A winter wonderland of Pittsburgh theater.
While “Hamilton” had the first weeks of 2019 to itself, Pittsburgh theater companies were revving up to burst through the starting gate of the new year.
When the megahit musical is gone from the Benedum Center, stages throughout Pittsburgh will be heating up with new works, new arrivals and new spins on classic works.
City Theatre kicks off the local offerings with “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?,” Brian Quijada’s one-man show that pulses with Latin rhythms, rap, hip-hop, spoken word and live looping — the recording and playback of music in real time.
The title comes from a lesson about the civil rights era and Rosa Parks, when Mr. Quijada was a third-grader in Highwood, Ill., circa 1996. He raised his hand to ask, “Latinos — where did we sit on the bus?” And, he told the Chicago Tribune, the teacher’s reply was, “Oh. They weren’t around.”
“An explosion of energy, raw emotion and irresistible storytelling,” raved the Chicago Sun Times of “Where Did We Sit
on the Bus?,” being performed at City Theatre, South Side, Jan. 19-24.
Here are some of the other plays and musicals destined to ease the winter doldrums: Jan. 11-13: “Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure” — Let’s begin with one for the family — a new “Paw Patrol” adventure about a hunt for treasure, in a live show based on the Nickelodeon TV series. PPG Paints Arena, Uptown.
Jan. 16-20: “Cirque du Soleil: Corteo” — Corteo (cortege in Italian) is in this instance a festive parade imagined by a clown, within the Cirque theatrical world. The cast includes 51 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors from all around the world. PPG Arena, Uptown. Jan. 23-Feb. 3: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — The Broadway adaptation that starred Christian Borle and incorporates songs from the Gene Wilder film, including “World of Imagination” and “Candy Man.” PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh, Benedum Center, Downtown.
Jan. 24-Feb. 24: “The Tempest” — The Marya Sea Kaminski era at Pittsburgh Public Theater kicks into high gear with her Pittsburgh directing debut. She’s at the helm of her own all-female adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” starring hometown stage and screen actress
Tamara Tunie. Pittsburgh Public Theater, O’Reilly Theater, Downtown.
Jan 24-Feb. 3: “In the Heights” — While “Hamilton” comes to a close Downtown, Pittsburgh Musical Theater offers Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other Tony-winning best musical, about the vibrant Washington Heights neighborhood, at the Gargaro Theater, 327 S. Main St., in the West End. Jan. 31-Feb. 16: “Run the Rabbit Path” — A world premiere of the play by Pittsburgh playwright Ray Werner. In the shadow of Pittsburgh’s steel mills, two Irish American brothers and their sister struggle through the trauma of planning their father’s wake, in the kitchen where he died the day before. PICT Classic Theatre, Fred Rogers Studio at WQED, Oakland. Feb. 1-17: “The Old Man and the
Sea” — A world-premiere adaptation of the Pulitzer- and Nobel-winning Ernest Hemingway novella is presented by Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, with Tony winner Anthony Crivello (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) as Santiago and playwright Tim Hotchner in residence. Tim’s father and Hemingway biographer A.E. Hotchner, 101, joins rehearsals via Skype. Pittsburgh Playhouse, Downtown. Feb. 7-10: “Etty” — Adapted and performed by Susan Stein and directed by Austin Pendleton, “Etty” is Etty Hillesum, who died at Auschwitz when she was 29. The play is drawn from her diaries and letters during 1941-43. Off the Wall Productions,
Carnegie Stage, Carnegie.
Feb. 8-March 16: “Savior Samuel” — The 1877-set play by Mark Clayton Southers features the PG’s 2018 Performer of the Year, Wali Jamal, and is directed by Monteze Freeland (PG Performer, ’17). Making her debut is 10th-grader Aaliyah Sanders, a student at The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, where she has written and performed in school plays. She portrays Essie Clayson, a new mother of a child who gives Essie a gift that guides her to peaceful healing. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater, Trust Arts Education Center (note new digs during renovations), 805 Liberty Ave., Downtown.
Feb. 8-March 3: “The Gun Show” — Where will nomadic Quantum Theatre take us? The site is TBA, but “The Gun Show,” with Andrew William Smith going solo, jumps into the gun control debate and asks, “Can we have a conversation about this?” Quantum Theatre, keep checking for details.
Feb. 9-10: “American Girl Live” — A musical with living dolls. Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Series. Byham Theater, Downtown.
Feb. 15-24: “An Octoroon” — By playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, this award-winning play asks questions about the portrayal of race in America and the inadequate means we have for such portrayals. Kinetic Theatre, New Hazlett Theater, North Side. Feb. 20-March 3: “The Phantom of
the Opera” — The unstoppable Andrew Lloyd Webber musical returns to Pittsburgh. PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh, Benedum Center, Downtown.
Feb. 21-March 2: “Cabaret” — The big Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama musical is directed and choreographed by the always creative Tomé Cousin. CMU, Philip Chosky Theater (in a thrust configuration), Oakland.
March 1-16: “Mumburger” — Pittsburgh native Sarah Kosar returns from London with an American premiere of her play “Mumburger.” UK’s The Stage writes: “This central idea — the act of consumption as a way of keeping someone with you — is a potent metaphor for mourning, love and the upheaval of grief. Off the Wall Productions, Carnegie Stage, Carnegie.
March 2-24: “The Roommate” — Or rather, two mismatched roommates, one a divorced Iowan, the other a Bronx toughie (Tamara Tunie and Laurie Klatscher), in a dark comedy by Jen Silverman. City Theatre, South Side. March 7-April 7: “A Doll’s House Part 2” — Longtime Public leader Ted Pappas returns to the theater as director of the acclaimed “A Doll’s House Part 2,” one of the most produced plays in America this season. Pittsburgh Public Theater, O’Reilly Theater, Downtown.