said in a statement. “Now, we not only have this amazing legacy of music to play, but an opportunity to share some wonderful insights and stories with our audience … a backstage pass like no other, if you will.”
It begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 to $49; thepalacetheatre.org.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY Dance premiere
The Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts continues at the August Wilson Center, Downtown, with Haitian company Ayikodans, founded by choreographer and dancer Jeanguy Saintus Riché, presenting the premiere of “Cri des Nago.”
Times are 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. $20-$35; trustarts.org.
FRIDAY & SUNDAY PSO’s Russian collusion
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents Russian Showpieces with Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado making his PSO debut conducting Maximilian
Hornung on Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 at Heinz Hall, Downtown.
The German cellist made his PSO debut last year performing Strauss’ “Don Quixote,” prompting the PG to say, “His performance seemed to take stock of all this textured material and rise above it all, producing a breath with each statement.”
Also on the program are Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio espagnol” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 “Winter Dreams.”
Times are 8 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 to $98; pittsburghsymphony.org.
SATURDAY Kiss concert
Sabrina Carpenter, the singer/actress who starred in the Disney Channel series “Girl Meets World,” the TV movie remake of “Adventures in Babysitting” and is part of “The Hate U Give” cast, is the headliner for the Kiss-FM Halloween Party at Stage AE, North Shore.
The 19-year-old pop star from Lehigh Valley, Pa., released a debut EP, “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying,” in 2014 and followed that with the full-length albums “Eyes Wide Open” and “Evolution.” Her third album, “Singular,” is coming out on Nov. 9, led by the single “Almost Love.”
Also on the bill is AJ Mitchell, a pop/ R&B singer-songwriter who recently debuted with a major label debut EP, “Hopeful,” that includes the title track and the singles “Girls” and “High Like You.”
Doors are at 6 p.m. Tickets are $28$30; ticketmaster.com.
And Messina
The Calliope series plays host to folkrock legend Jim Messina, known for his role as bassist in Buffalo Springfield and guitarist-singer in Poco (”Crazy Love,” “Heart of the Night”) and the duo Loggins and Messina (”Danny’s Song,” “House at Pooh Corner” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”).
During the 1980s, he issued three solo albums and reunited with Poco for a tour, and, in 2005 and 2009, he toured again with Loggins and Messina. In 2012, he released “LIVE at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts,” featuring songs from all of those phases of his career, which fans will see at Carnegie Lecture Hall, Oakland.
It’s at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50; $20 full-time students; calliopehouse.org.
Beer at Fort Pitt
The Fort Pitt Museum celebrates Pittsburgh’s beer history with the 21+ Fort Night, an after-hours program featuring brews from Arsenal Cider House & Wine Cellar, Helltown Brewing, ShuBrew Handcrafted Ales & Food, Spoonwood Brewing Company and Voodoo Brewery.
Guests can also enjoy soft-baked pretzels from The Pretzel Shop, play 18th-century bar games and learn about beer and brewing in early Pittsburgh during a special presentation by Fort Pitt Museum exhibit specialist Michael Burke at 8 p.m. The program will also feature lantern tours of Point State Park after dark with Jessica Rohrdanz, environmental educator for the park, at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
It runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Downtown. Guests must have valid ID and will be carded prior to entry. Tickets $15; $10 for Heinz History Center members; heinzhistorycenter.org/events.
SUNDAY Pittsburgh Sings!
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale presents the seventh annual Pittsburgh Sings! Festival of Choirs at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.
It will feature choirs from McKeesport Area High School, Mt. Lebanon High School and Wilmington Area High School performing individually and joining with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale to sing selections from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”
It begins at 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5; children 11 and under free; PCCsing.org.