No live theater for Point Park until 2021

Those looking forward to watching live theater at Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse will have to wait until next year.

The scheduled opening for the theater’s 2020-21 season has been delayed until January due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases across the region and the country. The theater season was originally set to open in October with “Pippin.”

In lieu of in-person performances this fall, the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Conservatory of Performing Arts will develop “a robust series of livestreaming and digital broadcast events that will offer students safe performance and production opportunities,” artistic director and dean Steven Breese wrote in an open letter about the season’s adjustments.

The “pause” in live productions is in line with delays being put in place at many regional theaters, as well as on and off Broadway, because of the new coronavirus, Mr. Breese noted. He said the Pittsburgh Playhouse plans to partner with other theater and production companies and technical professionals “to ensure that our digital events will be of the highest quality, showcase students’ talents and ensure distribution to the widest possible audiences.”

Beyond live theater, the university’s Media Innovators speaker series is under review. The opening of the Conservatory Dance Co.’s 2020-21 season also is expected to be postponed. Details on these adjustments are forthcoming.

Mr. Breese’s letter can be viewed in full at playhouse.pointpark.edu/ press/seasonAdjustment. Updates on scheduling changes and digital programming will be shared in coming weeks at playhouse.pointpark.edu and on Point Park’s social media platforms.