FREEDOM HOUSE: GIVING LIFE A SECOND CHANCE To Make PBS Debut

Prime Stage Theatre's FREEDOM HOUSE: GIVING LIFE A SECOND CHANCE makes its PBS debut June 19, 2026 on the WQED+ streaming channel.

The original play by L.E. McCullough dramatizes the 1967 creation of Freedom House Ambulance Service, America's first mobile EMS program staffed by professionally-trained paramedics from Pittsburgh's Hill District. Directed by Scott Calhoon, the 90-minute video captures the play's world premiere at New Hazlett Theater in January, 2026, and features standout performances by Willa 'Katy' Cotten, Cynthia Dallas, Justin Mohr, Darrin Mosley, Anne Rematt, DeVaughn Robinson and Ryan Warsing.

Starting June 19, the play will be available for online streaming at https://plus.wqed.org/movie/freedom-house-giving-life-a-second-chance/.

During its 8-year lifespan, Freedom House served as the foundational model for today's paramedic profession and modern EMS departments around the world. Initiated in the heart of Pittsburgh's Hill District, Freedom House was an extraordinary experiment in community medicine and workforce development involving physicians from the University of Pittsburgh, social activists from Freedom House Enterprises, philanthropists from Maurice Falk Medical Fund and hospital staff of Mercy and Presbyterian hospitals, from where the Freedom House ambulances operated.

Crucial to the program's success were the men and women from Pittsburgh's largely African American Hill District whose dedication and skill transformed themselves, their community and the nation.

"The Freedom House story is an important story of resourcefulness and collaboration, and it's a story our community told us it wanted to see dramatized onstage," says Prime Stage Theatre artistic director Dr. Wayne Brinda. "With FREEDOM HOUSE: GIVING LIFE A SECOND CHANCE being broadcast on WQED, more people can learn about the transformative and lifesaving care EMS and public health agencies perform every day in Pittsburgh and across the U.S."