Q&A with Missy Moreno about Theater, Queerness, and Farce

—— arts keep hearts open to feelings. No matter the money count or leadership or any issue facing humans, art is the only way for us to stay human through it all.  I caught the final performance of POTUS at City Theatre. It was hilarious. Writing a review after the show closes might seem odd. […]

Review: The Hobbit Adventure at Pittsburgh Public Theater

I was quite young when I first met Bilbo Baggins, peaceful resident of Middle Earth and protagonist of ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien.. My Dad was a aficionado of science fiction and fantasy so it was inevitable he would steer me that way, too. The novel dates to 1937 while the animated television musical (??) […]

Review: Juliet & Shakespeare Explore Girl Power at the Pittsburgh Benedum

Contains major spoilers The PNC Broadway Pittsburgh series brought another new classic to the Benedum courtesy of the Cultural Trust. This girl-power feminist re-imagining of the classic tragedy left a little to be desired. In this production, Juliet does not die by suicide, awakening to a world of possibilities with a little help from her […]

Pittsburgh Theater Isn’t Just For Fancy Folks, It’s For Yinz

Pittsburgh Theater

Coming up in local Theater (and Theatre) this winter and spring are the following shows. I’m looking forward to something on each schedule. It was 11 years ago that I began intentionally reviewing, mostly the arts but some other occasional ventures. I don’t profess to be an expert on any of these things. But I […]

How I Will Remember Sinéad O’Connor

When I was 21 years old on October 3, 1992, Sinéad O’Connor was the brave hero I needed. I remember being at a retreat for campus ministry that weekend, watching the show stretched across longish sofas with pizza and pop and the righteous purity of our little Catholic college bubble. I remember the shock in […]

Q&A with Esai About Her One Woman Show ‘TRANSlation’

But drag really helped me discover that I am a woman, and I started taking vocal performance a lot more seriously around age 15 with doing musical theatre, but once I reached 16, I discovered jazz and it completely changed my life, and I still do it now. Of course I still wanted to incorporate […]

Review: A Mother Son/Duo Reviews Dear Evan Hansen

I feel as if this play told the perfect personal view of what it’s like to suffer from social anxiety and feel as if you don’t matter or no one is watching. Our review of Dear Evan Hansen currently at The Benedum is a little different. We sent our reviewer Sarah and her 16-year-old son, […]

My Haudenosunee Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher

I am not of Indigenous or Native descent. I am a descended from white European colonizers, mainly from the British Isles and Western Europe who settled in what we now label as Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. I do try to listen and learn from my Indigenous friends, colleagues, and trusted sources. I’ve tried to […]

Six the Musical Reminds Us Of the Lives of All of Henry VIII’s Wives

Laura and Sarah ventured out again to the next show in the Pittsburgh Broadway Series – Six The Musical. ~ Sue Last night was cold. Wind chill made it 11 degrees. It was snowing, sort of. The type of winter day Pittsburgh used to have. I came home after work. I did not want to […]

Review: Handel’s Messiah at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Our review team attended Saturday’s performance of Handel’s Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Laura had heard it a few times, but always in religious settings. Sarah had never heard it live before. They both speak quite movingly of how the music affected them. They both love symphony performances and they both downplay their capacity […]